A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s wander around the dial together today, shall we? Maybe we’ll land on WKRP or some other old-time rock and roll station.
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• No, I’m not silly enough to think turkeys can fly. I’ve seen them struggle to escape over my backyard fence more than once. Those experiences removed any thought they could land safely after being tossed out of a helicopter.
We are, however, silly enough to think the NFL owners would finally come to their senses about the Tush Push and ban it. They had a chance Wednesday and decided against a change.
But no. A practice that had been banned in the game for a century – assisting a runner by pushing them was against NFL rules until 2005, mirroring a rule first put into the game back when the forward pass was just being allowed – has become a focal point for “hey-if-you-can’t-stop-it,-don’t-legislate-it-out-of-existence” crowd.
Pardon me, but I always thought that was what rules were for, to keep the game – whatever game – balanced. And safe.
Under the existing rules, pushing a player forward is impossible to stop completely. The offense has the advantage of knowing when the snap is coming and the momentum it earns in that regard, aided by massive people shoving, makes a yard or two inevitable. That’s partly why the practice was outlawed early in the 20th Century. The other part of it? Pushing and interlocking and the like had created rugby-like scrums, leading to way-too-many injuries.
Just because no one has been hurt these days doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The Commanders’ Frankie Luvu – a former WSU standout – tried to time up the Eagles’ push in the playoffs, launching himself like a missile across the line of scrimmage. The potential is there for a collision that leaves someone paralyzed.
• It’s time, isn’t it? Time for the Mariners’ front office to trade a couple of their prospects for some starting pitching. Maybe add a couple Cy Young-caliber starters. Another guy with potential. Just because the M’s lead the American League West with a group of untested starters doesn’t mean it will last.
Sounds silly doesn’t it? Because it is. No one in baseball, not even the Dodgers or Yankees, have enough talent in their minor league systems to import such talent in late May or June. But that is sort of what will happen in Seattle.
The M’s will add George Kirby to the roster today. He’ll start tonight in Houston.
A well-rested and, hopefully, healthy arm. A guy who led MLB in strikeouts-to-walks ratio in 2024. A guy with a career 3.43 earned run average.
It shouldn’t be much longer until the M’s add another Cy Young-caliber arm. A guy who was among the league leaders in just about every category last season. Who has pitched well this one. Logan Gilbert should be ready to go soon.
Bryce Miller may be back even before Gilbert, hopefully healed up, arm and back strong. Ready to build on last season’s 2.94 ERA, best among Seattle’s starters.
If and when those guys are back, then we can start debating, once again, which prospects are ready to help the lineup and which should be dangled to fill the still-too-common roster holes.
• What defines a college athletic director’s legacy? Hires. Their choices to lead the school’s programs, especially the main ones, football and basketball. No athletic director bats 1.000 in this regard. Not even close. But everyone hopes that’s the case when a new person is hired to fill the role.
That thought popped into my head Wednesday while contemplating a question posed about the Washington State baseball program. The Cougars have bottomed out – literally – after finishing last in the Mountain West Conference.
In Nathan Choate’s two seasons at the helm, the Cougars are 39-68. That’s after four consecutive winning seasons under now-Wichita State coach Brian Green. Choate (and Green) were hired by current Washington A.D. Pat Chun, whose track record at WSU was decidedly mixed. For every Kyle Smith, there was a Nick Rolovich. His hand-picked coaches’ success rate was up-and-down.
In Choate’s case, down.
Washington State has invested in the program’s facilities. Made the baseball complex competitive in a way it never was. But it might be too late. The changes in college athletics demand salary resources to a degree WSU may never reach. Anyone who figures out how to win in Pullman will probably be on the next bus to Palo Alto or Winston-Salem.
It’s funny. Too much success and there’s a good chance there will be an opening. Too little? The same thing. Baseball is in that latter category these days.
Is a change needed? Well, it is baseball, not a revenue-producing sport. Current athletic director Anne McCoy can show patience. At least for now.
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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the idea USC and Notre Dame will not play football against each other would have seemed ludicrous (don’t say that word three times fast) only a few years ago. But, as Jon Wilner explains in the Mercury News, that’s just another part of what realignment and expanded playoffs have wrought. A loss of tradition, something John Canzano laments. … Colorado still has a deep receiving corps. … We can pass along a list of the five most important players for Utah in 2025. … It cost former Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty a lot of money to wear No. 2 with the Raiders next season. … In basketball news, we know Cedric Coward is not headed back to Pullman. It looks more and more, though, as if he won’t be in Durham next year either. He’s got to stay in the draft. … Arizona’s fans picked the visually most-obtrusive new floor design in an online vote. Of course they did. College basketball fans have never been subtle. … Fresno State has added a successful alum to its staff. … A Tennessee star is challenging the NCAA’s limit on four years of competition. … In baseball news, USC has put together a breakout season, even though the Trojans still don’t have an on-campus home. … UCLA’s softball program broke through years ago. And hopes to break through the SEC stranglehold this weekend. … Arizona will have to rebuild its pitching staff. … Stanford failed in its attempt to win a second-consecutive NCAA women’s golf title. The Cardinal fell to Northwestern in the championship match.
Gonzaga: The Zag baseball program has been successful most of coach Marck Machtolf’s 22 seasons. That has continued this one, even after a slow start. John Allison previews the Bulldogs’ upcoming WCC playoff experience in Las Vegas. … We linked this Rui Hachimura story in the L.A. Times yesterday. It is on the S-R website today. … Before we go, we have to hand out an update on the Zags still playing in the NBA playoffs. Andrew Nembhard played his usual critical role in Indiana’s comeback win over the Knicks.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Sacramento State’s new-found emphasis on football has left some campus facilities stressed. And a few people upset.
CCS: The Sasquatch track and field teams each won NWAC titles recently. That news leads off the latest S-R local briefs column.
Preps: Jim Meehan has the roundup of all the State golf championships. Locally, the Pullman boys (2A) and Freeman girls (2B/1B) won titles. … Other sports? Cheryl Nichols has you covered with this roundup.
Indians: Spokane rallied for a 6-3 win over visiting Tri-City on Wednesday. Dave Nichols was at Avista Stadium and has this coverage.
Mariners: We covered the Kirby news above (and linked the story). We also can pass along Wednesday’s results, with new Mariner Leody Taveras’ eighth-inning home run lifting Seattle to a 6-5 comeback victory. … The more you talk, the more chance there is to say something that will tick people off.
Seahawks: Nick Emmanwori has no problem with being compared with Kam Chancellor. Welcomes it, in fact. … As we linked above, the Brotherly Shove will live on for another year. Maybe even in Seattle. … The Hawks have a joint practice set up.
Kraken: If you were wondering where Seattle stands in its coaching search, you can read the Times’ story we linked yesterday on the S-R site today.
Sounders: The Club World Cup bonus structure has not been well received in Seattle.
Media: Hey, another sports media story. Why not? Especially when Jim Lampley is the subject. He knows way too many boxers for me not to link this piece.
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• That took a long time today. Too much. But I learned a few things, so there is always that. Life-long learner. That’s me. (Making up for all the time I wasted in college.) Until later …