The Ritzville Adams County Journal - Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887

So last week was very busy for pro sports if you’re into that. Yes, it was the finals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). I didn’t watch most of the hockey games but I did watch some of the last two...

There is a saying that I like to use now and then: “Time flies when you are having fun!” If that is the case I must be having a blast. Just last Friday it occurred to me that I had been retired for a year. On June 1st I remembered that it had...

As I get older I notice things a bit differently than others do. Maybe you do the same. When I hear or read about the death of someone I vividly remember from my younger days it makes me think about why I remember that person. This past week the...

Alumni weekend is here and I really have trouble grasping onto the fact that the class of 1969 graduated from RHS 50 years ago. I say this because I graduated 49 years ago and it is really amazing that time has gone by this quickly. Throughout the ye...

Is it my imagination or have all of the really great Mariner highlights come to an end? The team that started out 13-2 with what seemed to be a 5 game lead over their AL West rivals are now mired in a major slump slotted in third place but by the...

Sorry about not having a column last week but an unforeseen event took place that didn’t allow me enough time to write something last week. That does happen now and then. Oh well, what can I say? I’ve run out of excuses. A couple of weeks ago...

This is the time of year where a lot of things are going on but deciding what is interesting to write about is a little more difficult. I’m sure that a lot of people have their ideas of what a good story would be but those thoughts may not be...

I have a good excuse for not having a column out last week. I flew to Arizona and was with family when I usually write this column. It was nice and the weather in the Phoenix was only in the high 90s a couple of days. I did watch the NCAA basketball...

If you are anything like me, you watched the Gonzaga Bulldogs lose to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday. Games like these are harsh realities of the win and go on and lose and go home tournament format. I’ve said this before and it bears...

I watched a lot of basketball this past week with all of the conference tournaments going on. There were several that were very interesting to watch and might just be a precursor to the outcome of the NCAA tournament. Our local teams of interest...

There was an interesting article in the Spokesman this past Sunday concerning the way the Gonzaga Bulldog basketball teams travel to and from away games. They go via a private jet that fits the players and coaches of the respective teams. It is a...

I was able to spend four days at the State ‘B’ basketball tournament in Spokane last week and I had a great time. The weather has raised havoc with school and extracurricular activities around here. There are a bunch of people that figured they w...

The other day when schools closed early and practices were canceled and I found myself driving west on Hwy 26 in nasty conditions, I got a bit nervous wondering if the road conditions would get worse. I saw a State snow plow stopped at the...

Hard to imagine with the weather being what it is all around the country that spring training for Major League baseball teams is underway. For the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners it has a little deeper meaning since they will be playing th...

To say the least, it has been an interesting week for all of us. You remember Groundhog Day? Apparently the groundhog didn’t see his shadow this year and spring was going to be just around the corner for us. Why are we paying attention to what a...

I live in an interesting home. On Saturday my wife and I were in the car and I mentioned something about the Super Bowl and she asked when it was going to happen. I said, “Tomorrow!” She laughed and wondered if I was going anywhere to watch the...

College football has ended with the final two championship games. The FCS version saw North Dakota State drop EWU on January 5th and on Monday January 7th Number 2 Clemson upset Number 1 ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff game. The...

The annual what have you done for me lately portion of professional football has come and gone as numerous coaches have been fired and the latest and greatest offensive or defensive coordinator is being pursued and interviewed. Oh and some of the...

Over the years I’ve seen a real change in sports when it comes to celebrations and emotional breakdowns. For whatever reason it seems to me that every first down in football or three point basket or dunk leads to an emotional outburst, such as...

I think every sports fan has a favorite sports announcer for the big game. There have been some good ones and a few that I tend to roll my eyes and turn the volume down when I hear them talk. I guess I’m a little like Joe Friday from Dragnet when...

If you have been following along with this column you would know that I’ve been traveling to Cheney to watch the NCAA FCS football playoffs. And if you have paid attention you would also know that the Eagles will be headed to Frisco, Texas in Janua...

One of the things that I wish is to have been able to play in the high school football playoffs but those wouldn’t happen until four years after I graduated. I enjoy watching playoff games with match ups between teams that typically never play agai...

I think we’ve all said it before but here goes again, “What happened to the year?” Here we are at Thanksgiving time once again wondering if we accomplished all of those things or at least one or two of those things on our New Year’s...

It wasn’t the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last, but I did write a column last week. It didn’t make it into the paper because for some odd reason I forgot to send it. Laugh if you must but sometimes being retired means not having... Full story

It was quite the Saturday for local college football teams. The Whitworth Pirates remained unbeaten and atop the Northwest Conference dropping the Pacific Boxers 37-19 at the Pine Bowl and EWU humbled the Idaho Vandals 38-14 during the Homecoming... Full story