Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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So we are down to our final two weeks of college basketball. I’m kind of a basketball junky. I love the high school playoffs and tournaments followed by the college conference tournaments and then of course March Madness. While many people will follow their team and could care less about watching any other team I love to watch the different teams, players and coaching styles. I’m not sure why but I can be watching a game and immediately start wanting one of the teams to win. I...
On Sunday the brackets for the 2023 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament were announced. This year’s tournament will have the Gonzaga men and women and the Pac 12 women’s tournament champion WSU Cougars in the mix. I have had the opportunity to see a couple of men’s regionals and one women’s regional final and one NCAA men’s championship game. For all of the years that I have watched the tournament on TV it is really special to get to watch the games live. The NCA...
There are a few things I look forward to each year but the state B basketball tournament has to be the one that I plan for weeks in advance. The tournament has been in Spokane since 1958 starting at the old coliseum on Boone Avenue. For now it looks like the 2024 tournament will be the last one in Spokane. Costs for the tournament are escalating with arena rental being the biggest reason. So the future looks like it may end up in Yakima. Now I heard some stories as to the...
Just to let you know I wasn’t ignoring the EWU Eagles basketball team. I’ve been following them and keeping track of their great season. I didn’t want to mention them when they were on a historic winning streak. But Saturday night their 18 game streak, 16 Big Sky victories, came to a halt at Idaho State in a loss to the Bengals. But the Eagles had already wrapped up the Big Sky championship and celebrated on their home court so the loss was just a reminder that there is still...
I have a tendency to look at the scores of games that were played the day before and try to imagine what made the game unique. Was a close game close from start to finish, or just in the last few minutes or the last quarter? For instance, last Saturday, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos defeated the Okanogan Bulldogs, 50-48. In the first half, the Broncos had trouble finding their shooting range and only scored 15 points, which is not a lot for them. The Bulldogs scored 26...
Congratulations to Jay Humphrey on his retirement from coaching, hopefully after the State 2A tournament in March. I’ve watched Jay coach on more than one occasion and he certainly had his passion for the game that he learned from his dad, Denny. I have fond memories of Jay’s time as a Bronco shooting guard in the days before the 3-point line was established. Jay had a really nice shot and could make things miserable for his opponent. Our paths crossed on several occasions, us...
Or not. Let’s just say that there were a few things that happened this weekend to make me wonder if our days are numbered going into the future. First of all that weird Chinese balloon the size of three school buses that hovered over Montana and several other states is a little bizarre. There were a few very observant people that noticed this thing in the air. I’m not sure who first saw it but I think it is a little strange that when the government talked about it they cal...
The NFC and AFC championship games were played this weekend and the winners were Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs and Andy Reid’s former team the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles blew out the San Francisco 49ers and the Chiefs pulled out a last-second victory over last year’s Super Bowl runner-up Cincinnati Bengals. The AFC championship game matched last year’s foes once again in what has become an evenly matched rivalry. Winning in the NFL consistently is not an easy thing....
For a lot of years the Gonzaga men’s basketball team was criticized for playing in a weak league. So the Zags scheduled a tough nonconference slate against quality teams in early tournaments or at neutral sites near to where the big name team played. After defeating a lot of these big name teams some of them decided it would make for must see basketball by playing a home and home series. These games have been good for college basketball and allowed for other teams around t...
On January 2nd, the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals were playing a big Monday night football game in Cincinnati. Both teams are having a great season and have the opportunity to play themselves into the Super Bowl. About nine minutes into the game Bills’ Safety Demar Hamlin made a tackle on Bengal receiver Tee Higgins. Higgins rammed into Hamlin’s chest and both players hit the ground. Hamlin stood up and took two steps before dropping to the field. The Bills’ train...
I’ve seen a few Sci-Fi movies about time travel and how someone can change history. But, of course, we really can’t and neither can the folks in the movies. I look at time travel and think where has the year gone now that we are near the end of 2022? To me that seems really fast but a minute or an hour haven’t gotten any faster it just seems that they have. We get up in the morning and splash some water on our faces and the next thing we know is that we are splashing water on...
I have a few things to talk about today so bear with me. A couple of days ago I was driving on the freeway where doesn’t really matter. Anyway I was in the left lane and there were cars coming off the exit into the right lane. I needed to be in the right lane so I speeded up and at the right time I moved over. The car that I moved in front of decided to get into the left lane and would sling shot into that lane. As he moved passed me I noticed that the passenger side of t...
Several years ago my wife and I went to a benefit auction in Othello. During the dinner and just before the auction there was a short demonstration. K-9 Handler Joe Phillips and K-9 Garrett were there to entertain us with the prowess of a well-trained German Shepherd. Former Sheriff Doug Barger put on the sleeve and when Joe gave the verbal command Garrett went after that sleeve with his strong chompers and we all chuckled and applauded. This K-9 was the real deal. During the...
Football is different than basketball when it comes to coaches changing jobs once a season ends In basketball, if your team is in the NCAA tournament, you most likely will not be leaving for your next job until after the team you presently coach iis eliminated. If your team has a good showing just to get there and it either pulls off an upset or nearly does so, then there is a good chance a press conference will take place to announce the hiring of the next coach. That’s h...
We are about to celebrate another Thanksgiving. It is with great hope that we can actually say we are really thankful. I look back on some very memorable times spent at family gatherings. I fondly remember gorging myself on turkey and dressing and so many pies and as a kid I burned off the calories before they could take effect on my body. Not so anymore. Now, I have to pace myself. Those Thanksgivings were also times to watch football. My favorite turkey day event was the...
It has been a good fall for the local high school teams. The football team was league champions along with Liberty and Chewelah. Unfortunately the league doesn't settle ties for the playoffs by playing a tiebreaker against the other teams or use the RPI rating like the state does to seed teams. No they just settled it by drawing cards high card number one etc. Disappointing for the Broncos for sure but it doesn't take away from their highly successful last two seasons. The...
I was reading the sports page this morning and saw the odds posted for basketball games that would be played later in the day. This early in the season there are a lot of games being played by the haves versus the have-nots. There are also some games that look highly competitive. The amount of points that the favorites are expected to win by varies from 2–32 points. Some of the game will be blowouts; a few will be nail biters. It’s early in the season and if you feel sec...
As the college football season continues into the last third of the season you can see how fortunes have changed for some teams. My Eastern Eagles have fallen on hard times as several injuries have led to young players getting playing time and valuable experience. However, with the inexperience and youth factor it has meant a fair amount of missed blocks and tackles and some opponents have looked like All-Americans. Case in point, on Saturday the Portland State QB juked and ra...
RITZVILLE - Members of the local museum board met Oct. 20 at Zion Congregational Church to honor two volunteers for their work this past year at historical sites. Honorees included John Rankin and John Hunt. Rankin, Flying Arts Ranch artist and local businessman, repaired a façade and fixed a damaged door at the town's historic railroad depot. "John did an outstanding job," said Dale Anderson, vice president in charge of the depot for the Ritzville Museum Board. "He's a good...
It was quite the season that the Seattle Mariners had. It helps that there are more Wild Card teams otherwise the M's may have had to wait another year to make the playoffs. I know that there are a fair amount of purists out there that think only the division winners should make the playoffs. I remember when there were only the teams from the American League and National League and they played each other all season long and the team with the best record would go to the World S...
I think it is important to pay attention to what is going on especially at a high school football game. Such was the case on Friday night at Jimmie Snider Field in Ritzville. It was Homecoming and it was also senior night since this was the last scheduled home game for the Broncos versus the Jenkins (Chewelah) Cougars. It just so happened that I got to the field a bit early and as part of the chain gang I like to be ready for action. I saw three Chewelah players on the...
A month ago EWU played Tennessee State and part way through the second half a storm passed by and the fans were instructed to leave the stadium because of lightning strikes nearby. So we did. My buddy Ken and I went to my car while others stood outside throwing footballs or reconnecting at a tailgate party. So that was a late summer storm for eastern Washington. Just this past Saturday the Eagles were scheduled to play the University of Florida Gators in Gainesville. This...
I think we are all looking at the rising cost of living and we’re wondering where it will end or if it will end. I think it is frustrating when those people in power have a tendency to say that it’s not so bad or it won’t last long. That really doesn’t make me feel confident especially when those that are influential have other priorities. Who pays the price? Those that are in need are usually the ones that pay the biggest price. Those that can afford it usually are a bit unc...
I’m the kind of guy that enjoys sports and I appreciate the athleticism that is displayed. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into a successful athlete and team. It isn’t just talent that makes a great player. There is also a great deal of mental toughness as well. The investment an athlete makes to improve their strength, size and speed can pay dividends in the long run. For most of us older folks we weren’t fortunate enough to have much of a weight room or even...
On Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska the Cornhuskers battled Georgia Southern and would have a 4th quarter lead until the Eagles scored with 2:29 remaining in the game plenty of time for Nebraska to score. Nebraska drove and would set up a 52 yard field goal with only seconds left on the clock. The kick was far enough but it hooked to the left and the Nebraska Cornhuskers would lose another one score game. The pain on Coach Scott Frost’s face truly was one that said, “I’m not g...