Everett stymies Yakima in series finale between division first-half champions

Typically at or near the top of the Northwest League in home runs, the Everett AquaSox have been known to benefit from Memorial Stadium’s hitter-friendly power alleys.

Monday night in pitcher-friendly Yakima County Stadium, however, the Sox produced a pair of round-trippers that, in the words of Dizzy Dean, would have left any park in country including Yellowstone.

Mike Zunino’s fourth homer in his ninth game as a professional and Patrick Kivlehan’s league-best seventh long ball were more than the Bears were able to overcome in front of an announced 1,385, with Yakima absorbing a 3-1 Northwest League loss.

The defeat was the sixth in eight games for the Bears, who finished 1-4 in their five-game series with the first-half West Division champions and 21-17 overall.

But of course Yakima, which left this morning for a six-game road trip, claimed first-half East honors and the accompanying playoff berth.

And on a day when the Mariners traded Ichiro to the New York Yankees, their short-season Class A farmhands held the Bears to only four hits and denied them the late-inning magic with which they had won the evening prior.

Everett also provided evidence of its 28-10 record, best in the league, by playing errorless defense and overpowering the Bears with 11 strikeouts, including six over the final two innings.

Yakima’s lone offensive bright spot was Kevin Medrano, who had half of his team’s output with a double and single, boosting his league-leading batting average to .351.

But after Medrano’s leadoff base hit in the sixth, the Bears were hitless and, overall, no match for starter Victor Sanchez (5-1) and relievers Mario De Jesus and Brandon Plotz.

In the ninth, Plotz fanned the side on 10 pitches.

Joe Loftus and Mark Ginther had Yakima’s other hits, both singles, and the home team did not advance a runner past second after scoring its lone run in the fourth.

Everett got its first two runs via the long ball, the first being a first-pitch no-doubter to left-center by Zunino. Kivlehan followed suit in the fourth, launching a leadoff bomb high off the video board.

After the Bears got on the board in the bottom of the inning via Kevin Medrano’s leadoff double and Joe Loftus’ two-out single to left, the AquaSox tacked on a run in the fifth without producing a hit.

Yakima starter Alex Carreras, denied in his quest for a league-high sixth win, walked the leadoff man, after which he hit Jamodrick McGruder. Ketel Marte then bunted the runners to second and third, and Zunino got his second RBI of the night with a groundout to third.

7/24/12 Yakima Bears Update

Next game

 

Opponent: Boise Hawks.

When, where: 6:15 p.m. (PDT) today, Memorial Stadium, Boise, Idaho.

Radio/Internet: KUTI (1460)/yakimabears.com.

Probable pitchers: Yakima LHP Daniel Watts (2-1, 0.82) vs. Boise RHP Ian Dickson (1-3, 6.23).

Notes

 

THE ROAD AHEAD: Having concluded the first half of the 76-game Northwest League season, and assured themselves a playoff berth by winning the first-half East Division title, the Bears will embark on a six-game road trip.

Yakima will first visit Boise for a three-game series starting tonight, then will bus to Spokane for three more. The Bears will return to Yakima County Stadium on July 31 for a three-game series with Tri-City.

Of Yakima’s final 38 games, 20 will be played against teams which, at this writing, have better records. The Bears will play five each with Eugene (24-12) and Everett (27-10) and 10 with Vancouver (21-15).

The regular season ends on Sept. 1 with the playoffs starting Sept. 3.

 

JIMMY MOHAWK: There was a distinctly different look to the Bears on Monday, most notably to Jimmy Comerota.

Also known as Jimmy Baseball, Comerota was sporting a Mohawk haircut courtesy of pitcher Victor Acosta.

“Thought I’d give it a try,” Comerota said. “I usually buzz it during the summer, like (Shaun) Cooper over there. But this sounded like a good idea at the time, and we won last night. So we’ll see.”

 

ANOTHER TAKE ON ZUNINO: Bears hitting coach Jason Camilli has been justifiably impressed by and/or proud of several of his own pupils, but Monday had some positive comments about a member of the opposition.

“I like his approach,” Camilli said of Mike Zunino, the Everett catcher who the Seattle Mariners chose with the third overall pick in last month’s draft. “I like his swing, he keeps the bat in the zone well and he’s obviously a big strong kid and can hit the ball hard. But also, for a draft choice this early in his career he changes his approach with two strikes — he shortens his swing and battles.”

Zunino, from Cape Coral, Fla., and the University of Florida, came into Monday’s game batting .394 with three doubles, three homers and three RBI through nine games and 33 at bats.

— Roger Underwood

Box score

AquaSox 3, Bears 1

EVERETT YAKIMA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

McGrudr 2b 4 0 1 0 Lang cf 4 0 0 0

Marte ss 4 0 1 0 Medrano ss 3 1 2 0

Zunino dh 4 1 1 2 Mateo 1b 3 0 0 0

Kivlehan 3b 3 1 2 1 Cooper rf 4 0 0 0

Morales rf 4 0 1 0 Loftus dh 3 0 1 1

Littlewood c 4 0 0 0 Perz-Rams lf 3 0 0 0

Villasuso 1b 4 0 1 0 Rodriguez c 4 0 0 0

Zorrilla cf 4 0 0 0 Ginther 3b 2 0 1 0

Faulkner lf 3 1 2 0 Parr 2b 2 0 0 0

Totals 34 3 9 3 Totals 28 1 4 1

Everett 100 110 000 — 3

Yakima 000 100 000 — 1

DP­—Everett 2. LOB—Everett 8, Yakima 6. 2B—Villasuso, Medrano. HR—Zunino (4), Kivlehan (7). Sac—Marte. SB—Kivlehan. CS—Marte, Parr.

Everett IP H R ER BB SO

Sanchez W,5-1 6 4 1 1 4 5

De Jesus 2 0 0 0 2 3

Plotz S,3 1 0 0 0 0 3

Yakima IP H R ER BB SO

Carreras L,5-3 6 6 3 3 2 3

Stultz 1 1 0 0 0 0

Jose 2 2 0 0 0 3

HBP—McGruder (by Carreras). Umpires—Andrew Risley, Marty Gerich. T—2:47. A—1,385.

Standings

 

East Division

W L Pct. GB

z-Yakima (D’backs) 21 17 .553 —

Tri-City (Rockies) 18 19 .486 2½

Boise (Cubs) 13 25 .342 8

Spokane (Rangers) 12 26 .316 9

West Division

W L Pct. GB

z-Everett (Mariners) 28 10 .737 —

Eugene (Padres) 24 13 .649 3½

Vancouver (Blue Jays) 22 15 .595 5½

Salem-Keizer (Giants) 12 25 .324 15½

z-clinched playoff spot

Monday’s games

Boise 3, Eugene 0

Vancouver 12, Spokane 7

Everett 3, Yakima 1

Salem-Keizer at Tri-City, 10:15 p.m.

Today’s games

Eugene at Vancouver, 8:05 p.m., 1st game

Yakima at Boise, 9:15 p.m.

Salem-Keizer at Everett, 10:05 p.m.

Spokane at Tri-City, 10:15 p.m.

Eugene at Vancouver, 10:35 p.m., 2nd game

Wednesday’s games

Salem-Keizer at Everett, 2:05 p.m.

Yakima at Boise, 9:15 p.m.

Eugene at Vancouver, 10:05 p.m.

Spokane at Tri-City, 10:15 p.m.

Phillips: Brewster a hotbed of fishing this time of the year

In late July the quiet little town of Brewster, Wash., explodes into a bustling burg. Almost overnight the city park becomes a city of colorful tents and the one small motel in town has a waiting list as long as your arm. Motorhomes and travel trailers arrive from all corners of the state and beyond, all looking for an open space to plop down for a night or two. RV’s of all assorted sizes and shapes are parked willy-nilly in just about every gravel parking lot within a five mile radius.

Every third vehicle driving through town has a boat attached and each morning before daybreak Brewter’s one and only boat ramp resembles 5 o’clock rush hour in downtown Seattle. Trucks and boats can be backed up for a good mile or more.

Starting about 3:30 a.m. the three mini-marts in town become a beehive of activity as anglers stop in to get their gas, ice, food, and beverages for another day of fishing.

And by the time the first pink and orange hues of daylight start appearing over the eastern horizon, 100 boats or more are already hovering in the Columbia River, just upstream from Brewster, at the mouth of the Okanogan River.

During most years, the main attraction at the popular fishing hole is the summer chinook salmon that congregate there, waiting for the waters of the Okanogan to cool enough to allow them to continue their spawning run upstream.

On other years, the summer chinook are joined by a run of sockeye salmon. This is an “other” year. In fact it is an exceptional year.

Somewhere around a half million sockeye salmon have entered the Columbia River, and a majority of them have migrated upstream to the waters around Brewster.

Between the summer chinook, some reaching the 30 pound plus size, and the thousands and thousands of sockeye, the Columbia River between Wells and Chief Joseph Dams becomes one of the hottest fishing spots in all of the Northwest.

And, it is not just hot because of the good fishing prospects; it is hot, well, because it is hot.

Normally this time of year temperatures in north central Washington climb into the 90s, and it is not uncommon to have a week or more that hits triple digits. Sitting on dead calm waters with temperatures that warm can make even the most avid angler head for the shade.

But before the hot afternoon sun starts cooking everything in sight, anglers by the hundreds venture out and work a half mile section of the Columbia where the fish are holding.

The fishing is done by boat. And boat is a general term here. Anglers in everything from rubber rafts, canoes and kyaks, to 30-foot cabin cruisers are trolling up and down the Columbia hoping to catch a hard fighting summer chinook, or a feisty sockeye salmon.

This year with a daily limit of three chinook (only one can be a native-identified by the in tact adipose fin) and six sockeye salmon, the area attracts all kinds of anglers looking at taking advantage of catching some of the great-eating fish.

Not everyone catches the big chinook, but almost everyone catches a sockeye or two. Again, with several thousand fish hanging around, sooner or later one is going to hit your lure.

Trolling a four- to eight-inch dodger trailed by a small pink Spin-N-Glo ahead of a few pink beads and a piece of dyed coontail shrimp is pretty much all you need to catch the sockeye.

The bigger chinook are a little more finicky. They are most often caught on a plug cut herring or a Super Bait behind a big flasher. Other anglers will catch them on a Mag Lip or other diving plug.

Downriggers help take the rigs anywhere from 15 to 25 feet, where the salmon seem to like to hold.

If you enjoy fishing for salmon, but want the water to yourself, Brewster is not the place to go. But if you are looking for a great opportunity to catch some super good eating sockeye and possibly a big king salmon or two, the Columbia River near the small town of Brewster in North Central Washington is the place to be.

 • Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoors writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips and DiPietro. He can be reached at rwph[email protected].

Local report: Upper Valley repeats as Little League state champion

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. — Upper Valley Little League from Naches won its second straight Washington State Junior Little League championship, beating Bonny Lake 13-3 on Monday.

Kellen Stoffer hit a two-run double in a nine-run bottom of the first inning for Upper Valley. Austin Simmons added a two-run single in the inning.

With the state title, Upper Valley qualified for the Junior Little League Western Regionals which will be held in Vancouver July 31-August 8.

Highlights: Kellen Stoffer 1-4, run, 2 RBI; Austin Simmons 1-4, run, 2 RBI; Chase Wells 3-4, 3 runs, RBI; Zach Dremann 4-4, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 4 IP; Jay Whorton 3-4, run, 2 RBI; Ryan Deaton 1-3, run; Jeb Calaghan 1-3, run; Billy Emmal 1-1, run, RBI; DJ Lantis 2-2, 2 runs; Chase Wells 2 IP.

 

SENIOR LEGION

State openers set

The Senior Legion state host Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak will play in the nightcap of Saturday’s first-round quadrupleheader at Carlon Park in Selah. The Pak plays the Twin City Titans at 7 p.m.

In the second game of the day, the Yakima Pepsi Beetles take Centralia Sobe-Toyota at noon.

The tournament runs through Aug. 1.

Saturday’s opening games

Game 1: Kennewick Bandits vs. Hanford Flames, 9 a.m.

Game 2: Centralia Sobe-Toyota vs. Yakima Pepsi Beetles, noon.

Game 3: Lakeside Recovery vs. Spokane Bandits, 4 p.m.

Game 4: Twin City Titans vs. Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak, 7 p.m.

 

ADULT FASTPITCH

JRW & Assoc. take third

JRW & Associates took third place in this past weekend’s Seattle Invitational, finishing with a 3-3 record.

For the linescores from the JRW & Associates games, see Scoreboard on Page 2B.

Outdoors What’s Happening

Rimrock to host races this Saturday

The Yakima Valley Boat Club will host its annual Rimrock Lake Race Day on Saturday. Sail races will begin at noon, with last year’s overall winner Rick Hall trying to off other contenders for the newly named Perc Bauguess Trophy. Power boats will also take to the lake with the Bill Rockett Poker Run scheduled for 5 p.m.

The events start and finish at the Boat Club docks in Bear Cove. Good views of the boats should be available from any of the beaches or turnouts between Rimrock Landing and Silver Cove along Highway 12.

For more information contact JB Hanna at 509-713-3213 or

[email protected].

 

Advisory Committee members sought

The Forest Service is seeking applicants for vacancies on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest’s Eastern Washington Cascades and Yakima Provincial advisory committees.

Applications can be obtained from the national forest’s headquarters in Wenatchee, the Okanogan Valley Office, or online at http://go.usa.gov/faR (scroll down to the Interested paragraph). The deadline to submit applications is Sept. 1.

Informational meetings describing the committees and their activities will be held 2-3 p.m. Monday in the conference room of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest headquarters office, 215 Melody Lane, Wenatchee and 2-3 p.m. July 31 in the Naches Ranger District conference room, 10237 Highway 12 in Naches. Forest Service representatives will be present at the meetings to explain the application and selection process and to answer questions.

 

Gotchen Creek Cabin to open to public

Once a remote outpost for horseback rangers, the 103-year-old Gotchen Creek Cabin near Mount Adams will be open to the public starting Friday though Sept. 26, from noon to 5 p.m. each day except Thursdays when it is closed.

The cabin is the oldest historic building in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest , served as the summer headquarters of the Mt. Adams Ranger Station until 1917.

Call 509-395-3402 for more information or directions.

 

BIRD ALERT

Among the birds seen at the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge this week were lots of recently fledged birds, that were noisily pursuing their parents, begging for food. Eastern kingbirds, western kingbirds, Bullock’s orioles were all being mobbed by the voracious young birds. Other birds of note at the refuge included: common nighthawks, dusky flycatcher, Bewick’s wren and the very colorful lazuli bunting.

Reports of successful nests have come in from all over the county including a white-headed woodpecker cavity nest with two young found in the Nile area. The babies would hang way out of the hole, one at a time, and peep loudly for another meal and a Lewis’ woodpecker nest with several very noisy young at Fort Simcoe.

This week’s bird walk on the Poppoff trail also produced twenty eight species including plenty of fledglings with American goldfinches and yellow warblers appearing in the largest numbers. Other good birds observed on this walk included a bald eagle perched by the river, two gray catbirds, cedar waxwings, two orange-crowned warblers and a lazuli bunting. This week’s walk will start at 7:30 a.m.

Three ash-throated flycatchers and three bushtits were found in lower Bear Canyon while Bethel Ridge Road yielded a black-backed woodpecker up near the top on the Microwave Road spur. A group birding along the Satus Creek found another four or more bushtits. A ferruginous hawk was spotted between Sunnyside and Grandview on the north side of Interstate 82.

Please email your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon at [email protected] or leave a message at 509-837-6930.

— Kerry L. Turley

 

 

ON THE CALENDAR

THIS MORNING: The Cascadians Free Spirits (formerly the Tuesday Two) will hike Lions Head/Table Mountain (Green Trails map No. 242). The hike is about 6 miles long. The group will meet in the south end of the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot 7:45 a.m. and leave at 8 a.m. Earl Paronto (509-406-0154) is the leader for this hike. Hikers should bring pack, boots, water, food, snacks, camera and batteries, rain/snow/wind gear, as well as the 13 essentials.

• The Cascadian Trekkers hike will be to the Koppen Mountain Loop in the Teanaway (Green Trails map No. 209). The hike is approximately 7 or 14 miles (depending on group decision) with 2,300 feet of elevation gain. The group will meet at 7:30 am at the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart. Hikers should bring boots, pack, water, lunch, rain/snow/wind gear and the 13 essentials. Phil Bird (509-469-7804) is the leader.

WEDNESDAY: Mount Adams Cycling’s weekly Naches loop ride departs at 6 p.m. from the SunTides Golf Course parking lot. Riders must be capable of maintaining at least a 12 mph pace and the ride is for road bikes only. For more information on the ride or the club, call Linda Baird at 509-853-5935.

• The Cascadians will have their monthly general meeting and annual potluck picnic at 6 p.m. at Sarg Hubbard Park. Bring a dish to share with the group as well as plates and utensils.

THURSDAY: The Cascadian Pokies’ trip this week will be to Ohanapecosh, the Grove of the Patriarchs and Silver Falls in the Mount Rainier National Park. For time and meeting place, contact Debbie Cornue at 509-966-3085.

Go Ichiro … and thanks

Some quick thoughts on Ichiro becoming a Yankee.
First, I’m glad he’s on a team that has a true chance at not only making the playoffs, but playing in and winning a World Series.
Second, I’m grateful to have had the chance to watch a genuinely remarkable player in Seattle for 11-plus seasons.
And my Mom, who passsed away in 2007, absolutely adored him. Ichiro and Dan Wilson were her all-time favorite Mariners.
It’s impossible to pinpoint a single Ichiro highlight as one that typified his career in Seattle. But I’ll always remember and marvel at the many otherwise routine ground balls he legged out for singles, the magical way he handled the bat to flick hits to the opposite field or up the middle, the way he would occasionally get “his pitch,” so to speak, and turn on it for a rare homer.
And of course there was his play in right field — the dozens of remarkable catches and throws. The most memorable of those, however, was probably his cutting down of Oakland’s Terrence Long on an attempt to go from first to third on a single in what I believe was Ichiro’s very first season in America.
Among those who will forever delight in telling that story, I’m sure, will be Lou Piniella, who then was his manager.
So while we know where Ichiro’s going, and I’m glad he’s away from a truly bad organization and off an amazingly weak team, the bigger concern is the Mariners’ future.
My personal hope is that the team will soon be sold to an ownership group committed to winning — and not just the occasional 85 victory season, but contending for and winning it all.
That would include the absence first and foremost of executives Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong, who have so badly mismanaged a once flourishing franchise and who also have so grossly miscalculated their own credibility — remember the now-infamous anti-arena letter? — that it will no doubt take awhile to win back many of the fans they’ve lost.
Given the opportunity, the first thing I would say to Ichiro is “good luck with your new team.” The second would be “thank you.”

FROM THE QUOTE FILE
“And you know what I really like about the little fella  in right … it’s his knowledge of the game, the way he handles the bat and puts pressure on the (opposing) pitcher and defense. He’s really a complete ballplayer. I wasn’t sure about him when he came over here (from Japan), but he’s damned good.”
— Hub Kittle, during a phone interview in 2001 in which he gave me a position-by-position account of a Mariners team that would win 116 regular-season games

Local Schedule

NOTE: Local schedules are published using information provided by event organizers, leagues and schools and are subject to change. All questions regarding these schedules should be directed to the organizer, league and/or school.

Monday, July 23

NWL BASEBALL

Everett at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.

JUNIOR LEGION BASEBALL

District at Selah and Kennewick.

Tuesday, July 24

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Boise, 6:15 p.m.

JUNIOR LEGION BASEBALL

District at Hanford and Kennewick.

Wednesday, July 25

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Boise, 6:15 p.m.

Thursday, July 26

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Boise, 6:15 p.m.

Friday, July 27

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 28

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 29

NWL BASEBALL

Yakima at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.

NOTE: Local schedules are published using information provided by event organizers, leagues and schools and are subject to change. All questions regarding these schedules should be directed to the organizer, league and/or school.

TV Schedule

NOTE: Television and radio schedules are published using information provided by the respective broadcasters and are subject to change. All questions and/or complaints regarding these broadcasts should be directed to the individual broadcaster.

Monday, July 23

TELEVISION

Baseball — MLB: Boston at Texas, ESPN, 4 p.m.

MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, ROOT, 7 p.m.

RADIO

Talk show — ESPN Programming, KUTI (1460), 3 a.m.

Baseball — MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 7 p.m.

NWL: Everett at Yakima, KUTI (1460), 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday, July 24

TELEVISION

Basketball — Men: U.S. vs. Spain, ESPN2, 1:30 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis, MLB, 5 p.m.

MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, ROOT, 7 p.m.

RADIO

Talk show — ESPN Programming, KUTI (1460), 3 a.m.

Baseball — NWL: Yakima at Boise, KUTI (1460), 6:15 p.m.

MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 25

TELEVISION

Golf — European PGA: Lyoness Open, GOLF, 6 a.m.

Olympics — Women’s soccer: Britain vs. New Zealand, MSNBC, 7:30 a.m.

Women’s soccer: U.S. vs. France, NBCSN, 9 a.m.

Premier/Series A: Liverpool vs. AS Roma, ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.

MLS/Premier: Chelsea vs. MLS All-Stars, ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh, WGN, 9:30 a.m.

MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, ROOT, 12:30 p.m.

MLB: L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis, ESPN, 4 p.m.

RADIO

Talk show — ESPN Programming, KUTI (1460), 3 a.m.

Baseball — MLB: N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 12:30 p.m.

NWL: Yakima at Boise, KUTI (1460), 6:15 p.m.

Thursday, July 26

TELEVISION

Golf — European PGA: Lyoness Open, GOLF, 6:30 a.m.

The Senior British Open, ESPN2, 9 a.m.

Web.com: Children’s Hospital Invite, GOLF, 9:30 a.m.

PGA: Canadian Open, GOLF, noon

LPGA: Evian Masters, GOLF, 3:30 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis, MLB, 10:30 a.m.

MLB: Washington at Milwaukee, MLB, 5 p.m.

MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, ROOT, 7 p.m.

RADIO

Talk show — ESPN Programming, KUTI (1460), 3 a.m.

Baseball — NWL: Yakima at Boise, KUTI (1460), 6:15 p.m.

MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 7 p.m.

Friday, July 27

TELEVISION

Motorsports — F1: Hungarian Grand Prix practice, Speed, 5 a.m.

Rolex Sports Cars: Brickyard Grand Prix, Speed, 1 p.m.

ARCA: Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200, Speed, 6 p.m.

Golf — European PGA: Lyoness Open, GOLF, 6:30 a.m.

The Senior British Open, ESPN2, 9 a.m.

Web.com: Children’s Hospital Invite, GOLF, 9:30 a.m.

PGA: Canadian Open, GOLF, noon

LPGA: Evian Masters, GOLF, 3:30 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: Boston at N.Y. Yankees, MLB, 4 p.m.

MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, ROOT, 7 p.m.

Olympics — Opening Ceremony, NBC, 4:30 p.m.

Boxing — Hank Lundy vs. Ray Beltran, ESPN2, 7 p.m.

RADIO

Talk show — ESPN Programming, KUTI (1460), 3 a.m.

Baseball — NWL: Yakima at Spokane, KUTI (1460), 6:30 p.m.

MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 7 p.m.

Saturday, July 28

TELEVISION

Olympics — Women’s soccer: U.S. vs. Colombia, NBCSN, 1 a.m.

Beach volleyball, Equestrian, Women’s handball, Women’s shooting, Men’s archery, NBCSN, 1 a.m.

Women’s basketball: U.S. vs. Croatia, NBC, 1 a.m.

Swimming, Men’s Cycling, Beach volleyball: U.S. vs. South Korea, Rowing, NBC, 2 a.m.

Boxing, CNBC, 5:30 a.m.

Swimming, Men’s team Gymnastics, Beach volleyball, NBC, 5 p.m.

Gymnastics, women’s weightlifting, NBC, 9:30 p.m.

Golf — European PGA: Lyoness Open, GOLF, 4 a.m.

The Senior British Open, ESPN, 9 a.m.

LPGA: Evian Masters, GOLF, 10 a.m.

PGA: Canadian Open, CBS, noon

Web.com: Children’s Hosptal Invite, GOLF, 3:30 p.m.

Motorsports — F1: Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, Speed, 5 a.m.

MotoGP: World Championship qualifying, Speed, 8 p.m.

NASCAR: Your Hero’s Name Here 400 practice, Speed, 6:30 a.m.

Nationwide: Indy 250 qualifying, Speed, 9:30 a.m.

NASCAR: Your Hero’s Name Here 400 qualifying, ESPN, 11 a.m.

Nationwide: Indy 250, ESPN, 1:30 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: Boston at N.Y. Yankees, Fox, 12:30 p.m.

MLB: Chicago White Sox at Texas, MLB, 5 p.m.

Soccer — Premier: Liverpool vs. Tottenham, ESPN2, 10 a.m.

Premier/Series A: Chelsea vs. AC Milan, ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.

MLS: Los Angeles at Dallas, NBCSN, 5 p.m.

MLS: Chivas USA at Portland, ROOT, 8 p.m.

MLS: Seattle at Colorado, ROOT, 10 p.m.

Tennis — ATP: Farmers Classic semifinals, ESPN2, 1 p.m., 7 p.m.

RADIO

Baseball — MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 1 p.m.

NWL: Yakima at Spokane, KUTI (1460), 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 29

TELEVISION?

Olympics — Men’s basketball: U.S. vs. France, NBCSN, 1 a.m.

Women’s field hockey: U.S. vs. Germany; Beach volleyball, equestrian, women’s weightlifting, women’s archery, women’s shooting, badminton, NBCSN, 1 a.m.

Men’s volleyball: U.S. vs. Serbia, Men’s water polo: U.S. vs. Montenegro, NBC, 4 a.m.

Boxing: CNBC, 5:30 a.m.

Women’s team gymnastics, whitewater canoeing, NBC, 9:35 p.m.

Golf — LPGA: Evian Masters, GOLF, 3 a.m.

The Senior British Open, ESPN2, 9 a.m.

PGA: Canadian Open, CBS, noon

web.com: Children’s Hospital Invite, GOLF, 4 p.m.

Motorsports — F1: Hungarian Grand Prix, Speed, 4:30 a.m.

NASCAR: Your Hero’s Name Here 400, ESPN, 10 a.m.

MotoGP: World Championships, Speed, 3 o,n,

NHRA: Sonoma Nationals, ESPN2, 4 p.m.

AMA: Pro racing, Speed, 8 p.m.

Baseball — MLB: Washington at Milwaukee, TBS, 11 a.m.

MLB: St. Louis at Chicago Cubs, WGN, 11:10 a.m.

MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, ROOT, 1 p.m.

MLB: Boston at N.Y. Yankees, ESPN, 5 p.m.

Tennis — ATP: Farmers Classic, ESPN2, 1 p.m.

Soccer — MLS: New England at Philadelphia, NBCSN, 4 p.m.

RADIO

Baseball — MLB: Kansas City at Seattle, KTCR (1390), 1 p.m.

NWL: Yakima at Spokane, KUTI (1460), 6:30 p.m.

NOTE: Television and radio schedules are published using information provided by the respective broadcasters and are subject to change. All questions and/or complaints regarding these broadcasts should be directed to the individual broadcaster.

State Legion openers set

Senior Legion state finals at Selah’s Carlon Park

Saturday’s opening games:

Game 1: Kennewick Bandits vs. Hanford Flames, 9 a.m.

Game 2: Centralia Sobe-Toyota vs. Yakima Pepsi Beetles, noon.

Game 3: Lakeside Recovery vs. Spokane Bandits, 4 p.m.

Game 4: Twin City Titans vs. Yakima Valley Pepsi Pak, 7 p.m.

Notes: All games nine innings. Tournament runs through Aug. 1. Winner to regionals in Billings, Mont., Aug. 8-13.

CWU’s Bennett speaks out on Penn State sanctions

Most people have strong opinions, pro or con, regarding the severe NCAA sanctions imposed against Penn State football.

And Central Washington’s Blaine Bennett, who spent six years as a Big Ten assistant coach — five at Purdue and one at Michigan State — was not at all reluctant to voice his own thoughts when I contacted him Monday afternoon.

“I have two thoughts on that situation, having coached in the Big Ten and having recruited the state of Pennsylvania,” Bennett said. “First, the sanctions are going to be devastating to that state and to Penn State University. It’s a great football area with great tradition and Joe Paterno was one of the greatest coaches of all time. So it’s real disappointing that what (Jerry) Sandusky did has reflected so much on Joe Paterno and Penn State.

“My second thought is that it’s a shame that the NCAA is now trying to regulate and impose punishment in criminal matters, whether it’s what Sandusky did or maybe in another jurisdiction. The NCAA has its hands full with the NCAA manual and recruiting and all that those things entail. The NCAA should focus on making Division I football and sports equal for each institution, and balance the playing field so everybody is working under the same rules and guidelines. So it’s real disappointing to me see the NCAA jump in so strong in this type of matter.”

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