The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT June 2, 2010

Getting better as the year goes on

After a few months of watching enough baseball, softball, track and golf for the year, it seemed time for a change.

Since the Memorial Day weekend is as good a time as any, I turned on the television for a few events, coming away with the same feeling - wanting something more.

ON SATURDAY afternoon, the first stop was a high school lacrosse match between the Lake City Timberwolves and the visiting Timberline Wolves from Boise for the state championship.

The rain mostly likely could have postponed any other sport during the spring, but not this one.

Outside of some issues with players keeping their balance on the wet turf at Coeur d'Alene High, neither team showed any issues with executing their offense, as Timberline went on to win 13-6 to claim its second straight state championship.

Timberline's experience showed a little bit toward the end of the match, scoring five goals in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to take a commanding lead.

The Timberwolves might not have won Saturday, but after losing by 10 goals last year, Lake City showed that the north is beginning to narrow the gap a bit.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, I tuned into the Indianapolis 500 to watch the final 20 laps and the events that unfolded in the final 10 laps made me regret not watching more.

As racers kept driving at high speeds, the wreck of Mike Conway was enough to keep me tuned in until the final press conference was done.

Conway flipped his car into the air during the 198th lap, suffering a broken leg after making contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay's car. It was announced Monday that Conway also suffered a broken vertebrae in his neck, leaving his racing future in doubt.

Dario Franchitti won for the first times since returning from the NASCAR ranks in 2009.

After watching the race a little more each year, it's not so much the driving that makes me impressed, but how a driver can walk away without permanent injury.

It definitely didn't look like the case on Sunday.

Race cars aren't built to take much of an impact, especially flying in the air and having the car torn to shreds on landing.

Regardless, the fast finishes are exciting to watch, even if the wrecks aren't.

THE VOID left without an NBA playoff series on Memorial Day ends on Thursday when a 12th NBA Finals matchup between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers tips off at the Staples Center.

Last weekend's events were great to watch, but with the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals reaching championship moments, the following two weeks will only get better for sports fans.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at [email protected].