THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott July 27, 2011

It has been said that it is better to have strength in numbers when it comes to taking the field for a sporting event.

Along those same lines, the more experience the better when it comes to being able to compete for a playoff spot.

These days, neither numbers or experience may matter.

WHILE WATCHING a baseball game in the Class A Area A (district) American Legion baseball tournament on Friday afternoon between Prairie and Silver Valley at Morehouse Field in Osburn, I couldn't help but think back to the days when I'd spend hours at Morehouse Field covering games for the local paper.

Those first couple of years, you'd never have to worry about the Silver Valley players having enough players to take the field, because depth was never a problem.

Granted, there were some years when players had part-time jobs and making the first of a weekday doubleheader wasn't in the cards. But you could always tell when they'd arrive, whether a stereo announced it or a player running from the car to the dugout just to get into a game.

But those days are now long gone.

Silver Valley hosted this year's Area A tournament with only nine players on the Miners' roster by the end of the season.

When they can add players from Kellogg, Wallace, Osburn and St. Regis, Mont., it might not be what you'd like to see in a program that draws from such a large area.

Those summers were fun, having the chance to watch baseball in the sun and enjoy a few hours outside. From how it looked on Sunday, there is still youth on the roster to keep the program running as long as they can in the Silver Valley.

ONCE THE lockout was lifted on Monday afternoon, the news that Matt Hasselbeck wasn't returning to the Seattle Seahawks didn't surprise me - it shocked me.

Hasselbeck had injury problems and at times, completed passes to the other team, but there was one thing that he did that those before him couldn't - lead them to the Super Bowl.

And while they had the worst record of anyone else in the playoffs last season, Hasselbeck led the Seahawks to a win in the playoffs against defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans in January.

Six division titles and more playoff wins than any other quarterback in Seahawk history, his legacy will not be replaced anytime soon.

On Tuesday, Seattle announced they intend to bring in Tarvaris Jackson and Matt Leinart to challenge Charlie Whitehurst as the starting quarterback when the team opens the season in San Francisco on Sept. 11.

Hasselbeck will remain one of my favorite players, no matter where he winds up.

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