THE FRONT ROW with Mark Nelke June 20, 2013

Maybe it's because we live a little bit off the grid, but we are largely part of a regional fan base.

Sure, we root for the Vandals and the Cougars and the Zags and the Chiefs and the Indians and the Shock.

There's a chunk of us that roots for Boise State, but there's another chunk that would rather poke fun at that city that thinks it is its own state.

We root for the Seahawks, but we also cheer for the 49ers, the Steelers, the Packers, the Raiders, the Broncos.

We root for the Mariners, but we also cheer for the Dodgers, the A's, the Braves, the Cubs, even the White Sox.

Spokane tends to attach itself more to the Seattle teams than we do, but I remember the "North Idaho Seahawkers" banner hanging in the Kingdome in the early years of the Seahawks.

And with 98.1 percent of the Mariners' games slated to be available on our televisions, it's hard to not have some attachment to them - no matter how good or bad they are.

THERE WAS a fair amount of angst in these parts when it became clear recently that, despite the idea making some sense, there was no way the NBA was going to let the Sacramento Kings be sold to anyone who would dare move them to Seattle.

The Sonics weren't quite as big a deal around here as the Seahawks and the Mariners are, but still, they did represent NBA ball only five hours away.

Sacramento seemed to do all it could to lose its team - poor product on the court, questionable management, sagging attendance - but it apparently was still not enough to doom the Kings.

So hopefully Seattle will become an NBA city again - taking over a current team, not becoming an expansion team.

Because with the sketchy quality of ball being played these days - aside from the Spurs, whose selfless, fundamental, team-oriented ball would be a joy to watch in any era (minus the flopping and flailing for calls) - the NBA needs less teams these days more than it needs more teams.

THESE DAYS, we have alleged "superstars" who can make nothing more than a dunk shot. Granted, that's a shot I will not master, but I can make a free throw, a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper - and the NBA wouldn't have wanted anything to do with me, even in my prime.

Not that I was anywhere close to being good enough to be a shooting guard in college, but even if I was, the NBA wasn't drafting college shooting guards - they were considered too slow, not athletic enough for the pro game.

So the NBA is full of "athletic" players these days, may of which couldn't make a jump shot - not outside the paint, mind you, but not even outside that arc under the basket that separates block from charge.

It's painful to watch the supposed "best player in the game today" struggle to make jump shots under pressure.

Which got me to wondering - what did all these kids do growing up, when they were learning to play basketball? We went out in our driveway and shot baskets, and some of us got pretty good at it. What did these guys do that can't shoot - did they go out in the driveway and set screens? Did they try to deny dad as he walked from the car to the front door? Did they go out in the street and practice blocking out the other kids as they rode up and down the street on their bicycles?

We don't need another team or two of those kind of players. This has shaped up to be a pretty good finals, but overall, the NBA is hard enough to watch as it is - even at the highest level.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.