The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT March 30, 2013

Sports fans in North Idaho might be a little spoiled.

It's OK though - it has been that way for a lot longer than I can remember.

WHERE ELSE but here can you go watch a softball game, then walk over to the beach and jump into the lake if the weather is warm enough?

For those that got out for Friday's North Idaho College-Salt Lake softball games at Memorial Field, the weather didn't disappoint, and the rain stayed away for the day.

At this time last year, the NIC softball team almost had to turn the Larson Playfield in Moses Lake into a home away from home, moving all but a doubleheader against Southern Idaho from Coeur d'Alene.

"It's amazing isn't it?" NIC coach Don Don Williams said after Friday's game. "We've had some of the best luck to start the season as far as the weather goes."

Due to weather, it was Salt Lake's first trip to Coeur d'Alene for a series since 2011 - last year, when Salt Lake was the home team, the four games were played in St. George, Utah. When it was NIC's turn to host, the two doubleheaders had to be shifted to Moses Lake.

"We love it here," Salt Lake coach Mary Kay Amicone said on Friday, after the Bruins, ranked No. 4 in the NJCAA, swept the Cardinals 8-0 and 5-0. "Just looking at the schedule, we don't get to come back here next year and this class has never been here before. We're just going to enjoy it and take it in and then enjoy while we're here. It's a beautiful campus and lake, but it's definitely cool to be up here."

BUT IT stretches far beyond the softball field.

In the various football/baseball games I've covered - there's nowhere that compares to some of the stops in the Silver Valley.

Covering football games at Teeters Field in Kellogg, depending on which end zone the teams were heading to, chances are - if the game was close, anything being yelled at the players from the sidelines could be drowned out by patrons of Dirty Ernie’s, no matter what the score might be.

To think of what the Sather Field Athletic Complex has transformed into since a windstorm blew down the grandstands in 2004 is nothing short of amazing.

With donations from alumni, community members and a bunch of volunteer work, the complex has transformed into one of the best athletic facilities in the area. With new bleachers, came a new press box, then a new scoreboard a few years ago.

Even Christianson Gymnasium, located on the campus of North Idaho College, will have a different look before the next volleyball match in the fall.

The school is replacing the old gym floor, with work starting last Monday and expected to be finished this summer. New bleachers, new floor, but the same tradition.

I’ve always found it at least a little entertaining that some coaches often times have to dodge fans walking back and forth to the concession stand.

Not sure you’ll find that anywhere else.

And that’s what makes it enjoyable.

Spoiled or not, there’s nothing like watching a game in this area.

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].