THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN: Friday, August 22, 2014

Mark Rypien, a former NFL quarterback and one of the most successful football players in the history of the Inland Northwest, was about to hit the links while playing as a local celebrity on Monday in The Showcase, a nine-hole exhibition at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course as part of a charity event benefiting the Community Cancer Fund and the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

THE FIRST thing I noticed was that physically, 13 years after the Spokane resident and former Shadle Park and Washington State QB retired from the NFL, Rypien looked like less of your average retired quarterback and more of a granite-shouldered offensive lineman. The 51-year-old appeared even larger than his playing size of 6-foot-4, 225 pounds but is a very friendly person.

His nephew, Shadle Park senior quarterback Brett Rypien, will play on Sept. 19 at Lake City.

Brett Rypien is the most prolific passer in Greater Spokane League history and on April 5 he gave a verbal commitment to play for Boise State. Brett led Shadle to the semifinals of the Washington state 3A football playoffs last season.

"That'll be great," Mark Rypien said of the Shadle Park-Lake City matchup. "Lake City's always a formidable foe."

As a former Cougar who would've liked to see Brett, Tim Rypien's son, follow in his footsteps, Mark said his nephew had to make his own decisions.

"He's got to carve his own path," Mark Rypien said. "Would I have liked to have seen him go to Washington State? Sure."

Brett broke uncle Mark's state record by throwing for 614 yards in a game, versus Mark's 577. Brett Rypien has passed for 7,135 yards and 46 touchdowns in his career.

RYPIEN HAS some pretty good and very sad memories from his family having lived in Post Falls from 1992-2000.

On August 22, 1998, Mark and his wife Annette suffered family tragedy, when their 3-year-old son Andrew died after undergoing a 13-month battle with cancer. In July 1997, doctors discovered Andrew had a malignant brain tumor. Soon after that, Rypien began the Rypien Foundation, created with a commitment to provide hope for local families battling childhood cancer.

"It was good and it was bittersweet," Rypien said of his time in Post Falls. "I have a lot of memories about the lake. A lot of good people are from this area."

Rypien was among several who helped raise more than $500,000 for the charity to help send children to a weeklong camp, called Camp Goodtimes, for free, among other activities.

"I think you join forces with Kootenai Health, Cancer Care Northwest (in Spokane) and Providence Regional Cancer Center (in Spokane)," Rypien said. "It's always great, it's stronger that way. This is my 250th time here (at the Resort Course) and it's always in great shape."

Last month at Lake Tahoe, Nev., Rypien won the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf event he won in its first year in 1990. He finished second in 2012 and '13.

Rypien's time in Post Falls included watching his older daughter, Ambre, enjoy her time as a cheerleader in eighth grade before attending Falls Christian Academy. Ambre has worked for the past five months as a recruiting operations coordinator for the University of Alabama football team.

"I think she enjoyed it," Mark Rypien said.

His younger daughter, Angela, is a quarterback with the Baltimore Charm of the Legends Football League, a 7-on-7 tackle football league where the players wear bikinis. In 2011, she played for the Seattle Mist.

AT THE time he left Pullman, the Calgary-born, Spokane-raised Rypien was second on the Cougars' all-time passing yards list with 4,573 yards.

He played in the NFL for 11 seasons, including his first six for the Washington Redskins, passing for 18,473 career yards and 115 touchdowns. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft.

In the 1991 season, Rypien had a career year, throwing for 3,564 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was also named the Super Bowl XXVI MVP, after passing for 292 yards and two touchdowns, in a 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills. He became the first foreign-born player to win the MVP. Rypien was also named to play in the Pro Bowl in 1989 and 1991.

I remember that Super Bowl on Jan. 26, 1992, in Minneapolis and remember Rypien tearing apart that Bills defense, just stepping up big in the biggest game of his life. I also remember on Feb. 3 of that year, two days after my 14th birthday, one of the most memorable Sports Illustrated covers came out, the "Let 'er Rip" headline.

So thanks for the memories, Mark, both back in the '90s and this past week.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013 or via e-mail at bbourquin@cdapress.com