THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Feb. 8, 2014
If there's any fan base that could benefit from watching the Seattle Seahawks win their first Super Bowl title in team history, it could be the one that resides just a stone's throw away from CenturyLink Field.
NOT THAT you can build a championship team overnight, but there's plenty of positive things that can give a Seattle Mariner fan a little bit of hope that lightning can strike twice in the northwest.
Felix Hernandez isn't going anywhere, and alongside other pitchers like Hisashi Iwakuma and Taijuan Walker, the Mariners could have three of the best five starting pitchers in the American League West - depending on how the rotation stacks up after spring training.
If they get those No. 4 and 5 starters to produce anything close to as good, whether it be 7 or 10 wins, they could hang around a lot longer in manager Lloyd McClendon's first season at the helm.
Help could be on the way as the team signed Fernando Rodney - who was a closer for the Tampa Bay Rays - and is rumored to be close with Nelson Cruz, who's torched the Mariners in recent years as a member of the Texas Rangers.
Besides, some of the other role players have been in the Mariner lineup for more than a couple of years, so if there was a time to get it going, it might be now.
The city has been starving for a winner for well over 34 years, evidence by the estimated crowd of 700,000 that ditched work and school to watch Wednesday's celebration parade through downtown Seattle.
Who knows, if a few of those fans get behind the Mariners this summer, stranger things have happened.
AFTER TODAY'S games at Utah State-Eastern in Price, the North Idaho College men's and women's basketball teams will return home for three of the most important games of the Scenic West Athletic Conference season.
Next week, they'll welcome the Salt Lake Bruins on Thursday, followed by Snow College on Saturday.
The NIC women (19-7, 5-6 SWAC) could move ahead of Utah State-Eastern (11-14, 5-6) into sole possession of third place in the league with a win today. NIC's men (17-9, 4-7) could move into a tie for third with Utah State-Eastern (18-7, 5-6) with a win today.
In the men's Region 18 tournament, it appears that Southern Idaho (24-2, 10-1) and Salt Lake (21-4, 8-2) will earn opening round byes, with the same two on the women's side.
All three of the remaining games, including a Feb. 22 matchup with CSI in Coeur d'Alene, are winnable - but it's going to take some help.
THERE IS something to be said for a strong fan base.
They can be the difference between wins and losses, just with the amount of noise they can bring into arena.
For a school that's interested in trying to get a bigger place to play its games, now might be the right time to fill the current gym.
Fans can't win games, let along championships - those are up to the players on the field.
But they sure can be a big help.
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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.