THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016
For years, fans with teams that are struggling sit in the stands, often wondering just who might light a fire under their team to get them to start being successful.
Whether it be a players-only meeting, or being called out by their respective coach, there are times when teams get that message. Other times, they don’t, and it’s a long season.
IT SEEMED after some losses right before the All-Star break that the Seattle Mariners were heading down that road just a month ago.
They’d win a few games here and there, but often times in games that they should have won, they didn’t.
Then the calendar changed to August, where they’ve shown a little bit of life, improving to an American League best 11-3 after beating the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 in Anaheim on Monday.
For the Mariners, it was their ninth win in the last 10 games, with the only setback last Friday at Oakland.
Granted, they’ve changed closers — and he got his seventh save already in Monday’s win — but that might not be the only thing that has got the team playing better in recent weeks.
In case you missed it a few weeks ago, the team celebrated the recent induction of Ken Griffey, Jr. into the Baseball Hall of Fame, then retiring his No. 24 from the organization at Safeco Field in Seattle. They haven’t lost at home since. His message to the team on that night of his jersey retirement — keep fighting.
And so far, it has worked with a few come-from-behind wins and close games, but they continue to find a way to get the job done.
It’s not quite the Refuse to Lose of 1995, but it really feels like, especially as the team continues to climb the standings instead of plummet.
A LITTLE closer to home, within the next two weeks the fall sports season will begin in football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball and cross country.
Right now, with school not being in session yet, those teams are practicing hard — once and in some cases twice a day — in the heat.
This fall, the 5A boys and girls soccer tournaments will be held right here in Kootenai County. In case you forgot, the last time that happened, three of four teams in the championship match were from this area.
With both title games being contested at Coeur d’Alene High in 2012, Lake City beat Post Falls in a penalty kick shootout in the girls championship, while the Post Falls boys shut out Boise for the program’s first state title.
“I think it’s extra motivation for us for sure,” Post Falls boys soccer coach Gabe Lawson said. “We’ve seen it in the past where no team from up here has ever won the state title on the road. In 2011, we had a stronger team and went undefeated through regionals and when we traveled, it showed.”
That year, Post Falls beat Centennial High of Boise 1-0, then lost its next two matches and failed to bring home a trophy.
“It’s a huge factor and traveling is a tough thing to do,” Lawson said. “Being able to stay home will give us a huge advantage if we can make it.”
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 jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.