THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, July 16, 2016
It’s kind of funny.
One minute, you’re watching a soon-to-be high school graduate toss a perfect game.
The next, you’re trying to figure out where the season went as the teams wind into the upcoming class AA American Legion Area A (district) baseball tournament next week.
IN CASE you’ve missed it — and maybe you have — it’s getting a little crowded for the top two seeds to the state tournament, to be held at Timberline High in Boise in the few weeks.
Lewis-Clark, which will host next week’s tournament at Harris Field in Lewiston, has been the front runner in North Idaho League play this season, sporting a 7-1 record heading into Friday’s doubleheader against visiting Prairie. Lewis-Clark wrapped up the league title by beating Prairie 9-6 in the opener.
After that, it gets a bit jumbled to say the least.
Northern Lakes, in its second year of existence, finished league play 5-7 this year, splitting four games with Coeur d’Alene and beating Prairie in three of four. With some new players in new spots, as well as a new coaching staff, the team has shown it can put some good games together.
Prairie and Coeur d’Alene, which split earlier this year, will meet again on Monday in a doubleheader at Post Falls High.
Coeur d’Alene is 3-5 in league, with a trip to Lewis-Clark on Tuesday to conclude the regular season. Don’t forget, earlier this spring, a lot of the same kids that are wearing the Lumbermen jersey currently picked it up at Lake City High to win a state title.
Prairie beat Lewis-Clark once earlier this week, and have shown they’ve got the talent to play with anyone on any given day.
When teams from the north made the trip south in May for the state high school baseball tournament, only a few could have predicted that Lake City was going to win its first 5A championship since 2007, allowing only five runs in the tournament and winning a semifinal game against Highland of Pocatello by a shutout.
Lewiston finished third with a win against Highland.
Not saying that lightning could strike twice, but baseball is a funny game sometimes.
One bad hop, or a good few days of defense can go a long way.
IT MIGHT be a big deal to some that New England quarterback Tom Brady will sit out the first four games of the NFL season because of the “Deflategate” scandal, but at this point, it won’t really matter much.
On Wednesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opted to turn aside his case against the NFL, Brady’s only remaining hope to take the field in the Patriots’ season opener at Arizona on Sept. 11. On Friday, Brady said he was no longer going to pursue his case, opting to take the suspension instead.
Whether or not Brady opted to continue his legal fight or not, he will still play a majority of the season; that is, as long as he doesn’t get injured in the preseason.
Chances are, New England won’t miss him too much in the first four weeks of the season anyhow. Outside of the game at Arizona, the Patriots have three games that should be winnable, even if Tony Eason is the starting quarterback.
After hearing about PSI in footballs and how the weather can affect the ball, now it seems to be safe to talk about the games again, which are starting soon.
And that’s no joke.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.