Making a turn toward big moments
Things are supposed to get a little easier the second time around, right?
Well, that’s not necessarily the case all the time in sports.
Especially when it comes to games between rival college basketball schools.
A LITTLE later today, the North Idaho College women’s basketball team will face Yakima Valley to conclude the first loop through Northwest Athletic Conference East Region play at Rolly Williams Court starting at 2 p.m.
Thanks to an early season matchup at the Lower Columbia Holiday Classic, it will be a rematch of a Dec. 28 game — a 70-64 NIC win over Yakima Valley — in Longview, Wash.
“We’re pretty familiar with them,” NIC coach Chris Carlson said. “It’s going to be nice to be back home.”
NIC lost road games at Big Bend and Wenatchee Valley in conference, but has beaten the Community Colleges of Spokane and Blue Mountain. NIC (15-4, 5-2 NWAC) is tied with Big Bend (16-4, 5-2) for second in the East. Wenatchee Valley leads at 18-2, 7-0. Spokane is 15-5, 4-4.
“Just to get a win at Spokane, it was huge for us,” said Carlson, whose team is sixth in the latest NWAC poll. “We’re sixth and they’re seventh. To get a road win, one that we didn’t get at Big Bend or Wenatchee, was big. It was a nice step for us. It just pushes us up there higher in the standings.”
Big Bend visits NIC on Feb. 6, with Wenatchee Valley coming to town on Feb. 13.
As for the Cardinal men, they’ve won nine straight games to enter today’s 4 p.m. game 18-2 — 7-0 in the East Region — and remain the lone unbeaten team in the East Region. Spokane, which NIC beat 99-65 on Wednesday, is second at 6-2 in conference.
SOME MIGHT not remember those days when Edgar Martinez locked down third base for the Seattle Mariners, or when Mariano Rivera started games for the New York Yankees.
Chances are those are only footnotes to their Baseball Hall of Fame careers, with both, as well as Mike Mussina and Roy Halladay, being named to the Class of 2019 on Tuesday.
“Being balanced is super important in all athletes,” Timberlake High baseball coach Cameron Knigge said. “You look at the pinnacle of coaching under Nick Saban at Alabama. He really only wants players that play multiple sports. In order to get that balance, you have to do things that are outside of your comfort zone. Any sort of work that gets you to run, jump, catch, throw, etc., with different target goals, such as working on throwing on the run, requires that you work on being athletic and training your muscles to be uncomfortable, so that athletic play is much easier.”
So even though Martinez didn’t play as much in the field later in his career, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not worthy.
“Why would we not want a designated hitter-only in the Hall of Fame?” Knigge said. “There are umpires, managers and other pioneers in the Hall of Fame for their great accomplishments, so why exclude the DH? (Boston’s David) Ortiz should be there, plain and simple.”
While Cameron didn’t have the chance to see any of this year’s class live, his younger brother Tyler Knigge did.
“Tyler was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2011 out of Lewis-Clark State College,” Cameron Knigge said. “He said that Halladay was a great guy and people had the utmost respect for him. As for Mussina, he was synonymous with Yankees baseball as much as Rivera and (Derek) Jeter.”
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 @JECdAPress.