THE CHEAP SEATS WITH STEVE CAMERON: The already rich Zags could get richer
It’s notes and quotes day, and I promise to struggle along despite being deeply depressed.
No, don’t call for mental health assistance.
There’s an easy cure available.
I only need to avoid watching Charlie Woods.
Seeing Tiger Woods’ 11-year-old offspring duplicate the swing his old man made famous – complete with scorecard in one back pocket and glove in the other – has to leave millions of golfers with their heads in their hands.
First thought…
Why couldn’t I have been Tiger’s kid?
My dad was an accountant…and I hated math.
Sigh, let’s move onward…
ITEM: In the rich-might-get-richer department, Gonzaga is zeroing in on what might be a truly spectacular 2021 recruiting class.
Ben Gregg (Clackamas, Ore.) graduated early, is already enrolled and working out with the Zags, and 6-9 strongman Kaden Perry (Battle Ground, Wash.) has long been locked up.
Now it turns out the Zags seem to be leading in the chase for Hunter Sallis, a five-star combo guard from Omaha.
And naturally, they’re still hoping that Jalen Suggs’ prep teammate, 7-footer Chet Holmgren (rated the No. 1 recruit in the country) will follow Jalen to Spokane.
In addition to that group, the Zags are in the picture for Stefan Todorovic, a 6-6, 190-pound sniper from Serbia who is spending this year at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif.
Todorovic needs to learn the structure of defenses in America, and by his own admission he was a shooter first. He says he’s now basically been working on other facets of his game since he left the Balkans.
Technically a junior with senior-level credits, Todorovic has been listed in the class of ’22, but plans to reclassify and sign this coming year.
He already has plenty of offers.
So why the interest in Gonzaga, Stefan?
“They were the first school to contact me, back in Serbia,” Todorovic told 247 Sports.
Ah, yes, of course they were.
ITEM: My buddy Don Bradway sent me this next item, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t already seen it.
Why is that?
Well, it’s because the event in question took place in Inverness, Scotland, right up the road from where I lived for a few years – and involved a soccer club and stadium I know very, very well.
My outreach is slipping.
I’ll just let you read what Don passed along…
“Fans of the Caledonian Thistle soccer team in Inverness were frustrated as they watched a broadcast of the club's game against rival Ayr United.
“The new robotic cameras programmed to follow the ball around the pitch focused instead on the bald head of one of the game's linesmen.
“The team had proudly announced a week earlier that it would be replacing human camera operators with a new system "with in-built, AI, ball-tracking technology" -- to stream live HD footage of home games to season ticket holders and fans who purchased the service.”
Before you make a joke about boneheaded Scots, now, remember that my countrymen invented such trivial things as the telephone, the television, insulin, the pedal bicycle, tubular steel, Universal Standard Time, logarithms, the decimal point, hypnotism, the refrigerator, the hypodermic syringe, the bread toaster, ice hockey (yep), and most important of all…
Golf.
What’s one stray bald head among folks who came up with the first flush toilet?
It’s already a given that the Seahawks made a fantastic move in acquiring all-world safety Jamal Adams.
Never mind how many draft choices they traded, Adams is worth whatever it took to get him.
More to the point, though, Jamal is one of my people.
When he was interviewed on a Zoom call after Seattle beat the Rams 20-9 to clinch the NFC West title, Adams went a little crazy.
Perhaps a couple of years with the Jets will do that to you.
Before anyone could ask a question, Adams basically shouted…
“It feels great!
“Damn right, I haven’t been here before. It feels good. It feels great.”
Adams almost put a capper on his interview when he announced: “To me, we’re the best defense in the league, and you can quote that!”
But Jamal wasn’t quite finished, even with such a pronouncement.
For the REAL finale, he lit up a cigar with a spectacular flourish.
Like I said, one of us – puffing on that lovely Monte Cristo.
Ahhhhh…
Email: scameron@cdapress.com
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.
Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which will be published this Thursday – then returning to its normal spot each Tuesday.