Summer's here, but let's take a quick look back in reflection
It’s official, summer’s finally here. St. Jean Baptiste Day (Quebec) was on Saturday and (Eid) al Fitr began at sundown on Sunday. Now that we’ve gotten those major holidays out of the way, we can really get ‘er going.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves here, what a week we just had. The Seahawks 12 Tour rolled into Othello for a historic rally at Lions Park. The more I’m around the Seahawks organization, the more I like ‘em.
I’m not a 12. Heaven forbid I should say that out loud, but the point is, the Seattle Seahawks take care of their own … the loud and the proud. Their trip into the heartland was one for the record books in Othello and the 12s were out by the thousands.
The tour bus stopped by Roger and Sharon Ensz’s Seahawks House over on Oak Street for a tour before the rally. I had a chance to talk with right guard Germain Ifedi again this summer. The No. 1 draft pick out of Texas A&M was in Moses Lake last year and I’m here to say he hurt my feelings.
I asked him if he had an Earl Campbell T-shirt growing up in Houston and he said, “Nah, I’m not that old.” I keep forgetting these guys are born in 1994.
Not that I need payback against a 311-pound man who watches Russell Wilson’s backside, but I did throw out a question for left tackle George Fant when we were talking about the offensive line in general. “So if you had a right guard, you’d be a lot better?”
Ifedi snorted in his right ear, “Go ahead, say it.” Fant didn’t acknowledge either one of us, kept right on moving with his standard answers for the guys with recorders and pens. It was good times in Othello and the 12s did the Columbia Basin proud.
The Moses Lake Walleyes came back in the nightcap to beat Hanford. Clayton Fisk had a walk-off, driving in Brent Mendenhall for the winning run in the ninth inning. The Walleyes are a bunch of young guys who are starting to come into their own. Chase Tunstall and Brett Moser are doing a good job bringing the young turks along.
We had a tough one this week. It’s always hard when someone makes a permanent decision to a temporary problem, but I was impressed how the community responded in support of the family of Moses Lake wrestler Thomas Hamm. Michael’s Bistro hosted a candlelight vigil and hundreds of friends, family and supporters showed up to walk silently through the streets of Moses Lake in remembrance of the Chiefs’ 120-pounder.
I don’t know all the wrestlers or kids from the school, but I did recognize 2A state champion T.J. Martinez from Othello in the crowd. T.J. came up to support a fallen brother and the wrestling community. I suspect there were more. It was an impressive showing of love from the community and the wrestling community. It was the right thing to do.
And finally, the High Desert Baseball Classic in Ephrata was a nice showcase of baseball talent over the weekend at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium. The River Dogs are getting their legs under them and proving they are not just a very good team, but they will be able to run with the big dogs at the Senior Babe Ruth League World Series later on. Jordan Rios threw a no-hitter and was a called strike away from a perfect game in the tournament opener.
Yep, summer’s here and it’s time to get out and enjoy it. If you’re looking for something to do tonight, the Central Washington Spuds play a rare home game at Larson Playfield, starting at 5 p.m.
Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com