A Grip on Sports: There may be no crying in baseball, but it does have rainouts, unlike even the biggest of horse racing’s events

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’re not a fan of mud. Or important horse race run in same. But it’s a long-standing tradition so we live with it. And shake our head at photos of horses, jockeys, heck, even fans covered with the stuff. All in pursuit of going down in the history books. Ya, it’s worth it.

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• The Kentucky Derby isn’t the same event it once was. Mainly because horse racing doesn’t hold the same cachet it did, say, a century ago when it was a robust part of the triarchy of pro sports in America.

Back then everyone cared about baseball, boxing and the ponies.

Today?

Baseball is still among the top three most-popular spectator sports. But is barely hanging on to that spot. Boxing isn’t even the trendiest beat-the-crud-out-of-your-opponent sport. And horse racing basically enters the nation’s consciousness one Saturday a year.

Yesterday. When, thanks to the showers that drenched Churchill Downs, no one can be quite sure the best horse won. All we can state with any confidence is Sovereignty was the best horse in the slop on May 3, 2025.

That will have to do. Unlike baseball or boxing (when held outdoors), rain doesn’t stop the horses. It might muffle the crowd. Hide their expensive hats. Ruin a great suit. Cover the jockeys’ goggles. But a rain-out? Not in the cards.

What was? A great stretch run in which Sovereignty held off betting favorite Journalism for the victory.

• Before we move on, we have to acknowledge horse racing has another opportunity next month to pique our interest. That is if Sovereignty can win the Preakness and make June’s Belmont Stakes (at Saratoga for the second consecutive year) meaningful. A Triple Crown contender notches up the stakes considerably. After all, there have only been 13 of them, the last Justify in 2018. And the sport went 57 years between Affirmed feat in 1978 and American Pharoah’s in 2015.

But Saturday’s rain-addled result probably makes another Triple Crown winner a bit less plausible. Unless it rains in Baltimore. And upstate New York.

• Maybe we’re overemphasizing mud’s impact on yesterday’s race. But here are few things we’re not going overboard lauding:

– The M’s are playing great baseball at the moment. After mashing the ball to win five consecutive games, they used pitching (Luis Castillo, Matt Brash in his return from Tommy John, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz, with his 12th save) and timely hitting for a 2-1 win at Texas. Seattle has a three-game lead in the A.L. West.

– Jackie Van Allen’s dedication to running. Our former co-worker – for many years, Jackie took care of the financials for The Spokesman-Review’s newsroom – has run enough in the past 37 years to traverse the world more than a couple times. She spent Sunday morning, like many of you, running through the streets of Spokane on Bloomsday. For the 37th time.

– Ryan Nembhard. The now-former Gonzaga point guard doesn’t fit the NBA mold in the same way his older brother Andrew does (he’s a few inches shorter and a few pounds lighter), but he will get a chance to show he can still play in the league. The younger Nembhard will be in Chicago next weekend for the NBA G League Elite Camp, having snagged a coveted invitation Saturday.

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WSU: We could have lauded football coach Jimmie Rogers for snagging a wide receiver in the portal yesterday. But we figured that piece of news, covered by Greg Woods, was perfect to lead off the Cougar section. It fits because Jeremiah Noga is transferring in from the only other current Pac-12 school, Oregon State. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked Jon Wilner’s mailbag on Friday when it appeared in the Mercury News. It ran in the S-R today. … Wilner also has a look back at college football’s week today in the San Jose newspaper. … Jedd Fisch thought Washington’s spring game Friday night was “awesome.” And he thanked the fans for that. How about a shoutout for his quarterback? … Colorado has an unquestioned leader of its offensive line. … Was Utah State’s spring a success? … UCLA showcased its football program for the final time Saturday. All eyes were on a quarterback in street clothes. … An Arizona State offensive lineman has decided to join his brother in Tucson. … Colorado State added a quarterback from the Midwest. … In basketball news, there are a lot of holes to fill in the Colorado men’s program and not just on the roster. … Colorado State will have two players at the G League Elite Camp. Boise State will have zero. We’re sort of surprised Tyson Degenhart wasn’t invited. … How is Utah’s roster shaping up? … How is Arizona’s nonconference schedule shaping up? … San Diego State is in good shape in recruiting. … The Colorado State women added a Montana State transfer. 

Gonzaga: Jim Meehan has the coverage of Nembhard and the G League Elite Camp invite. We linked his story above and do it again here.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Northern Colorado’s offense dominated the Bears’ latest scrimmage. … Montana State’s men welcome in a basketball transfer from Florida State. … Weber State’s coach is happy with his recruits. … New coach Mike Bibby has a certain list of priorities while recruiting for Sacramento State.

Preps: Not only can we pass along Cheryl Nichols’ roundup of Saturday’s action, we also can share a link to Greg Lee’s story on University High shot putter Addy MacArthur and her improvement this season.

Chiefs: It’s been a long time since Spokane has been this far in the major junior hockey postseason. Since 2008 in fact. Dave Nichols has a column about what is coming for the Chiefs in the next week.

Indians: Dave also has this coverage of Spokane’s 3-1 loss in Pasco last night.

Bloomsday: We linked Greg Lee’s story on Van Allen above. And do it again here.  

Zephyr: Spokane has been on a roll since February. And that roll includes yesterday’s 2-0 win over Lexington. The victory lifted the Zephyr into third place in the USL standings. John Allison has more in this story.

UFC: Spokane’s Juliana Miller won a unanimous decision in her return from injury.

Mariners: Yes, we linked the Mariners’ game story above. And here too. But we also have a couple more pieces to pass along, including a story on Brash’s return, Ben Williamson’s defensive prowess and how much bonus pool money Seattle has available for the draft.

Seahawks: Dave Boling took in the Hawks’ rookie workout Friday. And, like most of us, he focused on the quarterback the franchise took in the draft, Jalen Milroe. … It doesn’t look as if Seattle envisions a Taysom Hill role for Milroe. There were clues to what the new offense will look like, however.

Sounders: Talk about staying hot. The Sounders scorched St. Louis in the second half en route to a 4-1 victory.

Storm: Injuries are a part of any sport. All the time. But it seems as if Seattle has already been hit too hard this season. The Storm lost its third player for the year after Katie Lou Samuelson suffered an ACL injury.

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• We have questions, mainly because we are not in Spokane as we type. How is the weather? How are the Bloomsday crowds? What color is the T-shirt? Our inquiring mind wants to know. Until later …