{"id":701971,"date":"2026-06-13T16:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T16:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701971\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T16:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T16:09:22","slug":"a-grip-on-sports-if-you-are-into-omens-the-united-states-win-friday-night-was-historic-but-not-unprecedented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/701971\/","title":{"rendered":"A Grip on Sports: If you are into omens, the United States win Friday night was historic but not unprecedented"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A GRIP ON SPORTS \u2022 It seems mandatory. National pride is at stake. Un-American if ignored. After all, a 4-1 win to open a home World Cup is about as well as United States men\u2019s soccer has done on the international stage in, I don\u2019t know, 96 years. Or so.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n

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\u2022 The first World Cup competition was hosted by Uruguay in 1930<\/a>. All of 13 teams showed up, mainly because it was held in South America, which might have well been Mars as far as the European teams were concerned.<\/p>\n

One of the countries to actually participate? The U.S. The Americans won their group. Finished third overall. It remains the country\u2019s best showing in the tournament. And it included a three-goal win over \u2013 hey, this is weird \u2013 Paraguay.<\/p>\n

An omen for success in 2026, perhaps? After all, here is the U.S., one of three North American countries hosting the tournament, opening in Los Angeles against the Paraguay and, yep, winning by three goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nearly 100 years apart. And a similar result. Though it\u2019s probably safe to assume in 1930 many people in the U.S. didn\u2019t know what happened until at least 24 hours after a match ended. In 2026, anyone who wanted to stay in touch with the action from So Fi Stadium could. Did. And celebrated like Knick fans after the final whistle.<\/p>\n

An offense that actually looked world class? A defense that made few mistakes, only one of which it couldn\u2019t overcome. And a coach who refuses to recognize failure and only highlights potential success.<\/p>\n

Heck, even though the one U.S. player folks from Alaska to Alabama recognize, Christian Pulisic, didn\u2019t play the second half<\/a> \u2013 a precautionary member according to manager Mauricio Pochettino<\/a> due to being kicked in the calf \u2013 the night couldn\u2019t have been much better.<\/p>\n

It was good enough to even allow every youngster with a Pulisic shirt in his closet \u2013 soon to be accompanied by one with Folarin Balogun\u2019s name on it<\/a> if Amazon can meet the demand \u2013 to fall asleep dreaming of his team hoisting the trophy on July 19. Just as the host in 1930, Uruguay, did.<\/p>\n

Now that would be something.<\/p>\n

\u2022 It wouldn\u2019t be a Saturday if I didn\u2019t have a little bone to pick. One that sticks in my craw. Today it has to do with soccer<\/a>. Of course.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a baseball fan since, seemingly, before I was born. It\u2019s in my genes. Because of that, the sport\u2019s nomenclature and quirks have always felt right, even if some seem out of place. Why runs and not points? A strike seems odd when most of them are not actually struck. Why 90 feet or 60-feet, 6-inches? There are just a bunch of sport-specific terms and such that we can all agree need to be respected, if not fully understood. And everyone does.<\/p>\n

Which is why those who don\u2019t respect the terms used by soccer, or football as it has been called for couple hundred years everywhere but the U.S., bugs the heck out of me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So what if it\u2019s played on a pitch, not a field? Or the teams play matches, not games? That\u2019s the sport\u2019s way. I would be a bit ticked off if someone said the Mariners scored more points than the Astros, though such an outcome would still make me happy. I\u2019m sure it must grate on some soccer folks\u2019 ears to read a story that says the U.S. team\u2019s next \u201cgame\u201d is in Seattle on June 19. It\u2019s a match. And it might end up in a draw, not a tie. No matter what,the U.S. would still have a chance to win its group. No, not its pool.<\/p>\n

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. Though I will leave this with you: Why the heck does the sport insist on calling a match that doesn\u2019t count in any standings a \u201cfriendly?\u201d Even when the teams obviously hate each other? Maybe it\u2019s related to the reason why the NFL insists its non-counting exhibition games need to be referred to as \u201cpreseason\u201d ones.<\/p>\n

Even if no one you ever heard of is playing on you team\u2019s pitch.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

WSU: Evans Kurui is only a sophomore. The distance runner from Kenya, however, is already a two-time All-American. His ninth-place finish in Friday\u2019s 5,000-meter run<\/a> in the NCAA Track and Field meet, along with his sixth-place result in the 10,000 Wednesday, assured that. Another sophomore, EWU\u2019s Cort Gebbers, set a personal best in the discus throw. \u2026 Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his mailbag<\/a> in the Mercury News today and also passes along the weekly West Coast football recruiting notebook<\/a>. \u2026 Oregon State has dealt with more off-field issues the past few months than any school should have to deal with. Though, to be fair, most of them are of the Beavers\u2019 making. John Canzano has more in his column<\/a>. \u2026 Yes, there have been a lot of lawsuits. But maybe not as many as that may follow soon in the Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech fiasco<\/a>. Oklahoma\u2019s attorney general<\/a> called his Texas counterpart\u2019s bluff and raised the stakes Friday. \u2026 Speaking of issues, Utah\u2019s private equity sellout<\/a> is official. It will either be the worst decision ever<\/a> or the wave of the future<\/a> for college athletic departments<\/a>. \u2026 OK, this is more fun. A list of the best Washington football players since Chris Petersen retired<\/a>. \u2026 Arizona\u2019s athletic department actually made money<\/a> in the past year. And we\u2019re not talking private equity money. Football playing more like football teams from the past<\/a> helped. \u2026 In basketball news, UW coach Danny Sprinkle lost his father<\/a> recently. The former Husky football player died this week at age 80. \u2026 The Big 12 also announced women\u2019s basketball matchups this week. We pass along a story from Arizona<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gonzaga: It was a big Friday for MLB pitchers with Inland Northwest ties<\/a>. Eli Morgan, who once was the Zags\u2019 ace, and WSU grad Ryan Walker were both recalled from the minors. Morgan rejoined the Royals and Walker the Giants. Both pitched last night and threw 1-2-3 innings.<\/p>\n

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, let\u2019s start with news from Utah Tech<\/a>, which joins the conference officially in a few weeks. The Trailblazer men added a four-star basketball recruit recently. \u2026 Can you put together an all-time team from your school and go 32-0 like this Weber State group<\/a>? \u2026 John Madden<\/a> meant everything for Cal Poly football. \u2026 Idaho State\u2019s team<\/a> is back in Pocatello for its summer workouts. \u2026 A Bengal discus thrower<\/a> gave the school its first track All-American in six years. \u2026 Northern Colorado\u2019s volleyball team<\/a> is off for a visit to Japan.<\/p>\n

Indians: Spokane\u2019s two-game winning streak ended Friday night as first-place Eugene walked off the Indians thanks to Trevor Cohen\u2019s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. Dave Nichols has this coverage of the Emeralds\u2019 7-6 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mariners: Speaking of pitch (see above), Bryce Miller threw a whole heck of a lot of good one\u2019s over eight innings Friday night in Washington, D.C. The M\u2019s also hit a lot of bad ones from the Nationals\u2019 pitching staff and cruised to a 10-2 victory<\/a>. \u2026 Randy Arozarena tweaked his hamstring<\/a> last night. But he said it\u2019s minor and he\u2019ll be back soon. In M\u2019s injury parlance this season, that means he may not be back until July. \u2026 Cole Young as Seattle\u2019s long-term answer<\/a> in the leadoff spot? Discuss among yourselves.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Seahawks: The Hawks are off on their summer vacation. As they leave town, here are five things to know<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Storm: Is there tanking in the WNBA? Maybe that\u2019s what the Storm are doing. They lost 76-72 to the Valkyries<\/a> last night and have dropped eight consecutive games. \u2026 Kelsey Plum<\/a> is putting up hard-to-believe numbers this season.<\/p>\n

NBA: Can San Antonio somehow find a way to bounce back from its game four collapse<\/a> against the Knicks<\/a> and win the NBA title? The most-important Spur, Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, thinks so. He might wonder, though, how New Yorkers<\/a> can afford to throw eggs at him, what with the price these days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

World Cup: Others, such as Allan Bulukula with this story<\/a> for the S-R, have more to offer in way of coverage of the competition than I ever could. Including a look at the matches that will be held in Seattle<\/a>. \u2026 There are also many stories<\/a> concerning the U.S. win<\/a> I can pass along<\/a>. More, actually<\/a>, than I want or you could read<\/a>. It is Saturday though, so you might<\/a> have some more time<\/a>. There is even a Sounder-specific story<\/a>\u00a0for your reading pleasure.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2022 What a beautiful weekend on tap in Spokane. Sun. Breezes. Cloudless skies. The golden orb not setting until nearly 9 p.m. Why would anyone stay indoors and watch TV? Or to do anything else? If I can figure that out, I\u2019ll let you know. Until later \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A GRIP ON SPORTS \u2022 It seems mandatory. National pride is at stake. Un-American if ignored. After all,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-701971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}