Alvord: Don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2008
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:50 PM PST
Printable version
E-mail this articleColumn by Rick S. Alvord
So it’s time to kick 2008 to the curb.
Go ahead, give it a boot. Feels good, doesn’t it?
What a strange year it was. Outside the sports arena, there were government bailouts, a semi-attractive clueless governor from Alaska, and a winter storm that dumped snow in our yards like locust in the West Africa desert.
In the arena, the team formerly known as the Devil Rays made the World Series with a team payroll nearly identical to Alex Rodriguez’s annual salary.
The Mark Morris Monarchs and R.A. Long Lumberjacks played a Civil War football game for the 62nd time. Nobody won.
We all have specific memories of 2008. Some bad, some good. Here are some of mine ...
n Rainier girls basketball coach Doug Knox and assistant Darren Schwegler spraying players with Silly String after the Columbians qualified for the state tournament with a 42-23 win over Westside Christian.
No way those girls saw that coming.
n The look on R.A. Long boys basketball coach Rally Wallace’s face as his Jacks put the finishing touches on a 55-32, winner-to-state victory over Hockinson in the district tourney. It was part Tiger Woods fist-pump happy, part expectant father relief.
n The handshake of Mark Morris football coach Shawn Perkins after his Monarchs defeated Kelso 20-14 at Schroeder Field for their second straight win in the cross-river series.
Memo to self: An ecstatic football coach is perfectly capable of fracturing bones in your hand without really trying.
n Speaking of Monarch football, without question the classiest move of the year was made by teammates Cody Molner and Sean Atkins, when they concocted a plan to help out team manager Josh Massutti.
Josh’s mother passed away a few days before the team’s postseason banquet, where Josh was set to receive his varsity letter. When he didn’t show for the banquet, the team knew something was wrong.
Three days later, with Molner and Atkins spearheading the effort, the team raised more than $300. They presented Josh, a special needs student, with a new mountain bike, an iPod loaded with his favorite music, shoes and clothes, and memorabilia of his favorite team, the Chicago Bears.
Now there’s a team with heart.
n Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we are blessed with some of the best officials in the entire state. My MVZ (Most Valuable Zebra) of 2008 is Jim Appleby, whose work on the football field and basketball court was equally superb.
And the man knows how to laugh, which is important to remember when everyone in the bleachers wants to throw nachos at you.
n The men-among-boys football talent of seniors Andrew Allen (Rainier) and Zack Gehring (Castle Rock), who tormented their respective leagues on both sides of the ball. Thanks for the memories, gentlemen. Now go hit somebody in college.
n Can’t forget the tears in Jeff Eaton’s eyes after his unheralded, unranked, underdog Naselle football team knocked off previously unbeaten Willapa Valley in the Class 2B state quarterfinals. There’s something about small-town football coaches getting their small-town athletes to play at a higher level than anyone believed possible.
n As for the game of the year, it’s difficult to beat Kelso’s 10-8, 10-inning win over Auburn in the 3A regional baseball championship. It was 8-8 after nine innings, setting the stage for Kelso’s 10th-inning heroics. Nathan Enriquez tripled in the go-ahead run and Spencer Downs followed with an RBI single, sending the Scotties to Safeco Field.
n There were specific sounds in 2008 that could not be mistaken with anything else — such as the “thwack” in the catcher’s mitt whenever Baily Harris (R.A. Long) and Crystal Nyman (Kelso) pitched a softball.
n Tim Mackin continued to be the coolest dude on the planet in ’08. The Lower Columbia College softball coach steered his Lady Devils to their third consecutive NWAACC championship and their ninth in 10 years.
He’s the coolest of the cool because he makes winning titles look easy. And we all know it isn’t that easy.
n It was good to see Mark Morris’ Ross VanZanten win the 2A state high jump crown with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches. After an injury-plagued junior year, VanZanten — now a freshman at Washington State — displayed the character and determination required to become a champion.
Yes, 2008 was both good and bad. But mostly good.
On deck: 2009.
Perhaps this will be the year I just say no to postgame handshakes with a certain Mark Morris football coach.
Rick S. Alvord is sports editor of The Daily News. He can be reached at ralvord@tdn.com or 577-2527.
Past Month's Most Commented Stories