The Stark Truth

Go to kitsapsun.com/pumas to watch tonight’s Kitsap Pumas-Sounders U-23 game from Memorial Stadium.

It’s pretty difficult not to be moved by Joshua Heistand’s story. In case you missed it, you can find it here.

Eric Johnson of KOMO in Seattle was also touched when the read the story in today’s Sun.  Heistand fits perfectly into Johnson’s long-running segment titled Eric’s Little Heroes.It features great plays, funny video, and touching moments from kids’ sports events throughout the Puget Sound area.

Johnson talked to the Heistand family today. Tune in at 5 p.m. on KOMO (Ch. 4 or Ch. 104) tonight (Friday) to see it.

‘Hey, let’s go play 12′

Really enjoyed listening to golf architect John Harbottle III talk about what he did during his re-model at White Horse Golf Club, and also what he had to say about the state of the game.

“There are no really new ideas in golf,” he said. “It’s just old ideas being done better.”

Among the ideas being bantered about now are the shortening of golf courses, or making alternative courses.

“Two of first golf courses in the world —  Prestonwood and St. Andrews (in Scotland) — were 12- hole courses,.” Harbottle said. “They played more British Opens at Prestonwood than any other golf course. They don’t play it anymore because it’s too short. Orginally, it was a 12-hole course.”

Just like St. Andrews.

You played a round of 22 — the first hole, 10 out toward the sea, then you played the same 10 and finished on the last hole.

In the mid-1770s, they converted four of the holes — two on the way out, two on the way back and that’s how golf became 18 holes.

“It had nothing to do with how many shots were in a bottle of Scotch,” Harbottle said.

Here’s my story on the changes at White Horse.

Adrian best in events U.S. used to own

Bremerton swimmer Nathan Adrian is the best sprinter the U.S. has, but he remains a bit of an underdog when compared to the world’s best.

“This is almost un-American,” writes  Jen Floyd Engel of FOX Sports.

“I am trying to bring it back,” Adrian told her. “I am trying my hardest to make it America’s event again.”

So why did it stop being our event?

“That is good question,” Adrian said. “I think it’s maybe a little bit of a bigger deal in some other countries to be a sprinter. For instance, France, to be a French 100 freestyler, you are a household name. In Australia, you know, to be a 50 or 100 guy, you are a household name. Look at Cesar Cielo in Brazil, he is their Olympic hero. It is a big deal.”

Read the entire story here.

Time for leather helmets?

It sounds silly on the surface, but former WSU and Seahawks defensive lineman Chad Eaton might have the answer to all of this crazy football safety stuff and concussion talk that’s dominating the airwaves and sports pages these days. Eaton was asked how you fix the problem.

He said it’s time to go back to leather helmets.

Nobody’s gonna want to mess up their pretty faces and stick their head in there like they do now, he said. Or something like that.

It’ll never happen, but if you can take the helmets out of play, then you’re going to solve a lot of problems.

The concussion crisis has also hit girls soccer. NBC News aired an eye-opening report on a news segment this week. Check it out here.

You could make an argument that Jason Hammel is pitching as good as anyone in baseball.

The South Kitsap grad improved to 3-0 for the Orioles on Wednesday, allowing just four hits over seven innings in a 3-0 win over Toronto. Hammel struck out seven, walked one and lowered his ERA to 1.73. He tied his career high with 10 strikeouts in his previous start.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander says he’s just pitching with a lot of confidence.

Here’s a video from Hammel’s latest gem.

Poulsbo’s Ryan Villopoto will miss the rest of the Supercrosss season and the outdoor Motocross season after sustaining a knee injury in his first-lap crash on Saturday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Kawasaki released a statement on Tuesday.

The two-time Supercross champion had surgery on  the same left knee previously. He also missed the last half of the 2010 Supercross and Motocross seasons after breaking his leg in a race.

Here’s the full story, as reported by USA Today.

When Aaron Cunningham emerged from the Cleveland Indians clubhouse prior to Tuesday’s game against the Mariners at Safeco Field, he was surprised to see his dad and sister leaning on the rail next to the Tribe’s dugout.

Chuck and Emily Cunningham — a softball at Bellevue CC — arranged to be part of the Mariners’ grounds crew for Tuesday’s game. Aaron didn’t know anything about it.

It was the second surprise in two days for the South Kitsap grad. Since Monday was an off day, Cunningham headed to  his parents’ home in Port Orchard. When he got there, there was a surprise birthday party waiting for him. He turns 26 on April 24.

Cunningham’s the fourth outfielder for the Indians. He’s not getting a lot of time in the early season, and the Indians just signed 38-year-old Johnny Damon. There’s been speculation that Cunningham or former Mariner Jose Lopez, a backup infielder, could be let go when Damon joins the Indians. Cunningham’s take on all of this is pretty interesting. The former Everett CC star, a sixth-round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox, is thankful for being in the big leagues. He’s started one game and has just 9 at bats, but he is not making any excuses.

Look for my story later tonight or read it in the print edition on Wednesday.

Yes, I’m at the Mariners game.

And, yes, this old graybeard is throwing down an occasional tweet.

I’m hoping it helps keep my fingers warm. Chilly night at the yard.

cstark@kitsapsun if you’re interested.

Itching to get a look at the Washington Huskies football team?

Because of the construction going on at Husky Stadium, spring practices haven’t been open to the fans as in Steve Sarkisian’s previous years.

But coach Sarkisian will welcome fans for an April 21 open practice at 11 a.m. at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium and for the annual spring game, which will be played April 28 at CenturyLink, where the Dawgs will play home game this year.  The spring game will start at 1 p.m. Both are free to the public.

Here’s the 2012 schedule with times to be announced at a later date:

Patience, grasshopper.

That’s the only way I know how to put it to all of you who are twisting and turning on every pitch, every game, every move, every story, every blog post, every talk-radio  segment when it comes to the  Mariners.

Just sit back and enjoy game. Don’t dwell on every strikeout, popup, or loss. Don’t over-analyze. There’s more important things to worry about.

There’s a lot of people with a lot of opinions, and most of them are wrong. Don’t let the masses suck you in.

Let the season play out, at least for a month or so, before y0u make any judgements about the Mariners. Who knows, they might be the 2012 version of last year’s Arizona Diamondbacks — an over-over-achieving club that won the NL West after being picked to finish last.

The Diamondbacks are off to a 4-1 start this year, mostly because they play every game like its the seventh inning of the World Series.

If the Mariners can figure out how to do that, they’ve got a chance to win more games than anybody ever imagined.

Trailing 3-1 going into the top of the ninth against the mighty Texas Rangers, how many of you gave the Mariners a chance on Wednesday night? The Mariners rallied to beat the Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday. The M’s are off to a 4-3 start and a half-game back of first-place Texas.

Closer Joe Nathan blew the save for the Rangers. How many more will he blow? When it comes to closers, there’s no sure thing. One of the most difficult things in sports is to stay on top.

Albert Pujols is hitting .222 and the powerful Angels (2-3) are last in the AL West. Will  the Angles end up in last place? Probably not, but you never know. There’s a chance Pujols becomes just another player in the American League. The Angels signed Pujols and lefty C.J. Wilson, but it doesn’t mean anything if they don’t perform. Big-name players with big, guaranteed contracts have been known to become big-time flops.

The so-called experts have already put the Angels and Rangers into the post-season, but there are no sure things in sports.

“That’s why,” as Herman Edwards so eloquently put it a few years back, “they play the games.”

Everyone has opinions, and you can make educated guesses, but nobody knows for sure how this baseball season will turn out.

I chuckle when I hear people dissecting the M’s seven games into the season.

“Why are the M’s playing Chone Figgins?”

“Justin Smoak looks like the same player we saw a year ago. He’s swinging at bad pitches and not driving the ball when he’s hitting good pitches.”

“Miguel Olivo is a passed-ball machine, one of the  worst catchers in baseball. And he can’t hit. He’s got a horrible on-base percentage. The guy should be gone.”

“Jesus Montero will never be a full-time big-league catcher.”

“Eric Wedge isn’t the manager I thought he was going to be. Coming from Cleveland I thought he’d be more progressive.”

Truth is we don’t  know how good — or bad — these Mariners are going to be. Some have suggested 80 wins would be a huge achievement based on recent seasons.

Why not 85-90 wins? Stranger things have happened.

The M’s might might get blown out on Thursday afternoon in Texas, and you can say “I told you so,” when Figgins goes 0 for 4.

But what if they win? What if they roll into Safeco Field with a 5-3 record after a split in Texas?

At the same time, don’t get too excited if they get off to a decent start. Remember last year’s 17-game losing streak?

All I’m saying is let them play a months worth of games before you decide that Figgins is washed up. There is a chance he’ll become the player we all thought he was when the M’s signed him to that disgustingly large contract three years ago. He’s been an above-average player in the past and who are we to say that he can’t do it again?

Maybe the M’s are showcasing Figgins and Olivio? If they show they can still play at a decent level, maybe they will be able to trade them. We can guess, but we don’t know what management is thinking?

Even if management is going cheap, even if they’re tightening the belt so they can sell the franchise,  there’s still a chance the M’s could defy the odds and put together a winning season.

The Mariners, I repeat, are seven games into a 162-game season.

It’s way too early to be sure about how this season will turn out. Perhaps it’s simplistic but don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t believe everything you hear or read. Last year doesn’t count.

I’m tired of ready and listening to all of the so-called  experts and wanna-be experts who have all of the answers seven games into the season.

Sit back and observe. Don’t jump to conclusions.

Be patient, grasshopper.

Poulsbo’s Ryan Villopoto is the Michael Jordan of his sport.

Villopoto, like Jordan, even has shoes named after him (by Vans).

Like Jordan, he’s capable of the spectacular, but he usually makes it look easy.

Because of the sustained success he’s achieved over the last two years, Villopoto’s become the biggest thing in Supercross (stadium) and motorcross (outdoor)  racing since Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael.

BJ Smith of ESPN.com talked to Villopoto recently and the Kawaski rider reiterated that he’s likely not going to hang around just to break records. A year ago before the race at CenturyLink in Seattle, he told me the same thing. He said people have no idea about the physical pounding your body takes in his sport. I compared it to what an NFL running back goes through.

I asked about his career goals and RV2 said he’s not out to break records or go down in history as the greatest ever or anything like that.

“It’s just to race and try to have as much fun as I can,” he said. “And also make a career out of it to where when I’m done, when I retire at 26 or 27 or whenever I decide to, I won’t have to work anymore.”

Villopoto’s 23 now, and he’s probably already achieved that goal of not having to work anymore. He’s won eight of the first 13 Supercross races (23 of 61 overall in his four years on the 450cc bikes), clinching the title for a second straight year with four races left. Nobody’s ever clinched that early. Villopoto’s already practicing and making plans to defend his outdoor moorcross title.

I don’t know if there’s been a more dominating professional athlete from Kitsap County than Ryan Villopoto. He’s got homes in Florida and California but most of his family remains in Kitsap County. Villopoto still slips in and out of the area without a lot of fanfare.

Villopoto races in New Orleans this week, returns to Seattle for the April 21 race, and closes the Supercross season with races at Salt Lake City (April 28) and Las Vegas (May 5).

Villopoto enjoyed a million dollar payday in Vegas last October when he won the first Monster Energy Cup, winning all three races handily over a hybrid Supercross/motocross course.

Also

If you’re a John Grisham fan, his latest novel — Calico Joe — is about baseball. It’ll be released next month.

Joe Posnanski writes about the No. 18, the holy grail when it comes to golf. That’s how many major championships Jack Nicklaus won.

Outside of Chone Figgins’ two-game revival,  the biggest story of the young baseball season to date? For me, it’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, taking off where they left off a year ago. The D-backs made five errors and were six runs behind, but still managed to come back to beat the Giants 7-6 on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep. They beat two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum on Friday, pounded talented lefty Madison Bumgarner on Saturday and got to Matt Cain for five earned runs in six innings on Sunday. The Giants are favored to win the NL West, but they’ve now lost eight straight to Arizona.