THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: More baseball memories, a local football clinic, and other stuff

A recent mention in a column about baseball at Brett James Memorial Field in Post Falls triggered some memories from someone who played on that field decades ago.

Jeff Barker, who now lives in Rathdrum, was a member of the original Post Falls Pioneers class B American Legion team starting in 1978. 

“I grew up in Post Falls across the street from Sportsman Park beginning in the late 60s,” Jeff recalled. “I played baseball on the two fields throughout the 70s, including many days of Wiffle ball with friends and neighbors. Many terrific young men played baseball through participation of the Post Falls American Legion. Can't forget the great coaches and parents supporting us. By the way, our 1979 team won the class B state tournament in Boise.” 

Barker was born in Coeur d’Alene, and his family moved to Post Falls in 1968, where “there was a single ballfield with a 15-foot green fence around the entire field with a wooden scoreboard in left-center field,” he said, “and it used the old placard cards for runs/hits/errors. Was pretty cool.” 

SAW THE post on Facebook about Kellen Clemens, former NFL quarterback and now football coach and athletic director at Coeur du Christ Academy in Coeur d’Alene, putting on a football clinic for Tribal youth age 7-14 recently at the Marimn Health Coeur Center in Worley. 

Lacking an on-campus field, Coeur du Christ plays its home football games some 28 miles down the road at the Marimn Health Coeur Center. 

So does Lakeside High, which for years played 6 miles south, on campus in Plummer. 

In the Facebook post, Jerry Louie-McGee, in his role as Boys & Girls Club Youth Sports Coordinator at the Marimn Health Coeur Center, thanked Clemens for his time, as did the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. 

Imagine being a little kid, catching passes from a man who starred at the University of Oregon, and is the pride of Burns, Ore. 

Better yet, maybe watching Clemens throw deep balls to Louie-McGee, who starred as a receiver/kick returner at Lake City High and the University of Montana, and is now the football coach at Lakeside. 

SOMETIMES TIME stands still in sports, and that seemed to be the case late Tuesday morning at Wimbledon. 

I wasn’t expecting Serena Williams to win — though her winning the second set did make you go hmmm ... — so I wasn’t bummed when the match was over after 2 hours, 22 minutes.  

Smile because it happened.  

Father Time — or in this case, Mother Time — spares no one. 

Still, it was cool to see a few flashes from the past, even at 44. 

SO JA Morant to Portland brings back memories of the “Jail Blazers,” huh? 

As a Blazers fan, my reaction was a part excitement, part cringe. 

He was a budding talent coming out of college, but has become a headache in recent years. 

Still, if he can team with Dame and some of the young kids and create some excitement in Portland, great. 

If not, well, the Blazers haven’t been relevant in the NBA for years, but at least they tried. 

Wonder if they have room under the cap for LeBron? 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.