The Tacoma Cobras of the Professional Developmental Football League will end up with a bye in the first-round of the playoffs, as the Portland Thunderbolts forfeited what would have been the first-round matchup this weekend.

As a result, the Cobras will play the winner of the Boise Buccaneers vs. Bellingham Blitz in the league championship game on August 14. The Cobras finished the regular season 5-1, it’s only loss coming against Boise. See video highlights of the Cobras.

Jordan Zumach, 16-years-old, has been playing softball since she was 3. Last week, she enjoyed the rare excitement of winning the fastpitch softball state championship with her teammates from the Fife-Milton-Edgewood Little League, aka FMELL.

The team is in the senior division, which includes players ages 14-16. FMELL is one of 12 leagues that makes up District 10 of Washington State Little league, and there are 13 Districts within the state.
Oh my,” Jordan said at practice earlier this week, regarding the achievement. “It was just such a great feeling. We have worked so hard and we had a lot of ups and downs this year, but these girls really got it together when it mattered the most.”

Jordan, the daughter of coach Darrin Zumach, is referring to the two back-to-back victories on July 17 against a team from North Kitsap.

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Although there will be many more tributes as the season draws to a close, now is as good a time as any to pay homage to Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who announced his retirement from baseball Tuesday, effective in October.

Among the reactions to UW tight end Kavario Middleton being kicked off the team, here is his former coach at Lakes, Dave Miller’s reaction from Seattle Times blog.

Jacqueline Cako, who is the top seed in the women’s bracket at this week’s Pacific Northwest  Open Tennis Championships, is playing in a tournament this week in Lexington, Kentucky and has won her first two matches. She plays again today. If she continues to win and heads into this weekend’s semi-finals there, she will have had to pull out of the tournament here. Tacoma Lawn Tennis Club pro Mark Hanson is a long time coach for Cako. He says with a smile, “If she doesn’t make it here, she better win that event.”

The tournament qualifying matches begin today and the tournament runs through Sunday when the women’s finals are at 10:30 and the men’s finals are at 12 noon.

For more information about the tournament, look here.

George Steinbrenner, one of the few figures who could be called a force in any sport, died today. Here is a little more on that and some more on the new master of the universe, Lebron James.

The Seattle Thunderbirds, surprisingly, were turned down by Lebron James when he chose to stay in the NBA and play with the Miami Heat. In a real head-scratcher, these are some of the things James is going to miss out on.

• Grand Marshall of the Kent Cornucopia Parade
• Friendly billet families that will welcome LeBron into the Kent community.
• Free Preferred Parking at ShoWare Center
• Two free tickets to Opening Night of the 2010-11 season against the Portland Winterhawks in addition to a 24-Flex Ticket Package.
• Lunch with Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke (pending Mayor’s schedule) and Cool Bird.
• Use of both Allied Waste Zambonis for personal recreation.
• James St. leading to ShoWare Center will be renamed LeBron James St.
• A suite at ShoWare Center to watch the Backstreet Boys on August 5
• Entry fee will be waived for participation in the ShoWare Shootout 3-on-3 basketball tournament on August 6 and 7.
• Discounts at the Hockey Store in ShoWare Center.

Go figure.

If you’ve ever wondered what it is that makes Mariano Rivera of the NY Yankees so good, you need to check out this video that explains it very well.

I wasn’t at Pebble Beach this year, but I have covered 11 other U.S. Opens at Merion, Shinnecock, Congressional, Bethpage, Pinehurst, Winged Foot, The Country Club (Brookline) and Baltusrol.

Without fail, several players will complain about the USGA setup for the tournament. And usually only two or three holes at most are the culprits.

This year, though, there were more complaints rising from the players than usual, and by now everybody has heard about Ryan Moore’s unflattering take on the USGA setup at Pebble.

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Since Stadium High School’s exhilarating state-title campaign, it’s been sort of quiet on the local soccer scene, with the exception of the Tacoma Tide gaining a 1-0 victory over Victoria last weekend and moving toward clinching a playoff spot. But Holy Cow, how about those Americans in the World Cup! Here’s a great story about their most recent win.