Retired Seattle Mariners star Ken Griffey Jr. greets Jewel Lloyd of the Seattle Storm as former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (foreground) warms up. Looking on are former Seattle SuperSonics great Gary Payton (left) and former Seattle Sounders star Kasey Keller (back). The fivesome teamed up to throw out the first pitches for the Seattle Mariners' season opener Thursday. Seattle beat the Cleveland Guardians, 3-0.
By Tim Clinton
High schools
Baseball
Thomas Jefferson will be at home at Auburn's Brannan Park playing Auburn Riverside at 4 p.m. Friday, when Decatur is home against Kennedy Catholic, Todd Beamer at home against Auburn Mountainview and Federal Way at Kentridge.
Federal Way visits Auburn Riverside at 7 p.m. Monday and drops in on Auburn Mountainview at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
TJ entertains Kent-Meridian at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Brannan as Decatur hosts Mount Rainier. Todd Beamer travels to Auburn at 7 p.m.
Todd Beamer turns around to host Auburn at 4 p.m. Wednesday as TJ goes to Kent-Meridian and Decatur to Des Moines to play Mount Rainier.
Fastpitch softball
Federal Way visits Stadium for a 4 p.m. Friday non-league game as Decatur travels all the way to Everett to play Jackson.
Decatur comes home to play Kennedy Catholic at 4 p.m. Monday and Todd Beamer will be at home facing Mount Rainier as Federal Way goes to Auburn Mountainview and Thomas Jefferson to Kent-Meridian.
TJ visits Decatur at 4 p.m. Tuesday as Federal Way drops in on Todd Beamer.
Boys soccer
Decatur plays host to Auburn Mountainview at 5 p.m. Friday as Todd Beamer entertains Tahoma.
Federal Way visits Kentlake at 7:30 p.m. Friday when Thomas Jefferson travels to Mount Rainier.
Todd Beamer goes across town to Federal Way for a 5 p.m. Monday match and TJ visits Decatur at 5:30 p.m.
At 5 p.m. next Wednesday it's TJ at Federal Way and Decatur at Todd Beamer.
Girls tennis
Thomas Jefferson hosts Kentwood for a special 8 p.m. match at the Boeing Employee Tennis Center in Kent before entertaining Kentlake on its own home court at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Todd Beamer meets Mount Rainier at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at Saghalie Middle School in Federal Way as Decatur entertains Kentlake and Federal Way hosts Kentwood.
Pros
Mariners
Seattle hosts the Cleveland Guardians for a 7:10 p.m. Friday game at T-Mobile Park and the Guardians will stay for 6:40 p.m. Saturday and 1:10 p.m. Sunday action.
The Los Angeles Angels fly in for action at 6:40 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and for a 1:10 p.m. Wednesday game.
All of the games can be seen on ROOT Sports Northwest with Saturday's also on Fox Sports 1.
Sounders
Seattle travels to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy at 4:30 p.m. Saturday on Channel 13 and Apple television.
Kraken
The Los Angeles Kings come in to play Seattle at 7 p.m. Saturday and the Arizona Coyotes invade the Climate Pledge Arena at the same time Monday.
Tuesday it's off to Vancouver for more 7 p.m. action before the Kraken come home to face Arizona again at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
The first three games can be seen on ROOT Plus with Thursday's on ESPN+ and Hulu.
OL Reign
Seattle's women's soccer team visits Gotham FC for a 4:30 p.m. Saturday match on Fox 13+.
Sea Dragons
Seattle goes on the road to Arlington, Texas for a 4 p.m. Friday XFL game to be carried on FX.
Seawolves
Seattle travels to New Orleans to battle the NOLA Gold rugby team at noon Sunday on Fox 13+.
Thunderbirds
Seattle launches out into Western Hockey League action this weekend, hosting the Kelowna Rockets at 7:05 p.m. Friday and 6:05 p.m. Saturday at the Showare Center in Kent.
Stars
Tacoma's men's indoor soccer squad wraps up its regular season with a 5:05 p.m. Sunday visit to the San Diego Sockers.
Rainiers
Tacoma opens its Class AAA baseball season with a 5:05 p.m. Saturday game in Oklahoma City and stays for a 12:05 p.m. Sunday game.
The Rainiers come home to Cheney Stadium to take on the Reno Aces at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.
Colleges
Husky baseball
Washington hosts the Oregon State Beavers at 6:05 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday and the Huskies visit Arizona at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Husky fastpitch softball
Washington is on the road playing Arizona State at 6 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. Sunday before coming home to play California at 5 p.m. Thursday.
By Tim Clinton
Baseball
Federal Way 11, TJ 1
The Eagles flew past Thomas Jefferson in Tuesday afternoon action.
Fastpitch softball
Seattle Prep 18, Todd Beamer 0
Todd Beamer took a lopsided loss at home Monday.
TJ 22, Todd Beamer 0
Thomas Jefferson took it to the Titans in a Tuesday clash.
Decatur 23, Kentlake 0
Decatur also won decisively Tuesday.
Auburn 25, Federal Way 12
Federal Way was outscored by the Trojans in a Tuesday slugfest.
Boys soccer
Federal Way 1, Auburn Mountainview 0
The Eagles blanked Auburn Mountainview on Tuesday.
TJ 0, Kentwood 0
Thomas Jefferson played the Conquerors to a scoreless tie Tuesday.
Kentridge 6, Todd Beamer 0
Kentridge shut down the Titans Tuesday.
Decatur 3, Auburn 1
The Gators grabbed a victory under the lights at Auburn Tuesday night.
Girls tennis
Auburn 5, Decatur 0
Auburn cruised to a victory Monday against the Gators.
Tahoma 4, Todd Beamer 1
The Titans salvaged one win against the Bears on Tuesday.
Auburn 3, TJ 2
Auburn edged past the Raiders Tuesday.
Auburn Riverside 5, Decatur 0
Decatur was swept Tuesday by Auburn Riverside.
By Tim Clinton
Baseball
Decatur 6, TJ 2
Decatur ran its overall season record to 6-1 with Friday's home victory over the Raiders.
Highline 13, Todd Beamer 3
Todd Beamer took non-league loss at the hands of the Pirates Friday,
Stadium 12, Todd Beamer 0
The Titans were blanked by the Tigers in Saturday afternoon's non-league game.
Fastpitch softball
Spanaway Lake 20, Todd Beamer 0
Todd Beamer suffered a non-league shutout loss to the Sentinels on Friday.
Boys soccer
Auburn Riverside 1, Federal Way 0
Federal Way lost a close one by shutout Friday against the Ravens.
Kentridge 3, TJ 1
Thomas Jefferson fell to the Chargers this Friday.
Kent-Meridian 4, Decatur 2
Decatur was outscored by the Royals on Friday.
Mt. Rainier 7, Todd Beamer 3
Mount Rainier gunned down the Titans in a high-scoring affair Friday.
Girls tennis
Auburn 5, Federal Way 0
Auburn swept all five matches against the Eagles Friday.
By Tim Clinton
Baseball
Federal Way 5, Kentlake 1
The Eagles fought off the Falcons on a cold, windy and wet night on the Kent-Meridian diamond Thursday.
Decatur 10, Auburn Mountainview 4
Decatur returned to Auburn Mountainview for a second straight day Thursday and came away with a second straight win.
The Gators improved their overall record to 5-1.
Mt. Rainier 7, TJ 4
Thomas Jefferson played the host Rams of Des Moines tough in a Thursday loss.
Fastpitch softball
Federal Way 23, Mt. Rainier 17
Federal Way outslugged the visiting Rams in a wild Thursday afternoon game.
By Tim Clinton
High schools
Baseball
Decatur hosts Thomas Jefferson for a 4 p.m. Friday game and Todd Beamer will be at home playing Stadium in a 1 p.m. non-league game Saturday.
Two crosstown games are scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday as Todd Beamer entertains Decatur and Federal Way plays host to Thomas Jefferson.
Federal Way will be at home again playing Kentridge at the same time Thursday as Decatur goes to Burien to battle Kennedy Catholic, TJ to Auburn Riverside and Todd Beamer over to Auburn Mountainview.
Fastpitch softball
Decatur meets Thomas Jefferson for a 3:30 p.m. Friday game at the South County park off Military Road and Todd Beamer hosts Spanaway Lake for a 4 p.m. non-league clash before entertaining Seattle Prep at the same time Monday.
TJ turns around to host Todd Beamer on the Titans' diamond at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday with Federal Way getting a visit from Auburn at 4 p.m. and Decatur going to Kentlake for a 6 p.m. game.
Decatur plays host to Mount Rainier at 4 p.m. next Thursday as Todd Beamer entertains Kentlake and Federal Way goes over to Kent-Meridian. TJ travels down the hill to Auburn High School to battle the Trojans at 7 p.m.
Boys soccer
Thomas Jefferson entertains Kentridge at 4:30 p.m. this Friday on the Federal Way pitch and Decatur hosts Kent-Meridian at 5 p.m.
Todd Beamer visits Mount Rainier for a 5:30 p.m. Friday match on the Rams' own field in Des Moines and Federal Way travels to Auburn Riverside for 7:30 p.m. action.
A mixed doubleheader is scheduled at Federal Way Tuesday, with the Eagles hosting Auburn Mountainview at 3 p.m. and TJ entertaining Kentwood at 5 p.m.
Todd Beamer goes to Kentridge for 7:30 p.m. action that day and Decatur visits Auburn at 8 p.m.
Girls tennis
Federal Way visits Auburn for a 3:30 p.m. Friday match as Todd Beamer travels to Auburn Riverside.
Thomas Jefferson will be at home playing Auburn at the same time Tuesday as Decatur hosts Auburn Riverside and Federal Way hosts Auburn Mountainview. Todd Beamer travels to Tahoma the same afternoon.
Todd Beamer goes to Auburn at 3:30 p.m. next Thursday as Decatur visits Auburn Mountainview and Federal Way travels to Auburn Riverside.
Track and field
Todd Beamer has an unusual 8:45 a.m. Saturday meet scheduled against Kent-Meridian at French Field and Thomas Jefferson will be at Todd Beamer taking on Kentridge at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Pros
Mariners
Seattle wraps up its spring training stay in Arizona this week, starting with a 6:40 p.m. home game in Peoria against Oakland on Friday.
The Mariners visit the San Francisco Giants at 1:05 p.m. Saturday for a split squad game with the other portion of the team hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks at 1:10 p.m. They drop in on the San Diego Padres at 1:10 p.m. Sunday and 12:10 p.m. Monday before heading north to Seattle.
A public workout will be hosted from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday at T-Mobile Park including a home run derby and other skills competitions, followed by the regular season opener at 7:10 p.m. Thursday against the Cleveland Guardians.
Sounders
Seattle visits Kansas City for 5:30 p.m. Major League Soccer action Saturday.
Kraken
Seattle drops in on the Nashville Predators at 11 a.m. Saturday and on the Minnesota Wild at 5 p.m. Monday before coming home to Climate Pledge Arena to take on the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. next Thursday.
OL Reign
Seattle's women's soccer squad opens with a 1 p.m. Sunday match in Washington, D.C.
Sea Dragons
Seattle visits the Orlando team for 10:30 a.m. Saturday XFL action on Channel 4 television.
Seawolves
The Seattle rugby team will be in Chicago playing a 1 p.m. Sunday match on ROOT.
Thunderbirds
Seattle is in Portland for a 7 p.m. Friday Western Hockey League game before coming home to the Showare Center in Kent to play the same team at 6:05 p.m. Saturday as the regular season concludes.
Stars
Tacoma's indoor soccer team hosts the Dallas Sidekicks at 7:35 p.m. Friday at Showare before visiting them at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Stars come back to Kent to battle the Empire Strykers at 6:05 p.m. next Thursday.
Colleges
Husky women
Washington hosts Kansas State at 7 p.m. Friday as the WNIT playoffs continue.
By Tim Clinton
Baseball
Auburn 8, Decatur 6
The Gators took their first loss of the year Tuesday night at Auburn after opening with three straight victories the previous week.
Decatur 7, Auburn Mountainview 1
Decatur righted its ship again Tuesday, posting a victory on the Auburn Mountainview diamond to improve to a 4-1 overall record.
Boys soccer
Sumner 3, Federal Way 0
Sumner scored a win over the visiting Eagles in a Monday non-league match.
TJ 1, Kennedy Catholic 0
Thomas Jefferson tallied a victory over the Lancers on the Federal Way High School field Tuesday.
Decatur 2, Auburn Riverside 2
The Gators played the visiting Ravens to a 2-2 tie Tuesday.
Federal Way 1, Kent-Meridian 1
Federal Way fought its way to a tie at French Field in Kent on Tuesday.
Kentwood 1, Todd Beamer 0
The visiting Conquerors shut out the Titans Tuesday.
Fastpitch softball
Peninsula 21, Federal Way 0
The host Eagles were fortunate Monday's game was of the non-league variety.
Federal Way 22, Todd Beamer 7
Federal Way bounced back to beat Todd Beamer Tuesday.
Peninsula 8, Decatur 6
Decatur took its turn at hosting the team from Purdy on Tuesday and came up short in a close game.
TJ 18, Todd Beamer 0
Thomas Jefferson triumphed against the host Titans this Wednesday.
By Tim Clinton
Baseball
Decatur 7, Kentlake 0
The Decatur Gators downed the Kentlake Falcons to launch out into their new season Tuesday.
Federal Way 5, Auburn 4
Federal Way also emerged victorious Tuesday in its opener.
Emerald Ridge 6, Federal Way 0
The Eagles were not so fortunate in their second game on Wednesday, getting blanked by the team from Puyallup's South Hill.
Decatur 8, Auburn Riverside 0
Pitching again proved to be a strong point for the Gators Thursday as they shut out a second straight opponent to open the season.
Kennedy 18, TJ 4
Kennedy Catholic broke out its bats and outslugged Thomas Jefferson in Thursday action at Brannan Park in Auburn.
Decatur 11, Kent-Meridian 1
Decatur ran its early season record to 3-0 with Friday's home victory over the Royals and has given up only one run all year.
Kentridge 13, TJ 1
The Raiders took another loss Friday, this time at the hands of the Chargers.
Mt. Rainier 18, Todd Beamer 1
Todd Beamer absorbed a defeat in Des Moines on Friday.
Fastpitch softball
Emerald Ridge 17, TJ 0
Emerald Ridge spoiled the Thomas Jefferson Raiders' season opener this past Tuesday.
Decatur 17, Gig Harbor 8
The Gators triumphed over the Tides in Wednesday action.
Stadium 20, Todd Beamer 2
Todd Beamer took a loss as its season opened Thursday.
TJ 13, Federal Way 1
It was a much different story for the Raiders on Friday as they downed the Eagles on their own diamond.
Decatur 18, Franklin Pierce 0
Decatur went on the road to Parkland Friday and came away with a decisive win.
Decatur 16, Yelm 2
The Gators are 3-0 in fastpitch following Saturday's victory over the Tornadoes of Yelm on the Auburn Riverside field.
Decatur has outscored its opponents so far, 51-10.
Boys soccer
Curtis 8, Todd Beamer 1
The Vikings cruised past the Titans as the local soccer season opened Monday.
Emerald Ridge 2, Federal Way 1
The Eagles were edged by the Jaguars on Tuesday.
Newport 6, Decatur 1
Decatur took a lopsided loss against Newport this past Tuesday.
TJ 1, Rogers 0
The Raiders rallied for a non-league victory Thursday, shutting out Rogers on the road.
Tahoma 1, TJ 0
Thomas Jefferson went on the road again Friday but this time took a shutout loss.
Federal Way 5, Auburn 1
The Eagles evened their season record at 1-1 with Friday's victory over the Trojans.
Decatur 2, Kentlake 0
Decatur shut down the Falcons in Friday road action.
Todd Beamer 1, Kennedy 1
Todd Beamer played the Lancers to a tie Friday.
Boys track and field
Federal Way 92, Kent-Meridian 38
Federal Way found French Field to its liking Thursday, decisively downing host Kent-Meridian.
Girls track and field
Federal Way 93, Kent-Meridian 42
The Eagles also won convincingly on the girls side Thursday against the host Royals.
By Tim Clinton
High schools
Baseball
Decatur hosts Kent-Meridian for a 4 p.m. Friday game as Thomas Jefferson entertains Kentridge at Brannan Park in Auburn. Todd Beamer heads north to Des Moines to play Mount Rainier at the same time.
Decatur heads down to Auburn for 7 p.m. Tuesday action and visits Auburn Mountainview at the same time Wednesday.
Thomas Jefferson drops in on Mount Rainier at 4 p.m. next Thursday with Federal Way playing Kentlake on the Kent-Meridian diamond at 7 p.m.
Fastpitch softball
Federal Way gets a visit from Thomas Jefferson at 4 p.m. Friday as Decatur goes on the road to Parkland to play Franklin Pierce.
Decatur is at Auburn-Riverside playing the Yelm Tornadoes in 12:15 p.m. Saturday action.
Federal Way plays Peninsula of Purdy in a 4 p.m. Monday home game and Decatur entertains the same team at 4 p.m. Tuesday as Todd Beamer goes across town to Federal Way.
Thomas Jefferson is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. visit to Todd Beamer next Wednesday and Decatur hosts Fife at 4 p.m. Thursday as Federal Way entertains Mount Rainier.
Boys soccer
Federal Way plays a 4 p.m. Friday home game against Auburn and Todd Beamer entertains Kennedy Catholic for a 5 p.m. match.
Decatur heads to Kentlake and Thomas Jefferson to Maple Valley to take on Tahoma at 7 p.m.
Federal Way goes south to Sumner at 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday's schedule includes TJ being home on the Federal Way pitch battling Kennedy Catholic at 4:30 p.m.
At 5 p.m. Tuesday it will be Auburn Riverside at Decatur and Kentwood at Todd Beamer, with Federal Way waiting until 7:30 p.m. to play Kent-Meridian at the Royals' adjacent French Field.
Girls tennis
Thomas Jefferson visits Federal Way for a 3:30 p.m. match this Friday as Decatur meets Todd Beamer at Saghalie Middle School.
Decatur is at TJ and Todd Beamer at Federal Way at the same time Tuesday and next Thursday's schedule has Decatur at home playing Auburn at 3:30 p.m. as TJ goes to Auburn Riverside, Federal Way to Kentridge and Todd Beamer to Auburn Mountainview.
Track and field
Todd Beamer faces a 3:30 p.m. home meet against Auburn next Wednesday as Decatur hits the road to Mount Rainier.
Federal Way visits Auburn Riverside at the same time next Thursday.
Pros
Kraken
Seattle entertains Edmonton for a 1 p.m. Saturday clash at the Climate Pledge Arena before visiting the Dallas Stars at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and the Nashville Predators at 5 p.m. Thursday.
All three National Hockey League games can be seen on ROOT Sports Northwest cable television.
Sounders
Seattle's Major League Soccer team hosts Los Angeles FC for 1 p.m. Saturday action at Lumen Field.
The match will be televised on Channel 13 and Apple TV+.
Mariners
Seattle is still in Arizona for spring training action, paying a 6:40 p.m. Friday visit to San Diego at the same Peoria Stadium in calls home before dropping in on Cleveland at 6:05 p.m. Saturday and on Texas at 1:05 p.m. Sunday in a split squad game.
The rest of the Mariners are at home in Peoria taking on the Chicago White Sox at 1:10 p.m. Sunday on ROOT Sports.
Seattle hosts the Milwaukee Brewers at 1:10 p.m. Monday and has Tuesday off before hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday.
The Mariners visit the Cincinnati Reds at 6:05 p.m. next Thursday.
Thunderbirds
Seattle gets a 7:05 p.m. Friday visit from the Portland Winterhawks at the Showare Center in Kent before going to Portland to play them again at 6 p.m. Saturday on Fox 13+.
The Kamloops Blazers come to Kent at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.
Stars
Tacoma's indoor soccer team also calls the Showare Center in Kent home and will be there playing the Mesquite Outlaws at 7:05 p.m. Saturday and 5:05 p.m. Sunday.
Colleges
Cougar women
Washington State University opens NCAA women's basketball tournament action Saturday, battling Florida Gulf Coast at 11:30 a.m. in Pennsylvania on ESPNU.
Bulldog men
Gonzaga University begins what it hopes will be another long march through the NCAA tournament this Friday, facing Grand Canyon University in a game played in Denver at 4:35 p.m. on truTV.
Bulldog women
The Gonzaga women open their NCAA tournament with a 7 p.m. Friday game against Mississippi in California.
ESPNU will broadcast the action live.
Husky baseball
Washington hosts Rhode Island at 6:05 p.m. Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 1:05 p.m. Sunday before getting a visit from Tulane at 6:05 p.m. Wednesday.
Husky fastpitch softball
Washington is at UCLA playing the Bruins at 5 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday on Pac-12 networks.
By Tim Clinton
Marshall now an analyst
Federal Way High School graduate Donny Marshall is now an analyst for the Fox Sports college basketball broadcasts.
Marshall played for the University of Connecticut Huskies after his graduation from the Federal Way program and went on to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the then New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.
Dawson an assistant exec
Former Federal Way star wide receiver Lake Dawson is now the assistant director of college scouting for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League.
Dawson played for Notre Dame in college on his way to an NFL playing career with the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts.
Murphy, Fiedler at Enumclaw
Decatur graduate Steve Murphy and former Federal Way baseball coach Eric Fiedler are both on the staff at Enumclaw High School.
Murphy starred in baseball and golf for the Gators and is now the golf coach for the Hornets. He comes to Enumclaw by way of San Diego State University.
Fiedler left Federal Way to become the Hornets' baseball coach.
Jaden McDaniels in Minnesota
Federal Way graduate Jaden McDaniels is seeing regular action for the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 11.5 points per game to go with a rebounding average of 3.9 and a 2.0 assists average.
The 6-foot, 9-inch McDaniels played one season for the University of Washington before joining the NBA draft and winding up with the Timberwolves.
Jalen McDaniels with Charlotte
Like his brother Jaden, Jalen McDaniels stands at 6-9 and is playing in the NBA.
Jalen was drafted originally by Minnesota but is now with the Charlotte Hornets.
Jalen is averaging 9.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists and previously played for San Diego State University.
TJ grad pitching for New York
Thomas Jefferson graduate Jeff Brigham is now a pitcher in spring training camp with the New York Mets.
Brigham, a right-hander, threw previously for the Miami Marlins, going 0-1 with a 3.38 earned run average as a reliever in 2022. Brigham was used as a starter earlier in his career.
Junk joins Milwaukee Brewers
Decatur product Janson Junk is now a right-handed relief pitcher with the Milwaukee Brewers this spring after being traded in the off season from the Los Angeles Angels.
Ponce playing for the Cougars
Federal Way graduate Brandham Ponce has transferred to play baseball at Washington State University in Pullman after two seasons at Big Bend College.
Ponce, a junior infielder, has batted 2-for-10 so far this year with three runs scored.
When it was pointed out driving by that the Federal Way Memorial Field grandstands had been torn down, it was like a piece of me had gone down with them.
Kind of like the feeling I had watching the Kingdome implode on television.
The memories of countless names, faces and events swirled through my head.
Included were memories of those who went on to greater glory in the respective sports they participated in there.
I can still see Lake Dawson of Federal Way's off balance circus catches in the end zone, and he went on to play for Notre Dame University, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts.
Then there was the Thomas Jefferson offensive line in the mid 1980s that included future Washington State Cougar Mike Smith and future Washington Husky Kris Rongen that almost paved the way into the state playoffs for the Raiders.
And there's no way I could forget the Thomas Jefferson boys soccer teams that were on their way to six state championships and included the likes of future pros Wade Webber and Darren Sawatzky.
Then there were those who left their mark in sports they would not go on in back in the days before so much one sport specialization.
There was Donny Marshall also standing out in soccer on that field for Federal Way before going on to play basketball at the University of Connecticut and for the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association.
Before him there was TJ's Mike Meyers, who played receiver for the Raider football team there but went on to star in baseball at Yakima Valley and Washington State before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants and not signing because of a nagging injury.
Federal Way's Larry Cratsenberg played for Orange Coast and USC in California and was drafted three times in baseball including once by the Seattle Mariners and was also bit by the injury bug at the end of his college career. He was also stellar as a wide receiver at Federal Way Memorial.
I also saw events like Donnis Henry running his way into the South Puget Sound League football record books for the Decatur Gators.
Others can tell you about what happened at Federal Way Memorial Field and who played there all the way back to when it was built in 1971.
Of course the new stadium is supposed to be much improved after its $21 million renovation, to the point where it will be able to even host state championships.
The seating capacity will be bumped up by 760 people to an even 4,000 with 2,000 seated on both the home and visitor sides.
One can only hope it will be like the Kingdome being replaced by T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field as far as memories go.
The Seattle Mariners' magical first playoff run in the Kingdome in 1995 was eclipsed by the 116-win season at then Safeco Field in 2001, and Jim Zorn passing to Steve Largent in the dome was later overshadowed by the team's Super Bowl Championship season in 2014 and appearances in the big game in 2005 and 2015.
So there may be better days ahead at the stadium Decatur, Federal Way, Thomas Jefferson and Todd Beamer all call home.
