You'd think it'd be easy to pick a starting point this week, but maybe not so much.

Which is bigger, swine flu canceling the GNAC championship track meet or the Coyote softball team punching its second-straight ticket to the NAIA Softball World Series?

I guess I just have to start with the developments on — or now it seems off — the track.

The decision to close Western Oregon's campus for the safety of coaches, fans and athletes is highly commendable, and I'm sure that everyone is a bit disheartened and frustrated by the fact that the recent swine flu epidemic has now touch athletics here in the Treasure Valley.

With that being said, I can only wonder why in the world the meet was canceled instead of postponed.

OK, reschedule might have caused a major concern and been costly for schools traveling from afar — Alaska Anchorage comes to mind having to fly in — but with 2 1/2 weeks until nationals, couldn't the meet be rescheduled?

Or maybe even run at a different track?

I'm sure these options were looked at by the GNAC, at least I would hope they were, but it just seems so strange to cancel a championship event.

Why?

Well, in track, golf and cross country, the GNAC championship meet is it, the end all of the season and the reason to compete.

Yes, some athletes will get to go to nationals and prolong their season, and others will win events at some prestigious meets, but when you come right down to it, the whole season is pointed to qualifying for, training for and competing in this one meet.

Now, all these athletes lose that chance, the right to compete against their peers for GNAC titles, what they've fine-tuned their season toward.

How fair is that?

At least in sports like softball, soccer, basketball or so many others, you play a league schedule against league rivals and you get to determine your place in the GNAC on the field or court — head-to-head.

For track, that opportunity has been taken away.

Worse yet, for NNU athletes like Josh Heidegger, who won the GNAC javelin title as a freshman, the chance to be a four-time champ has been taken away, through no fault of his own.

I'm not saying risk anyone's health, but it doesn't seem fair to cancel the meet complete and make the athletes pay the price.

On to the World Series

My first question for the College of Idaho softball team and fans — did coach Al Mendiola get the Gatorade bath?

I sure hope so, because the Coyotes deserve the celebration. Too bad it wasn't in Caldwell, but from what I hear from Mendiola, the team's fans travel well and so I'm sure there were plenty of purple-clad people cheering after the C of I topped Southern Oregon 7-5 in the opener of their Cascade Conference twinbill Friday, winning the Yotes their second league title in the past three years, and a second-straight trip to the NAIA Softball World Series.

Of course, I have to congratulate the C of I ladies, first, then add that this victory caps a great run by the Coyotes, who put their game together three weeks ago — fittingly enough against Southern Oregon.

Trailing the first-place Raiders by two games in the league standings, the Yotes routed the Raiders in a pair of games at Symms Field on the C of I campus, signaling just who was really the team to beat in the Cascade Conference.

And just to recap — for the rest of the league as most C of I fans probably recall this fact — the Yotes were picked to finish third in the league behind Concordia and Oregon Tech.

Of course, the C of I still has two games left to wrap up the season, at Oregon Tech, games which will be a bit of a curtain call for the Coyotes before they start preparing for the trip to Alabama and the World Series, May 14-20.

The last trip to Decatur, Ala., didn't go quite as planned, the Yotes went 1-3 and failed to advance beyond poll play.

I truly believe this year's team can make it beyond the pool, though, with tough pitching feature another Zillner — Jody in place of sister Katie, as both are incredible in the circle — and plenty of pop at the plate.

This year's squad might be more clutch, and the addition of Heather Dixon makes the Coyote lineup more dangerous than last year's team, which definitely could swing it.

Plus, the C of I is playing some great defense, and also making the most of it's chances. Take Friday's 7-5 win for instance, as the Yotes collected just five hits, but took advantage of three walks, an hit batter and two errors by the Raiders.

In their six-run rally in the third, the C of I managed just three hits, but two walks and two errors powered the rally.

The Yotes other run came after a lead-off walk to Brittany Wenzel, who stole second, moved to third on a single by Dixon and scored on a Zillner sac fly.

As tough as Zillner is pitching, and with the strong defense the Yotes are playing, foes better watch out because if you give the C of I even an inch, they'll take 60 feet and score.

Maybe they'll make the poll

With the league title wrapped up, and a berth nationals with it, maybe the C of I will finally climb back into the NAIA Top 25 poll.

The Yotes haven't been ranked since the end of last season, and this week, despite holding a two-game lead in the Cascade Conference, were still outside the poll and the 27th spot — second listed in the others receiving votes.

Of course, 32 teams advance to nationals, 25 by automatic berths as league champions or runner-up champs. With the final Top 25 out on Tuesday, May 5, maybe winning one of those 25 automatic berths will be enough to garner the Coyotes some much deserved respect.

How fun for the Klemm family

It's fairly rare in sports for a family to see two of their kids play a sport on the same team, though it does happen on occasion.

Friday, Satin Martin's softball tea visited Nampa featuring the Klemm sisters, sophomore Brandi and freshman Morgan.

The two will likely get the chance to enjoy a few more seasons on the same team, but there will rarely be days like Friday for the family.

OK, in a doubleheader, the odds greatly increase for sisters — or brothers if it's a guy's sport — to hit home runs on the same day. But it has to be a bit more remarkable when those siblings hit homers in the same game!

That's exactly what happened to the Klemm sisters, though, as Brandi hit her first round-tripper of the year the third inning of Game 1 against NNU, then Morgan hit her sixth dinger, a 3-run shot in the sixth.

If the folks weren't at the game, I'm sure they got an excited phone call recounting this ballgame.

A beef about the mercy rule

I really don't want to complain about the mercy rule in college softball — I'll admit it, I enjoy the 8-run rule shortening games to five innings sometimes, especially when the wind chill is like 20 degrees outside.

But it needs to be more runs. It's just too easy to make a game an 8-run game, and it changed how a game is played.

Case in point Friday, with NNU trailing 11-3 in the sixth against St. Martin's. Back-to-back hits got NNU going in the bottom of the sixth with no one out, and it became decision time for coach Julie Coert.

And this is a very unfair decision.

Sacrifice, play for a run to extend the game, or swing away and play for a big innings, knowing that will help you win. Play for the run to prolong the game, and the chances of winning — trailing by seven head to the seventh rather than four or five down — become much tougher.

See, four runs in an inning technically can come on one swing. So an 8-run lead can be made up very quick.

OK, I know. That's two grand slams, how likely is that?

It might seem far fetched, but honestly, one grand slam each inning for two innings isn't that much to ask. A walk or two, a base hit, and one big swing sandwiched in between maybe a K and a fly ball.

Also, four batters in a row can happen pretty quick, maybe faster than it takes for a new pitcher to get warmed up.

Plus, a 3- or 4-run game can quickly turn into a mercy-rule game with that same one swing.

If you must have the mercy rule in softball, why not make it a 10-run rule. It the margin in high school softball, and it seems like a much more reasonable margin.

One, a bit tougher to build a 10-run lead in one inning if a team has a 3- or 4-run edge.

Second, coming back from 10 runs down takes a lot of offense. Yes, the same can be said for an 8-run difference, but a four-batter stretch still can happen very quick.

Plus, after a grand slam, even though a team might get a big lift, the momentum of the rally tends to die down — there's no one on base to worry about.

Or maybe you load the bases and double in three, then a sac bunt and a sac fly — boom, four runs.

What I think the NCAA and NAIA should do for a mercy rule is use the old 10-run rule that NAIA baseball used. Teams could decide before the game if they would or would not play the mercy rule, changing how you play the game in the fifth and sixth in games with a 6-, 7- or 8-run lead.

But also, there was a verbal mercy rule coaches could use if they had decided prior to the game not to play with the mercy rule. A game becomes a blowout after five frames, a coach can say enough is a enough, and move on to bigger and better things.

Of course, I bring this up because I've seen the swing, albeit in American Legion baseball. Just ask current C of I softball coach Al Mendiola — who likely will never let the chance to mercy-rule a foe slip if he can.

His Caldwell Silver Streaks led a ballgame in the district tournament by nine runs in the seventh, and had the chance to ice the 10-run rule win but couldn't. It was some time ago in a game played at Centennial High School.

The Silver Streaks foe came back and won the game, in nine innings, and eliminated Caldwell with the win.

That's why I'd like to see an end to the mercy rule, or the margin to be changed.