Sterling Hinds Picks Up More Husky Yards — Through Fantasy Football

Sterling Hinds, an extra-speedy Don James running back who doubled as an Olympic Games bronze medalist, admittedly lost touch in recent years with who's who in the the University of Washington football lineup.

No fault in that.

He lives in Eastern Canada, in Mississauga, Ontario, west of Toronto, a few time zones removed from his college town.

Husky games typically don't show up much on his cable plan.

For the longest time, he didn't know Richard Newton from Fig Newton.

Or Sean McGrew from Tim McGraw.

However, Hinds has found a ready way to get reconnected with the bigger names coming out of the UW football program, at least the ones who've done well enough in Seattle to take it to the next level.

"I got involved in Fantasy Football," Hinds said with a smile. "I was picking all these players and I had Myles Gaskin from Miami. I kind of remembered him. I didn't realize he was the guy I was watching for the Huskies."

That's Gaskin, as in the UW's all-time leading rusher. That's little Myles, who did Hinds right this past season in his virtual football league by starting seven games for the Dolphins and churning out 1,156 yards of total offense, including 584 rushing, and scoring 5 touchdowns.

To be honest, Hinds didn't know that the other surprising Miami running back, Salvon Ahmed, was that same one who ran with Gaskin at Husky Stadium.

Hey, it's a pandemic and Sterling happily is retracing his steps. He's boning up on these UW players now.

He's always kept in touch with his generation of Huskies (1980-83) through reunions and social media. He once shared the backfield chores with Rose Bowl and Orange Bowl MVP Jacque Robinson and another notable speedster in Ron "Cookie" Jackson, guys who could rip off big chunks of yards.

Hinds had his primetime moments when needed, such as running for 188 yards against Stanford and 113 against USC, both in 1983.

Another reason Hinds became distanced from UW football was he was a prominent two-sport athlete and had multiple interests. He was a world-class sprinter.

Ben Johnson, once the fastest man in the world and another Toronto-area resident, remains his good friend. Johnson recently stopped by Hinds' Mississauga residence and to catch up.

They shared in a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter relay in the 1984 Los Angeles Games where Johnson ran the first leg and Hinds was the anchor.

Unfortunately, Johnson became better known for having to forfeit a gold medal and his world-record time of 9.79 in the 100-meter dash at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs following the race. By that time, Hinds was a CFL player for the Toronto Argonauts.

Today, Sterling is a middle-aged man, retired from the mortgage business, running a football, carrying a baton and other professional activities, giving him plenty of time to spend on Fantasy Football and a chance to get better acquainted with the more modern-day Huskies.

Such as that fellow 4.2 UW sprinter who joined the New York Giants last week after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I'm looking for John Ross to do some things this year," Hinds said with another smile.

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