A GRIP ON SPORTS • So it begins. No, not the zombie apocalypse, though there are many similarities. The NFL’s preseason. Exhibition games full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Except tonight’s game in Lumen Field features the prodigal grandfather returning home.
•••••••
• One jarring question keeps running through my brain. Will Pete Carroll wander out onto the Lumen turf tonight and head to the wrong sideline? No one would blame him, not after he spent 14 years on the west side, leading the Seahawks from the desert to the mountain top and back again.
It would be pretty fitting if his white Nikes just happened to take a wrong turn out of the tunnel, considering his last three seasons in Seattle were full of missteps.
You’re going to watch, aren’t you? Me too, if only for a while. Carroll’s presence leading the Las Vegas Raiders makes it must-see TV. That’s something the bean counters at Fox 28 must welcome. How often will a Seahawk preseason game be the highest-rated show in the Spokane area?
Sadly, way too often. Too many folks have an unquenchable thirst for football this time of year. The league’s preseason contests, while not important enough for the best players to risk injury, fills that need like Kool-Aid. And for three hours many of us will sit, zombie-like, in front of the big screen salivating over some third-string offensive tackle that has better footwork than we ever thought.
Four weeks from now he’ll be using those feet on the practice squad.
And Carroll will be scheming up ways for the Raiders to win in New England. The Hawks? They will start playing games that actually matter that same day – Sept. 7. They’ll host the 49ers, the NFC West’s last-place team a year ago but its preseason favorite this one. Now that’s a game worth getting excited about.
• Another development worth getting excited about?
A week from today the Mariners very well could be alone in first place in the American League West.
Yes, we’re making a prediction. See, Seattle has seven games in the next eight days against three teams – today vs. the White Sox, three at home with Tampa and three in Baltimore – a combined 42 games under .500. OK, so 30 of those are Chicago’s but all three teams have a losing record.
Meanwhile, the Astros play the Yankees in New York three times starting Friday, then host the Red Sox for three more. No gimmies. In a perfect world, for M’s fans anyway, they split, helping Seattle in both races – A.L. West and wild card. But for our prediction to come true, the Mariners would be better served by the Astros dropping four or more of those games. It will happen. Book it.
• Have I mentioned before I don’t bet? Why, you may ask. I never win. So when I type “book it,” it would behoove you to run out and bet the opposite. You’ll thank me later.
• What is the opposite of excited? And should I use whatever word I find in Word’s thesaurus to describe how I feel about what happened in college football’s offseason?
After perusing Word’s long list, I have decided I actually want to use a synonym. Agitated. And then pair it with worried.
If you are wondering what has triggered these emotions, it’s simple: I studied a list of top 100 most-impactful transfers on The Athletic’s website this morning.
And came to a conclusion. The future is starting to look a bit bleaker for the schools I follow intently.
OK, small sample size. But 5% of the players listed spent last season playing on the Palouse. Four of them starred for Washington State – John Mateer (No. 1 on the list), Fa’alili Fa’amoe, David Gusta and Wayshawn Parker – and one for Idaho – Jordan Dwyer.
The trend that seems to be coming into focus? Mid-major football schools are becoming the Triple-A of the sport.
It’s a role FCS schools such as Idaho and Eastern Washington have played to some degree for years – but with a key difference. If a player leaves Moscow or Cheney and ends up at, say, TCU, his presence in Fort Worth doesn’t impact those schools’ playoff prospects – other than the hole that has to be filled.
If a player leaves WSU (or any of its soon-to-be-new-Pac-12 brethren) and ends up at Kentucky or Utah or wherever, it has two elements: The lineup loss and the improvement afforded a postseason competitor.
It hurts now and it may hurt even more come December.
•••
WSU: The lineup holes in Pullman? New coach Jimmy Rogers dipped into the portal to fill some of them. Many of his old players from South Dakota State followed him. And a player or two from elsewhere, including Oregon State transfer, receiver Jeremiah Noga. Noga and Jamorri Colson are featured performers in Greg Woods’ coverage of Wednesday’s preseason practice. … Greg also looked at four freshmen who may play a role this season. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano has some fun thoughts on his website. … What are your thoughts on preseason polls? … There is a new linebackers coach at Washington. … Oregon entered the second week of preseason camp yesterday, with the offense having the upper hand. … Oregon State’s offensive line is coming together as the position battles work themselves out. … Colorado State’s new-look defense is rounding into form. … So is Colorado’s defensive line. … Utah is trying to figure out a position battle or two as well. … Helping everyone stay engaged is an underappreciated part of safety play one UCLA player is doing well. … Rob Ryan has had an impact on USC’s linebackers already. … Singing high school fight songs? That sounds like fun. … Arizona accomplished some things in its first week of practice. … Boise State’s secondary doesn’t focus on stats. … San Diego State’s top running back is actually Lucky. … In basketball news, two freshmen are ready to start their Arizona careers.
Idaho: The Vandals were in pads yesterday. And scrimmaged some with referees in a game setting. What did new coach Thomas Ford learn from the experience? Peter Harriman tells us in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State has eight running backs vying for playing time. … There are seven players from the state of Colorado to watch at UNC.
Indians: Don’t worry about making any plans to attend postseason games in Spokane. The Indians’ slumping offense is taking care of that. Dave Nichols followed along with them last night as they fell 7-2 in Eugene.
Preps: Not sure this is a Spokane first, though maybe Jim Price can tell me. Ferris High graduate Andrew Kittredge threw an immaculate inning – nine pitches, three strike outs – Wednesday for the Cubs. It is the sixth in Chicago history and the 120th ever in MLB play.
Sounders: The preliminary round of the Leagues Cup in over. Seattle was perfect, winning three matches, including last night’s 2-1 decision against Club Tijuana.
Mariners: The most interesting aspect of the recent additions to the roster? The M’s running game was given a kick-start. I’m sure that’s the reason why the front office went after Josh Naylor. In his short time in Seattle, he’s on a Vince Coleman-like stolen base pace. OK, that’s not why. The ball he hit in the first inning Wednesday is the reason – a rocketed home run that gave the Mariners a two-run lead they would never give up in an 8-6 win.
Storm:Seattle needed a jump start. That’s why the trade for Brittney Sykes is worth the cost.
Seahawks: While I was covering the Cougars in Pullman a long time ago, there was this student who spent time doing the same thing. Michael-Shawn Dugar was on the way up as I was slowing down. Now he’s hit the Northwest pinnacle, covering the Seahawks for The Athletic. He’s also written a book, covering the Legion of Boom days. Is it worth your time? Dave Boling, who was around the team back then, thinks it is. … Yes, Pete is back in Seattle tonight. He had this to say about the upcoming experience. … Despite the starters not playing much (if at all), there are still players to focus upon. … This rookie receiver is certainly on the list. … The headlines yesterday about a smelling salts ban were pretty jarring. Of course, there is more to the story.
•••
• Just in case you need it, the Hawks’ game tonigh is also listed on the NFL Network. Soon, though, with ESPN taking over, that network might be home to flag football games instead. Or Stephen A. Smith diatribes. Until later …