A GRIP ON SPORTS • It was cold this morning in Spokane. Not ice cold, but getting close. The sun is rising deeper in the Southern half of the sky and settling down in the West earlier in the evening. It may only be fall but winter is sending out its early warnings. It’s football weather. And football’s time of year.
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• Good thing there is football on our screens this evening. Football that matters to those of us who reside in the Northwest. Or have resided in the region in the past. The local team is playing. The 3-0 local team is playing. In Detroit. Against a Lions’ franchise that’s lost three consecutive home games against the Seahawks.
That’s pretty remarkable.
Then again, it’s the NFL. And for much of the NFL’s long history, the Lions were so-so to average, only breaking up the mediocrity with abject failure. Remember 2008? That was the season Detroit didn’t win any of its 16 games. The heck with the singular excellence of the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins. What the Lions did in 2008 was just as hard. They were perfect in their own way.
All of which means nothing tonight.
Funny thing about the NFL. Nothing anyone does as late as last week means anything, actually. Anyone who tells you it is a week-by-week league is exactly right. A bit hackneyed, sure, but right. As bad as, say, the Carolina Panthers are, even they can win. Ask the Raiders. One week after beating the Ravens in Baltimore, Las Vegas lost to Carolina in Sin City.
Which makes the Seahawks’ start under first-year head coach Mike Macdonald all that more remarkable. Sure, the three opponents – Denver, New England and a beat-up Miami – are a combined 4-7 but, hey, any given Sunday (or Monday night), right?
The Lions, who made a run to the NFC title game last season, losing by three in San Francisco, are capable of beating anyone – though not the Seahawks since 2012.
Surprisingly, after their recent mediocre years, so are the Hawks. And yet we can never forget the opposite is true. Especially in late September, with everyone in the league still figuring itself out.
The aforementioned Ravens are 2-2 after blowing out the then-undefeated Bills last night. The Steelers are 3-1 after losing to 27-24 to Indianapolis yesterday. The Jaguars, with one of the most expensive quarterbacks in the league, Trevor Lawrence, are 0-4. The Commanders, with one of the cheapest, and least experienced, Jayden Daniels, are 3-1. Not what anyone expected.
Oh, you can add the Seahawks being undefeated to that pile of unexpected happenings. Whether they will stay that way probably hinges on injuries more than anything.
Their defensive front is decimated. Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy II, Boye Mafe and Uchenna Nwosu are out. Linebacker Jerome Baker is questionable. At least Detroit will be missing center Frank Ragnow, who is also not playing with an injury. Hardly seems like a fair trade, though.
No one ever said football is fair. Nor is the NFL all that predictable. It’s why gambling companies are rich and most who wager are not. If you are wondering, Seattle will step on Ford Field tonight a 3.5-point underdog. Not that we care.
You know those gambling hotline commercials everyone is required to run? The ones with the “know your limits” mantra? Well, we know that down to the penny. It is exactly zero.
The only time we bet is for sure things. Example: Will winter be here soon? We’ll take yes on that one. Who will win tonight, and by how much? We’ll pass.
• Speaking of passing, the M’s took a pass on the playoffs again this year. When they were wide open.
Seattle finished 85-77 after Sunday’s 6-4 win over the visiting A’s. Our preseason Cy Young winner – no, we didn’t wager on it – Logan Gilbert capped an impressive year with a perfect outing for 5 2/3 innings, or until Nick Allen singled with two outs in the sixth.
Funny thing, though. The M’s came within a single win of the postseason. Again. Even with Gilbert’s exceptional season. Even with the game’s consensus best starting rotation. Even with Cal Raleigh setting catcher and franchise home run marks. Managerial change, hitting coach change, roster change. None worked.
Anyone want to bet they’ll be more successful next season? Me neither.
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WSU: There is no game for the Cougars this weekend. It’s their first bye week. Greg Woods kicks it off with some thoughts on what they can do to improve their woeful tackling. … Jacob Thorpe was in Boise for a game that got done way too late for him to write on deadline. He has his thoughts about the Broncos, Washington State and the soon-to-be revamped Pac-12. … A pair of Cougars played big roles in their NFL teams’ wins Sunday. Ethan Myers has his weekly look at all the locals’ games. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has his Best of the West rankings in the Mercury News today. The Cougs fell to eighth. … Oregon State had the week off. They face Colorado State on Saturday in Corvallis. And the Beavers are a double-digit favorite. … Washington made the long flight back from Rutgers having to deal with losing another winnable game. … Oregon moved up in the A.P. Top 25 this week after its win at UCLA. The Ducks also prepare for a visit from Jonathan Smith and Michigan State favored by three scores. … Momentum will join Colorado on its bye week. … Could Stanford have won at No. 17 Clemson? Probably not. … Utah fell behind BYU in the polls. … USC seems to have found its next great receiver. … UCLA has to find a way to protect its quarterback. … Arizona State returns to face Kansas this week. … There was a lot to process from the Arizona win Saturday night. … In the Mountain West, Utah State has a tendency to improve during the season. … UNLV is ranked again. … New Mexico really needed its win Saturday. … San Diego State has a few areas of concern. … We have one question: How did Hawaii benefit from the MWC losing its best football teams? Oh, ya. Maybe the Warriors can win a few more games.
EWU: Dan Thompson spent Sunday putting together his thoughts on the Eagles’ wild 52-49 home loss to eighth-ranked Montana. He shares them with us as Eastern enters a bye week. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, what did they think of the win in Missoula?
Zephyr: Spokane traveled across the country for its latest match and returned home with a 2-2 draw. Washington’s DC Power FC helped with an own goal.
Seahawks: We will find out this evening if the Hawks are for real. At least most folks think we will. … Geno Smith is for real. Can he play really well in the national spotlight? … There are lots of things to watch tonight.
Storm: A couple Seattle players were named to the WNBA’s all-defensive teams.
Kraken: The goalkeeper battle is one thing to watch as the preseason winds down.
Mariners: The 6-4 win highlighted a lot of the M’s ups-and-downs this season. The great starting pitching from Gilbert, the home run from Raleigh, the bullpen struggles. … It was also the A’s final game representing Oakland. … We linked this Jerry Dipoto story yesterday when it ran in the Times. It is in the S-R today.
Reign: Seattle’s playoff hopes are fading, especially after dropping a home match with Bay FC 1-0 Sunday.
Golf: The deck was always stacked against the International team in the latest edition of the Presidents Cup. Sunday’s singles matches began with the U.S. up four points, which got us to thinking (dangerous, we know). Why don’t the folks who hate the way the Fed Ex Cup Championship starts with a reward for earlier play complain about that? But only for a couple minutes. Then the golf took over. Xander Schauffele dominated Jason Day and the U.S. rolled to an 18½ to 11½ win, giving it 10 consecutive titles. Even with the best player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, dropping his match with Hideki Matsuyama.
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• Baseball is over in the Northwest. Football? It’s just getting started. (And October gets started tomorrow.) Tonight seems somewhat important for the Hawks, though a 17-game regular season devalues any individual game. All of them, however, have one crucial value. They are entertaining. A Detroit-style pizza will accompany that entertainment in this house. Until later …
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