A Grip on Sports: Hey, Mrs. Robinson, it’s Saturday, we’re feeling groovy and it’s a time to look around America

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Hello Saturday, my old friend. We’ve come to talk with you again. And to revel in your silence.

•••••••

• We’re no Paul Simon. Nor Art Garfunkel for that matter. But we know a good piece of writing when we see it. Or need it to lead our way into a bit of not-as-good writing. It’s Saturday and we all need to take it easy – no, that is not Simon’s work –  a little from the events of the workweek just past.

Conferences falling apart. A baseball team trying to stay relevant. A professional football team beginning its season. Angst over the best soccer team in the world. And much, much more.

It was an eventful week, wasn’t it? It was so eventful, we even got out on the golf course. And a) didn’t hurt ourself; nor b) didn’t play as poorly as we expected. It was a victory of sorts, especially considering the 90-degrees weather and our balky back.

Funny thing about golf. There were years – decades, actually – when we felt if we could just get off the tee box safely, with a modicum of distance, landing in the fairway consistently, we could score well. The rest of our game was good enough. Our drives never were.

Now we do the former. Not perfectly, mainly because we can’t hit the ball farther than a couple football fields anymore. But staying in the fairway? Actually moving the ball left-to-right or right-to-left? It happens successfully more than we ever hoped. But now the rest of our game has gone the way of Arctic ice. Melted away, way too quickly.

We hit four lob wedges yesterday that traveled an admirable 20 feet in the air – and then nestled to a stop 4 feet away. When we wanted them to go 30. Great job. There was the occasional misread putt, of course, and the skulled gap wedge that actually ended up OK. Turns out, we still waste too many strokes from fairway to green to ever score as well as we would like.

• But you didn’t come here to read about our golf game. If you got this far, you deserve some reward. We could try to satisfy you with a treatise on what to watch in the sports realm this weekend but that would pretty boring. Mariners, some second-rate golf tournaments – not as second-rate as what we described above but relative to what is usually on – and soccer, though the U.S. women have some time off until the end of their group matches early Tuesday morning.

That’s not enough, is it?

But you know the rest. And probably are angry over some of it.

Another Pac-12 defection and the ensuing angst among fans of the remaining nine schools. The Seahawks seemingly preparing for a decent season and finally getting their top draft pick on the field. The Mariners stringing together a few wins and rising three games above the .500 mark for the first time in a while – all with the trade deadline rushing near.

Is that all we have to look forward to these days?

Actually, no. Over the next week college football will slowly ramp up, from starting training camp in helmets, T-shirts and shorts, to putting on the pads and finding out if the left guard can actually move his feet well enough to protect his quarterback.

Of such things are a million discussions launched.

We just wonder, however, with all the other, underlying tension off the field, if what happens on it is enough to keep the customers satisfied? To bridge the troubled waters? And to make us stop typing Simon and Garfunkel titles?

•••

WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, the Colorado fallout continues, despite the seeming overarching sentiment of “good riddance.” Unjustified? Sure. The Buffs did have that one winning football season. And their cross country team is pretty darn good every year. Anyway, they’re gone soon. … How does the conference bounce back? Jon Wilner has some great ideas. … Did Washington do enough in the offseason to improve the defense? … Oregon State still has faith the conference will figure out how to move forward successfully. … Utah has a tough conference schedule ahead. … We like Alex Grinch. He was a big part of Mike Leach’s WSU staff from 2015 to 2017. But he’s under a lot of pressure at USC as defensive coordinator. The Trojans have already begun training camp. … Could Arizona State and Arizona end up in different conferences? … Fast action meant a quick recover for USC’s Bronny James. … The Big 12 will challenge the Colorado basketball program.

Gonzaga: Just as a side note, Wilner’s formula for Pac-12 revival also includes adding GU to the mix. Not sure how that would go over with the school just south of Spokane. Then again, there wouldn’t have to be any more talk of the Zags ducking them.

EWU: Cooper Kupp is back doing Cooper Kupp things for the Rams. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana will have a quarterback battle when camp begins.

Indians: Freefall has stepped to the plate, with nothing to play for, record-wise, on-deck. Spokane lost its fourth consecutive game at Eugene, Friday night’s by a 12-2 score.

Seahawks: First pick Devon Witherspoon signed his contract and showed up in camp. He didn’t run with the first-team group, however. … Michael Jackson isn’t about to give up his spot without a fight. … Admit it. Before last season you doubted Geno Smith. … Jarran Reed may just be inside this season. … Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett are still tight.

Mariners: It sure seems like the M’s are gearing up to make a run. Case in point, the 5-2 win over host Arizona last night. But will Logan Gilbert be around for the stretch? Hopefully, yes. He’s becoming a well-rounded pitcher. He is, however, the best trade piece. And Jerry Dipoto loves trades. If offense is needed, Gilbert would bring the best return. … Tom Murphy is the team’s hottest hitter.

Storm: The long losing streak is over, ended with a relatively easy 83-74 win over the host Chicago Sky.

Soccer: The Evergreen Premier League title will be on the line when the Shadow travel to Yakima today. Justin Reed has a preview of the matchup.

•••       

• We yelled at the TV set last night. We are not proud of ourselves but it was justified. No, not the show. It is more fun than watching the Mariners. In the seventh, with runners on second and third, Cal Raleigh failed to block Matt Brash’s wild pitch. Fine. Those things happen. As the ball rolled toward the third-base dugout, the runner from third base scored. Raleigh’s too-late throw got past Brash. Fine. Those things happen. But the runner from second also scored too because – and this is what got us screaming – Ty France watched all the action from his spot behind first base. WT, well, a letter that starts the word we yelled at the screen? It’s France’s job, one he gets paid well for (unlike all the Legion players out there who actually do it), to back up that throw. To break toward home in case Raleigh’s hurried toss does what it did, gets away. But no. He stood where he was, like a guy waiting for a bus. Heck, J.P. Crawford, the shortstop, was actually closer to the ball when the runner scored than France was. Disgraceful. France will stay in the lineup, assuredly, because a first baseman hitting .247 with an OPS of .685 (10th in the A.L. among regular starters at the position) with seven home runs (17th among everyone in the league who plays the spot) and 38 RBIs (12th) constitutes a success in this Mariner lineup. Until later …