Saturday night was all right
A GRIP ON SPORTS
It's probable you have a lot to get done today – with no Seahawks on TV, I'm sure most of you are forgoing your fantasy team's performances to spend time with loved ones – so let's get right to it. After all, it was a pretty good Saturday. Read on.
• For those of you who live and die with the outcome of the Idaho and Whitworth football games, my condolences. Yesterday was probably pretty tough. For the rest of you, congratulations. It's hard to remember a better Saturday. When was the last time the Cougars rallied from a 21-point deficit to win? How about 1988 at UCLA? Yes, last night was pretty fun for WSU fans. And when was the last time the Mariners played a meaningful Game 162? We did some research last night and that was 2000, when the M's came down to the final day needing to win to have any chance for the postseason, as will be the case today. The M's assured today's game would matter with an 11-inning, 2-1 win over the Angels, despite blowing a chance to score the winning run with the bases loaded and none out in the ninth. So both the Cougars and the M's had their ups-and-downs last night, though the ups were high enough to wipe away the memories of the downs. Of course, if you are an Eastern fan, the fact the second-ranked Eagles led only 9-7 at the half was enough of a down for you. You expect more from your team. You got it in the second half.
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• WSU: So did Cougar fans. Expect more and get it, I mean. They expect more than a game-opening pick-six, a long punt return for a touchdown and a 76-yard scoring run from a guy who originally signed a letter-of-intent for their school. But they also have become used to such calamity. Used to, but not expecting of it. There were some thoughts of ending it all on social media after WSU fell behind 21-0 in less than 10 minutes. Those who stayed, however, were treated to one of the great comebacks in school history, a reverse (phrase that shall not be used) if you will. Jacob Thorpe was one of those folks who stayed with it and then he had to make sense of it all. He did. And he did it with this game story, a notebook on Connor Halliday's record-setting game, keys to the game, scoring and the statistics. He also did it with a blog post early this morning with his thoughts as well as this blog post with a few links. Add in two videos, one of Leach speaking and one of Halliday, and there you have it. ... The folks in Utah were left trying to explain it and, really, no one could. They just understood it was an opportunity – a 4-0 opportunity – lost after the great start. They did, however, tip their hat to WSU, which showed a resiliency that hasn't popped up much in the past decade. ... Here's a tip: Don't run on the field at Ohio State. Just saying. ... What did we learn this weekend in the Pac-12?
• EWU: Jim Allen was at the Eagles' 37-14 victory and has this game story and a notebook. He also will have a post today with links from around the Big Sky.
• Idaho: The Vandal defense got a few things straightened out against South Alabama yesterday, but the offense, UI's strength this season, seemed to regress. That's part of the message coming out of Moscow after yesterday's 34-10 defeat. John Blanchette has the game story and a blog post.
• Whitworth: It's hard to win a college football game when you lose the turnover battle. The Pirates found out just how hard yesterday when they were handed their first defeat of the season, 49-34, to Chapman (an employer of mine way back when – I mean more than 30 years ago) at the Pine Bowl. Tom Clouse has the game story.
• Chiefs: Two games, two wins. It seems the Chiefs are off to a good start. Chris Derrick has the story of Spokane 3-2 win over Tri-City in the Arena. ... Everett hammered host Portland, 5-1.
• Preps: Greg Lee has some thoughts on the first month of GSL football. ... We also have a roundup of Saturday's prep action.
• Seahawks: Not a lot to pass along thanks to the bye, though there was some friendly competition going on yesterday at Stanford's win over UW. ... We've learned some things in the season's first three weeks. But have the Hawks learned anything from the 49ers' troubles?
• Mariners: Little known fact. The M's didn't play a meaningful regular season Game 162 in 1995. Thanks to the strike of 1994, which wiped out the World Series and leaked over into 1995, the M's played less than 162 games that season. ... Thanks to the A's collapse, the Mariners still have a chance. They'll send Felix Hernandez to the mound today to try to get them into a one-game playoff with Oakland. That's if the A's lose as well. ... Hernandez's ERA dropped a bunch yesterday and he didn't even pitch. ... You like power rankings? We have a couple.
• Sounders: The defense was porous early but the bottom line, as Sigi Schmid was quick to point out, the Sounders won, 4-2, over Chivas USA and picked up three points in the standings. ... Obafemi Martins scored the key goal – and a record-setter – on an assist from Clint Dempsey.
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• That's it for this morning. Have a nice, Seahawk-free Sunday. At least for most of you, it's a day that starts with a positive glow from yesterday. Until later ...
