A GRIP ON SPORTS • It's that time of year again. The time of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Read on.

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• In other words, college football conference's media days. Oh sure, they are fun. It's always fun to hear college coaches answer the same questions over and over again. How did the summer go? Which position group improved the most since last season? Where did you vacation? You know the drill. And then there are the preseason polls. Last year's best teams are this year's best teams. Team A has 21 returning starters off a 6-5 team so it will be really good. Team B lost its quarterback, so it will finish down in the standings. It's all a guess. An educated guess, sure, but there are so many variables between now and December, it's hard to get it right. Still, something needs to satisfy our football Jones between now and the beginning of practice, so there are media days. And they are a growth industry. All the major conferences – and many of the minor ones – have stretched the festivities over multiple days. The more (publicity) the better. At least for the next few days there will be fewer stories on oral commitments by 17-year-olds.

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• WSU: Once again ESPN's Pac-12 blog underestimates a Washington State position group. This time it is the wide receivers. No one seems to remember just how good Gabe Marks was in 2013. His redshirt last season – a way for WSU to spread out a highly competitive group of receivers – seems to have made people think he's damaged goods. He's not. ... The upcoming takeover of DirecTV by AT&T may just be really good news for Pac-12 schools.

• EWU: As we mentioned yesterday, Eastern and Montana State split the two Big Sky Conference polls. Jim Allen has more in this story on the conference's media days. ... Everyone, it seems, has a look at the preseason polls, even if they rarely prove out exactly right.

• Idaho: The Vandals have made some changes on their basketball coaching staff, but the new folks have yet to be announced. The notable casualty is assistant coach Chris Helbling, who got into a much-publicized spat with head coach Don Verlin in Flagstaff last season. Sean Kramer has more in this story and blog post.

• Indians: A really poor seventh inning cost Spokane in its 14-7 loss at Boise.

• Preps: Former Coeur d'Alene athletic director Todd Gilkey has landed another AD gig. Greg Lee has the story.

• Seahawks: Remember that recent line for tickets at CenturyLink? Well, the News Tribune's Gregg Bell was there and he has this story. ... Russell Wilson has been designated a Tier 2 quarterback by the most important sports entity in the world. ... Will Bobby Wagner's extension be done soon?

• Mariners: Guess what. It wasn't the M's bullpen that gave away the game last night. It was Detroit's. Franklin Gutierrez (pictured getting congratulations) stroked a pinch-hit grand slam as the M's handed the Tigers a tough 11-9 defeat. ... Kyle Seager is this year's recipient of the M's Heart & Hustle Award.

• Sounders: Everyone in the Sounders organization has voiced support for Marco Pappa after his DUI arrest of the other day. ... It's a power-ranking day, MLS version.

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• We'll be back here tomorrow. Remember, the Pac-12 football media days are next week and then the Cougars kick off practice in Lewiston again Aug. 8. Until later ...

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