Is this team jinxed?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Funny how rain works. Some days it’s cloudy everywhere and the water falls slow and steady. Other days, like last night, it was hit and miss. Wonder if there is a metaphor in there somewhere. Read on.

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• The lightning crashed all around Spokane last night. It brought spectacular explosions of light and the booming sound of thunder. Yet, where I was, very little in the way of rain. How odd. The lightning crashed around Felix Hernandez as well last night. It was supplied by the Yankees. And it was preceded by just enough rain to visible bother the best pitcher in baseball. How odd. The first three innings Felix was dealing. Almost unhittable. Then a shower hit over Safeco, and the roof was slow to close. By the time Felix took the mound in the fourth, the dirt was a muddy mess. Nice. Felix’s pinpoint control slipped away, the Yankees scored seven runs over the next two innings and the M’s slipped three games under .500. Not nice. It almost seems as if this team is snake bit, as if the off-season of hope has been revealed as hubris and the gods are punishing Mariner fans. Heck, the M’s are even re-creating classic mythological tales, from Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill yet never reaching the top (the hill would represent the .500 mark for those of you scoring at home) to Joe Btfsplk, the guy in Lil’ Abner who had a perpetual rain cloud over his head (this one is obviously … Jack Zduriencik). It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for the M’s, if it not for the fact the problems – other than the injuries to two starting pitchers – is of their own making. You carry seven outfielders, all lacking in speed, and you may just end up with a Logan Morrison batting leadoff. You rush a guy to the majors because he is the best defensive catcher you have in the system, and he may never hit. You fiddle with the confidence of your best hitting shortstop by moving him around defensively and he may not regain his stroke for a while. You make cruddy draft choices, give them red carpets to the big leagues and they may just lack the mental toughness to deal with failure. Oh well, baseball has a tendency to even out in the long run. Sooner or later the M’s will fly close to the sun. Of course, that will probably be when their wings melt off.

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• WSU: The starting times of a few of the Cougars’ fall football games were released yesterday, including the opener Sept. 5 against Portland State. That game will begin at 11 a.m. Breakfast with the Cougs, indeed. Jacob Thorpe has a blog post and a short story on the news. … The conference released a lot of starting times , mainly for games that will be on the Pac-12 Networks. … It looks as if Klay Thompson will be OK for the start of the NBA Finals.

• Gonzaga: Former Gonzaga rival Matthew Dellavedova hasn’t let the NBA change him.

• Preps: The Jack Blair Memorial girls’ basketball game was dominated in the second half by the Metro team. That led to a 100-80 win for the group. Greg Lee has more in this story . … A former Freeman standout has won back-to-back NCAA tennis titles for Alabama. Jim Allen catches up with Maya Jensen (pictured).

• Seahawks: OTAs resume today with Jimmy Graham in town and ready to become part of the Hawk offense, Kam Chancellor healthy and ready for the season to begin and Russell Wilson and the team still talking about a contract extension. It looks as if Cam Newton has a new contract and it could have a impact on Wilson’s future earnings.

• Mariners: Here is how Larry Stone saw last night’s game: “It was just another maddening night in what so far has been an utterly frustrating season.” Bingo. … Felix and McClendon refused to blame the mound , correctly pointing out it didn’t seem to bother Michael Pineda. Well, he was pitching against the M’s, which is a much easier task . … McClendon decided to shake up the lineup last night. As a result, Morrison hit in a spot he had never occupied before. … With Mike Montgomery in town and starting tonight, the M’s sent Chris Taylor to Tacoma and brought up a relief pitcher to ease a stressed bullpen. A reliever probably will be sent down today.

• Sounders: The draw was held for CONCACAF”s Champions League play and Seattle was put into a tough group which includes MLS rival Vancouver. … The team signed a Brazilian midfielder with one name, Thomas.

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• It is expected to be a cool day in Spokane. Guess I’ll hunker down with a good book. And a bottle of diet Coke. Until later …