The transition to autumn isn’t an easy one to make for anybody
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Not a good day to be an 8-year-old kid. Or a 14-year-old. It seems like forever until next summer. So the mind wanders. Read on.
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• Can you remember? Can you remember those days in September when you were 8 or 14 or maybe even 25 (if you’re a teacher)? Looking out the classroom window, seeing the sunshine filtering through the clouds, the warmth radiating off the sidewalk. It seemed like summer. It felt like summer. Heck, it still was summer. Except it wasn’t. You were back in school. You had to tear your concentration away from memories of swimming in the lake, or racing down a hot street trying to keep the soles of your feet from burning, or a late night on a quiet, secluded road, soft music coming from the car speakers. Those were the days – and nights – and they were just a week or two previous. Oh sure, football season had started so you had practice, games and postgame activities to look forward to, but it wasn’t enough. Summer had baseball games, fishing, beach time, hiking, street hoops, bicycling, just about anything in the way of exercise or competition you could wish for. Sitting in that classroom, sweating out another early September heat wave, you wondered how many days until school let out again. How many hours. How many minutes. It was too hard – math was always hard – to figure out. And too depressing. June and July and August meant freedom. September meant the shackles of the alarm clock, the bus, homework. Didn’t matter if you loved learning – history was great but math, science and, yes, English, were my enemies – the days still dragged. And it didn’t help when recess (or nutrition, depending on your age and your school’s nomenclature) came. The fleeting moments outside were incredible while they lasted, if you could navigate the minefield that was a playground. But the time always ended all too soon and you had to line up like something out of “Hogan’s Heroes” and march back into the sweatbox they called a classroom. You didn’t want to be there, you wanted to be out there. You wanted summer to go on and on. You wanted “Willoughby” but you were presented with “To Serve Man.” They weren’t textbooks, they were cookbooks! At least that’s how it seemed. Life is so unfair. What did Mr. Demeter just say? Crud, I have to focus. Summer is over. Winter is coming. It’s time to get back to the task at hand. Psst, Kent, where are we?
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• WSU: The Cougars had their personal “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” on Saturday but instead of a little gremlin on the wing, it was Portland State’s running game that was clawing at the engines. Now they have to pull themselves together and focus on Saturday’s game in New Jersey. Jacob Thorpe has his first look at the Rutgers game, a contest that’s taken on even more importance after the PSU loss. ... Jacob also has his summary (and video) from Mike Leach's press conference yesterday that resulted in this story in which the players and Leach try to explain what happened last week. ... Finally, there are the school’s game notes and Jacob’s morning post with links. ... No matter how you color it, it wasn’t a good weekend for the Pac-12.
• EWU: Cooper Kupp had one of the more impressive offensive days in school history Saturday and it earned him a Big Sky Conference award. ... Portland State rode the upset of WSU to a spot in the FCS top 25. ... Will the win key a great season for the Vikings?
• Seahawks: Why is Fred Jackson (pictured) in a Seahawk uniform and Christine Michael being fitted for a Dallas one? Well, Marshawn Lynch is willing to take credit for his buddy being in Seattle but the truth of the matter is the Hawks are trying to win now, and Jackson does things Michael never mastered. ... Even if it is time for Kam Chancellor to bite the bullet and return to the Hawks (if they want to win now), it doesn’t look as if anything has changed. Other than maybe Pete Carroll’s relentless optimism (a hat tip to old friend Leslie Kelly for the link). That’s not showing in this case. ... The practice squad is full. ... Russell Wilson is still trying to get better.
• Mariners: So much for the winning streak. So much for putting some pressure on the Rangers. So much for relevance. The M’s lost 3-0 yesterday in a Labor Day matinee and did very little right. ... The M’s are still making roster moves, sending guys down even though they have open spots. Odd, but it does save them a little bit of money. ... Nelson Cruz is battling to get back into the lineup.
• Sounders: It’s a big week in the MLS as the regular season winds down. ... Portland and Sporting Kansas City are both fighting for a playoff spot. They meet tomorrow in the Rose City.
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• Sorry for the somewhat irrelevant ranting today but when you have to fill this space some 355 times a year, there are days you feel like you are stuck in a Twilight Zone episode. At least I've watched them all (I think). Until later ...
