A GRIP ON SPORTS • One thing happened Sunday that was inevitable as the sunrise. No, we’re not speaking of the Seahawks' win over the Chicago Bears, or Jimmy Graham catching a touchdown pass or Kam Chancellor being cheered. Those things were expected sure, but not as certain. What we are referring to is the Mariners being eliminated from the playoffs. Read on.

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• When you have all summer – well most of it, anyway – to prepare for something, then the official day is sort of anticlimactic. It’s a baseball – and third weddings – truism. We’ve had more than three months to get our mind around the M’s inability to capitalize on their 2014 momentum, so yesterday, the day Seattle was “officially” eliminated from the postseason chase, passed with a whimper. I’m guessing, considering it was a Sunday in September and the Hawks needed to win badly, there wasn’t a thousand TVs across the Northwest consistently tuned to the M’s 3-2 loss in Anaheim. In fact, if Safeco Field had been opened for Seahawk fans and the game from across the street shown on the scoreboard, it probably would have drawn more eyeballs then the M’s telecast. Face it, this time of year in this bad a season, the Mariners are an afterthought. Everywhere but here. Yes, the competitive part of the season is over. We’re already looking toward the hot stove league and beyond. Next year is going to be the year, we know it.

• As for the game that really mattered, the Hawks won. That is about the best that can be said about the 26-0, eyeball-gouging victory. The first half was tough to sit through, mainly because the Seattle offense has the consistency of powdered sugar. In the heat of the red zone it melts too. A great punt-return fake – two things about that: where have I seen it before (oh yeah, last year in St. Louis and Saturday night in Eugene); and boy, Richard Sherman isn’t fast over the long haul, is he? – netted them just three points as did another red zone visit just before the half. Then Tyler Lockett returned a beautifully blocked kickoff for a touchdown and the game was over, considering the ineptitude of the Bears’ offense. Yes, Chancellor played and did his Kam things. And yes, Russell Wilson looked for Graham more, and that resulted in a third-quarter touchdown that had Steve Raible screaming. But overall, taking into account the Bears level of competiveness, this was a win that seemed, well, desultory not focused and dominating. After two tough losses, however, we’ll take it and move on.

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• WSU: The bye is behind us. Next up: undefeated California in Berkeley on Saturday. A 1 p.m. kickoff on what is expected to be a perfect fall afternoon. It’s a trip I miss, whether it’s the memory of fighting the traffic to the stadium, or the long, uphill walk, or the after-game, safety-mandated security escort to your rental car. The views of the bay, the blue skies punctuated with fluffy white clouds floating over the surrounding green hills combined with the historic nature of the facility to overcome those things and get you psyched for college football. Jacob Thorpe will experience that this Saturday but today he begins with a morning post. ... The WSU soccer team began the Pac-12 season with a road win. ... Is the Pac-12 college football’s equivalent to “The Hunger Games?” ... You like power rankings? We have one for you.

• EWU: Jim Allen gives us one more look back at the Eagles’ all-important road win at Sacramento on Saturday night. Jim’s story focuses on the defense and its second-half improvement.

• Seahawks: What story line did you like the best? We can offer the Graham one, with John Blanchette focusing on that in his column as well as others. ... Or we can serve up the Chancellor feast, with many folks examining how his return affected the defense. ... There is the trudging nature of the offense, if course, especially in the first half. ... Or the Marshawn Lynch injury and the emergence of his young apprentice, Thomas Rawls. ... The special nature of the special teams can’t be overlooked in the 26-0 victory.

• Mariners: The main thrust of the stories following the 3-2 loss was the elimination, despite its long journey to fruition. But there were the sidebars on what the last week of the season holds and who the next general manager might be.

• Sounders: Talk about a lost opportunity. The Sounders could have earned three points against a beat-up Kansas City team and led 1-0 late in the match. But another late goal – a problem all season – earned Sporting KC a 1-1 draw and caused the Sounders to tread water in the standings. ... San Jose and the Los Angeles Galaxy each won yesterday to get their three points, while Real Salt Lake is now in real trouble.

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• My promise to you for next season: I’m going to be really tough on the M’s. I’ll start in the offseason, continue in spring training and carry on through April and May. It’s time to for them to make the playoffs. Past time, actually, so let’s start demanding it. Until later ...

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