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Seattle Mariners

Grip on Sports: So what will we see tonight from the Seahawks?

It’s becoming a long, rough season for Russell Wilson but the Seahawks quarterback refuses to take a break. (Kathy Willens / Associated Press)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Monday night means Monday Night Football. Has for as long as most of us can remember. For the Seahawks and their fans, Monday Night Football usually means a Tuesday celebrating a win. Does it happen again this week? Read on.

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• Honestly, does anyone know what type of game the Hawks will play tonight? What offense will show up? What defense? We expect the latter to be solid, despite the injury losses – most notably Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor. The former? That’s a crapshoot, with very few sevens showing up recently.

The offense looks a bit snake bit, as opposed to rolling snake eyes. First it was Russell Wilson’s and Thomas Rawls’ injuries. Now it is injuries up front. Through it all, the offense has seemed to sputter and shake like a 27-year-old Ford on a cold morning.

We’ve seen the offense break down before, haven’t we? The beginning of last season wasn’t pretty and then, like a Ferrari, it took off. But it was Wilson who was the power plant for that, utilizing his arm and his legs. Both seem a little off right now, most notably the latter, which just might be affecting the former.

Or maybe it’s just the pressure allowed by his bodyguards up front is finally getting to him.

Whatever the reason, you know the Bills will be coming after Wilson tonight. Rex and Rob Ryan, coach and defensive coordinator, are not wired to be passive on defense. If this were “Jurassic Park,” someone would say the gaps in their DNA have been filled in with raptor strands. Dad loved to attack, the brothers do too.

So we await the kickoff, wondering if the Hawks can begin to put a full game together. After all, this Monday night game is followed by a short week and a game in New England on Sunday against the best team and best quarterback the league has to offer. A fully-functional Seahawk performance would make the upcoming week seem a bit easier, right?

• By the way, for some reason our column from yesterday seemed to disappear off the website for a while. If you missed it, sorry. If you didn’t notice, well then maybe that’s because you follow me on Twitter – @vinceg55 – as that link seemed to be working fine.

That’s the best way to find out when the column is available and the links are up. Not to sound like a Twitter honk or anything, but the medium is also a great way to stay up on what’s happening in the world of sports. If you follow sportswriters who cover your favorite team, you will discover a world of interesting tidbits and links to whichever team is important to you.

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• WSU: Yes it is the middle of football season. The Cougars moved up in the polls yesterday, finally settling at No. 23. And, even with a few weeks until the Apple Cup, Jacob Thorpe points out how Washington State and UW’s fates are intertwined. But it’s now also basketball season, as the Cougars opened with an exhibition game yesterday against Carroll College of Helena, Mont. Jacob has a game story as the Saints, led by Liberty High product Match Burnham, led in the second half before falling, 78-70. That was explained in these video interviews with Ernie Kent and a trio of players. … The volleyball team lost another home match. … California is a two-touchdown underdog against the Cougars and is licking its wounds from a UW drubbing.

Elsewhere in Pac-12 football, the Cougars are more highly thought of in this power ranking than the national polls. And the state’s two quarterbacks once again show they are the class of the conference. … Utah and Arizona State are coming off byes and will meet in the week’s first game Thursday. … The game of the week is in Seattle – ESPN’s GameDay will be there if you care – when No. 4 Washington hosts the resurgent Trojans of USC. … Stanford at Oregon. Used to be the conference’s biggest game of the season. But that’s so 2015. Mark Helfrich gets it. … UCLA will try to snap a long losing streak when it hosts Oregon State. … Arizona might be able to take advantage of a Colorado team looking ahead to its big showdown with Washington State.

• Gonzaga: The return of Przemek Karnowski means a lot for the Zags. The same can be said for Elle Tinkle. … The men’s soccer season is winding down.

• EWU: Jim Allen was in California on Saturday night. He was at the Cheney soccer field Sunday to document the Eagles’ first women’s NCAA soccer berth. Eastern earned it with a shootout win over Northern Arizona. … Eastern’s women’s basketball team earned an exhibition win. They will play at WSU, which also won an exhibition game yesterday, later this week. … Around the Big Sky in football yesterday, Cal Poly doesn’t think the three-touchdown home defeat to Eastern has killed its playoff hopes. … There was a reunion yesterday in Missoula. … Southern Utah has a giant of sorts on its schedule this week, BYU.

• Whitworth: The women’s soccer season ended with a defeat.

• Chiefs: Portland is in a free-fall as the Winterhawks lost again to Tri-City on Sunday. … Many WHL teams will be missing key players for a while.

• Seahawks: With the Bills coming to town, that means the recently un-retired Percy Harvin will be here as well. … I missed this story the other day but I am passing it along now because I found it interesting. … Sunday was good to Seattle even if the Hawks didn’t play.

• Mariners: The M’s picked up another catcher yesterday, reportedly trading left-handed relief pitcher Vidal Nuno to Los Angeles for Carlos Ruiz.

• Sounders: A 2-1 loss to FC Dallas was a win for Seattle last night in Frisco, Texas. The score meant the Sounders still moved on to the Western Conference finals against Colorado. The Rapids got past Los Angeles thanks mainly to goalkeeper Tim Howard. … Seattle has suffered a real rash of injuries.

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• Anything happening this week outside the world of sports? Anything at all? Until later …