Grip on Sports: Take some time on this pre-NFL Sunday to experience other sports

A GRIP ON SPORTS • My sister watches just one show on Sunday morning and, not surprisingly, that’s its name. Me? I like to spin the dial, to use an outdated term, switching from station to station in the vain hope of not missing anything. Read on.

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• We start on ROOT, where the Mariners will be playing Tampa Bay again today. The M’s couldn’t have dialed up a better start to their 12-game, four-city road trip than what they’ve put together the past couple days, though the pitching was again a bit suspect yesterday.

No matter. Not the way Nelson Cruz has been hitting. The big fella not only is hitting balls out of the park often recently, when he connects they seem to fly and fly and fly away.

And it didn’t hurt Mitch Haniger came off the disabled list – Jarrod Dyson took his place, nursing a bad groin – and announced his presence with authority. Not with a 100-mile-per-hour heater, a la Nuke LaLoosh, but with a grand slam that keyed the 8-7 win.

• The Pac-12 Networks should spend today showing all of yesterday’s scrimmages from around the conference. But it isn’t. Heck, just about every school went out and beat up its backups yesterday, with coaches afterward announcing they were pleased with this group and displeased with their counterpart.

It doesn’t matter which groups. Scrimmages are about one side of the ball having the upper hand. This week. Next week, it may just be the other side.

• I’m sure somewhere in the hundreds of cable channels I pay for, someone is talking about the Fight of the Century, 2017 version.

This one doesn’t pit two seasoned boxers, however. It’s more of a made-for-pay-per-view event featuring an over-the-hill boxing star against an over-the-hill MMA star.

In other words, it’s what the American viewing public deserves.

John Blanchette spent his week talking with some local fellows who have a bit more understanding of what each man will face and then presenting their comments in this column.

• If spending Sunday morning, and afternoon, is more about world events, the sporting world is happy to provide a jingoistic moment today.

The Solheim Cup, a golfing competition between the best female golfers from Europe and the U.S., is on the Golf Channel and NBC. Or, as the South Korean golfers call it, the NIT.

(I can’t take credit for that joke. Sorry. And if you don’t get it, sorry about that too. It’s just that the best female golfers in the world are from South Korea, and they aren’t included in this competition. The NCAA vs. the NIT, get it?)

• If you want to watch 13 year olds play baseball, that’s available on ESPN, sure, but it is Sunday. Which means the NFL is on. As long as you have access to the NFL’s network.

And can overlook the fact it is preseason football.

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WSU: Want something as predictable as death and taxes? Here it is: If one side of the ball has a good scrimmage, the other side will shine the next week. I swear the coaches must set it up that way. Self-esteem and all that. Anyway, the defense shined last night at Martin Stadium. Theo Lawson has a handful of takeaways from the night’s hitting. … If you are one of those people who are always worried about the “next guy,” then this story from Theo should make you feel better. It’s about the next quarterback headed to Pullman and his senior season opener. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the school that will get the most national exposure may not have the best football team. … You can count on Washington’s offensive lineman to like drive blocking – and country music. … Ron McBride is retired, but the former Utah coach keeps up with Oregon State football. … The recent turnover in the Oregon athletic department can be traced to the change in the football program. … Whoever is California’s quarterback, they will have at least one great receiver. … Stanford has some holes to fill. … The top priority at Utah is to figure out who will play quarterback. … Colorado is still deciding on running backs. … UCLA has some offensive weapons. … USC’s defense didn’t dominate at Saturday’s scrimmage. The top guys had the day off. … According to coach Todd Graham, a freshman receiver starred at Arizona State’s scrimmage. It was, however, closed to outsiders. … Arizona may have decided on its quarterback, but one of the contenders is still searching for time.

Gonzaga: If you’ve been around the GU athletic department at all this summer, you probably had to navigate your way around construction. The Zags are building a state-of-the-art practice facility that is so much more. Jim Meehan took a tour of the still-under-construction building and takes you along with this story.

EWU: The defense dominated the Eagles’ Saturday scrimmage. Jim Allen was at Roos Field and has this coverage. … Around the Big Sky, a couple of Southern Utah players had productive offseasons in a different sense. … Northern Colorado scrimmaged yesterday and the defense shined. … Both sides of the ball did better at Idaho State’s scrimmage. … In Bozeman, it was the defense that rose up for Montana State. … Northern Arizona has a tough home schedule. … Montana’s quarterback competition is over.

Idaho: I’m sensing a scrimmage theme here. The defense held the upper hand in the Vandals’ scrimmage yesterday. Peter Harriman has the story. He also has a more in-depth look at that side of the ball.

Indians: It was over early for Spokane last night, and with a sellout crowd at Avista to see the 10-1 defeat. Whitney Ogden has the story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Eugene is now in last place in the South. … Tri-City defeated Everett again. … Salem-Keizer shut out Hillsboro.

Preps: A former Lewis and Clark High basketball standout is on the move at the college level.

Mariners: The M’s have won four consecutive games to move back over the .500 mark and pull within a half-game of the final wild-card spot. That’s their M.O. this season, isn’t it? … This is neither here-nor-there, but the Dodgers are 87-34. That’s the exact record the 2001 Mariners had after 121 games. … I wonder if Bill Klem every wore a wristband?

Seahawks: With George Fant’s season-ending injury, the Hawks have to revamp their offensive line. Again. The choices are not all that great. … The national debate about protests, the NFL and the anthem has moved a little more toward the Seahawks. … What did we learn from the win over Minnesota?

Sounders: Seattle has been lights out defensively. … Real Salt Lake’s unbeaten streak ended Saturday.

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• My sister loved Charles Kuralt’s stories. Who wouldn’t? He was a novelist disguised as a television journalist. That’s what hooked her on CBS’ show back in the day. Then Charles Osgood took over. Between the two, they hosted the show for 37 years. And, in that time, I probably watched 37 times. Most of them when I was visiting her. Sunday. Football. You know. Until later …