Grip on Sports: Upsets are the rule on another great fall Saturday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s spend this NFL-less Sunday – in the Northwest – with a few thoughts on a variety of subjects, ranging in importance from upsets to Buster Posey. Read on.

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• What. A. Weekend.

College football had us at 37-3 and closed the deal at 13-7. You may recognize those numbers. The former is from California’s surprisingly dominant upset of our local celebrity softball team, aka, the Cougars. The latter was last night’s surprisingly ugly Arizona State upset of No. 5 Washington, the only major college team in America who forgot to pack a kicker for its road trip.

We jest, of course. Humor deflects sadness. Not because the local teams lost this weekend, but because now the Pac-12’s playoffs hopes rest with USC.

Not that Washington State was going to be in the four team playoffs anyway, as the Cougars were eliminated before the season started because of three letters: W, S and U.

But Washington had a real chance at returning. And now those chances are slim and none, mainly because only one Pac-12 team gets a do-over, unless one of the others’ only loss is to said fabled franchise.

You see, the nation treats USC differently from the rest of the conference. It is the only Pac-12 school held in the same esteem as the SEC, Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame. The blue bloods of college football.

So the Trojans, who held on to win by a point last night at home when Utah’s quarterback missed a guy so open on a two-point conversion the closest Trojan was wearing a song-leader outfit, are still in the playoff hunt. Win out, including a win over Stanford in the Pac-12 title game – isn’t that what everyone not wearing purple or crimson is thinking this morning? –  and USC will face Georgia in the semifinals.

Or maybe Alabama. Or Ohio State. Or another of the blue bloods.

• Catching is what I did. Every day for years, and then longer than I should have into my middle age years. Loved it. It was the only position in baseball in which all your teammates looked to you on every pitch. And it was the only position in which you had to play with a physical mindset.

By that I mean you have to throw your body around. In front of baseballs when need be, in front of runners when it was called for. At least you had to.

Then Posey came around. A pretty boy. (Much too pretty to be a catcher.) A Giant. A hitter who happened to play behind the plate. He wasn’t great at the little things, including blocking the dish when a runner was bearing down. He didn’t do it correctly one day, got run over, was injured and major league baseball was forced to respond.

It responded with another stupid rule.

Instead of acknowledging contact at home plate is part of the game and, if taught correctly, catchers are relatively safe – don’t bring up Pete Rose and Ray Fosse; Fosse wasn’t expecting Rose to bowl him over in an All-Star Game, after all and rules shouldn’t change because one jerk does something stupid – blocking the dish, and have been for more than 100 years.

But Posey was hurt, his manager, a former catcher who seemingly was trying to deflect criticism from not demanding his charge learn the nuances of the position, campaigned for a change and baseball folded. Like always.

So last night the game was bit in the butt.

With the Dodgers leading the Cubs 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, L.A. infielder Charlie Culberson tried to score on a single to left. The throw arrived to catcher Wilson Contreras at nearly the same time Culberson did.

Contreras did what every catcher has done for decades. He showed Culberson a lane to the plate, then took it away by kicking his left leg out. Culberson’s hand hit Contreras’ leg and never reached home. He was out.

It’s exactly how blocking the plate should be done. It’s safe, if anything in a professional sport can be safe. The runner would have had to go out of his way to initiate contact, there is a way to avoid the foot – slide by and hit the plate with a hand as you do – and neither player really had an advantage.

But since Posey’s injury, baseball’s rule is simple. The catcher cannot block the plate without the ball. It’s written to avoid what Posey used to do, put his body in the baseline and deny the baserunner access. Such actions invited contact.

What Contreras did in the seventh inning wasn’t legal – and Culberson was called safe on replay – but it was the way the play has been taught since King Kelly first put on shin guards.

It was safe then, it’s safe now. It’s just no longer allowed.

• By the way, when baseball put in replay, it outlawed managers arguing with umpires afterward. It’s an automatic ejection.

The rule didn’t stop Joe Maddon, a former catcher, last night. The Chicago manager came out and made a scene. God bless him. He kept another tradition alive.

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WSU: Casual Washington State fan yesterday: “The Cougars lost? By 34 points? Glad I was asleep. What happened?” Theo Lawson answered that question yesterday. … Theo also relayed information an interesting day for former WSU basketball player Ike Iroegbu. … John Blanchette studied Mike Leach’s postgame comments from Friday night and put them in this column. … The women’s soccer team also lost to California. … The undefeated football season is toast. How the Cougars respond is what matters.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, there is a question to be asked. Did the conference schedulers make this season tougher than it needed to be on the better teams? … Washington’s undefeated season is toast, roasted in the desert again, this time 13-7 to Arizona State. How did the Huskies’ kicking game disappear? Todd Graham may have saved his job but at a cost. … Bryce Love ran all over Oregon early, but the Stanford Heisman candidate left the 49-7 rout in the second half, limping to the trainer’s tent. Oregon understands injuries. … Oregon State was a different team under interim coach Cory Hall, but the Beavers were not better than visiting Colorado, which rallied for a 36-33 win. … Utah had a chance. A wide-open chance. But Troy Williams’ eyes were down and the Utes went down to USC 28-27. The Trojans still have problems that need to be fixed. … Arizona has fixed its season thanks to Khalil Tate. The quarterback ran, and passed, the Wildcats past impotent UCLA, winning 47-30 in Tucson.

Gonzaga: The women’s basketball team held its Fanfest yesterday at McCarthey and Whitney Ogden was there to chronicle it in words and James Snook with his camera.

EWU: The Eagles had a really successful Saturday, defeating Montana State 31-19 on the red turf in Cheney, while one of their closest pursuers in the Big Sky standings lost. Jim Allen covers the former in detail, with his game story and sidebars on the running game and a key fumble recovery. Colin Mulvany also was at Roos Field and he has an in-depth photo report. … There are also stories available from a Montana State perspective. … Around the Big Sky, that closest pursuer, Weber State, was blown out by Southern Utah. That sets up a showdown in Cedar City next Saturday for Eastern. … Another of the close pursuers, Northern Arizona, stayed undefeated in conference play with a romp over winless Portland State. … Montana also stayed on Eastern’s heels by handling preseason favorite North Dakota. … Sacramento State likes to play Idaho State. … UC Davis has one record-setting receiver. … Northern Colorado is looking forward to the second half of the season.

Idaho: The Vandals jumped ahead of visiting Appalachian State by 20 points. Then the wheels fell off, and the Mountaineers rallied for a 23-20 victory. Peter Harriman was at the Kibbie Dome and has this story.

Whitworth: With record-holding quarterback Ian Kolste sideline by an injury, backup Leif Erickson, whose namesake may or may not have explored America, discovered a way to defeat Pacific Lutheran, as the Whits held on 17-14.

Chiefs: Momentum is a fickle son of a gun, as Spokane found out in a 5-2 loss to visiting Tri-City. Kevin Dudley has the story. … Everett’s long road trip is over.

Preps: Colton High graduate Josh Straughan has earned a spot on a Canadian Football League roster. … We have volleyball and girls’ soccer roundups to pass along.

Seahawks: No Seahawks game today. They have their bye. So no stories either. OK. One. On the offensive line.

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• Sometimes it takes forever to put this column together. Today was one of those mornings. Sorry it’s late. Until later …