No, not that button
A GRIP ON SPORTS
I made a major mistake in judgment this morning and, because of it, this blog post is coming too you quite a bit later than I intended. Read on.
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• I'm not sure how many of you reading this own a Mac. If statistics serve, around 10 to 20 percent would be my guess. But if you have ever owned or used one, you know there is a trap you can fall into easily. It's the little notice on the computer screen informing you there are software updates available for your computer. A simple little screen that holds more terror at times than an Oregon fan before a national championship game. And there it was on my screen this morning. Usually, when I'm thinking right, I check what software is being updated before I click the update box. But today, in my semi-slumber, I hit it without thinking. And guess what? It was the operating system. Noooooo. Not only does it seem to take forever to download, decode, place and cleanup each new .1.1.1 version of the Mac OS, it also means you have to hold your breath when the machine restarts. You just never know if some piece of software you picked up in the backwaters of the Internet won't be compatible with the new system and the whole machine will just refuse to reboot. It has happened to me. So, after watching the little blue bar fill up slowly this morning I waited anxiously as the process wound down. It seemed as if the gray screen and the spinning color circle was in place for a long, long time, but finally it ended. And then nothing. My heart skipped a beat, two, three. Then the box asking for my user name and password popped up and I could live again. Anyhow, isn't that better than trying the old excuse, my dog ate my blog post?
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• Washington State: Christian Caple examines this week's opponent, Colorado, in today's S-R story, pointing out the Buffs could be headed for a winless season if they don't figure out a way to win Saturday. That sounds ominous, doesn't it? I will throw this in. Denver Post columnist John Henderson is basically calling for Jon Embree and his staff's heads today in his column. ... Speaking of columns, John Blanchette has his take on the injury policy conversation that's going on in the conference right now. ... Christian also had a post-practice blog post yesterday, the announcement WSU and Wyoming have agreed to a home-and-home football series and this morning's post. ... Some of the facts contained in this ESPN.com Pac-12 blog post are enlightening. ... The fact Jon Wilner has the Cougars as his five-star special (and it's for a win) is a first for me.
• EWU: Jim Allen had another busy day before he shoots down to Ogden, Utah for the Eagles' Big Sky opener at Weber State. He has this feature on receiver Brandon Kaufman (he's hard to miss; he's the big guy with the No. 1 on his jersey) and held a live chat yesterday.
• Idaho: The Vandals will host Wyoming this weekend, and the Boomerang (yep, that's the name of the Laramie newspaper) has this look at the uncertainty surrounding the Idaho program. ... Utah State has a problem. The Aggies really don't have a backup quarterback right now.
• Chiefs: This season starts with promise for Spokane, which hopes to play a few minutes more than last according to Jess Brown's story. ... Portland has picked a captain.
• Preps: The Mead volleyball team won the big intradistrict rivalry match with Mt. Spokane and Jess was there. ... Central Valley held off North Central at Albi Stadium, 24-19. Greg Lee has the story. ... There is also the roundup of Thursday's action.
• Seahawks: When Matt Flynn (right) left his job as Aaron Rodgers' backup in Green Bay, he probably believed he would be the Hawks' starting quarterback this Monday when Seattle hosts his old team. It hasn't worked out that way. ... Golden Tate isn't all that enamored of his fine from the NFL and he has decided to appeal. ... The injury news, something we're all used to having from the NFL, is hit-and-miss for the Hawks this week. ... That can't be said of the offensive line. They are making their hits count.
• Mariners: After another late-season off day, there are three interesting M's stories. The first is on Justin Smoak's place in Seattle, the second covers Michael Saunders' future and finally, Larry Stone looks at Felix Hernadez's Cy Young chances again.
• Sounders: By winning Wednesday night, the Sounders can breathe a bit easier.
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• The weekend is almost upon us. In just hours we will be inundated with football, a flood that won't ebb until the late hours Sunday night. Good luck. We'll be back tomorrow before we head down to WSU for the Colorado game, which starts at 1 p.m. Until then ...
