Another packed Saturday morning
A GRIP ON SPORTS
Saturday mornings are always full. There is the high school football from last night to pass along. There is the college football happening today to mix in. And, this week at least, there is a rivalry game from Seattle to add in. And, oh ya, there is the Seahawks hosting the 49ers on Sunday. Let's not forget that. Read on.
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• Would you believe it is September 14 and we have a local team in first place as its season winds down? Me neither. Mainly because, over the past few years, I didn't have any faith in the Mariners. Still don't. All I had to do, though, was switch sports. Which it looks as if the entire city of Seattle did. At least 55,107 of them did. That's how many were in CenturyLink last night watching the Sounders score early and then dominate formerly first place Real Salt Lake, 2-0. The win moved Seattle atop the Major League Soccer standings. And validated the concept of playing to win. Yep, the Sounders are actually trying to win a title. Not just make money – though the organization is making a boatload of that. Seattle is trying to bring a MLS championship to the Northwest. Novel concept, huh? As the team headquartered across the street plays out the string on another lost season (and finds another way to lose), the Sounders took a two-goal victory over the best team in the league (until last night) with its three U.S. National Team members watching. Yep, the Sounders were good enough to win last night without their best players (Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson subbed in the second half). That speaks volume for the team's depth and grit, two things that will help with the playoff grind on the horizon.
• Speaking of depth and grit, those two words perfectly describe the Seahawks and the 49ers. Both teams will have those nouns tested Sunday night when they meet in CenturyLink in front of a national TV audience. Think about this. In less than 48 hours, more than 110,000 will have trundled in and out of the Clink watching the world's two most popular forms of football. I'm not sure there will be much in the way of crossover of the fan bases, though I'm sure there is some. Which makes the total number of fans willing to shell out time and money to watch the two games all that more remarkable. Little old rainy Seattle isn't just about the grunge anymore folks. We've known that for a long time but it may just start dawning on the consciousness of the rest of the nation. Now if the M's could ever have 12 walk-off wins in a season instead of losses, we would be set.
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• WSU: The Cougars are hoping to walk all over Southern Utah this afternoon in a under-renovation Martin Stadium, but don't expect it to be as easy at it looks. The FCS schools have been showing all year they can hold their own with the FBS schools despite the superior resources of the larger programs. I'm thinking the Cougars win 31-17 and it isn't that easy. ... Christian Caple already had stated his thoughts on the game this afternoon in his Pac-12 picks, so he could concentrate on things like an advance of the game, which also serves as a guide on how to avoid the construction, along with a blog post that does the same. He also has his keys to victory for WSU and a morning post with links. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog has its mailbag, something I try to always pass along for its entertainment value.
• EWU: The Eagles are in Ohio trying to defeat another FBS school, Toledo. Jim Allen has an advance, plus the Eagles' game leads our college pregame roundup. Jim also has links to Big Sky action in a morning post.
• Idaho: Josh Wright advances the Vandals game with Northern Illinois in this blog post. It also contains an interview with Quinton Bradley, UI's defensive end.
• Preps: The schedule was pretty darn full last night around the area, starting with a doubleheader at Albi Stadium. ... Colin Mulvany has photos from both games while Peter Sowards covers the opener, Mead's 42-7 win over North Central and Jim Allen has the nightcap, a 49-7 win for Central Valley over Rogers. ... Gonzaga Prep routed U-Hi 51-28. Mike Vlahovich has the story. ... Greg Lee was in Coeur d'Alene, where the Viks were the architects of their own defeat, 38-23 to Skyline. Kathy Plonka was also there and has the photographs to prove it. ... Jim Meehan has the story on Lake City's 40-20 home win over Hillcrest. ... Chris Derrick was there as Northwest Christian held its first football game, but it was Liberty and quarterback Match Burnham that shined, winning 44-7. ... Steve Christilaw has the coverage of Freeman's 40-14 win over Pullman. ... We can also pass along all the box scores from Friday night's action and, as awlays, you'll find more at nwprepsnow.com.
• Mariners: Another loss isn't that big a deal, right? But another walk-off loss, giving the M's a dozen of them this season, makes it a bit worse, doesn't it? No? OK then. How about the fact it was a club-record 13th extra-inning loss and it came on a passed ball? Anything? How about the M's wasting a superb effort by Hisashi Iwakuma? OK, nothing moves you. Let's just say the Mariners lost to the Cardinals, 2-1 in St. Louis on Friday night. That is all. ... Wait, the Mariners are not raising ticket prices next year. And, no, they are not cutting them either.
• Seahawks: The best news for the Hawks yesterday? Cliff Avril will take the field for the first time in a Seattle uniform. That should help the defense. The worst news? Brandon Browner probably won't play again. That should hurt the defense. ... Friday's practice was pretty uneventful except for the news in the previous few sentences. ... The Seahawks running game needs to improve for them to win. It's usually been good against the 49ers. ... The rivalry between the teams also extends to the quarterback position, though the two guys aren't enemies. ... Al Micheals hasn't seen it all, but he's close.
• Sounders: We wrote a bit above about the Sounders' 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake in front of another huge crowd, but there is a bunch more to add in the way of links. ... The Salt Lake players were a bit stunned by Obafemi Martins' early goal and never really recovered. ... Sigi Schmid was happy to be able to win and to win without the services of some of his best players for most of the night. ... Before the match, Seattle sent one of its best-liked players to Houston for a Schmid veteran. ... Want to know mare about Osvaldo Alonso? You can find it out here.
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• What's your plan on this fine Saturday? I'm headed to Pullman for the football game and will try to entertain and enlighten those of you who take the same trip. How? By teaming with Dennis Patchin for a call-in show after the post-game highlights and interviews. If you want to listen and don't live in Eastern Washington (where you can find it over the air on the Cougar radio network), download the free Tunein Radio app for your smart phone or tablet or computer. I've been told the show is available there. If it isn't, please let me know. It's darn-near impossible for me to check while I'm on the air. Until later ...
