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• OK, I can't avoid it. Congratulations. Yes, the Royals got all the way to the seventh game of the World Series, so they deserve some congratulations. Other than that, I'm not sure what to write. Should I be happy for the Giants? If not them, then their fans, many of whom are the nicest people you will meet? You don't know how hard that is, folks. Let's put it this way. If you are a WSU fan and the University of Washington won three football national titles in five years, how would you feel? Or, for you Gonzaga folks, what if St. Mary's took the NCAA basketball title three times between now and 2019? Would you want to be magnanimous? Or would you pout? A little of both? See, I was raised to love my mom, my country and hate the Giants. For years, the last part of that was pretty easy. They always lost, even when they were successful. No World Series titles in my lifetime. Then 2010 happened. OK, it was a fluke. I could live with that. Congrats Bill, let's move on. But the ugliness happened again in 2012. That was a bit harder to take. Congrats Dennis. Stop smiling. This year there was no chance of it happening again. The even-numbered success was going to stop. Then Madison Bumgarner happened. Congrats Bud. That Giant hat looks great on you. Three titles, five years. I'm not sure it's a dynasty – it would seem there would have to be back-to-back titles sometime to qualify – but it is damn impressive. And how could you not appreciate Bumgarner? He was Sandy Koufax, circa 1963, or Orel Hershier, circa 1988, all over again. It was obvious last night who ever won the first three or four innings would win the game, basically because the Giants had their Mad Bum and the Royals their bullpen. No one was scoring late to win this one. So when San Francisco went ahead 3-2 in the fourth on twice-former Mariner Mike Morse's jam-shot single to right, all the Giant despisers hoped Kansas City would find a way to score before Bruce Bochy could get Bumgarner in the game. Nope. Didn't happen. Even when centerfielder Gregor Blanco played a two-out, ninth-inning base-hit into a triple, you knew the Royals weren't going to score. Bumgarner was too good and Kansas City's hitters too impatient. So the Giants have another banner to raise while the team of my youth, the Dodgers, flounders around trying to regain past glory. And the team of my middle and old age, the Mariners, just flounders. So I vow to you. If either of them ever win a World Series title, I will never, ever – ever – act like a donkey, lording it over other team's fans and making them feel sad. I will be the model of decorum, politely savoring the success, not the failure of anyone else. You believe me, right?

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• WSU: Speaking of success, Connor Halliday has experienced some this season. Statistically, at least. Winning, that's another story. So Jacob Thorpe has this piece on Halliday and how he's dealt with the Cougars' 2-6 season. It pairs nicely with yesterday's Grantland feature on Halliday and Mike Leach. ... Jacob doesn't expect the Cougars to get back on the winning track this week, quite possibly because USC is good and WSU is still dealing with quite a few players missing from practice. ... Jacob also held a live chat yesterday and has a morning post today. ... No one at ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog expects the Cougars to win Saturday, though one of the writers thinks they are the most exciting fourth-quarter team in the conference. ... They also have a midweek mailbag.

• EWU: Vernon Adams would love to be playing. Everyone associated with Eastern would love to have Vernon Adams playing. But, as Jim Allen writes in this Big Sky notebook, Adams and the Eagles understand he can't push the envelope too much with his broken foot or it might limit him the rest of the season.

• Idaho: The Vandals are coming off a bye week and now, according to coach Paul Petrino, have a two-headed quarterback system. We'll see. John Blanchette has more in this in-depth blog post.

• Chiefs: Scoring a late goal to tie the score is always cool, but then going on to defeat the defending Memorial Cup champions in a shootout is more than cool, it's icy. That's what happened last night at the Arena as Spokane defeated Edmonton, 4-3. Chris Derrick has the coverage. ... Everett won again, this time on the road.

• Preps: It's Thursday and Greg Lee has a poignant Prep Page column on Post Falls' win last week and what it means to the Trojans' coach. ... Greg also has a cross country roundup in preparation for the state meets in Idaho and the postseason in Washington. ... Chris Derrick has a nice feature that explains Sue Doering's success with the Colfax volleyball program (pictured). ... Jim Allen has a quick look at the upcoming Washington soccer playoffs. ... Greg and Sam Adams pick this weekend's football games while Bill Pierce has another history lesson.

• Seahawks: Probably the biggest news out of Seattle yesterday was the Hawks shuffling the deck at linebacker once again, adding rookie Brock Coyle into the mix in the middle. If you are wondering what's behind the Seahawks' struggles, look no further than the injuries. This isn't last year's team right now. ... Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell talked with the media yesterday. So did linebacker coach Ken Norton. ... The chance to bring a few smiles to the faces of some high school kids who have been through hell recently made the Hawks happy. ... The Hawks also added a veteran fullback to the roster, meaning Marshawn Lynch might actually see some holes against the Raiders. ... A good performance against the Hawks in the preseason helped a Raider rookie earn a starting spot.

• Mariners: Larry Stone, who experienced the Justin Smoak era up close, has his thoughts on its end. He also ranks the worst personnel moves of the Jack Zduriencik era, a list I take issue with. The Doug Fister trade should be first. That one hurts now and is going to hurt for a long time. The same can be said of the Jesus Montero deal and the Cliff Lee trade. They others aren't nearly as long lasting. ... With the Series over, free agency begins.

• Sounders: The Sounders will face Dallas in the playoff's first round. FC Dallas defeated Vancouver, 2-1, in a play-in match last night. ... Former Sounder Steve Zakuani retired yesterday. He is 26 years old. He never really recovered from a horrendous broken leg suffered against Colorado a few years ago.

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• All kidding aside, the Giants' win last night was a thing of beauty. And Bumgarner? His performance in the seven games ranks right up there in baseball's pantheon of clutch pitching, especially considering how coddled modern-day pitchers are. A complete-game shutout Sunday and five shutout innings on Wednesday? That's Christy Mathewson-like. ... By the way, I want to give a shout out to local under-the-radar star Jeremy Affeldt (pictured), who picked up the win with 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief as well. The left-hander from Northwest Christian hasn't given up a postseason run since, seemingly, his high school playoff days. Until later ...