Though it’s not game time just yet, let’s play

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s play a game. Read on.

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• There were not all that many games on the fields yesterday around the area, so let’s play our own. We’ll call it “This time next week. ” It might be fun. How do we play? On all the links below, we start out trying to determine what will be happening this time next week. Simple, huh?

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• WSU: This time next week … We will know whether the 2016 football season will begin better than the 2015 one. Heck, maybe we already know that. It couldn’t start much worse. Let me remind you: Rain, cold and a deflating loss to huge underdog Portland State. Let me remind you of one other thing: The 2015 season turned out OK. … Eastern features quiet possible the best wide receiver in the nation at any level, Cooper Kupp. And, as Jacob Thorpe writes this morning , the Cougars are well aware of Kupp’s abilities. … Around the Pac-12 this week , can Utah take the next step and get into the conference title game? … Texas A&M will throw some noise at UCLA . … Will Colorado win some close games? … After Dakota Prukop, experience is lacking for Oregon’s quarterbacks. … Left tackle is a key position. USC doesn’t know who will play there next weekend against Alabama. … Anu Solomon keeps Arizona’s offensive players loose. … Washington’s Budda Baker is pretty darn good. … The Beavers have a Swiss Army Knife at receiver. … Arizona State thinks it might have two 1,000-yard runners.

• Gonzaga: This time next week … The Bulldogs’ volleyball record may not still be perfect, but it is right now . … This week, GU hired a new golf assistant.

• EWU: This time next week … The Eagles will know where they stand as they begin quite possibly their toughest September football schedule ever. … As for the here and now, Jim Allen visited with a few players who know the Martin Stadium turf really well, a couple of former Cougars who transferred up U.S. Highway 195 and the younger brother of a former WSU wide receiver.

• Indians: This time next week … The Indians may have snapped their losing streak. Or maybe not. It’s reached nine after Saturday night’s 9-3 rout by Tri-City . Josh Horton has the game story . … The Indians and the Rangers have renewed their working agreement for two more years. Josh also has that story . … Spokane is safely in the playoffs and is also deep in the Northwest League’s North Division cellar. … Everett keeps winning. … Eugene kept its two-game second-half lead in the South. … If you love minor league baseball, you need to read this piece on the demise of the Bakersfield Blaze.

• Preps: This time next week … The high school football season will be in full swing. There were a few games last night, with the biggest being Coeur d’Alene traveling south and losing 55-36 to Northern California power Folsom .

• Mariners: This time next week … We should know whether the M’s will be in the postseason race for the rest of September. It doesn’t look promising right now as the season-long hunt for a steady starting rotation has finally seemed to caught up with them. Lefties Ariel Miranda – the guy they kept instead of Wade LeBlanc – and Vidal Nuno were battered by the White Sox last night in a 9-3 defeat . … Of course, Seattle made multiple roster changes before the game.

• Seahawks: This time next week … The first round of cuts will be over, as will the final preseason games. We won’t know the final roster , but we will be closer. One guy we do know will be part of the team is Michael Bennett, the Samurai Seahawk . … Jimmy Graham did part of his rehab on the basketball court .

• Sounders: This time next week … We may know what is going on with Clint Dempsey. The star will miss today’s showdown in Portland as doctors try to determine what is going on with his irregular heartbeat . As someone who went through this process when he was Dempsey’s age, let me tell you it is a sobering experience. Mine turned out to be nothing a little time and exercise couldn’t fix. Maybe Dempsey’s will be the same. … It’s been a long time since the L.A. Galaxy won a match. … San Jose lost and lost its goalkeeper .

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• And for me? This time next week I’ll be exhausted. Guaranteed. The Cougar game with Eastern Washington begins at around 5 p.m., which means it won’t be over until around 9. Two hours after that the postgame radio show will end and I’ll be driving home. My bedtime estimate? Somewhere around 12:30 Sunday morning. Yes, this time next week I’ll still be asleep. Until later …