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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: The weekend’s action can grind us all into dust

Antoine Custer Jr. (28) gains yardage during a game against CalPoly on Sept. 22 at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash. The Eastern Eagles earned their ninth highest offensive yards total at 657 yards. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’re going to try something new today: Quick-hitting, short thoughts on the news of the weekend. Let’s see how it works out. Read on.

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• Just what Eastern Washington football has always been known for: ground and pound. OK, that’s not it but when the offensive line is opening big holes, the running backs are finding them and the other team seems a big tackling-challenged (if there is such a phrase), then you might as well run the ball.

The Eagles rushed for 1.7 million yards yesterday in a 70-24 rout of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – did you know there is a Cal Poly Pomona, so it probably is important to differentiate? – and 1.3 of that was by Antoine Custer.

Welcome back.

• You know what I love about Tiger Woods’ success recently? It doesn’t look easy.

Tiger looks his age. Acts it too. This isn’t the 23-year-old who used to grind golf courses into dust. This is a 42-year old with a bad back who realizes how hard it is to win. To play well. And appreciates every bit of it.

Whether he holds on to his three-stroke lead today and wins the Tour Championship is immaterial in that regard. He’s a different player and person these days.

• The Mariners were officially eliminated from the playoffs yesterday, something we all knew was going to happen for the past few weeks. But it is sad, nonetheless. Why? Well, besides it being 17 years since they last played in the postseason, their elimination is a rite of autumn. And we all know what follows autumn, right?

Snow, cold, ice, sleet, wind … and the hope that next year, the Mariners will put it all together and make the playoffs.

• In the NFL it seems as if no one knows what a catch is. Plays happen and viewers shake their head. Just seconds before on a different channel, the same play occurred and it was called a catch. But on this one, nope. It’s incomplete.

And social media erupts.

The same thing happens on Saturday, except the subject is targeting. In one game the flags come out two or three times, the plays are upheld on replay and fans wonder why. Flip the channel and an even more egregious hit doesn’t even draw a finger toward a flag. Replay shows a guy launching himself and trying to kill an opponent with his helmet and nothing happens.

Oh well. A catch in the NFL, that’s important. Millions of dollars may change hands because of it. A targeting call in college football? What’s the big deal? It’s only the player’s health. Why worry about it?

And, yes, that’s sarcasm.

• The Seahawks play today. So do the Sounders. One is a big deal. The other is just another NFL game. And, yes, once again that’s sarcasm. Just trying to be clear here. I don’t want this haunting me when I run for Congress someday.

But, heck, if the Hawks lose today to the visiting Cowboys, they will be 0-3 and the rest of the season is probably just an exercise in interpersonal dynamics. There is little chance they can make the playoffs. But it would be fun to see if they can keep the locker room from imploding.

The Sounders on the other hand have a real shot at winning something, unlike the other two professional sports franchises in Seattle.

So even if the Hawks lose, you can pull out your Clint Dempsey T-shirt and, even if he’s retired, pretend to like the local futbol team. There is room on the bandwagon.

(Me, sorry, no. I’m too old. I just let the next generation of Grippis enjoy it. It’s their thing. And, with anything related to our kids, I’m happy when they’re happy.)

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WSU: The Cougars were off yesterday – I took advantage of the free time to watch some youth football – but Theo Lawson wasn’t. He flew back from Los Angeles with his carry-on packed with Double-doubles for me. (A guy can dream can’t he?) And he wrote a piece on what might-have been in Friday night’s game. I would posit the first play he mentions may have led to the second, as it didn’t look like from 1,200 miles away Gardner Minshew’s head was clear yet. But we will never know, nor will the Cougars.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, there were some great football games, including two that started after 5 p.m., which is par for the conference course. … In Eugene, Oregon built a big lead, was an inch or two from making it insurmountable and then collapsed, physically and mentally. Stanford won in overtime. … Up Interstate 5 in Seattle, Arizona State pounded on Washington’s defense but the Huskies didn’t submit and held off the Sun Devils. … Arizona is trying to turn its season around. It helps to play Southern Utah one week and Oregon State the next. The Beavers are struggling. … The win over Washington State was a big deal for USC. If I told 12-year-old Vince I would write that some day he would be incredulous. Of course, he would be incredulous anyway, wondering how he got so fat.

Gonzaga: The new NCAA rules, as they relate to the NBA and college eligibility, will make next offseason an adventure. That’s the thrust of Jim Meehan’s story this morning. … The volleyball team lost.

EWU: As we said, Eastern did to Cal Poly SLO what the Mustangs like to do to everyone else, run them into the ground. Ryan Collingwood was in Cheney and he has the game story and a notebook. … John Blanchette was also there and he put together his column. … Around the Big Sky, the upset of the day occurred in North Dakota, where Idaho State got of Grand Forks with a 25-21 win that counts in the conference standings. … It’s never an upset when Montana wins at home. … Montana State kicked Portland State around. … In the battle of the beat-up, Northern Arizona pinned another loss on Southern Utah. … It wasn’t easy, but Weber State handed Northern Colorado its fourth loss.

Idaho: The Vandals’ return to the Big Sky in football didn’t start too well. UC Davis pinned a 44-21 loss on them in California.

CCS: The volleyball team rallied to keep its record perfect. Meanwhile, the soccer and cross country teams were successful as well.

Chiefs: Well, that wasn’t the start to the WHL season Spokane was hoping for. Nope, a 6-1 loss against Tri-City isn’t how the Chiefs drew up the opener. … A Chief signed an entry-level contract with San Jose. … Around the WHL, Everett lost at home to Vancouver. … Seattle handed Portland a loss.

Preps: Saturdays are about running around, even as it relates to high school sports. We have the results of the local cross country meets and roundups from soccer and volleyball. Also, a Central Valley grad is a nominee for a college award.

Seahawks: As we said, the Hawks host Dallas today. … There are a million storylines, including Earl Thomas and his actions as well as the possibility of an 0-3 start.

Mariners: It may be fitting that on a day the M’s offense exploded for the most runs it scored all season, Seattle was eliminated from the postseason. … There are plenty of villains in this tragedy of a season, but we center our gaze on two homegrown products in this week’s Out of Right Field column.

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• For the second consecutive day, the I.T. guy (me) failed the writer guy (also me). Not good. It’s time for someone to lose their job. Until later …