A Grip on Sports: What’s this? A Saturday in 2020 with a lot of sports news? Did we fall into a time warp?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It seemed like a typical Saturday. But it wasn’t. Yes, for a year ago maybe. Not for 2020 though. It was atypically full of sporting events and news. Let’s get to it.

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• The Seattle Seahawks made the biggest splash. And all it took was a trade. Well, not any trade. Jamal Adams is the most expensive player the Hawks have ever acquired, if the currency to rate it is in draft picks. Two No. 1 choices (and starting safety Bradley McDougald) is what it cost Seattle, a high price to pay for a player who has made it clear he didn’t want to stay with the New York Jets.

The price makes it clear. The Seahawks are not going to waste another of Russell Wilson’s prime years. They believe they can win the NFL title again in 2020 (if there is a season) and they are going for it. How? With the best secondary in football.

There’s a caveat to that last sentence. It will be the NFL’s best secondary for sure only if Quinton Dunbar is either a) innocent of the Florida strong-arm robbery charges; or b) he can invoke the Mychal Kendricks exemption and string his court case out for at least nine months.

With Dunbar at one corner, Shaquill Griffin at the other and Adams and Quandre Diggs at the safety spots, the Hawks’ secondary will rival that of the Legion of Boom days. Especially when you consider Tre Flowers might end up being a nickel back with a decidedly different look.

All of this is exciting. Add in Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and whoever the heck plays at linebacker – rookie Jordyn Brooks seems the odds-on favorite though how the Hawks use recycled veteran Bruce Irvin will be a wildcard – and the Hawks’ back seven is also in the running for the best in the league.

Pete Carroll’s teams have always been about defense. Well, except the past couple years. Now that side of the ball holds the potential to be special once more. And by special we mean great. Super Bowl-winning great.

• Winning? What’s that?

The M’s certainly don’t know in Houston. Twelve consecutive times Seattle has faced the Astros in Minute Maid Park and 12 consecutive times the Astros have won. When we spoke so optimistically about the M’s chances in the 2020 season, we had forgotten to look at the schedule. We would have seen four games to open the season in south Texas. A 0-3 start certainly won’t help a team that has no history of success to draw from.

But that is distinct possibility unless Yusei Kikuchi can turn things around for six innings or so today and the Mariner offense can solve the puzzle of veteran Zack Greinke.

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WSU: Peyton Pelluer was around Pullman so long, he seemed as if he was part of the football coaching staff. Now he’s found a place where he really can be. Theo Lawson tells us Pelluer will be on staff at Mississippi State, joining a bunch of quasi-Washington State alums (in the coaching sense) under Mike Leach. … Around the Pac-12 and college sports, part of Saturday’s “normalcy” included a bunch of sports on TV. Included in that was Sabrina Ionescu’s debut with the New York Liberty. Her assist total was held down in large part by her teammates’ inability to finish against Seattle. … On Oregon State football player wants to be a voice for change. … Jason Shelley left Utah for a chance to be a starting quarterback. … A former UCLA basketball star has spent the past two decades dominating Japanese basketball. … Finally, college football is playing a waiting game. Time will run out quicker than you think.

Idaho: This Sunday our 20 for 20 series focuses on the University of Idaho. John Blanchette does the honors, divining the 20 best Vandals since the turn of the century.

Mariners: Yes, the M’s have lost 12 consecutive times in Houston. And, after yesterday’s 7-2 defeat, 15 consecutive times overall. Which means, by my math, they have played the Astros in Texas 12 of the last 15 times they’ve met. Talk about an unbalanced schedule. … Our Gene Warnick wonders, in the most recent Out of Right Field game summary, if Seattle will ever win again against the Astros. Today maybe? After all, I’m doing the Out of Right Field piece for Monday’s paper, so it would make it easy for me. … Nothing about this baseball season is normal. Not even the television and radio broadcasts. … The Mariners tried to sign Bryan Shaw a couple years ago. They have him now.

Seahawks: The roster countdown is finally finished. … The trade with the Jets comes with an extra dose of irony, considering Le’Veon Bell, who once sat out an entire year to force the Steelers to trade him, is upset Adams jumped ship. … Training camp will present a series of challenges.

Sounders: Once again, a matchup with LAFC is important for Seattle.

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• I always admired Regis Philbin. He seemed so at ease whenever he was on TV. And he was a Notre Dame football fan, something I was willing to overlook, mainly because it was his alma mater. We’re not going to make some hackneyed reference to his final answer here so close to his death, but we will say not a day went by when Philbin, appropriately, didn’t look like a million bucks. Until later …