A Grip on Sports: There is no denying Logan Gilbert has assumed the role of ace in the M’s rotation

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It is the middle of the week. Which puts in the middle of a lot of happenings. We like to wander around and explore them.

•••••••

• The Mariners have discovered a keeper – and a star – in Logan Gilbert.

The righthander handed their hats to the Twins last night at T-Mobile, throwing 89 pitches in six scoreless innings as the M’s picked up an important 5-0 win.

Important because they haven’t had many on their homestand as they wanted. Gilbert, at all of 25-years-old, once again served in the role of the stopper. It’s a role he seems comfortable with. And Seattle needs filled, what with Robbie Ray not living up to his high profile just yet.

Tuesday night Gilbert gave up four hits – only one for extra bases. He struck out six and walked just one. He was an ace. And has been for the most part all season.

How can we say that? Well, he’s 7-2, which gives him a quarter of the team’s wins. But even more impressively, his earned run average sits at 2.22, the best among starters in baseball.

An all-star? He better be. An ace? It sure looks like it.

• We have been grumbling a bit on Twitter recently about streaming services. How there are so many of them, our pocketbook is taking a bite and, most importantly, we have to juggle remotes and passwords and, at times, even computers to watch everything we want to watch. We long for a simpler time, when all we needed to watch anything was to pay an outrageous bill to our cable provider.

Grumbling is an American right, of course, guaranteed by the Constitution. But watching sporting events via cable isn’t. Which brings us to Tuesday’s big media news.

Apple, America’s go-to computer and phone maker (at least as Hollywood sees it), will now be America’s go-to streaming service for Major League Soccer. The company and the league signed a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal yesterday.

(As a personal aside, we certainly hope that doesn’t mean our next iPhone will cost more.)

We don’t expect the conglomerate to stop there. The next step is college sports. The Pac-12, to be specific. We have this feeling the conference is going to jump in bed with either the California-based company or Amazon or someone of that ilk come the next media contract. And then we will all have to be able to stream the network if we want to watch the Cougars roll over Stanford on The Farm. Wonder if we will be able to listen on our iPod Shuffle?

• The best part of the U.S. Open golf tournament, besides the diabolical setup of the courses each year? That would be something featured in the name. It is “open,” which means anyone with a low handicap can sign up and attempt to qualify.

Pretty much every year there is a story or two of a local person who either just missed qualifying or earned the right to play with the best in the world, even if for just a couple days.

The local angle this week comes from former Spokane Falls Community College golfer Brady Calkins, who will tee it up Thursday at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Jim Meehan talked with him this week and has a great story in the S-R.

•••

WSU: The Cougars seem to be focusing on receivers in their 2023 football recruiting class. Either that, or that’s who have been most impressed. Colton Clark has this story on a Colorado high schooler who committed last night. … Washington State’s Black Student-Athlete Association was honored as Organization of the Year at the inaugural Black Student-Athlete Summit Awards last month. That news kicks off the S-R’s latest local briefs column. … It’s often fun to see how others look at the Cougars’ football fortunes. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college sports, there is a documentary coming out today about Stanford women’s coach Tara VanDerveer. We’re looking forward to watching. … This story about former Arizona men’s assistant Book Richardson is worth reading. … In football news, if you want to play the “what-if” game, we have a candidate. … Utah’s Kyle Whittingham is getting a raise. … Arizona picked up a running back who will be on his third school. … The NCAA released the APR results Tuesday. Arizona State is doing better than anyone in the conference.

Gonzaga: A game on an aircraft carrier? Might happen with Michigan State on Veterans’ Day. Jim has more in this story.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana has an incoming football player whose last name will be familiar to Washington State fans. Couple that with the greatest first name ever – in our humble opinion – and Vince Genatone is destined for greatness.

SFCC: We linked Jim’s story about Calkins above but we do it again here as well.

Preps: Dave Nichols continues his award stories, as Mead High dominates the big school team classification. Dave describes the success of the girls in three sports and the boys in wrestling.

Indians: Spokane is back in town. And the Indians made the most of the return to Avista Stadium with a 9-2 victory over Hillsboro. Dave has the game story.

Seahawks: If the Hawks’ defensive reset is going to be successful, their safeties will have to lead the way. … Amanda Ruller is hoping her stint with the Hawks is just the beginning. … Richard Sherman will be in a broadcast booth this fall. … Golden Tate is on a baseball field this summer.

Mariners: Jesse Winker wasn’t in the lineup for the M’s victory. When he will return is anyone’s guess.

Sounders: While his Seattle teammates were handling Vancouver once again, Jordan Morris was coming through in the clutch for the U.S. national team on a mud-pit of a field in El Salvador.

Storm: With Sue Bird and Mercedes Russell injured again, Seattle rode Epiphanny Prince’s outstanding effort to victory over host Minnesota.

NHL: The Tampa Bay Lightning are two-time defending champions. They also have made it to the finals this year. Which gives Colorado an opportunity. Beat the best and you are the best. The final series begins tonight.

•••       

• Sunday we looked at the forecast for the week ahead and shivered. But the weather folks often change their mind this time of year. And they did. The next three days look great. So great, in fact, we dread having to catch up with all the yard chores the rain has made us postpone. See, dad, we told you it is possible to complain about sunny, warm weather. Until later …