A Grip on Sports: It’s a different sort of October weekend that awaits the TV-bound sports fan
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s been a long time since it’s rained in the Inland Northwest. Or been cold. But both are ready to join us this weekend. Which is perfect, considering the football schedule.
•••••••
• OK, high school football is going to be tough tonight. There’s a pretty good chance it will still be raining as games go on. That’s a bummer. Football in sunshine is great. In snow, it is really fun. Rain? A muddy mess.
But if there is going to be rain in the area on a Saturday, this is about as good a Saturday to have it as possible.
There is no game in Pullman this week. No driving U.S. Highway 195 with the windshield wipers on (unless you are headed to Moscow, but we’ll get to that in a minute). No tailgating under a tarp. The Cougars have a bye, so they won’t even interfere with your it’s-raining-so-I-can’t-work-in-the-yard-excused TV-watching time.
Eastern is playing but it’s on the road. In sunny California. San Luis Obispo to be precise. And it’s on TV (5:30 p.m., SWX). Whitworth is in rainy Oregon. Which means the only local college football team playing at home is the only one that plays indoors. How convenient.
The Vandals, coming off a big win in Missoula, host Portland State (noon, SWX). If you have to watch a college football game in person, that’s your best chance. Heck, even Washington is out of state, playing in Berkeley (7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
In other words, there isn’t a lot of demands on your time Saturday. Rain doing its thing with the soon-expired garden, local teams out of town, what do you watch?
The best game of the day is probably coming out of wet Eugene, where, contrary to what the P.A. guy says, it does rain at Autzen Stadium. Chip Kelly knows all about that, having used it to his advantage when he was winning most of his games as Oregon’s coach. Now he’ll try to lead his ninth-ranked UCLA Bruins to an upset of the 10th-ranked Ducks (12:30, Fox 28).
Otherwise, the wet weather is sort of wasted. There aren’t a lot of big matchups. Heck, the dearth of quality matchups can be illustrated in two simple ways: CBS’s top game and where GameDay is headed.
The top SEC game, the one CBS is broadcasting at 12:30 p.m., pits Mississippi and LSU. The Tigers aren’t what we would call a power this year, so one has to wonder why the Mississippi State at Alabama game (4, ESPN) isn’t in that slot. After all, that gets you Mike Leach against Nick Saban, which is about as big a contrast in style as is available in any sport.
The Cougar flag will be in Eugene this weekend, waving prior to a game that will be broadcast by one of ESPN’s rivals. It happens, but it isn’t a favorite among the management in Bristol. At least ESPN made the right choice for guest picker.
Luckily, there are other options besides football. Baseball’s championship series will still be rolling, with the American League up first (2 p.m., TBS) followed by the National (4:45, Fox 28).
The NFL on Sunday includes the usual Seahawk late game – they are in Los Angeles to play the Chargers (1:25, Fox 28) – and a few just awful matchups, Green Bay at Washington, whatever CBS is offering early (our guess for our area? Lions at Cowboys) and Pittsburgh at Miami in a night game that should not interfere with getting to bed early. Thank goodness the RedZone is there to entertain us.
Sunday also includes two more playoff baseball games, with the series’ switching the early/late windows.
There is a great chance the rain will have cleared out by Sunday. Maybe the morning would be a good time to carve a pumpkin or two. Or get in a last round of golf – if it’s not too cold. Or, if you feel really adventurous, clean out the flower pots. You’re choice. Football doesn’t seem to be getting in the way.
•••
WSU: Kannon Katzer was one of those feel-good stories that happen pretty often at Washington State. Local kid walks-on and earns playing time. But the running back from Mt. Spokane High, who seemed in line for a reserve role when starter Nakia Watson went down, didn’t get carries last weekend in Corvallis. Thursday, he announced he was heading to the transfer portal. Colton Clark has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner’s picks are in the S-R this morning. … He also passes along a weekly recruiting update and a weekend preview in the Mercury News. … A Washington defender is having a breakout senior season. … The showdown in Eugene will feature Oregon’s improved defense against UCLA’s improved offense. And other intriguing matchups as well. … Oregon State has had to delve deep into its roster at tight end. … Colorado will start another quarterback this week due to injuries. … Utah’s defense hasn’t been as good this season. On the other side of the ball, Cam Rising has been even better though. … USC’s defense is working on tackling during its bye week. … Arizona State wants to keep its momentum going. … Arizona has announced a new ring of honor class. … In basketball news, others are trying to step up for Colorado. … Just who will win the conference this season? There are some really talented teams at the top. … Finally, the conference’s season-ending baseball tournament will have a new format.
EWU: It’s nearing the end of October and the Eagles have yet to post a Big Sky Conference win. That’s out-of-the-ordinary. And it should end Saturday when they travel to Cal Poly. Dan Thompson has a preview of the game and examines the Mustangs’ passing attack. … Around the Big Sky, Dan also has a conference-centric notebook to pass along. … Weber State and Montana State meet in Bozeman with a lot on the line. … Can Northern Colorado pick up a win over UC Davis? … Can Idaho State get past Northern Arizona and win a second consecutive game?
Idaho: The Vandals are rolling and a couple of brothers are a big part of that. Peter Harriman has this story on the McCormick brothers.
Preps: The weekend began last night at Central Valley, with the Bears rolling over Ferris 35-0. Dave Nichols was there and has this game story. … Dave also has a roundup of Thursday’s action in slowpitch and soccer.
Seahawks: Who will win Sunday in L.A.? … Geno Smith is quite the actor. … The rookie class has played so well it’s even surprised Pete Carroll. … Two of them, Tariq Woolen and Coby Bryant, have big goals.
Mariners: A viral video led to Gold Glove finalist Cal Raleigh making an appearance at a Snoqualmie elementary school. … This is the year of the Geno in Seattle sports.
Kraken: If you’ve heard the Kraken’s new soundtrack and think it sounds vaguely familiar, there is a reason for that. … A second-year franchise with retro uniforms? Seems a little odd.
•••
• It will be nice not to have to “work” the Washington State game this weekend. But there are jobs to do. Always are. Until later …