A Grip on Sports: Awards season is enough to drive a college football fan to the brink, though there are other issues as well

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s Wednesday, which means we’ve hit the middle of the work week. What’s next? Well, with the weekend still too far away to cause us joy, let’s take a quick look at those things that drive us a little batty.

•••••••

• Not sure why the middle is often filled with the week’s most-perplexing thoughts but it always is. For example, why is it almost every high-profile college basketball program, no matter the gender, likes to ride the schedule rollercoaster every nonconference season?

The Gonzaga men certainly fill that bill but they are not alone. Every ranked school this year has already played one or two games against another ranked team. And at least one or two games against a program that, the next time it is ranked will be its first.

The Zags welcomed Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the Kennel on Tuesday night and immediately pulled the mat out from under their feet. Even with a new starting lineup including one player, Jun Seok Yeo, who hasn’t found much time as revelatory freshman Dusty Stromer’s backup, the final was 111-71, another high-scoring blowout for seventh-ranked GU.

When you are playing a team that comes in 332nd in the season’s first NET rankings, that’s possible. And, seemingly, encouraged. Why else could you explain such nonconference matchups like No. 3 Kansas playing Kansas City? Or Boston College facing Central Connecticut? Or Virginia hosting North Carolina Central? Florida against Merrimack?

And that’s just east of the Rockies. One day. All routs.

• It’s awards season in college football. All the big trophies will be handed out. The all-conference lists are released, mainly to boost the sales numbers of pharmaceutical companies that specialize in blood-pressure pills.

Has any school ever been happy about every selection to an all-conference team? Other than Notre Dame, of course?

The folks in Pullman are never satisfied. Sure, there is some justification. Even this season, though maybe not as much as we’ve seen on Twit … er, X. Which is annual award-season rite.

Maybe it will disappear next year. After all, WSU should take home at least half the Pac-2 honors. If they aren’t split down the middle, expect a howl from Corvallis or shriek from the Palouse.

• We howled a little yesterday. Bayed at the moon. A moon made of rotting cheese, courtesy of the regional MLB franchise. It will have less-than-zero impact.

For years, Red Sox fans blamed their franchise’s failures on a curse brought on by a Broadway musical and the game’s most charismatic player. The Cubs were more Midwestern in their curses, having to fend off one made by a tavern owner over a goat. Nothing screams Midwest more than that.

How are Mariner fans cursed? They are cursed by an ownership that never has understood the public-trust nature of the business. Yes, money needs to be made. But the club doesn’t really belong to you. It belongs to those folks who support it with their wallets, their eyes and their hearts.

Always has. Always will. And until that seeps into the everyday-management of the franchise, nothing will ever change.

• The Seattle Times each week this season has been reminding its readers of the best season in Seahawks history. The 2013 Super Bowl-title winning one.

We’re sure someone in an office somewhere in sports thought it was a good idea. Ten-year anniversary and all that.

Lately, though, it’s backfired. Every game reminder also serves as a reminder how far the Hawks have crashed since then. Every description of the Legion of Boom is contrasted to, in our mind, a Jamal Adams’ missed tackle. Every Marshawn Lynch explosive run, every Stephen Hauschka field goal, every J.R. Sweezy personal foul, contrasts poorly with the modern equivalent.

Well, at least there won’t be any comparison in the postseason.

•••

WSU: None of the Cougars made first-team All-Pac-12 in this, the final season with a dozen members. Only Brennan Jackson made the second team. Five earned any sort of recognition. Greg Woods has the story. … The 21st-ranked women’s basketball team traveled to South Dakota and got into foul trouble. Greg Lee has this story on how they were able to overcome it. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, there was an interesting proposal put forth for the first time by NCAA president Charlie Baker. It would allow the richest schools to form their own pay-to-play division. The devil resides in the details, as always, but it’s intriguing. And we’ll delve into it at some point. … John Canzano spends time today explaining the problem to which the NCAA is responding. Well, one of them. … Jon Wilner lists his top assistant football coaches. … Washington coach Kalen DeBoer earned the top award after his Huskies became the first school post-expansion to run through the schedule undefeated. … We have awards stories from Oregon, Oregon State, Colorado, Cal and Stanford, UCLA and Arizona (whose fans aren’t happy). … Will there be anyone left for Oregon State before the bowl game? … The Ducks are losing players to the portal as well. Thankfully, Bo Nix will be around for the Fiesta Bowl. … Utah is also being hit. … Colorado has lost another assistant coach. … USC’s newest has a plan for the defense. … In basketball news, Washington prepped for the weekend’s visit by Gonzaga by cracking down defensively on Montana State. … The Husky women also defeated the Bobcats. … No. 8 Colorado cruised. … The Buff men have developed more depth. … Utah held off Southern Utah. … Mick Cronin is back for UCLA. … Tommy Lloyd has a legacy of a different type on his Arizona staff.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson has the game story from the rout over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. … Jim Meehan takes care of the difference makers and has this story on some of the reserves shining when given the spotlight. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo gallery. … Yvonne Ejim earned the women’s national player of the week award, in large part for her role in the upset of third-ranked Stanford.

Idaho: The Vandal men keep winning, the latest by 30 points over visiting Pacific last night. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana handled Montana-Northern last night. … The Bobcats were swept in Seattle. … Weber State’s men were blown out. … A Northern Colorado player was honored.

Preps: Dave Nichols headed out to Rogers High last night to cover the first girls wrestling dual meet hosted by a GSL school. The Pirates lost to Othello but that’s not all Dave covers in this story. … Dave also has a basketball roundup.

Mariners: Jerry Dipoto is trying to explain. No one cares. As our mom used to say, no one wants to hear about the labor pains, they just want to see the baby.

Seahawks: This week it is the 49ers. Ten years ago this week was the Saints. … Could Pete Carroll be over-optimistic? Is fast-food overpriced?

Kraken: Seattle needs to find a way to gain more exposure.

Sounders: Stefan Frei officially re-upped with Seattle, signing a new contract yesterday. … The club has reportedly cleared the last major hurdle for purchasing the OL Reign.

•••    

• Have a great Wednesday. We are having a slight computer issue, so we have posted this early. We have finished it now. Until later …