A Grip on Sports: Not everything we see in the world of sports is as we expect it to be – and that’s a good thing

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What have I cobbled together for you today? Some thoughts on the College Football Playoff rankings. Expected. Others on David Gusta’s emergence in the middle of Washington State’s defense. Expected as well. What else? A quick numbers check let me know this morning a strongly held opinion was incorrect. Unexpected. At least for me.

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• Let’s face it. The CFP committee’s ranking show is a made-for-TV hype-fest. It’s all about drumming up interest, and ratings, for the actual reveal in early December and the ensuing 12-team, 11-game invitational series. Smart. So smart it’s probably been lauded by business professors – and TV executives – around the nation.

But, in a nod to the same school’s English professors, it is also sound and fury, signifying nothing. OK, maybe signifying a little. Not much though. Come Dec. 8, the committee’s final reveal could resemble these or, just as easily, skew even more heavily toward SEC and Big Ten schools. All the while throwing a wrench into the hopes of folks from Dallas to Provo to Pullman.

Not that WSU alums have much now, what with their team’s 19th ranking this week – they need to be in the top 12 to possibly earn a playoff spot – and the utter chaos that may have to occur the final few weeks to ascend much higher.

Chaos in their last three games also has to be avoided at all costs. Wins at New Mexico this Saturday, in Corvallis the next one and at home against Wyoming to end the regular season, are crucial. After that, it’s out of the Cougars’ hands. And in the committees’. Good luck with that.

• Speaking of hands, after one or two games a couple seasons ago, I used mine to make a phone call to a friend in the WSU athletic department. Just to chat, sure, but I also wanted to know more about this new defensive lineman, David Gusta. No. 60. Watching the Cougars play, I was taken with how explosive Gusta’s hands were. And his quick feet. Not just for a big man. For anyone.

The bottom line? I thought Gusta had NFL potential, a rare commodity for WSU interior defenders since the days of Rien Long. Turns out, I wasn’t alone. The football staff saw it too. Others? If they didn’t then, they certainly do now.

Gusta is a guy for which opposing offenses have to game-plan. Figure out how to minimize his impact. It may take two guys on every play. It may take more. Whatever. Get it done because, if you don’t, Gusta will make you pay.

And soon he will get paid. A redshirt junior, Gusta is eligible for the next NFL Draft if he so chooses. He could. Or he could follow Cam Ward’s road map and rake in decent bucks in the free-market of the transfer portal. Or he could spend another year in Pullman, disrupting everyone from North Texas to James Madison, from Vandals to Beavers to Rockets.

In the past couple years his career has taken off. And it doesn’t look to be slowing down.

• While watching SportsCenter yesterday, I was astounded to hear the news Cal Raleigh had not won the American League Silver Slugger Award. That Kansas City’s Salvador Perez was honored again. What kind of chicanery is this? No catcher in baseball, let alone the American League, was a more productive hitter than Cal. Right?

Uh, not really. Before I shared my indignation, I wanted to gather some facts to bolster the argument. A novel concept, sure, but it would only be a formality. No way the 34-year-old Perez had a better offensive season than lovable old Cal. This had to be an honorary thing. It isn’t. Looking at the numbers, Perez had more hits, hit for a higher average, drove in more runs and had a higher OPS than Raleigh. Almost all of those numbers surprised me.

That Raleigh had more home runs (34 to 27) and had a higher WAR (4.7 to 2.5) probably wasn’t enough to sway the managers and coaches who vote. Then how about this? Perez caught just 91 games last season. Barely over half the schedule. His other appearances were at first base (49) and DH (24).

Raleigh? He caught 135 games. Was a DH in 19. That should count for something. Except, while catching, Perez was better in most every stat, from old-school ones like batting average, to newfangled numbers, like WAR+.

The simple fact is voters got it right. As angry as that might make you. And me.

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WSU: Did the CFP committee get it right? Greg Woods doesn’t offer an opinion about that. He just shares the facts in this story. … As you might have guessed. Greg also has an in-depth story about Gusta, which gave me the perfect opportunity to brag a little. Not mentioned above? How many times I’ve made similar calls that were completely wrong. … We mentioned former WSU star Klay Thompson was making his return to the Bay Area last night with Dallas. He played well. The Warriors, who greeted him warmly, played better. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, of course Jon Wilner has his thoughts on the CFP rankings in the Mercury News. Others, from near and far, do as well. … Wilner also takes his weekly look at the bowl possibilities for those connected to the old Pac-12 and he delves into what’s gone wrong at Utah this season. … Yes, Oregon stayed atop the CFP rankings. Are as close to a lock as anyone. Will that lift Dillon Gabriel to the Heisman? Earn assistant coaches head coaching looks? Offensive lineman Dave Iuli doesn’t care. He just enjoys being back on the field. … Is Ben Gulbranson the right fit at quarterback for the Oregon State offense? … It sure seems as if Deion Sanders is the right fit for Colorado. … Really? Utah seemed to have finally found its quarterback in Brandon Rose. He got hurt against BYU and is out for the season. … Hey, if USC football broke NCAA rules and is now on probation, could the school use that to fire Lincoln Riley for cause? Save millions? Asking for a friend. … UCLA’s kicker is setting records on and off the field. … Special teams stars are often neglected. Not at Arizona State. … If Arizona wants to run the table, the offensive line needs to step up. … In the Mountain West, yes, Boise State is still in the CFP driver’s seat. … NFL alum Brian Urlacher gave first-year New Mexico coach Bronco Mendenhall his support yesterday. …  Wyoming is a rivalry game for Colorado State but the Rams have already reached one of their goals. … UNLV is a heavy favorite over San Diego State. As it should be. … It is warm in Hawaii. Well, at least a lot warmer than where the Warriors will play this week. Logan, Utah is not warm this time of year. … Air Force always needs leaders. … In basketball news, recruiting never stops. Ask Washington. … The Oregon men trailed for most of the University of Portland’s visit to Eugene. But the Ducks tied it late and won in overtime. … The 25th-ranked women had no trouble in their afternoon game against North Texas. … Northwest Nazarene visited Corvallis and the Beaver women sent them home with a loss. … The men did the same with Western Oregon and tied a school-record for blocked shots while doing it.

Gonzaga: Former Florida State and Virginia guard Jalen Warley, who would probably be the Cavaliers’ starting point guard if he had stayed following Tony Bennett’s resignation, is in the transfer portal. Theo Lawson tells us he’s going to visit Gonzaga as well as Iowa State and Texas A&M. … Greg Lee has his weekly women’s basketball notebook and he leads with Gonzaga’s visit to Stanford. … It’s podcast season as well. Jim Meehan returns with Richard Fox on the Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast. … Jalen Suggs has turned into an exceptional player on both ends of the court. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s rolled on offense and rolled over visiting Akron 87-68.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, thanks to administrative support, Idaho State’s football program is in a better place. … Montana does not lose all that often in November. But the Griz are coming off a loss as they face Portland State. … Cal Poly hosts Sacramento State in their final home game of the season. … In basketball news, the Montana State women defeated Cal Poly. … Weber State fell 66-63 at home against San Diego. … The Idaho State men picked up their first win, topping Southern Oregon. … The Sacramento State men lost at UC San Diego. … The Portland State women fell at USF last night while the men lost to San Diego on Tuesday.

Preps: Madison McCord has a preview of the 2B and 1B State volleyball tournaments in Yakima today and Thursday. The 1A and 2A tournaments take over the SunDome on Friday and Saturday. … The larger schools are still determining their State fields. Dave Nichols has a roundup of what happened last night.

Mariners: We shared the link yesterday to this Times story on third-base prospects. It is on the S-R’s website today.

Seahawks: If DK Metcalf and Abe Lucas play this week against the 49ers, that’s a plus for the offense. … What went wrong for the Hawks’ personnel department in the offseason? They have made lots of mistakes before but this year seemed off. … We asked yesterday how you felt about Russell Wilson’s success. We can share Jim Moore’s answer as he put it in a TNT column.

Kraken: Seattle has won two consecutive games. Scored five consecutive goals to top Columbus. The Kraken have almost scaled Mount .500.

Sounders: Danny Leyva has played well recently.

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• It is supposed to rain all day in Spokane. Which gives me the perfect excuse to spend a few hours working on my novel. Not going to share the plot, as years ago I had put together one concerning the politically motivated murders of Supreme Court justices to clear the way for nefarious schemes. Then John Grisham released “The Pelican Brief.” I was crushed. Still haven’t recovered. But had a story come to me recently so I thought I would try once more. My guess is next week Stephen King will release a book that covers the same ground. And my plot isn’t even horror related. Until later …