A Grip on Sports: Something that happened at WSU’s football practice Monday might just rattle around in my memory awhile – or not

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Do you have a date that kicks around in your head for no apparent reason? August 4th is that date for me. Not sure why it is important, but I know it is. Somehow. And, no, it’s not my wedding anniversary. That’s a few days from now. But I’m pretty sure it has something to do with an old relationship.

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• Not my first kiss. That was in May, back in 1973. Not my first date. With anyone. A baseball experience, perhaps? Could be. Whatever significance yesterday holds in the history book that doubles as my daily journal, it is lost in a haze of misfiring neurons. Too bad. It might have made a great story.

One Aug. 4th memory that is clear, though? Aug. 4, 2025. The day Washington State held its first full-pad football practice for the season. And put its quarterbacks in the crosshairs, if only for a few plays.

Why does that stand out for me? Not sure I’ve ever heard of it before. Oh, sure, college football coaches are not averse to stripping their quarterbacks of their black (or green or red or whatever) no-contact jerseys occasionally at practice. But on the first day everyone on the field is actually wearing the full complement of body armor available to players? The day everyone flies around with the abandon of a Lab puppy, just wanting to hit something? Nope. Never heard of that.

Understand the reasoning? Yes. After all, coach Jimmy Rogers is new to Pullman. New to Washington State. New to many on the roster. New to all the quarterbacks. And he, along with new offensive coordinator Danny Freund, has to make a decision. Which of WSU’s four main quarterbacks will lead the offense Aug. 30, in the opener against Palouse partner Idaho? And who will be protecting the sweepstakes winner?

Determining the answers to those questions is harder when there is no contact.

“There’s a certain mindset for an O-line when we know we’re going live and the quarterback’s getting hit that they need to feel prior to game day,” Rogers told the S-R’s Greg Woods after Monday’s practice. “There’s a certain emotion that the quarterback knows that he’s gonna get hit if he holds onto the ball too long.

“They need to go through that progression. I can’t claim who the best players are if they haven’t been put in that situation. There’s a rep count which I want to hit in putting them in those situations so we don’t risk too many injuries. But everything is done with a purpose and with thought in mind, with the big picture ahead.”

Makes sense. It’s just, in a way, memorable. It happened on Aug. 4th, after all.

• Another memorable happenstance from Monday? The NCAA announced it will not expand its Division I basketball tournament this season – with an emphasis on “this season.”

The proposal to add four or eight teams will continue to be discussed. And you can be sure the discussions will revolve around what’s best for the athletes. … Sorry, had to take a second to suppress a laugh there. Almost choked.

Of course the key component of any discussions will be money. If the TV partners want more games, and are willing to pony up more for them, we’ll see a larger tournament at the end of the 2026-27 season. Bank on it.

• There was a not-to-be-forgotten performance over the weekend in Eugene.

No, it was not the latest Oregon transfer quarterback wearing UnderArmour shoes to practice. That would not be forgotten (or forgiven) at Nike U.

No, it happened a few blocks from where the Ducks football team was prepping for another run at a Big Ten title.

Cooper Lutkenhaus, a soon-to-be high school junior from the Dallas area, made a remarkable run at the U.S. 800-meter title. And came up just short, finishing second by .11 seconds.

Fast times at Justin, Texas’ Northwest High, indeed.

Lutkenhaus did something remarkable Sunday. His time of 1-minute, 42.27-seconds is the fourth-fastest in U.S. history. Did we mention Lutkenhaus is 16-years-old? And his time broke the U18 world record?

Hopefully, Lutkenhaus has a valid passport. He’ll need it next month after earning a spot in the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo.

At 16, most of us were not taking trips to Tokyo. Or trying to run down someone 12-years his senior (Donavan Brazier) before an appreciative crowd at Hayward Field. Heck, none of us were watching a video of our last-200-meter sprint played all over SportsCenter and social media platforms.

One thing I’m sure of, though? Aug. 3rd will be a date clearly etched in Lutkenhaus’ mind. No matter how old he gets.

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WSU: We quoted part of Greg’s story above. And linked it. As it covers other parts of the Cougars’ first day in pads, we link it again. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we also mentioned the NCAA’s decision on its next basketball tournament. We linked one story above but we have a couple more commentaries to send you to here. … Speaking of commentary, John Canzano had his usual mailbag answers yesterday. … The coaches’ preseason football poll was released Monday. Texas is on top. The western part of the nation is represented by three schools: Oregon (7), Arizona State (11) and Boise State (25). … Washington dipped last season. Five practices into this one, is it possible the Huskies could rebound enough to make the CFP? … Oregon State’s offense has enough weapons to stress a defense more than one way. And the defense should have an improved secondary. … Colorado’s running back coach has playing experience every player should respect. … The Utah offense better look different this season. … USC’s quarterback is taking ownership of the Trojans’ offense. … Will the return game be elite for Arizona State this season? … Defense was all the rage at Arizona’s Monday practice. … Boise State may have lost its best all-time running back to the NFL, but there is another budding star ready to step in. … College football has changed so much in the past 25 years. But what hasn’t changed is the importance of quarterback play. … In basketball news, after earning a degree from Harvard, a Tucson native returned home to play hoops for the Wildcats. … Former San Diego State basketball coach Steve Fisher addressed the football team. … Recruiting never stops. Ask the Utah State women.

EWU: The Big Sky Conference basketball schedule is set. Dan Thompson delves into it today, beginning with the most interesting piece. The Eagles and Vandals will begin, and end, the conference season against each other. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the basketball schedule was big news for Montana. … The latest FCS poll from Stats Perform not only includes Idaho (ranked No. 12, covered below) but Montana State (2), Montana (7), UC Davis (8), Sacramento State (15) and Northern Arizona (19). … Part of Montana’s high ranking is due to transfers. … Portland State inches closer to its ESPN2-televised opener from Hillsboro Stadium. … Southern Utah is playing its last non-Big Sky season. … Just what will Damien Lillard be asked to do as Weber State’s basketball general manager?

Idaho: Another preseason poll was released Monday. The Vandals, under first-year head coach Thomas Ford, are ranked 12th. … Former UI coach Jason Eck earned a few brownie points over the weekend with New Mexico’s “Office”-themed promo video. It was pretty funny, even if Eck’s acting was of a Michael Scott level. Wait, that was probably the point.

Indians: Part of being a minor league baseball club is dealing with roster changes. Many, many roster changes. Players do well, they move on. Players do poorly, they move on. Players who are in the middle? They stick around. The upshot, for Spokane this season? The offense has stagnated after the all-star break. Dave Nichols’ Tuesday notebook looks at just how much.

Mariners: After 17 games in 17 days, Seattle rested Monday. Maybe some of the players played golf. Maybe some of them sat in front of the TV with a cold drink. Maybe took their kids to the park. The M’s new-look lineup will be back at it tonight, hosting the White Sox. But one thing is certain. The most-impactful moves for the future have already happened. And not at the trade deadline. … We wrote yesterday about how mediocrity is the rule, not the exception this season. Especially in the American League. These rankings, with Milwaukee at the top, reinforce the wide-open nature of the A.L.

Storm: And a rookie shall lead them. At least for now, as the playoffs are about to begin.

Seahawks: Head coach Mike Macdonald was not at Monday’s practice. He was off, taking care of a personal matter. You know who was there, though, and doing drills? Charles Cross, the starting left tackle who had finger surgery a couple days ago. … At some point, Dan Doornik will not be the only doctor the Hawks produced. There is a player on the roster right now who will follow that path as well. After he’s finished trying to become a part of the Seattle offensive line. … We were all in on Colorado State product Tory Horton when the Hawks picked him. He’s quickly moving up the depth chart.  

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• I’ve racked my brain. Stretched it as much as I could. Even checked out a few dates on the Web (if you are wondering, the day I played my one and only baseball game in a MLB ballpark was Aug. 7, 1977) and still can’t figure out why Aug. 4 rattles me so. Maybe someday the reason will make a return appearance in my memory. Until later …