A Grip on Sports: If your to-do list for the next couple months is packed, this might be the last, best weekend to check some things off

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you really want the yard to be ready for the fall, this is the weekend to get after it. Even with rain in Saturday’s Spokane forecast. Why, you may ask? This is the last weekend of 2025 without an honest-to-goodness, counts-for-everyone college football or NFL game.

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• What was it Kenny Loggins once sang? This is it? Was he yodeling about the last of your somewhat-free weekends?

Sure, Aug. 23 is awful early to start playing college regular season games, but get used to it. The inevitable money-grab expansion and reinvention of the College Football Playoffs will necessitate an earlier start to avoid as many conflicts as possible with the vacuum-of-all-ratings, the NFL.

And, yes, the schedule for Sub-Zero weekend – or whatever it’s called in NCAA circles – isn’t all that packed. Or stellar. Five games, according to ESPN’s all-encompassing college football schedule web page. And the best of them is the first, albeit still a yawner for everyone but fly-over fans.

No. 22 Iowa State vs. No. 17 Kansas State in, of all places, Dublin (9 a.m. PDT, ESPN). The Luck of the Irish Classic, as I’ll sarcastically dub it, forces fans of two Midwestern Big 12 powers to fly over the pond to watch their beloved Wildcats and Cyclones play a conference game in person. That’s one heck of a road trip. Though any place where you can have Guinness on tap at your tailgate is probably worth the trip.

The other four games are scattered about the networks, with FOX in possession of Kansas’ home game with future Pac-12 member Fresno State (3:30 p.m.) and CBS broadcasting former Pac-12 member Stanford’s opener at Hawaii (4:30 p.m.)

If you are wondering why I’m spending time on next weekend when, you know, there is one on tap beforehand? Whet your appetite, maybe? And why not. Next week is the appetizer. Labor Day weekend the main course.

This week? A good time to fast, maybe. Lose a couple football pounds so your belt can withstand the onslaught. Luckily, that’s possible. Though there is just enough to make sure your TV doesn’t starve from lack of attention.

Especially on this damp Friday. There’s a West Coast battle in Williamsport, with the Washington team, from Bonney Lake, facing off with Nevada’s rep, from the Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin. That starts at noon on ESPN.

Next up are the Mariners, trying to right the ship after washing up on the shoals of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. They are in New York, facing the Mets. Root has the game with a 4:10 start. The network also has Saturday’s game (1:10 p.m.).

Tonight’s dessert? The Seahawks vs. the Chiefs. Seattle will play its starters for a while, Kansas City is not, which means Taylor Swift probably won’t be in one of the Lumen Field luxury boxes. Still, watching Sam Darnold’s first Hawk snaps is worth tuning in to Fox 28 at 7.

Of course there is golf on all weekend, with the Fed Ex Cup playoffs’ second tournament, the BMW Championships, on the Golf Channel and NBC through Sunday. There is also the men’s USGA Amateur from San Francisco’s Olympic Club (noon Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday, Golf Channel).  

Sunday’s highlight, though, is from Williamsport, with a Washington team involved. No, not the youngsters from Bonney Lake. The Mariners. They face the Mets in the MLB Little League Classic on ESPN (4:10 p.m.).

Both weekend days are filled with NFL exhibitions, with the NFL Network – not yet under new management – the site for four Saturday games and one Sunday, while Fox will broadcast Buffalo’s trip to Chicago at 5:30 p.m.

If you pick and choose wisely, you’ll still be able to have a full weekend of sports watching and get those weeds out of the ground cover. The latter gets exponentially harder from here on out.

• Eastern Washington’s football team took over ONE Spokane Stadium on Thursday night, holding a preseason scrimmage on green turf for the first time in recent memory.

It will be more than a month before the Eagles return to Spokane County for a game – they open with road contests in San Antonio, Boise and Cedar Falls, Iowa – so Thursday scrimmage on a perfect night was a great time for Spokane’s EWU fans to see their team. And more than 1,000 folks did just that.

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WSU: It may well be that the moment we all find out who won the Cougars’ quarterback competition will be when Washington State takes its first offensive snap (fixed from earlier) against visiting Idaho on Aug. 30. Jimmy Rogers told Greg Woods and the rest of the media after practice yesterday there will be no public announcement on the starter at the team’s most-important position. The Cougs have just one practice left in their preseason camp before morphing into prep for the Vandals. … The nonconference men’s basketball schedule is complete. Greg has a story that gets into all the details, from the opener at home vs. Idaho, to a trip to Maui to a Dec. 20 date with visiting Mercer. … The women’s soccer team opened its season with a home loss to defending Mountain West champion Utah State. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his first Pac-12 bowl projections in the Mercury New. No Washington State. … The Associated Press announced its 100th All-American team earlier. And then announced its all-time team yesterday. Sorry, but the West Coast got hosed. … The NCAA is expected to announce Michigan’s sign-stealing punishment today. My guess is the organization is so mad at the Wolverines, it will put Eastern Michigan on two years of probation. And yes, that’s an old joke. … Washington was back on the practice field yesterday and so was a key receiver, Denzel Boston, who had missed time with an injury. … A linebacker is doing his best to keep Oregon State’s practice filled with positive energy. … An Oregon linebacker has waited for his turn to shine. Meanwhile, there is one Duck offensive lineman who wants to be better for his running backs. … If this Colorado player does his job, then this one won’t have to be as busy. … It’s been a journey for Utah’s new center. … One Arizona State player is in his seventh season of college football. … Arizona it is still bullish on freshmen and how they can help. … Boise State’s camp is almost done but some questions are still unanswered. … San Diego State’s FanFest scrimmage had many highlights. … In basketball news, Oregon State’s women announced their nonconference schedule.

EWU: Dan Thompson was at the scrimmage in Spokane last night and has this story. But that’s not all we can pass along. Tyler Tjomsland was there as well, turning his camera to the field and capturing these images in a photo gallery. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, how are Montana’s tight ends doing? … The Northern Colorado Bears are headed to the woods. … This isn’t something that happens often, but Idaho State had to call off its women’s soccer opener due to a sickness among the team. … The NCAA website has quite a few stories on FCS football today, from an update on conference alignment to seven possible first-time champions.

Indians: When a baseball team is having trouble scoring runs, there is a tendency to try to force the action on the basepaths. Dave Nichols tells us that’s what Spokane did Thursday night during an 8-6 loss to visiting Vancouver. Spokane made five of its 27 outs on the bases, including three of them at home.

Mariners: Another rain-delayed game – more on that in a moment – in Baltimore led to another loss to the woeful Orioles. The 5-3 defeat gives playoff hopeful Seattle a 1-5 season record against a team that is rebuilding once again. … Eugenio Suárez has yet to start hitting since joining the M’s. He’s not worried. … As for rain delays in Baltimore, the one game Kim and I attended at Camden Yards, with the Mariners the visiting team in 2009, also was interrupted by rain – Kim was in line at Boog Powell’s barbecue at the time – and ended up in a Seattle loss. The only good thing about the night was most everyone in the 17,358 left early and we were able to sit in the front row right behind the M’s on-deck circle for the last few innings. It was a true gift to watch Jamie Burke catch and Ronny Cedeno play shortstop. Yes, those were Mariners. … With Seattle playing up the road in Baltimore, the Washington Post’s baseball writer Chelsea Janes has a story on Julio Rodriguez. … Both Seattle trade deadline offensive additions are on this Athletic list of top 25 free agents this offseason.

Seahawks: The second exhibition game will be the first for many of the Hawks’ starters. But they won’t play long. … Which current or former Seattle quarterback is best situated for success? … The coaching staff has support from this player. … There is one Hawk reserve running back CBS Sports sees as a possible breakout star.

Storm: Seattle should still make the playoffs but its recent funk may herald an early exit.

Olympics: Michael Phelps had more to say about U.S. Swimming.

Golf: Fred Couples killed it in “Happy Gilmore 2.” At least that’s the report. I have yet to watch the sequel. … John Canzano had an interesting chat with Rose Zhang before Portland’s LPGA tournament began this week. … The U.S. Ryder Cup team will play together at a PGA event before the tournament. All except Bryson DeChambeau, who is not allowed.

Sports media: MLB is in talks with quite a few broadcast entities for its next contract. That includes ESPN, after their messy breakup earlier this year. … Congress is not happy with the major pro sports move to streaming so blatantly.  And is threatening their anti-trust protection.

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• It’s supposed to pour across the mountains. And rain some here. We already had a shower or two at the Grippi homestead this morning. Enough precipitation I believe I can go without watering the flower pots today. That saves me a half-hour or so. A longer nap in the offing? Why not? Until later …