A Grip on Sports: One of the unknown perils of age is writing down every thing you want to cover and then throwing that list away before you can use it

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Last night during dinner, I was gathering my thoughts for a notes column this morning. Not wanting to forget any, I grabbed a nearby napkin and started jotting them down. Smart. Then, as I finished up my salad, I needed to wipe the blue cheese dressing off my mustache. There was this one napkin nearby and, well, yeah, I used the one with all the notes. And then threw it away. Doh. Hopefully, I can remember all the subjects.

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• Ask most college football coaches what their biggest concern is during preseason camp and the honest ones have but one answer. Injuries.

Give them a choice between emerging from camp with everyone healthy, even if there were offensive installs missed or defensive schemes still to be fine-tuned and they will take that deal.

It rarely happens, of course. Football is a game of injuries. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” and “how many.” And “who” is important too.

It’s that last one biting Washington State. The Spokesman-Review’s Greg Woods is reporting linebacker Keith Brown will miss the season after suffering a training camp injury. It’s an injury that not only robs the Cougars of a key player at a thin position, but also silences an experienced voice on the field.

One of WSU’s challenges this season in coach Jimmy Rogers’ first season is depth. A coaching changeover these days means roster attrition. Rogers was able to bring in more than a dozen players with connections to his former school, South Dakota State, but there are still some spots where depth is an issue.

Losing a veteran presence like Brown can’t be a net positive for the linebacker group, no matter how well expected redshirt freshman linebacker Anthony Palano, one of those SDSU imports, plays. Having both would have been better.

But it’s not to be.

• I know I wanted to add my two-bits to the Michigan punishment story. If you didn’t know, the NCAA handed down its final verdict in the sign-stealing investigation. Former coach Jim Harbaugh was figuratively thrown under the bus – where he belongs. Former staffer Connor Stalions too. Current coach Sherrone Moore wasn’t overlooked, as he was handed a three-game suspension. The school was hit with a $20 million fine.

But one seemingly inevitable aspect was missing from the NCAA-mandated penalties. There was no postseason ban. The Wolverines can continue to play for national titles and bowl trophies unhindered by any weight of the scandal.

And, once again, the NCAA shows how out-of-touch with reality it was – and still is.

The postseason bans were once a staple of the organization. Back when player movement was so impossibly hard as to be a measure of last resort for anyone. The NCAA would punish the school by keeping it out of the postseason and players who had nothing to do with the violations would suffer. It was stupid. And the organization was chastised considerably for it.

Fast-forward to today. Transferring from school to school is almost expected. There is little in the way of guidelines and even less in the way of a stigma as there used to be.

Which means, of course, that even though postseason bans are still embedded in the enforcement rules and guidelines, the NCAA has decided to quit using them. You know, for the kids.

So let me get this right. An organization that purports to support student athletes, used to destroy their dreams pretty regularly when leaving to chase those dreams was difficult and frowned upon? Now, when leaving is easy and every school in America has staffers dedicated to making it even easier, the NCAA isn’t using that punishment anymore? A punishment that could really cripple a program, at least for a while.

Yep, that’s the NCAA for you. About $20 million dollars short and hours and hours late.

“(The Wolverines) did what they did and won a national title,” a Big Ten GM told CBS Sports. “The problem with the NCAA taking so long to dish out a penalty helped Michigan here. A postseason ban with a quicker decision on top of their punishment would have hit harder in this day and age.”

• Every time Luis Castillo takes the mound these days, I think of Forrest Gump’s mom. And life’s box of chocolates.

Most times Castillo throws, it is akin to a sweet buttercream or truffle. Tasty, satisfying, enjoyable. But sometimes? Actually, way too often on the road, it’s more like biting into something with cherry, nuts and a soft caramel that sticks to your fillings. Not only does it hurt, but it is usually enough to spit the whole thing out and grabbing a Milky Way from mom’s secret stash.

Turns out Castillo tossed the equivalent of a stale peanut cluster Friday night in New York and it didn’t matter. The offense, from Cal Raleigh to Cole Young and just about everyone in between, picked him up.

Thank goodness the Mets’ bullpen, every member of which seemed to be accompanied by boos as the entered and left, is so bad the Mariners were able to pick up a game on Houston.

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WSU: We linked Greg’s story on Brown’s injury above. It also includes other notes about yesterday’s practice. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his weekly mailbag in the Mercury News and also passes along a West Coast football recruiting roundup. … John Canzano has a notes column available as well. … The Michigan punishment? Of course there were millions of words written about it from around the nation. No one was pleased, not even Michigan, which announced plans to appeal. … Christian Caple takes some time today to list 10 players who helped themselves considerably during Washington’s training camp. Were any of them running backs? … Oregon State athletic director Scott Barnes shared some thoughts with the Oregonian yesterday. … Oregon players are pointing out how important it is to them the coaching staff trusts them and empowers them. … If this Colorado player hits his goal, the Buffs may just hit Deion Sanders bowl goal. … Utah’s new starting quarterback has impressed his backups. … Has USC found its punt returner? … There are multiple opportunities available at UCLA. … Arizona State morphs into game-week practices. … The first year Brent Brennan led Arizona wasn’t good. So he decided to change the culture. The culture he created, remember. … Boise State has sold just about every home football ticket available. … San Diego State erred on the side of safety during its recent scrimmage. … One of Utah State’s best players has been suspended. … Finally, there is a reason I don’t use one word that everyone else does when reporting on recruiting. It isn’t applicable.

EWU and Idaho: Around the (current and future) Big Sky, Montana’s linebackers have a reputation to live up to. … Former Idaho coach Jason Eck is at New Mexico now. And dealing with the fallout of the coaching exodus that brought him there.

Indians: Hey, Spokane was the team scoring late Friday at Avista Stadium. As a result, the Indians picked up a 6-4 victory, snapped their three-game losing streak and saved Stu Flesland from being tagged with a loss. Dave Nichols has more in this game story.

Mariners: Instead of linking the game story above (or even passing along the score), we do that here. The M’s won 11-9. Despite Castillo’s struggles. Despite Jackson Kowar’s late gopher ball. Despite giving up nine runs. … The M’s are going to play in Williamsport on Sunday night. That makes Dan Wilson happy. … Johnny Bench has always been my catching gold standard. In fact, I still carry his baseball card in my wallet, though the poster I had on my bedroom wall growing up is long gone. Could Cal Raleigh replace Bench in my heart as he has in the record books? No. Sorry. Bench and Thurman Munson are the guys for me. … We linked this Washington Post story on Julio Rodriguez yesterday. It is on the S-R’s site today so we link it once more.

Seahawks: If you are wondering why I didn’t have a note or two on the Seahawks’ run-dominate 33-16 win over the visiting Chiefs from last night, it is simple as three made-up words. Ex. Hib. Ition. Add them up and you get exhibition, which what the three weeks before the season are. If you want to know what NFL coaches think of them, next week will illuminate those thoughts. Seattle is headed to Green Bay. The teams play Saturday night. Beforehand, though, they will practice together. Scrimmage. That’s when Sam Darnold will play. Not in the exhibition game at Lambeau Field on Saturday. … Rookie Tory Horton is so important to the Hawks, he is getting the starter treatment.

Storm: The six game losing streak is over. It wasn’t easy. Heck, the Storm had to leave the country to earn an 80-78 win over Atlanta. The game was played in Vancouver, British Columbia. … Sue Bird will earn another WNBA first Sunday morning. The former Storm championship-winning point guard will see her likeness commemorated in a statue outside Climate Pledge Arena.

Sounders: There is a big match in Minnesota tonight for Seattle. A win, and its three points, would move the Sounders into a tie for third in the MLS Western Conference standings. … Stefan Frei could be back from his concussion-caused absence.

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• Every summer Saturday I wake up with one goal. To keep things simple and short. Just to let you have a break as you begin your weekend. And just about every summer Saturday I fail. I failed today. In my last chance. Summer ends next week as college football begins. It’s the only true sign of the changing of the seasons. Until later …