A Grip on Sports: There are a few sure signs the long football seasons are about to start, as well as sure signs Cal Raleigh is having an historic season

A GRIP ON SPORTS • One of the best parts of football season is its breadth. Or the fans breath, if you will. Football, pro, college and high school, begins in the height of summer’s heat. And finishes as winter sends out icy shivers as it is about to take hold. From wearing a mask to deal with brush fire smoke to one that keeps your eyebrows from breaking off, watching your team can make every football fan catch their breath.  

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• The first sign of spring in our neck of the woods is a crocus popping up on a sunny spot of the yard, right? The first sign fall is near? Pulling up the S-R’s sports page and seeing the Washington State beat writer’s initial first look of the Cougs’ football season.

It’s a time-honored tradition. A rite of passage from summer to fall. And a great way to prep for the week’s game.

This week the Cougars will host Idaho in the Battle of the Palouse. A traditional matchup once marked by the losing team’s fans walking home. Thankfully, now that the game is played at night in the late August heat, that tradition isn’t a thing anymore. Who would want someone collapsing on State Route 270 out by the Toyota dealership or while trudging up the hill to the Pine Ridge Apartments? At midnight? On a Saturday? Never happens in Pullman, right?

There is a lot more to the season opener this year for both teams than tradition.

After a winning season, the Vandals lost their coach, Jason Eck, to a bigger school. Some players, including the quarterback, followed him, others left for other places. Enter Tracy Ford. A whole bunch of transfers. And hope.

After a winning season, the Cougars lost their coach, Jake Dickert, to a bigger school. Some players followed him, others, including the quarterback, left for other places. Enter Jimmy Rogers. A whole bunch of transfers. And hope.

What hasn’t changed is WSU is the favorite. Appropriate, considering the Cougs’ 73-17-3 record in the series. And their available resources. Home field.

Another thing that hasn’t changed? You can find more information here – all week.

• Growing up in the Mickey Mantle era meant if you loved baseball you had to at least try to switch hit. When a guy was hitting bombs completely out of stadiums from both sides of the plate, any red-blooded American child with a bat in their hand had to at least try to swing it from both sides of the plate.

Just like, in the 1990s, multiple thousands of Northwest baseball players nearly ruined their back trying to emulate Ken Griffey Jr.’s signature uppercut swing.

Now that those two worlds have collided in the form of one Cal Raleigh, I’m pretty sure wiffle ball games all over the country featured a least one wanna-be, switch-hitting, home-run hitter. Or more.

Monday night in Seattle, Raleigh greeted the 27,785 that wandered into T-Mobile Park for the Vedder Cup matchup between the M’s and the Padres with a first-inning solo home run. His 50th of the season.

That Raleigh’s home run gave Seattle a 1-0 lead in a game they would eventually win 9-6, was not immaterial. Neither were the records attached to it.

The nice round number, 50. Only the second switch hitter to reach that mark, joining the Hall of Famer Mantle. The second Mariner to hit it too, joining Griffey, who did it twice. And, as the pièce de résistance, Raleigh hit No. 50 from the right side, making him the first MLB player ever to hit 20 from both sides of the plate in the same season (30 left, 20 right).

As for his catcher stats, Raleigh has hit 40 homers while playing the position. The record? The Braves Javy Lopez’s 42 in 2003, when he played 117 games. Raleigh has 97 games behind the plate thus far.

Oh, and the Mariners’ win pulled them within 1.5 games of American League West-leading Houston. With 30 games left.

• By 1 p.m. PDT on this fine Tuesday, the Seahawks (and every other NFL team) will have to submit a 53-man roster to the NFL offices. And then the real roster building begins.

Not that it hasn’t already. There were a flurry of down-the-roster trades Monday, many featuring backup quarterbacks. Some teams, the Seahawks included, cut a few players. But the tsunami of buyouts, releases and injury designations happens today. Even if the first game is more than a week away.

Not every player cut will change teams. Many will not find a home at all. Others will clear the waiver wire and re-sign with the same team’s practice squad.

It’s all part of the annual dance between teams and players. And an annual one every player in the league would rather sit out.

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WSU: Yes, Greg Woods, in his second year in my old stomping grounds, has his first look of the season in this morning’s S-R. It’s longer than usual, mainly because of the opponent is a school we cover as well. The Vandals may be a 13.5-point underdog but this one (7 p.m., The CW) has so many variables, betting on the outcome might not be wise. Then again, I’m a firm believer betting on any outcome isn’t wise. … We linked Scott Hanson story on the WSU women’s basketball roster when it ran in the Times a while ago. It is on the S-R site today. And we link it again. … Scott has a story in the Times today on one of the Cougar linebackers. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, speaking of stories we have linked before, we hit this WaPo story on streaming yesterday. It’s on the S-R site now so we link it again. … If your streaming service of choice is YouTube, you might not be in luck this Saturday. The company and Fox are on the outs as they negotiate a new carriage contract. No. 1 Texas at No. 2 Ohio State? Be ready to watch it another way. … In the Mercury News, Jon Wilner predicts both of those teams will be in the CFP playoffs. As well as one West Coast school. And one future Pac-12 school. … He also has a preview of Arizona State’s season – after the breakout one. The Sun Devils have talent and question marks. … It’s a Tuesday morning. We pass along John Canzano’s Monday mailbag. Yes, there are Pac-12 questions. … Now we get into the rest of the week’s schedule. And will from here on out. Games are listed chronologically.

– No. 25 Boise State at USF (Thursday, 2:30 p.m., ESPN): The Broncos start their march to another CFP berth – maybe – with a road game. And a backup quarterback ready if need be.

– Stony Brook at San Diego State (Thursday, 7 p.m., Mountain West): The Aztecs were not all that good last season and coach Sean Lewis took it personally.

– Georgia Tech at Colorado (Friday, 5 p.m., ESPN): The Buffs still haven’t announced who will start at quarterback.

– Montana State at No. 7 Oregon (Saturday, 1 p.m., Big Ten Network): The Ducks put a long home nonconference winning streak on the line. And here are the players that will be tasked with doing it. … Oregon started slowly in some games last season. … The Bobcats picked their starting quarterback and he’s a former Pac-12 player.

– UTEP at Utah State (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): No depth chart for the Aggies. Bronco Mendenhall is playing it close to the vest.

– Northern Arizona at Arizona State (Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPN+): We linked some Sun Devil news above. Here is more on the game.

– California at Oregon State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN): This would, of course, be a conference game in a perfect world. But college football is far from that. The Beavers’ roster is as well as a starting receiver is out for the season with an injury.

– Hawaii at Arizona (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., TNT): The Warriors are 1-0. The Wildcats need to be, as second-year coach Brent Brennan is trying to hit the reset button after a disappointing first season.

– Colorado State at Washington (Saturday, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network): The Huskies released their two-deep and Jedd Fisch talked about it. And talked about the freshman who will start. The Rams are coming off a bowl season, one that helped their coach connect with the fans. Hopefully.

– Utah at UCLA (Saturday, 8 p.m., Fox): The YouTube dispute could impact this game. … The Utes have a lot to prove this season, not the least of which is whether Kyle Whittingham still has the fire to be a winning coach. … The Bruins’ Kwazi Gilmer is ready to break out.

Gonzaga: Another piece of the men’s nonconference puzzle has come together, with the Zags slated to play an exhibition against Division III Western Oregon on Oct. 27. There is an interesting back story involved and Theo Lawson shares all of it.

EWU and Idaho: Around the (current and future) Big Sky, the schedule this week includes five games against FBS competition. And one major FCS clash. … Montana State released its depth chart. It revealed the starting quarterback. … Northern Colorado had a visitor yesterday that shows, once again, the NFL will go anywhere to find talent. … For the first time in more than 30 years, Idaho State will play seven homes games this season. … Weber State has four quarterbacks who are vying for playing time. … Sacramento State is ready to start its last football season in the Big Sky. … Southern Utah is ready to start its last football season before returning to the Big Sky.

Indians: There is one cool aspect of the minor league schedules these days. Most every Monday is an off day. That allows people like out friend Dave Nichols to write either a notebook of interesting facts or a feature on an interesting player. Today, Dave has one of the latter, telling us the story of Spokane’s Max Belyeu.  

Seahawks: And yes, we linked above Bob Condotta’s story on the moves the Hawks made Monday. Do it again here. And wait like everyone else for the other shoes to drop today. … The injury list is long. … Jalen Milroe will make the team. And will be used.

Mariners: Yes, we linked the game story in our section on Raleigh above. We do it again here. And add another story from the Times, Matt Calkins’ column concerning Raleigh, the Mariner fans and the chants of “M-V-P.” … The Vedder Cup trophy also chants “M-V-P” in the hands of Vedder himself.

Reign: Seattle earned a draw with the Dash on Monday night.

Golf: What will Keegan Bradley do with the U.S. Ryder Cup roster?

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• I have an early commitment today, which meant this was on the Interweb early as well. Really early. The normal time will be back tomorrow, but another somewhat early Thursday looms. Until later …