A Grip on Sports: As the first full weekend of college football kicks off today, we ask some important questions, including what position binds all of the local teams

A GRIP ON SPORTS • In hindsight, I probably should have deferred Wednesday’s column subject to today. After all, the weekend of college football games begins on this fine Thursday. But previewing the local major schools’ chances for success yesterday allows me to examine one Pulitzer Prize-winning subject today: How can a “weekend” be five days long?

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• Just kidding. Of course. There is no way the Pulitzer committee would ever recognize the importance of such commentary. Mainly because it isn’t important. It could, however, be fun. If someone else, say Dave Barry or Sebastian Maniscalco, were at the keyboard.

Instead, we’ll just skip it and move on to the important sports questions of the day – and weekend, no matter how many days one stretches its definition.

How could Keegan Bradley not pick himself? Carlos Alcaraz is sure incredible, isn’t he? Does Travis Kelce’s engagement move him up the fantasy ratings? Or down?

Inquiring minds want to know. Which must mean I don’t have one of those. A mind, sure. But my inquiries are more focused upon who plays quarterback for the Cougars this season. Or what UW’s ceiling might be in the Big Ten. And why the heck UW is in the Big Ten in the first place. Wait, that last one was last year’s question. Still don’t have a non-monetary answer, so I’ll move on.

And encourage you to skip the rest of my babbling and move on as well. To today’s Spokesman-Review. Home of the most complete college football preview section in the region. And yes, even if you are reading this in the Chronicle, go out this evening and find a printed version of the S-R. It will be worth it.

There are stories about the Cougars and Huskies – of course. Though maybe not answers to my questions, as they are more rhetorical than compulsory.

But if you want to know how WSU’s quarterback battle played out, you are in luck. Or where the Huskies’ have taken steps since last season. Plus a lot more.

Eastern’s chances of getting back on course after three losing seasons? Idaho’s new-look staff and roster? Whitworth’s recent string of success and whether it will continue? Yep. The Pac-12, the Big Ten, the Big Sky, the Northwest Conference? Sure. There is something for fans of college football overall and for those of the schools that call the Inland Northwest home.

• My guess is most Cougar football fans’ most-pressing question heading into this Saturday’s opener with the visiting Vandals isn’t who starts at quarterback – a four-star query – or what the uniforms will look like – a three-star one, bumped up a star or two with Wednesday’s news the school reupped with Nike for three more years.

Nope, the most important news is simple. Has Anne McCoy and her staff been able to get the go-ahead to serve alcohol to everyone in Martin Stadium? That answer seems to be “not yet.”

Cougfan has done some extensive reporting on this and the bottom line is the beer carts that have been placed around the stadium won’t be full of your favorite adult beverage Saturday night. Gesa Field will remain one of the small minority of FBS stadiums that are dry. At least for those not seated in luxury boxes.

Which means two things that have been happening at Cougar games will continue to happen. Fans will be forced to either break the law and sneak in alcohol or they will leave at halftime to indulge and never return. Neither is good. Understandable. But not good.

• As most of you probably know, I am a golf fan. I used to love to play. I still love to watch. And one event I really appreciate is the Ryder Cup, the biennial competition between the United States and European pros. It returns to the U.S. in four weeks, being played at the site of the one U.S. Open I attended, Bethpage Black outside New York City.

The biggest question this week was answered yesterday. Who Bradley, the U.S. captain, would pick for his squad. He was empowered to fill six of the team’s 12 spots. And has played so well this year, was a candidate to become the event’s 14th playing captain – but first since Arnold Palmer in 1963.

He declined to pick himself. It’s understandable. It’s no easy to fulfill all the requirements … oh, forget that. There can be an unlimited number of assistant captains. Put them in charge of all that junk.

There is only so long one can play golf at the level Bradley is playing right now. And so many opportunities to help your team win on the course. He should have told Ben Griffin “Dude, sorry, but I want to play again. Your time will come.”

And then go out and win four points.

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WSU: The Cougar portion of the football section begins with Greg Wood’s story on the quarterback battle. And how the players vying for the spot give Washington State plenty of options. … How did some of the Cougs’ first-year QB starters fare?… With a new coach, however, that is not all of the coverage. Greg also delves into Jimmy Rogers and his first WSU team. … Greg finishes up by predicting how Rogers’ team will do in each game. … Dave Boling has a column that covers a key element in college football these days. Money and the ability to move at will. …  The football section also has Washington-based stories, including one on quarterback Demond Williams Jr., and another on the success-rate of other first-year Husky starters. … In non-football-section news, we linked Greg’s story on the Nike news above. We also have his coverage of the news we shared here yesterday, the conference’s announcement of another media deal with The CW Network. And we won’t dwell into the canard The CW reaches 100% of all U.S. households when it comes to Pac-12 games. … Scott Hanson has more stories on WSU in the Times. He highlights a linebacker, picks three players who could stand out and offers three keys to a successful season. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, outside of the region, the first weekend should be incredible to watch. Some people are saying the best ever. … Making sure you have a great quarterback on your roster these days just is different. … Having enough money to put together a roster? That’s everyone’s Holy Grail. … Jon Wilner shows how the Big 12’s at-large playoff hopes could disappear in the season’s first two weeks. … John Canzano would like to know what UNLV is thinking. … Do you agree with these picks for the 10 best college football towns on game day? We don’t think Boulder is all that good. The place was a ghost town before Deion arrived. Being the best means showing up when your team is awful. … Here is the rest of the schedule, listed chronologically. It also includes the any game in which mining news about it turned out to be fool’s gold.

– No. 25 Boise State at USF (Thursday, 2:30 p.m., ESPN): The Broncos’ road back to the CFP begins today.

– Stony Brook at San Diego State (Thursday, 7 p.m., Mountain West): It seems as if the Aztecs wanted a sure win to open the season. There are still five things to watch.

– Georgia Tech at Colorado (Friday, 5 p.m., ESPN): There is one Buff offensive lineman who stands out in a lot of ways. … The matchup harkens back more than three decades when the two programs shared a national title.

– Montana State at No. 7 Oregon (Saturday, 1 p.m., Big Ten Network): UO offensive coordinator Will Stein faces new challenges. One of them is an inexperienced quarterback. … There are at least 10 Ducks everyone should know.

– UTEP at Utah State (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): Just who will the Aggies be in 2025? And how will the defensive backs do?

– Missouri State at USC (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Big Ten Network): There is one man responsible for how different the Trojans look. And it’s not the quarterback. … USC and Notre Dame are still talking about extending the traditional matchup.

– Georgia Southern at Fresno State (Saturday, 6 p.m., FS1)

– Northern Arizona at Arizona State (Saturday, 7 p.m., ESPN+): The Sun Devils better not be pressed this weekend.

– California at Oregon State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN): The Beavers’ secondary may just be the strength of their defense.

– Hawaii at Arizona (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., TNT): The Wildcats have made an $11 million investment in the coaching staff.

– Colorado State at Washington (Saturday, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network): Ryan Walters has a plan to make the Husky defense unique. And aggressive. …The Rams’ depth chart shows just where the roster has improved.

– Utah at UCLA (Saturday, 8 p.m., Fox): YouTube and Fox have reached a temporary agreement, which is good news for the weekend. … The Utes have a freshman tight end that is something of a surprise. … The Bruins’ new quarterback hopes to step away from all the offseason turmoil. And improve the offense.

• In basketball news, Arizona will host South Dakota State in a nonconference game.

Gonzaga: Yes, Theo Lawson has a story on another nonconference opponent that will visit the Kennel. Southern Utah, which will be joining the Big Sky in a year, released its slate yesterday and it lists a Nov. 17 game in the McCarthey Athletic Center. But Theo’s main story today is about alum Nolan Hickman, his grandmother and the professional basketball path the guard is about to embark upon.

EWU: We start here with Dan Thompson’s overview of the Eagles’ season. … Next up is his story on new starting quarterback Jared Taylor. … That’s followed by a look at how notable first-year starters have done. … Finally, Dan’s predictions of each game on the schedule. … Dan doesn’t stop there, though. He also examines the Big Sky quarterback situation and predicts the league’s outcome. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, Weber State has a new starting quarterback. … Northern Arizona has identified its backup quarterbacks. … UC Davis is back on the road this week. At soon-to-be-Big-Sky member Utah Tech. There is probably no chance of another no contest. … Sacramento State is at South Dakota State, which is replacing a lot of players with Rogers now at WSU. … BYU is trying not to overlook Portland State. … Southern Utah is focused on defense.

Idaho: With a new coach in Moscow, we will start with Peter Harriman’s overview of the changes in the program. … That includes, of course, the change at quarterback. Peter has more on starter Joshua Wood and his backup Sawyer Teeney. … Then there is the look at  notable first-year starters and how they have done in the past. … Finally, Peter predicts the outcome of each of the 12 games on the schedule. 

Whitworth:The Pirates will be going after a third consecutive playoff appearance this season. Greg Lee’s first story covers that possibility. … Up next is Greg’s look at the latest in a long line of first-year starting quarterbacks, Logan Lacio. … How have the previous ones fared? …  Greg also has his thoughts on each game on the Pirates’ schedule.

Indians: Not sure which occurrence is more surprising. Stu Flesland’s continued success as a starter after opening the season in the bullpen or Spokane winning its fifth consecutive game. Those two came together last night at Avista in the Indians’ 4-2 victory against Tri-City. Dave Nichols has much more in this story.

Chiefs: Dave also has a story on the other pro team in Spokane he covers. The Chiefs opened preseason camp at the Arena yesterday. With a lot of new faces.

Mariners: Eugenio Suárez hit a three-run home run. Bryan Woo came up an out short of extending his remarkable streak. And the M’s won 4-3 over the Padres on packed getaway day. Now Seattle heads east once again, this time for a nine-game road trip to Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Hold on to you hats folks. The M’s trail Houston in the American League West by 1.5 games. They lead Kansas City for the final A.L. wild-card spot by three games. And are playing .537 baseball. … Emerson Hancock is back.

Seahawks: Shaquill Griffin was cut yesterday so the Hawks could sign another corner that was cut by the Rams on Tuesday. Then Griffin was signed back to the practice squad. Got that? It’s almost like Three-Card Monte. … The most-improved part of the Hawks’ roster? John Schneider thinks it is the offensive line. … Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, cut early Tuesday in favor of Cody White, signed with the 49ers. San Francisco also may grab once again former EWU receiver Kendrick Bourne. The Bourne link also includes information on where local players ended up after being cut Tuesday.

Sounders: Seattle handle the host L.A. Galaxy easily, winning 2-0 despite finishing the match with only 10 on the field. … The finals opponent on Sunday in Seattle is the team everyone else in America is probably rooting for, Miami. Why? Lionel Messi of course.

Golf: We mentioned Bradley’s decisions above. And linked it too. Here we add more on the full U.S. team, Griffin’s career arc and, just for the fun of it, this story on a Midwest course that seems like it would be blast to play. Comparable to a fist blasting into you midsection.

Tennis: A confrontation at the net? And John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors was not involved? OK, tennis is still tennis. Even women’s tennis.

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• There were so many stories to pass along today, I had to do the column in two parts. Even my supercomputer couldn’t handle the work load. Me neither. My neck hurts. Until later …