A Grip on Sports: Money is the gas that fuels all the sports teams everyone roots for, even those that once were amateur in status

A GRIP ON SPORTS • A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a source said three words to Bob Woodward that still ring true today. Follow the money. And with that, a presidential administration fell.

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• Sure, nothing in sports impacts our daily lives as much as Watergate did in the early 1970s. But if we follow the money, we know the answers. Answers to what? Everything. Because everyone follows the money.

Subjects as disparate as Washington State’s athletic future and the Mariners’ inability to sign a second baseman informed us once again this morning how true that is.

The S-R’s Greg Woods chatted with Cougar athletic director Anne McCoy yesterday – McCoy was making the rounds, talking with the Seattle Times and podcast host Jason Puckett – and much of the conversation revolved around, you guessed it, money.

How much is available for new football coach Jimmy Rodgers and his coaching staff. How much the athletic department has overall. The Pac-12’s budget. Plans to improve the bottom line. Beer sales, scheduling fees, media revenue.

The price of admission – not just for tickets but to be part of college athletics’ royalty – has risen faster than the cost of eggs these days. And it all smells rotten.

But your favorite college athletic department is not alone. Your favorite baseball franchise is dealing with it as well. Unless you wave a banner that reads “Mets” or “Dodgers” or, maybe, “Yankees.”

Mariner fans? The only thing they are waving is a white flag.

Giving up? Why not? After baseball’s Winter Meetings came and went without any roster improvement, M’s fans lowered their already gutter-level expectations. If Jerry Dipoto could just sign someone, even a second-tier player with a possible upside, they would celebrate it almost as much as Mets’ fans did Juan Soto’s 15-year, $765-million contract.

The focus became Korean second baseman Hyeseong Kim, a still-youthful veteran who was available in the international market. A slick fielder with speed and a reputation of controlling the strike zone. Not too much to ask, right?

Yes it was. The Dodgers, who have been touting the upside of their second baseman Gavin Lux for years, decided to hedge their bets. And the franchise has the money to grow a 6-foot-high windbreak. The threw it toward Kim. Three years, $12.5 million. Total.

A bargain by their standards.

But too expensive for the M’s? Must have been. More than likely Dipoto had a threshold he could not cross – 50 cents, maybe? – and, once L.A. got involved, knew he was cooked.

The relatively cheap contract being too rich for Seattle’s budget doesn’t bode well for re-signing future free agents like Cal Raleigh or any of their young starting pitchers, does it?

That’s the world we live in. A place where following the money often leads to a dead end or an always-under-repair bridge. In a world of haves and have nots, too often the athletic teams in this part of the world are in the latter category.

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WSU: We linked above Greg’s story on his conversation with McCoy as well as other conversations McCoy had Friday. … Greg also has a story on the newest assistant coach hires. … The basketball team faces another key WCC contest today, hosting USF with a chance to run its winning streak to four games. Greg has a preview of that game as well. To watch, one has to have ESPN+. … There is more on the Cougs in the Times this morning. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his Friday mailbag in the S-R. … Washington made it official, hiring former Purdue head coach Ryan Walters as its defensive coordinator for what the Huskies hope will be a successful 2025 season. … Oregon State has an opening on its coaching staff. … Oregon signed a high school quarterback in December. He enrolled in school. He is set to enter the portal already. … Despite losing its stars, Colorado expects to have a good receiver corps next season. … Utah may have a couple more seniors than it expected. … USC expected to have an outstanding offensive lineman back, but he had other plans. … So did an Arizona lineman. … Arizona State went from Pac-12 also-ran to Big 12 banner carrier in one season. Cam Skattebo played a big role in that. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Boise State has already filled its day-old vacancy at offensive coordinator. … Fresno State continues to build a new roster.

Gonzaga: Speaking of money, it costs a lot to play the schedule the Zags have been dealing with in the past week. UCLA in Los Angeles. A stay in the area to play Pepperdine. Back to Spokane to face Portland in the Arena. Now back to L.A. for a Saturday night meeting with Loyola Marymount. Theo Lawson has a preview of the contest – and discusses the NBA-like travel – as well as the key matchup. … Jim Meehan delves into Ben Gregg’s ascension back into the starting lineup. … Elsewhere in the WCC, this won’t happen in the future. No more walk-ons at Oregon State or anywhere else.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State plays in the FCS title game Monday night. Which means there are a lot of stories popping up about the Bobcats, coaches, the season, the playoffs and political bets. … We found the story on Northern Arizona’s Thursday night loss to the Idaho State men a day late. … Portland State and Sacramento State open conference play today against each other.

Whitworth: The nonconference schedule was challenging for the Pirate men but they emerged unblemished. That ended last night in their Northwest Conference opener at home. Whitworth fell 75-73 to Pacific Lutheran.

Preps: Dave Nichols passes along a couple basketball roundups this morning, one on games featuring GSL schools, the other on the smaller schools.

Seahawks: The Hawks have a plan of attack for tomorrow’s season-ending game against the Rams. … Geno Smith has $6 million riding on reachable bonuses Sunday. … Tyler Lockett is a captain in what could be his last game as a Seahawk. … We don’t pick games. But we pass them along.

Kraken: The newest member of the roster is putting in the work.

Mariners: Kim did what U.S.-based players do. What’s that, sign with the Dodgers? Well, sort of. He signed with the team with the most money and the best chance to win. Baseball’s financial system is only slightly better than college football’s.

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• Roger Waters saw all the financial changes in college football coming 50 years ago. (About the same time Woodward and Carl Bernstein were investigating Richard Nixon and his campaign.) Why else would the Pink Floyd bassist pen “Money?” “Get a good job with more pay and you’re okay” and, more appropriately (though he was English, so, soccer), “Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. New car, caviar, four-star daydream. Think I’ll buy me a football team.” Pretty darn prescient I would say. Until later …