A Grip on Sports: The euphoria of realizing a long-held dream only lasts so long and, in Seattle University’s case, a key part didn’t last long at all
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Made a huge mistake Tuesday night. Decided to partake in the ritual that is Taco Tuesday by driving through a fast-food restaurant I haven’t visited in a while. The upside, no cleanup, was obvious. The downside? It took a while to reveal.
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• That’s not unusual, is it? Even in the sports world.
Take Seattle University’s athletic programs. The Catholic school reached a long-held dream on May 10, 2024, when it accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference. Home of somewhat-close neighbors Gonzaga – the conference’s gold standard – and Portland.
The upside was, and is, obvious.
The Redhawks have been hoping to be welcomed back to the West Coast’s mainly Catholic conference since they made their return to Division I in 2009. Back in 1980, the recession hit Seattle hard. The school and the metro area. Seattle U. needed to cut costs. It left the WCC (and the NCAA), becoming an NAIA school for 21 years. But in that time, the WCC changed. Solidified. New members were not on the agenda.
For more than two decades the Redhawks worked their way back up the NCAA ladder, finally become a WAC member more than a decade ago. The goal, however, was still the same. Earn WCC membership.
In May of last year, the dream was realized. Gonzaga was no longer Washington’s only conference member.
A little more than four months later, the bubble burst.
The Bulldogs accepted an invitation to join the rebuilding Pac-12. They would be leaving their longtime conference home to start the 2026-27 academic year. After a more-than-two-decade quest to catch up with the Zags, the Redhawks will be in the same neighborhood for one year. And then the whole will undergo renovation. It’s taken a hit already. The same day Seattle U. accepted the WCC’s invite, so did Grand Canyon. But GCU’s nuptials weren’t even consummated before the Antelopes eloped with the Mountain West.
Tuesday, Seattle University’s WCC membership became official. For the next 365 days the Redhawks will compete with Gonzaga and the rest of the conference. And then their future will change again.
• There is no downside to having Cal Raleigh on the Mariners’ roster. Not even when there is no upside at the plate.
That rare occurrence happened Tuesday night, as the M’s fell 6-3 to the visiting Kansas City Royals – and fell a season-high seven games behind the A.L. West-leading Astros.
Raleigh came to the plate four times. Struck out four times. If the 2025 saying “as goes Cal, so goes the M’s,” is true, then they had no chance in this one. Is it?
The catcher has played in 43 of Seattle’s 44 wins. In them, he has hit 24 home runs, driven home 52 and is hitting .325, with an on-base percentage of .440 and OPS of 1.288.
He has also played in all 41 of the Mariners’ losses. In only two fewer at-bats, he has hit 15 fewer home runs, driven in just 19 and has a .219 average. His OPS is 500 points less and his slugging percentage is almost half that of the wins.
So, yes, it is true.
• Did you know the Club World Cup is still going on here in the States? If the answer is no, you’re not alone. The quarterfinals are Friday and Saturday and the guess here is they will pass almost unnoticed, even in the host cities. That’s the downside of an event that should have featured more upside for this country.
Playing a quarterfinal in Philadelphia on July 4th might have looked good in a boardroom a couple years ago, but the matchup between Palmerias (Brazil) and Chelsea (England) probably won’t fill Lincoln Financial Field. Unless there are postgame fireworks. And they are set off by Jalen Hurts.
If any of the matches included an MLS squad or three, then that would be different. America loves winners but in the international soccer community, the MLS teams are anything but. Why is that still the case when the league has attracted well-off ownership these days. Not Saudi “well-off” for sure, but better than the MLS had in the past.
There is a quagmire of reasons, ranging from the league’s antiquated salary and roster rules to many rich owners still seeing their clubs as ATMs and beyond.
The recent showings from the Sounders, LAFC and Inter Miami, while surprising competitive, did nothing to quell the argument the MLS is a third-class league.
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WSU: We linked Matt Calkins’ column about the Texas State addition yesterday morning, when it appeared on the Times’ website. It is on the S-R’s today. … One respected national football writer has John Mateer among the four players he thinks may just be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. I would not second that. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, football recruiting hardly slows down this time of year. At least at Oregon State. Or Washington. Oregon. Utah. Colorado. … Arizona State has a couple of preseason All-Americans. One of them is quarterback Sam Leavitt. … Utah’s wide receiver group has a new coach. … Who is Boise State’s rival? … Here is one ranking of the new eight-team Pac-12 in football history and trajectory. … And an examination of the media rights and membership agreement. … In basketball news, the Washington men seem to have added a Big 12 power to its schedule. … Utah State was better than expected last season. Will it continue? … Can Alex Jensen turn Utah into an NBA factory? … Arizona already is. And the U19 success Tommy Lloyd is having might help attract more future players. The roster for next year is set. … So is Colorado State’s.
Gonzaga: Hoopfest is not just the best 3-on-3 tournament in the world, it also serves as old-home-weekend for many of the Bulldogs’ NBA alumni. Case in point, Corey Kispert. The Wizards’ wing was in town to watch, meet up with old teammates and to talk with Theo Lawson. Well, that last one wasn’t probably a draw but it did happen and we have this story to pass along because of it. … Theo also took time Tuesday to write this story as more of the men’s nonconference schedule became known. The first two opponents in the Players Era Festival. Alabama and Maryland. Wow. The Zags’ schedule is loaded. … Mark Few’s newest European recruit has attracted national attention. … Elsewhere in the WCC, we linked the Seattle U. story above. We do it again here. … And we pass along this story on all schools switching conferences.
Preps: Rocky Wells will be a senior at Mead High in the fall. And we’re pretty sure he is the only one with a signed contract with a professional soccer club. Justin Reed has all the details in this story.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State’s football recruiting attracted another player. … It makes sense for Utah Tech to join the conference.
Indians: Spokane opened a split six-game series with Tri-City – the first three are in Pasco – Tuesday night by dropping a 7-4 decision. Dave Nichols has the coverage.
Chiefs: Former Spokane star Kailer Yamamoto’s NHL career will continue with Utah next season.
Mariners: We linked the coverage of the M’s Tuesday night loss above. We do it again here if you skipped over. And, if that’s the case, shame on you. … Will the Mariners actually make a trade?
Seahawks: Is Pete Carroll actually “aging so gracefully?” Not sure his last couple years in Seattle illustrated that. Instead of using Benjamin Button as a literary reference, we would use Peter Pan.
Kraken: Seattle opened the NHL’s free-agent period by signing a defenseman, Ryan Lindgren. … This Kraken draft pick had a head start. … The team needs to become better at development.
Storm: Even without Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever are among the best WNBA teams this season. They made that clear last night, winning the Commissioner’s Cup, and a $500,000 pot, 74-59 over host Minnesota. … Red Panda performs at a lot of WNBA games. She was in Minneapolis last night. And fell.
Sounders: If you want to know why the MLS is still mired in mediocrity, read Jeff Rueter’s Athletic story. It is a great primer concerning the league’s issues.
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• I wanted to remind you again we won’t be here on July 4 and 6. Plan accordingly. Or do not plan at all, which is highly likely. And, if you care, my stomach, a mess when I started this morning, is much better. Dry white toast helps. Until later …