A Grip on Sports: Anyone can just be lazy on a Saturday, including me, though oftentimes there is more work to be done than any other day

A GRIP ON SPORTS • One great thing about Saturdays? For me, anyway? I can write as long a column as I want. Or as short as I want. It’s not controlled by any outside forces. What will today bring, long or short? I have no idea. I’ll just begin and we’ll see where it takes us. Together.

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• Monday through Friday, the main body of this column also makes up a daily column in the on-line Spokane Chronicle. And that puts limits on how much I can write. There is a Goldilocks Zone. Not too long. Not too short.

Some leeway, sure. Not a lot.

Saturday and Sunday? There is no Chronicle published. The column appears only here, on the S-R’s site. Where space, and possibilities, are endless.

If I want to write 1,000 words on the state of the Spokane Indians, I can. (Here is the 2025 report, in 10 words: They are not going to be playing in the postseason.)

If I want to write 250 words on the Idaho Vandals or 552 on the local golf courses or, goodness, 4 million on the M’s chances of winning the American League West this season, it’s possible.

Not too likely, but possible. The likeliness is controlled by another variable. Time. Every day, not just during the work week, our column has a deadline. Space may vary but 9 a.m. doesn’t. Everything needs to be done by 9 a.m. Why?

No, it’s not because I have OCD (though there is a little of that in me). It’s because the S-R’s sports e-mail goes out to everyone at that time. A minute after and the link to our latest column is left behind.

I look at it this way. If I want a breakfast bagel at McDonald’s (and the steak, egg and cheese one is something I crave at least three times a week) I have to be at the drive-through speaker by 10:30 in the morning.

If not, I have to settle. If I don’t have my column done, completely done, by 9 a.m., everyone who uses the email link has to settle for day-old hamburger. And what good is that?

• Here’s breakfast for today.

The Seahawks are touting their defense’s potential. Is it true? Or all training camp sound and fury, signifying nothing?

“I really feel like we can be the best defense in this league, man,” veteran defensive lineman Jarran Reed told the Times’ Bob Condotta. “As long as we keep playing hard and just keep being physical and just keep running and hitting – that’s what it’s all about, man. I think the sky is the limit for our defense.”

Is it? Well, numbers tell a story. Ten of 11 late-season starters return on that side of the ball. And by “late-season”, I mean the final eight games. When Seattle was 6-2 and gave up the fifth-fewest points in the NFL.

That’s something to build from. To build on. To build a defense that takes pressure of Sam Darnold’s shoulders. To allow the offense the freedom to run the ball often enough, it’s easier to keep the free-agent quarterback upright.

That’s what second-year coach Mike Macdonald wants. Needs. And something Seahawks fans of any standing crave. Understand. Has seen work before.

We’re not talking LOB here. Those days are gone. Long gone. To quote our all-time favorite fictional Chicago cop Jimmy Malone, “as dead as Julius Caesar.” The past is past. The future, as in this season?

A group of guys who have an Al Capone-like confidence.

“We actually talked about that in meetings, having confidence and building that swagger,” Reed said Friday. “And we’re building that out here as you can see.”

• Swagger? In four days we will begin to find out what, if any, Washington State has under new coach Jimmy Rogers.

Oh, sure, the Cougars went through spring practice with Rogers and his staff in charge. Gave everyone a glimpse of what to expect. But this time of year is different.

The roster has been set a while. The players have gone through a summer of lifting, conditioning and spending time together. Chemistry has been built. Bonds made. Depth charts, at least as the players’ perceive them, built. Over the next four weeks, the Cougars will begin to sand down the sharp edges, fit the pieces together and build a squad that can hold together through a 12-game schedule that may just be the strangest one in program history.

That’s the theory anyway.

This team will be made up of an amalgamation of holdovers from the Jake Dickert era, freshman recruits and transfers from all over, with about ¾ of those coming from Rogers’ former place of employment, FCS power South Dakota State.

It’s an interesting mix. Why the just-finished summer offseason was so important to fall’s in-season success. In four days we begin to see how well the disparate pieces were blended together. And whether they can cook up something special.

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WSU: Speaking of SDSU transfers, today’s Greg Woods position preview mentions a trio of them prominently. Greg is covering the safety position and Rogers was not shy in enticing his former players from that spot to Pullman. … It’s been a while since Jefferson Koulibaly played his hoops on the Palouse. Three years and, now, three schools ago. The guard, who former coach Kyle Smith touted highly back in 2020, has landed at Georgia Southern. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Washington took advantage of its time at Big Ten media days to make some statements. … Another Oregon State position preview, that of inside linebacker, is available. … Oregon is trying to build leaders. … Colorado coach Deion Sanders is back in Boulder and will talk about his health issues soon. He will be spending much of training camp making a decision about who starts at quarterback, with two main contenders in the mix. … A New Mexico transfer is important to Utah State. … Another is why you should buy Utah turning it around as well. … How hot should the seat be under Lincoln Riley? If the Trojans’ fans, as well as those of UCLA, are expected to be optimistic and neither performs well, pretty hot indeed. … Arizona State has many connections to Texas. … How good will Arizona’s linebackers be? … It seems as if Boise State is tired of tampering. … San Diego State is still looking for a quarterback in next year’s recruiting class. The Aztecs thought, for a while anyway, that slot was filled. … In basketball news, two bigs are trying to prove to Tommy Lloyd they can be on the court for Arizona at the same time. … Colorado’s 3-point shooting failings of last season may be changed by a freshman’s presence. … Two newcomers are still trying to learn what it means to be a Utah State player. … Recruiting the No. 1 high school player in the land never stops. Not for the USC women. 

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the House-caused changing times are causing changes at Northern Colorado. … Idaho State has moved a linebacker to offense and he’s expected to be a focal point. … Recruiting never stops. Ask Montana. … Portland State has started practice already.

Indians: We mentioned this year’s team above. The Indians lost their third consecutive game, dropping a 7-1 decision at Everett on Friday night.

Preps: We knew of Levi Horn long before he became a standout football player for Rogers High. Of course we did. He was 6-foot-4 in eighth grade and we were coaching our younger son’s basketball team then. We followed Horn’s career. Even covered the high school part of it. But we never did a column of the depth Dave Boling has done. It is on the S-R site this morning. 

Mariners: Speaking of losing, Seattle wasted two home runs from Julio Rodriguez (both solo ones), Josh Naylor’s debut and another stellar Brian Woo outing in a 3-2, 10-inning loss at the Angels. … Ichiro will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. He was the star of stars in the Northwest during his time with the Mariners. … We linked this Mike Vorel column yesterday when it ran in the Times. It is on the S-R website today. … Speaking of Naylor, he says he loves pressure. Well, welcome to Seattle. Lead the M’s to the postseason. Or else. … His former Arizona teammate Eugenio Suárez is still on Jerry Dipoto’s radar it seems. … Remember Gil Meche? We do. So does Jayson Jenks, who once worked at the Times. He has an Athletic story on the former Seattle pitcher and why he stepped away from the game. It has a connection to what Scottie Scheffler was talking about before his Open win.

Seahawks: We linked Bob Condotta’s story from training camp above. And do it again here. … There is also a notebook from Friday on the Times’ website. … Riq Woolen has millions of reasons to have a great season.

Storm: Jerry Brewer’s Washington Post column on Noelle Quinn is on the S-R website today.

Sounders: Seattle has gone five consecutive matches without losing. Will that streak continue tonight in Atlanta?

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• That’s it. That’s the column. It would be a little too long for a weekday. But it fits perfectly into a Saturday morning slot. Then again, everything does. See you on Sunday. Anyone up for doughnuts? Or, as my friend Kent used to call them some 50 years ago when we would eat a few after work fresh from the Winchell’s fryer, “grease bars.” Those were the days. Until later …