A Grip on Sports: It’s possible the Mariners’ dream season could end like just another October horror flick but we’re not going to let it impact family dynamics

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Doesn’t just about every movie plot in October start out with the protagonist experiencing a wonderful dream? And something, or someone, invades that idyllic experience and turns it into a struggle between good and evil? Could it be this month’s newest release will involve the Mariners?

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• There is a lot foreshadowing going on. The M’s are up 2-0 in the American League Championship Series against Toronto. Will play tonight  (5, FS1) in T-Mobile with George Kirby et al having a chance to build a 3-0 lead, an edge only one team ever – the Death Star of baseball, the Yankees – has let slip away.

That Seattle could blow its current lead isn’t what fuels my apprehension. If that happens, then so be it. It’s baseball. Like the Jays, the Mariners are good. But they have flaws. And it’s possible those could manifest themselves enough in the next week the search for a first World Series berth fails.

No, my angst is coming from another source. The National League title series. Where baseball’s version of Freddy Krueger is ahead 2-0.

The billion-dollar Dodgers’ knives are out and they are cutting low-budget Milwaukee to pieces. Rising from the dead, so to speak, to suck all of the excitement from the poor Brewers’ best chance to win a championship since Robin Yount roamed centerfield and sold Miller High Life to the faithful.

Elm Street? Forget that. A matchup of the Mariners and the Dodgers is my personal “Nightmare on The Corner of Edgar and Dave.” A return appearance of Mr. Krueger no one asked for and no one wanted. Especially this guy.

Yes, after warning everyone Tuesday not to get ahead of their selves, here I am looking toward a Mariner vs. Dodger World Series.

Hey, consistency is, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, the hobgoblin of little minds. Or little waistlines. I can’t remember. Anyhow, I was asked in an email yesterday who I would root for if the Dodgers and Mariners meet in the World Series.

The simple answer? Neither. Rooting, per se, is not in the job description. But nothing is simple in baseball. Or in the space I fill each morning.

No one who has to write thousands of words each day would root against having subject matter that their readers care about. In that regard, the Mariners winning the World Series is something that would fill this space for years. Just like the Seahawks’ Super Bowl triumph. Or the Zags’ two trips to the NCAA title game. Or ESPN’s College Game Day’s visit to Pullman.

Big events are worth recalling over and over. And over.

But remember, my first baseball cap had two letters on it. L and A. It was blue. Dodger blue. Sandy Koufax. Maury Wills. Joe Moeller. The heroes of my youth. The heroes I’ll probably remember even if when I can’t remember where I left my car in the Costco parking lot.

It makes it hard, doesn’t it? Not really. There is a tiebreaker.

My eldest is 41 years old. His first toy? A baseball bat. (Nice parenting, huh?) His one and only MLB team? The Mariners. His joy from that experience? Pretty darn minimal. Every high has been accompanied by hundreds of lows.

Just last year Dodger fans of all ages were able to experience the bliss of another title. It was the franchise’s eighth, even of them coming in my lifetime.

Mariner fans like Tyler? You know the answer.

It’s his turn. And the turn of everyone like him who has a Griffey jersey in the closest or a Felix bobble head in the window sill.

If the Mariners and the Dodgers meet in the Series, so be it. The idyllic dreams of the past few weeks may disappear, filled with the dread of what could happen when a franchise that spends more money on one player than the opponent’s starting pitching staff meet in a short series. But my hope my son (and his peers) experience a week that they’ll remember forever will never fade.

Heck, if it happens, I might even sit down at the iMac and write a screenplay. Not a horror flick. But one of those feel-good comedies starring Ryan Reynolds or someone.

Maybe it can be released next October.

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WSU: When it comes to tackling, the Cougars are not really good at it. If you wanted to be mean, you could even say they are awful at the most-important aspect of playing defense. I mean, isn’t the point to get the opposition to the ground as quick as possible? Greg Woods delves into that problem today and wonders how Jimmy Rogers’ staff can fix it. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner spent some time delving into the Big Ten’s proposal to sell a stake in a media company to the University of California’s outside investment arm. And to extend its media grant of rights for another 10 years. … That story, and Wilner’s weekly Pac-12 bowl projections, are on the Mercury News website. … Stewart Mandel has his weekly mailbag in The Athletic. … Consistency seems to be the favored word this week at Colorado. … One Boise State player has fulfilled a childhood dream this season.

• Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games this week, listed chronologically. All this week are on Saturday unless noted. The schedule below also includes any game in which finding news about turned out to be nearly impossible.

– San Jose State at Utah State (Friday, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network) 

– North Carolina at Cal (Friday, ESPN) 

– Washington at Michigan (9 a.m., Fox): The Huskies are halfway through their season. They are 5-1, with their only loss to the nation’s top-ranked team. That translates into a pretty good semester report card, right?

– Arizona at Houston (9, FS1): An early start awaits the Wildcats in Texas.

– Texas State at Marshall (12:30 p.m., ESPN+): Who knew the Bobcats will be representing the largest school in the new Pac-12 next season? Now we all do. But will all those students be cheering for the best football program?

– No. 7 Texas Tech at Arizona State (1, Fox): It looks as if quarterback Sam Leavitt, the key to the Sun Devil offense, could be playing this week. He and his injured ankle were on the field Tuesday. … ASU really needs him.

– No. 8 Oregon at Rutgers (3:30, Big Ten Network): The Ducks’ defense hasn’t been disruptive yet this season. Maybe it starts doing that this week.

– Maryland at UCLA (4, FS1): Part of the post-firing bump is propelled by interim coach Tim Skipper’s belief in his Bruins.

– Hawaii at Colorado State (4, Mountain West Network)

– No. 20 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame (4:30, NBC): The Trojans’ running back room has quite a few empty seats due to injuries. What will they do this week?

– No. 23 Utah at No. 15 BYU (5, Fox): One subplot for this week? Which school’s first-year quarterback will have a better game? Another one: The players who transferred between the two schools. Or decided to stay put.

– Lafayette at Oregon State (7, The CW): John Canzano looks at what’s next for the Beavers. In their coaching search. As for this week’s game, the new-look coaching staff wants more consistency. … One player is not happy with the change. … An OSU linebacker is out for the rest of the season. … So is a sign that flew for a while in Reser Stadium.

– Florida State at Stanford (7:30, ESPN)

• In basketball news, the Big 12 announced Tuesday times for their men’s games. That means we have stories to pass along from Colorado, Utah and Arizona. … The Wildcats are playing an interesting exhibition opponent.

Gonzaga: It’s starting to become a tradition, like Elf on the Shelf or Halloween candy going on sale in September. For the third consecutive year, the Bulldogs will play their road game against the University of San Francisco down the hill at the Chase Center. Theo Lawson has more on the venue change that will be in play mid-February.

Preps: There were GSL contests Tuesday, during the afternoon and night. Cheryl Nichols has this roundup of the girls’ soccer and volleyball action.

EWU and Idaho: Dan Thompson’s weekly conference notebook begins with a look at Northern Colorado’s upset in Moscow last week. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, it’s already been an historic season for Montana. Winning every game is never easy. … Sacramento State added Youngstown State to next year’s schedule. … In basketball news, Idaho State’s men have a lot of new faces on what may be their deepest roster in years.

Chiefs: After traveling from Seattle to the wilds of Alberta, the Chiefs had an even tougher task. Play defending WHL champion Medicine Hat in its arena. The two teams who met in the league’s finals last season played a regular season game Tuesday, with the Tigers getting the best of Spokane again, this time 3-2. Dave Nichols has more.

Mariners: We linked stories above. And have some more links here, including how to jump on the M’s bandwagon without getting hurt. … And what type of gear to wear. … Bryan Woo seems ready to contribute. … The Dodgers’ starting pitching has been impressive. So has the bottom of their lineup.

Seahawks: It’s early, sure. But it sure seems as if hiring Mike Macdonald was the right call for Seattle. … Even those outside the Northwest are starting to agree. … When will Devon Witherspoon return to the lineup?

Kraken: Well, if you have to experience your first loss in the long NHL season, it might as well be in overtime. But the 5-4 defeat did come in Climate Pledge Arena, which isn’t the best of circumstances.

Sounders: Fans of the U.S. Men’s National Team discovered what all of us in the Northwest know. Cristian Roldan has become quite a force.

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• How many of you have other plans for tonight? A work commitment or something personal? Beg out. Cancel whatever you need to. Be in front of your TV. Send good vibes Furious George’s way. There’s no empirical evidence it will have an impact, sure. But it can’t hurt. Until later …