A Grip on Sports: It’s that day again, the rare day when the five major pro sports leagues each have a game

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, yes. Thinking about how so much happens every day, not just in the world but the world of sports as well. So much, in fact, today is one of those special days. An equinox of sorts.

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• The NBA is playing games today. The NFL too. NHL? Check. And baseball? Well, there is a little something called “The World Series” going on – even if the Dodgers were almost late to their party.

America’s four major sports. All on the same day. Great. But rare?

Not anymore. Used to be. But there has been one day in each of the past 10 years it has happened. Heck, throw in the MLS, which is in its postseason, and there have been five consecutive years the five pro leagues all were in action on the same day.

It’s too bad my Comcast DVR can only record two events at the same time.

Though, the deeper I drill, the more I realize only two are necessary. The NHL and NBA are just getting started. Missing one night this early isn’t a sin.

The MLS? Sure, the Sounders are kicking off their playoff run at Minnesota. But if you want to watch that, you have to pay Apple a fee. And I’m sure if I want to watch the match, all I have to do is navigate its streaming service’s menu and I’m good to go.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are on – they seem to be on my TV as often as “Friends” reruns – from our nation’s capital, which always seems like can’t miss TV. Mainly because I’m intrigued to count the missed tackles the beat-up Commanders’ defense racks up.

But that’s still second fiddle. Shohei Ohtani is the main star tonight. Even if he doesn’t have a teammate engaged to Taylor Swift. Actually, the World Series would be No. 1 in this baseball household even if it matched Miami with Minnesota.

• It was an interesting weekend in college football. As always.

Locally, Idaho snapped its losing streak, thanks in part to the Big Sky schedule maker. Portland State has helped snap a lot of losing streaks this season. The Vikings are 0-8, possibly headed to 0-12 and, in that way, represented a must-win part of the Vandals’ schedule. They did. And handily.

A win over PSU jumpstarted Eastern Washington’s season Oct. 4. The Eagles were 1-4 going into their homecoming matchup, had just suffered a 57-3 loss at Montana State and seemed lost. But after winning the Dam Cup 35-27, Eastern has reeled off two more wins, including Saturday’s 23-20 decision at Weber State. At 3-1 in Big Sky play, the Eagles are alone in fourth place, trailing the three conference super powers, 4-0 Montana, Montana State and UC Davis.

The Cougars? They finally came back to Pullman, played a team (Toledo) that wasn’t ranked in the top 25 and won 28-7. They are 4-4, with the combined record of the four teams they have lost to – North Texas, Washington, Mississippi and Virginia – adding up to 27-5. Looking at that number, it’s easy to believe Jimmy Rogers might be in line for a contract extension. One with a huge buyout, which seems to be all the rage in college football.

Before the rant about such things, and believe me, there is one, it’s time to start thinking bowl game possibilities. Left on the schedule is the home-and-home with Oregon State – the Cougars are a slight favorite on the road this week against the 1-7 Beavers, who feature an interim coach and coming off a win and a bye the past two weeks – along with a tough road game at James Madison (6-1) and a home date with Louisiana Tech (4-3).

• The NCAA and its conferences cry poverty about 74 times a day. Every day. They have asked Congress to bail them out. To give them the power to go back to the days when they controlled an unpaid workforce with an iron hand. Back to when they hired coaches for $10 million a year and guaranteed the money for a decade or more.

Wait, that last one is now. And leads to one indisputable conclusion: Poverty? What poverty?

Instead of putting a cap on what the players can make, how about putting a cap on what coaches can make? Wait. That’s simple. It would be an anti-trust violation. You know, the law that, in part, governs employee compensation, unless there is some sort of collective bargaining.

For some reason, the NCAA isn’t asking for congressional relief in that regard. The schools, especially the ones with deep-pocketed boosters, would rather just hand out contracts with huge poison pills, knowing full well those boosters will get angry enough to come up with the needed cash for a change.

The poster boy for all this? Former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who left College Station with a wheelbarrow full of $100 bills. Enough of them to add up to about $77 million. The athletic director who gave him that contract? Former Washington leader Scott Woodard, who left A&M for his alma mater LSU before the Fisher bill had to be paid.

And the same guy who gave Brian Kelly a huge pot of gold to abandon the leprechauns of Notre Dame – despite Kelly being a worse fit for Baton Rouge than David Farragut.

Then, of course, as Kelly’s tenure spiraled out of control, Woodard had to pay up. Not before the Tigers put together a multi-million-dollar roster that is 5-3. Not before losing at home to Texas A&M – ironic, huh? – 49-25 Saturday. Not before having a blowout argument with his hand-picked coach. But before figuring out how to payout the $53 million Kelly has coming. And Woodard is still the guy making decisions?

Maybe he can make one more. Head to D.C. and ask Congress for a bailout. It seems to be all the rage.

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WSU: Because there wasn’t a column yesterday, here are two Greg Woods’ opinion pieces about the win over Toledo. One praises the defense, which stood stout even with the offense’s turnovers Saturday. The other? It delves into how well the offensive line played, despite dealing with multiple injuries. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, have you noticed a recent trend of shirtless fans in football stadiums across the country? It even hit Pullman on Saturday. … Jon Wilner has his weekly Pac-12 power rankings in the Mercury News. He drops the Cougars a spot to third, behind San Diego State. You know, the 6-1 team whose “1” came in Pullman. By a 36-13 score. … Wilner also had a midseason update of sorts on Saturday night. … The Cougars moved up again in this Athletic ranking of all 136 FBS schools. … The Huskies will start November with a bye. Which gives us a chance to look back at the 42-25 win over then-23rd-ranked Illinois. … No. 6-ranked Oregon is off as well. The Ducks are coming off a tougher, rain-soaked 21-7 home win over Wisconsin. … The Pac-12 probably won’t be paying their head football coaches what the Power Four conferences pay. … UCLA paid for its mistakes at second-ranked Indiana. And it will probably pay a lot for a new coach. After all, the Bruins think their job is one of the best. … Has Colorado State hit bottom with its shutout loss in its rivalry game with Wyoming? … Utah State is 0-4 on the road.

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

– James Madison at Texas State (Tuesday, 5 p.m., ESPN2): Probably should have started linking stories about this game last week, but, honestly, who would have thought there would be a college football game on a Tuesday night? In the middle of the World Series? The Bobcats may not have to do that when they join the Pac-12 next year.

– Arizona State at Iowa State (10 a.m., TNT): The Sun Devils are coming off a loss. And now they have lost their special teams coach for a while due to an undisclosed illness.

– Pittsburgh at Stanford (12:30 p.m., ACC): The Cardinal have struggled on the road, epitomized by their 42-7 loss at No. 10 Miami. At least they are home this week.

– Fresno State at Boise State (12:30, FS1): The Broncos won at Nevada. But didn’t play well on the road once more. No problem this week. The Bulldogs come to Boise off a shutout loss in their rivalry game with San Diego State.

– No. 15 Virginia at California (12:45, ESPN2): The Cavaliers have been living on the edge. But they have continued to win.

– Arizona at Colorado (4, FS1): The Buffs will have to bounce back from an embarrassing 53-7 loss to Utah. … Arizona is rested and ready, though playing Boulder isn’t easy.

– Wyoming at San Diego State (4, CBS Sports): A 23-0 shutout on the road? The Aztecs are happy with that. Now the Cowboys come to town, fresh off a shutout themselves.

– No. 23 USC at Nebraska (4:30, NBC): The Trojans’ Lincoln Riley does double duty. He also calls play just like his mentor Mike Leach did. Is that good these days?

– No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah (7:15, ESPN): An injury might have actually opened a door in Salt Lake City, one freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin flew through. … The Utes will be hosting College GameDay this week.  

• In basketball news, Arizona State lost a key player to a bad injury over the weekend. … Arizona will host an exhibition game against a school coached by a former UA assistant.

Gonzaga: A hearing about Tyon Grant-Foster’s eligibility lawsuit is expected to happen today in Spokane. Not all that long before the Zags’ second exhibition game. This one is against Division II Western Oregon. Theo Lawson has this story on the long connection between Mark Few and the Monmouth-based school. It has to do with the head coach, Doug Orton, and Few’s high school days in Creswell, just south of Eugene. Orton’s dad was Few’s prep coach. … All that on the plate and a recruiting story as well? Yep. Theo has news in that regard involving Luca Foster, who should be in Spokane next season.

Idaho: The Vandals’ best NFL player these days could easily be Falcons’ linebacker Kaden Elliss. Colton Clark highlights his performance in his look at local players in the NFL, despite a blowout loss to Miami. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, fourth-ranked Montana won on the field over Sacramento State after a war-of-words off it. … Montana State didn’t execute like one would expect the No. 5 team in the nation to execute. But the Bobcats won at Cal Poly. … UC Davis kept rolling, topping Northern Colorado. … Idaho State is kicking itself after losing its homecoming game to Northern Arizona 31-18. … The two soon-to-be conference members met Saturday. Southern Utah topped Utah Tech 28-7. … In basketball news, Idaho State breezed in an exhibition game over the weekend.

Chiefs: Spokane was back home yesterday but it wasn’t a happy homecoming. First-place Everett took control early and earned a 5-2 victory. Dave Nichols was there and has this coverage.

Mariners: Over the disappointment yet? Need help doing that? The Times’ Mike Vorel looks at the M’s and supplies it. … Management told its fans yesterday how it feels, doing so in a full-page advertisement in the Times. Even if the Mariners don’t spend as much in the offseason as the faithful might like, it’s nice to see the owners are willing to spend to help out a local journalism business. … Speaking of free agents, the M’s still seem a good fit for their three big-name ones. … The Series returns to L.A. tonight. The Blue Jays have to do what the Dodgers did after game one. Bounce back.

Seahawks: Seattle is not a mirage. Partly because Sam Darnold has become a top-notch quarterback. … Thanks to the 49ers loss against Houston, the Hawks are in first place in the NFC West. This time of year, that at $20 will get you some sort of pumpkin drink at Starbucks.

Sounders: As we mentioned above, Seattle is in Minnesota for the MLS playoffs’ first round. Seattle has been one of the league’s best franchise forever. And may be the best at finding the right talent and turning them into stars.

Golf: Jim Meehan has a story on Jeff Gove, the pro from the Idaho Club, earning another spot in the Senior PGA Championship over the weekend.

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• Hope everyone had a great Sunday without having to worry about the Seahawks. The same happens during the day this week. Though we all will, right, leading up to the night game in D.C. Until later …