A Grip on Sports: The World Series seems headed to a seven-game classic, though that’s just part of the sports cornucopia ahead

A GRIP ON SPORTS • I know. Yes, I know. The World Series is still in mid-bloom. I know because the after-effects from Monday night’s 18-inning affair hit me as much as the Dodger bullpen. And still linger. But there is more on tap the next few days. Much more. And I’m not even including Halloween.

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• OK, a thought about Halloween. Is there one house in your neighborhood where the owners spent more money on their spooky setup than a Johnny Depp movie? I ask because there is a Pirates of the Caribbean-themed front yard not too far away that terrifies the dog every time we walk by. Me too.

• As for the Series, the bullpen-depleting Game Three reared its head in the top of the seventh inning. Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts tried to nurse another inning from Shohei Ohtani. It did not go well. No outs, two on and he was forced to pick an arm from his grab bag.

Anthony Banda and Blake Treinen were the choices. Before the inning was done, the game was over. The Jays led 6-1 and the Dodgers’ ninth-inning run was a footnote. Give Shane Bieber another postseason win – in a huge spot.

Tonight’s game won’t be. Not when the winner of Game Five in a 2-2 Series wins the title about 64% of the time. And it’s higher when the winner is headed home for the final two. Put tonight’s game in the must-win category for L.A.

• What else is there ahead? Idaho kicks off the local college football weekend with a Halloween visit to Northern Arizona. It would seem appropriate if the 21st-ranked Lumberjacks turned the 7:30 game (ESPN2) into one giant Halloween party, gifting the Vandals a couple of Paydays in the form of turnovers.

Eastern Washington hosts the most-talked-about 4-4 team in America, Sacramento State on Saturday. It will be the final visit to Cheney for the Hornets, headed off into a Quixotic-quest next year, in search of FBS membership and the mirage of a money-filled windmill that accompanies it.

There are folks from Moscow who could warn you about that. One of them, however, now lives in Corvallis. And fills in the non-coveted role of interim head football coach.

Of course I am referring to former Washington State defensive coordinator Robb Akey. His Vandal period lasted six seasons. It came with UI in the midst of a 22-year exodus in the FBS wilderness, first in the Big West, followed by a stint in the Sun Belt, a WAC stretch, a year as an independent and, finally, another four-year stretch of Belt tightening. Sanity, and the FCS, returned to Idaho in 2018.

Akey never did, but he moved back to the Northwest this fall, hired first to assist Trent Bray, then to replace him.

Akey’s ascension to OSU interim head honcho came a couple weeks ago with Bray’s dismissal. The Beavers were 0-7 at the time. They are 1-7 now and had a bye week to prep for the 4-4 Cougars. It’s the first of two meetings between the Pac-12 cornerstones, though this carries a nonconference designation.

As if that matters. These two teams will be well-motivated.

• So will the Seahawks on Sunday night. After all, while they were recuperating and fine-tuning over their bye week, they rose to the top of the NFC West. Their opponent, the Washington Commanders, spent the week suffering another defeat, Monday night against Kansas City.

Between now and the 5:20 kickoff on NBC, we will all gain an hour of our life back. Yep, Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend.

• Just in time for the tipoff of an anticipated college basketball season.

Anticipated because the legalization of paying – call it NIL or compensation or whatever, the bottom line is college athletes are receiving a pay check – players means the landscape is filled with players who might be in a pro league somewhere are staying in college longer.

Monday’s first day is filled with one top matchup, at least, though nothing will ever top the stretch when ESPN used to show 24 hours of good-to-great games to begin the season.

Defending national champion Florida, ranked third, faces Tommy Lloyd’s 13th-ranked Arizona team in Las Vegas (4 p.m., TNT). The neutral site, T-Mobile Arena, and the financial changes inherent in the sport, go hand-in-hand, as schools look for as many ways as possible to maximize revenue.

Theirs and their players.

Gonzaga opens at home Monday against Texas Southern (6 p.m.), Idaho and Washington State meet in Pullman a half-hour later and Eastern Washington heads to No. 12 UCLA for a 7:30 start.

Grab a soon-to-be-stale leftover bag of little Snickers, settle in and watch non-stop basketball action. It won’t end until April, after some 27 bags of leaves, 11 snow-shoveling back injuries and four knee-testing days in the yard planting flowers have come and gone.

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WSU: How have the Cougars turned their once-porous defense into one that is hard to penetrate, considering the debacles against North Texas and Washington? By tackling better. Much better. Greg Woods covers that improvement in this story. … Jimmy Rogers continues to build for the future on that side of the ball, adding two more 2026 recruits to a list that has grown to 20. Hey, as Greg tells us, recruiting never stops. Right? … Greg also teams with CougFan’s Jamey Vinnick for the latest CougarProwl podcast. … The Beavers haven’t decided who will start at quarterback this week. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his weekly Pac-12 bowl projections. WSU to the Los Angeles Bowl seem OK? … Stewart Mandel has a mailbag today that touches on all the turnover among head coaches. It has reached a point schools have to decide if there will be any replacements left that could materially help. … Remember the NCAA’s move to remove a pro sports betting ban for its athletes? It’s on hold. The SEC isn’t on board. … Early on this season, it didn’t seem as if Kalen DeBoer’s stint at Alabama would last much longer. Not anymore.

• 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 52, Texas State 20: After three tight losses, the soon-to-be Pac-12 Bobcats were never in this Sun Belt game Tuesday night on ESPN2. The Dukes, who host Washington State in a few weeks, have won six consecutive times.

– Arizona State at Iowa State (10 a.m., TNT): Can the Sun Devils compete in a hostile environment without quarterback Sam Leavitt? They will find out. He’s not playing this week due to injury.

– Pittsburgh at Stanford (12:30 p.m., ACC): It has been more than 100 years since the Panthers have traveled across the country to play the Cardinal.

– Fresno State at Boise State (12:30, FS1): There is a trophy associated with this game? I guess I learned something today. It’s the Milk Can and it goes to the winner of course. …The visiting Bulldogs are trying to milk more for their offense.

– No. 15 Virginia at California (12:45, ESPN2): The Cavaliers have turned their program around. Now they have to survive the challenge of a cross country trip.

– Arizona at Colorado (4, FS1): At least one Buff defender played well against Utah. That’s never enough, is it? … The Wildcats have a tight end who has made a huge leap this season.

– Wyoming at San Diego State (4, CBS Sports): The Cowboys won their rivalry game against Colorado State last week. Now a tougher opponent awaits.

– No. 23 USC at Nebraska (4:30, NBC): Both starting quarterbacks in this game are of Polynesian descent. … USC needs to bounce back to keep its CFP hopes alive.

– No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah (7:15, ESPN): The Utes’ coaching staff is dealing with some quarterback uncertainty as they gameplan for the Bearcats.

• In basketball news, injured guard Jackson Shelstad probably won’t be back in an Oregon uniform until the Ducks play Oregon State. … Arizona State’s men kick off their schedule Tuesday. … Arizona found a way to learn something despite a 71-point blowout win in its last exhibition game. … San Diego State hosts USD in an exhibition. … How good do people believe Colorado State will be? … UCLA has found someone special in the transfer portal.

Gonzaga: Drew Timme is moving to Los Angeles. His G League journey continues. Theo Lawson has all the particulars in this story. … The WCC cross country championships are this weekend. But that’s not the main thrust of John Blanchette’s story today. The venue is. The new course in the Spokane Valley will host and John delves into the process of building a cross country track that hopes to host everything from high school championships to NCAA ones. … There are three GU players on this CBS list of the top 100. Can you name them?

EWU and Idaho: It will be a different-looking Big Sky Conference next football season. Sacramento State leaves, Southern Utah returns and Utah Tech joins for the first time. That leaves the conference with nine football members and will necessitate an unbalanced schedule. Dan Thompson delves into the 2026 one that was announced Monday in his weekly Big Sky notebook. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana moved up a spot in the polls to third. And will leave October as a national title contender. … So is Montana State. And both probably will be next season as well. … Idaho State will have seven homes next season for the first time ever. … I also can pass along a Portland State schedule story. … Cal Poly is trying to bounce back from its loss to Montana State. … Former Weber State player Dillon Jones will spend time this season with Portland’s G League team. … The Montana State women won an exhibition game.

Preps: There were soccer playoffs Tuesday and Cheryl Nichols has the roundup.

Seahawks: This story about Sam Darnold and his MVP chances? I linked it yesterday when it ran in the Times. It is on the S-R site today. … Is this the last time Seattle and Bobby Wagner intersect on the field?

Mariners: If you are looking for links to World Series’ stories, they are above. I saved this space for the M’s. And this piece on Will Klein’s short stint with Seattle early in the season. … The Mariners blues will fade at some point. Don’t let them interfere with the positive developments in the region.

Kraken: Down three goals late, Seattle rallied at home to send the game with Montreal into overtime. And promptly gave up a goal and lost.  

Storm: The Times has introductory story about the franchise’s newest head coach. … The WNBA would like to keep talking with the players about the new CBA.

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• It’s time for a day of rest. And if you are asking yourself why someone who is retired – semi, sure, but with an emphasis on retired – would need that, I would offer in evidence how staying up after midnight Monday has messed up my sleep patterns. The bags under my eyes now have bags of their own. Heck, even the little dog is grumpy over my tossing and turning. That never happens. Until later …