A Grip on Sports: If time really begins on Labor Day, then this weekend is the first true golden one of the year

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Friday again? Already? Time flies when fun is passing you by. Or there is smoke in your eyes, as is the case in Spokane. It’s supposed to be unhealthy today and into the weekend. Which means the TV sports schedule takes on added importance if just walking around outside may induce a coughing fit.

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• At least the schedule is nothing to spit at – unless Jalen Carter is around. Everything from college football to the NFL’s opening weekend. From the Mariners playing their traditional rival, the Atlanta Braves, to a Grand Slam tennis weekend in tradition-less New York. Close up the house, turn on the air conditioning and the purifier and fire up the YouTube machine. Off we go.

• There is no place else to start but the NFL. Thursday night’s season opener in Philly was delayed by the East Coast version of smoke, a heavy-duty thunder and lightning storm that forced an almost hour-long delay. When it ended, Dax Prescott’s uniform was washed clean of Carter’s spittle and the defending Super Bowl champs were 1-0. In other words, all’s right in the NFL’s world.

That changes about 5 p.m. Google “How do I watch tonight’s Chiefs/Chargers game” and the bad news comes up. The contest, from São Paulo, Brazil, is only available on YouTube.

The NFL says it is “the most accessible NFL game ever produced,” according a league vice president. It will be free. As long as you can get your TV or computer or phone to access the website that archives more cat videos than any human can watch in a lifetime.

No matter. Sunday’s Seahawks’ game is being shown in the traditional way, with Fox’s overhyped production and constant drum-beating about Kyle Shanahan’s unmitigated genius. It starts at 1 p.m., or about three hours after the RedZone’s 2025 kickoff – its first with ads.

• Speaking of streaming services, if you want to watch the Mariners’ game Sunday – it starts at 9 a.m. in the Northwest – you have to access something called Roku. Isn’t that the name of the newest Marvel hero? No? Well, if the M’s Friday and Saturday (both 4:15 p.m. on Root) games continue their recent road trend, I will welcome the “these-streaming-services-are-driving-me-batty” hiatus.

• You don’t have to access something with an exotic name, or a plus sign attached to it, to watch the local college teams play this weekend. Eastern Washington’s Friday night lights in Boise will be piped into the house on FS1 (6 p.m.). Idaho’s home opener against St. Thomas, a Minnesota-based school, is on SWX at 1 p.m. And Washington State’s second consecutive late-night home game on Saturday (7:15 kick) will once again be on The CW Network (KSKN in Spokane).

• There are no national games this Saturday that match last week’s hype level. Case in point, the top matchup seems to be No. 15 Michigan visiting 18th-ranked Oklahoma (4:30 p.m., ABC). No 1 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 7. No SEC vs. Big Ten … oh, wait. The Sooners, led by last year’s WSU quarterback, John Mateer, are in the SEC these days. My bad. The next-best game? It could be unranked Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State (9 a.m., Fox). Or maybe it’s 20th-ranked Ole Miss at Kentucky (12:30 p.m., ABC), in a game pitting a future WSU opponent (Mississippi) against a former WSU player (defensive lineman David Gusta). Yep, the schedule is thin.

• High school football in Washington hits full throttle tonight – air quality permitting. ONE Spokane Stadium hosted the season opener Thursday night, with Rogers falling to Yakima’s A.C. Davis – better known as Cooper Kupp’s alma mater – 28-14. The newish facility will host Ferris and Shadle Park tonight, as the five GSL league games feature five venues, from Roos Field in Cheney to Union Stadium in Mead.

• Let’s take a quick walk down memory lane, shall we? Back to Lewiston a few years ago. When Mike Leach’s team would hold training camp at Jenifer Middle School. To one play. A wide receiver screen pass. Right in front of me, on the sidelines in the 100-degree heat to prep for the Cougar season. And one block.

Abe Lucas exploded from his right tackle spot. A 315-pound, 6-foot-7 young man in space trying to block a cat-quick cornerback in space.

The corner juked one way, juked another, trying to shake Lucas’ laser-clear focus. But the giant lineman’s feet were up to the task. So were his fundamentals. He not only honed in on the poor defender, he blew him up.

It was an epiphany for me. I was sold. Lucas was going to be great. Size was one thing. Quickness and reaction are another. He had it all. I wrote it. I talked about in the radio. And I still believe it.

So do the Seahawks, who signed him to a three-year, $46-million extension.

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WSU: For some reason I expect the Cougars to unleash its rushing attack this week when San Diego State invades Gesa Field. You may have two questions. What rushing attack? Valid, considering the 3 yards Washington State picked up on the ground in the opener. The other question? Why would I say that? Mainly because Greg Woods’ two stories today in the S-R revolve around the receiving corps. The first is a feature on Jeremiah Noga. The second is an injury update that leads with news on the absence again of transfer Devin Ellison. … As I mentioned above, the game starts at 7:15 on The CW Network. … There is one more S-R story to pass along, though it’s not just about the Cougs. Colton Clark has a rundown of all the local players in the NFL. … San Diego State’s punter honors his father with every kick. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his weekly picks in the Mercury News. … John Canzano has the same on his website. Neither think WSU will win. … Wilner also has a story on the Big 12’s social media strategy. … Yes, we have other picks we can pass along. From a national perspective. … And a couple stories on John Mateer and Oklahoma heading into the Michigan showdown. Unless Mateer has cleaned up his throwing mechanics some, the Wolverines will make his Saturday miserable.  … Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 schedule this week, listed chronologically. All games this week are on Saturday unless noted. The schedule below includes any game in which mining news about it turned out to be nearly impossible.

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– Eastern Washington at Boise State (Friday, 6 p.m., FS1): The Broncos’ Spencer Danielson had some complimentary things to say about Eastern. … For the S-R’s EWU coverage, check the Eagles’ section below.

– Utah State at No. 19 Texas A&M (9:45 a.m., SEC Network)

– Oklahoma State at No. 6 Oregon (12:30 p.m., CBS): The Ducks’ secondary expects a challenge tomorrow. … CBS is sending its top crew to Eugene. … They will probably identify the same keys to a UO victory. … OSU’s Mike Gundy tried to clarify his money remarks from earlier in the week, calling them a compliment. He is on a real hot seat in Stillwater.

– Fresno State at Oregon State (12:30, The CW Network): A Beaver player has not suited up since being accused of domestic violence. … There has to be a rebound this week or it could be a long season for OSU. … The Bulldogs head into Corvallis on a high.

– Delaware at Colorado (12:30, Fox): The Buffs are looking to bounce back as well. … It won’t be easy as the Blue Hens have a special quarterback. … Once again, Colorado has imported a special teams player.

– Texas State at UTSA (12:30, ESPN+)

– Texas Southern at California (3, ACC Network): The Golden Bears have one key assignment. Protect their freshman quarterback from harm.

– Cal Poly at Utah (3, ESPN+): It’s Ring of Honor day for the Utes and a couple of familiar names, Ron McBride and Roy Jefferson, will be inducted. Well, familiar to people who collect Social Security. … Cal Poly is 1-0 but playing at Utah is a bit different than playing in San Luis Obispo.

– Northern Colorado at Colorado State (4): The Bears have a new starting quarterback who is somewhat unknown. … The Rams have a player who they feel will be special in the future.

– No. 12 Arizona State at Mississippi State (4:30, ESPN2): The Sun Devils are favored on the road in SEC country. That’s a challenge. … They have a running back who is ready to face it.

– Georgia Southern at USC (4:30, FS1): Clay Helton is at peace as he returns to the Coliseum. … The Trojans turned a quarterback into a safety and it worked.

– UCLA at UNLV (5, CBS Sports Network): An Oregon transfer had some things to say about the Bruins.

– Weber State at Arizona (7 ESPN+): The Wildcats lost a tight end for the season to an injury. … The numbers tell a story for them.

– Stanford at BYU (7:15, ESPN): BYU’s quarterback has some expectations on his shoulder against his former school.

– UC Davis at Washington (8, Big Ten Network): There is plenty to know about this one. … We linked Mike Vorel’s column on Demond Williams Jr. when it ran in the Times. It is available on the S-R site today. … The offensive line in front of him has been rebuilt. … UC Davis is not the usual FCS buy game.

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• In basketball news, the Oregon men have released their nonconference schedule. … Arizona announced some staff changes.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs proved our adage recruiting never stops Thursday. Ethan Harris, the top-rated recruit in Washington, listed the Bulldogs in his final four. Theo Lawson has more in this story. … Theo also followed the EuroBasket tournament exploits of GU’s Mario Saint-Supery. The guard had his best game of the tourney but Spain was eliminated by Greece.

EWU: Dan Thompson has three things for us to watch tonight as the Eagles face the daunting task of trying to top Boise State on its blue turf. … Dan also introduces you to a Bronco linebacker who has deep Eastern connections, Freeman High grad Boen Phelps. I know Boen well, after having coached him for a summer of travel basketball. Not sure I had a player who ever threw himself into the battle with more intensity than Boen, though his teammates Kolton Mitchell, Zach Johnson and Kruz Wheeler all displayed the same indomitable determination. Funny, three of that quartet are playing college football (Boen at BSU, Zach at Stanford and Kruz at Golden West JC in California). Kolton displays his football-player mentality on the basketball court for Idaho. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, one thing about the conference. Everyone seems to pass the ball a lot. Which forces young defensive backs to get better quickly. … Can Central Washington teach Montana any lessons Saturday? … Heading it its game at New Mexico, Idaho State’s season has already been derailed some by injuries, including the Bengals’ starting quarterback. … Weber State’s new starter had some things to say about his first game. … Utah Tech is better this season. Northern Arizona wonders how much. … Sacramento State needs to step up against host Nevada and show it is better this season as well. … Portland State has another battle on tap, this one with host North Dakota.  

Idaho: The Vandals look to even their record Saturday against the Tommies, who four years ago were playing at the NCAA Division III level. Peter Harriman has this preview of the matchup.

Preps: I mentioned Rogers’ football opener above. Dave Nichols was there and has this game story. … He also has a preview of tonight’s games featuring Greater Spokane League teams, including the nonleague ones. … Cheryl Nichols has a roundup of the other sports from Thursday.

Indians: Dave also kept an eye on Spokane’s game in Eugene. That’s all he needed to concerning the offense, considering you had to squint to actually see anything productive. Spokane had just two hits in Thursday’s 3-0 loss.

Mariners: Is another late-season swoon inevitable?

Seahawks: I shared my thoughts on Lucas above. And linked the story of his contract extension. We do so again here. And I will add this: I wrote a long story about Lucas for The Athletic a few years ago. He was a great interview. And shared his high school passion was basketball, not football. It’s a lesson for prep offensive linemen everywhere. Basketball helps develop better foot work. And that translates to the football field. … Some of us wished the Hawks would have drafted Kupp when he came out of Eastern eight seasons ago. But they have him now. … Christian McCaffrey dealing with an injury before the 49ers’ Sunday opener at the Seahawks? Who would have thought? Oh, yes. Everyone. … Get to know Sam Darnold. The Hawks’ season depends on him in a large degree. … Can Seattle actually win the NFC West?… Undercover cops at home games? Seems like a decent gig.

Storm: As Sue Bird is inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame, a possible honoree in a few years is shining for this season’s Seattle team.

Kraken: A glow-in-the-dark jersey? OK.

Sounders: Is an apology enough? Especially when Luis Suarez has a history of behavior issues.

Tennis: If Amanda Anisimova ends up winning the women’s final tomorrow, it will seem somewhat historic. Lose the last Grand Slam final without winning a game, then bounce back with a championship two months later.

Boxing: There is an eclectic boxing event Saturday in downtown Spokane. Mathew Callaghan has all the particulars in this preview.  

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• Wrote a lot today. And have to write one more note. An apology. I messed up yesterday concerning the NFL’s opener. Misread a story and made a mistake about the broadcast plans. Sorry. I feel awful. You don’t know how many times I checked tonight’s YouTube broadcast to ensure I didn’t make the same one again. Until later …