A Grip on Sports: A September to remember hits hard when you are out of the country as the month includes a series of Northwest highlights

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? That’s a rhetorical question I write every time when returning from a day off in the past 13 years. Today, having missed three consecutive weeks, it’s not all that rhetorical. The answer? In Italy.

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• Yes, touring the northern and central part of the nation of my forefathers (literally). Gaining more than I ever thought possible. And, yet, occasionally pining over what I was missing.

The former? We’ll save that for another day. Mainly because, after three weeks away – three of the more-impactful weeks in this region’s sporting history, I might add – it seems only right to catch up on sports, the “why” behind this column.

Not just for you, though that’s always front and center. But for me. I missed a memorable September.

• How memorable?

The Mariners did something they haven’t done in almost a quarter century – and some things they have never done before.

In the former category, they won the American League West. In the latter? Earning a postseason bye and having baseball’s home run leader in their lineup.

On the 15th of September, Kim and I were hiking in the Dolomites, the Italian mountains that reminded me of the Canadian Rockies. But it was other Rockies on my mind as we rode the bus back to our hotel. The Colorado Rockies. The 2007 version. When they won 14 of their final 15 games, swept two playoff series and made their first World Series appearance.

I mentioned those thoughts on the social media platform once known as Twitter, one of less than a handful of tweets I made.

The M’s were in the midst of 10-game winning streak. In the midst of a 17-1 run that won the West – and a postseason bye. Now they need to emulate the Rockies once more and earn their first World Series berth. Or, to paraphrase Cal Raleigh – I want to keep this gig – go ahead and win the whole darn thing.

Speaking of Raleigh, 60 home runs? For a switch hitter? A catcher? If he were wearing pinstripes, he could clear a spot for the A.L. MVP trophy today. Instead, another Yankee will win it. At least it will be fodder for another rant.

• In the final column before leaving town, not too long after the victory over San Diego State, I mentioned the Washington State defense. And wrote something stupidly smart. The defense would decide the Cougars’ record in the three games I was missing. The stupid part? Thinking it would be good enough for WSU to win a couple games. It wasn’t.

The North Texas debacle was followed by a fourth-quarter Apple Cup meltdown.

At least the Coug defense reasserted itself in the Rockies against Colorado State on Saturday. I missed it all. I’m sure you didn’t. Or missed the fact Jimmy Rogers’ first year still holds bowl potential.

• The way I kept up with the Seahawk games while in Venice, Cinque Terre and Rome was via ESPN’s app and social media. Early in the morning. Unlucky me. But lucky for you – as you got to watch a couple close wins and one blowout.

After Sunday’s results, the Hawks are (sort of) tied for the top spot in the NFC West, the NFL’s best division.

How good is the West? Tonight’s two games – Jets at Dolphins (4:15, ESPN) and Bengals at Broncos (5:15, ABC) – won’t change the fact the West has 11 wins in 16 games, two more than any other division.

• For the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t able to watch a single swing of the Ryder Cup. Not that I thought I would be missing anything. Before the first obscenity from a Bethpage Black fan in New York, I told a traveling companion – by far the best golfer I know – the U.S. was going to lose. And lose big. The European team was just better.

Not only did he call me un-American, but he disagreed.

OK, thanks to a near-historic Sunday singles comeback, the U.S. team made the margin respectable. But only the margin. Everything else, from Friday and Saturday’s performances to the over-the-top jingoistic crowds, was an embarrassment.

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WSU: Though we are a day removed from the Cougars’ dominating 20-3 win over host – a fact I misstated in my going-away column – Colorado State, that doesn’t mean we don’t have some stories to share. We start with Greg Woods’ look back at the win, a story that topped Monday’s sports page. We also want to pass along Greg’s game story from Sunday. … Jacob Thorpe has his thoughts on the win as well. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner’s (imagined) Pac-12 rankings are one the S-R site as well. … His Saturday recap ran in the Mercury News. … The A.P. poll this week features exactly two teams from west of the Rockies. Oregon is ranked second following their double-overtime 30-24 win at then No. 3 Penn State and BYU, which rallied to win 24-21 at Colorado, is 23th. The next two Washington State opponents? Mississippi checks in at No. 4 after its 24-19 home win over now 13th-ranked LSU and Virginia, which upset then-No. 8 Florida State 46-38 in overtime, is at No. 24 … John Canzano was at the Ducks’ win and has some thoughts. So does Oregonian columnist Bill Oram. … The Ducks are favored by two touchdowns in their home game Oct. 11 against No. 8 Indiana. … Washington’s 24-6 loss to No. 1 Ohio State not only snapped the Huskies’ long Husky Stadium winning streak but also led to this Christian Caple column. … Oregon State is 0-5 and trending, well, if not down at least flat. Canzano wrote about the wash-rinse-repeat aspect of the Beavers’ five defeats. The Houston loss Friday night was crushing. … Speaking of crushing, did you see how Jake Dickert’s Wake Forest team lost Saturday in overtime? … Colorado is not playing very well. And the schedule is about to get tougher. … Utah has a bye this week and needs it. … USC this season seems similar to USC last season. … So does Arizona State. … UCLA has assembled a pretty good group of folks to pick its next football coach. … Arizona has the perfect remedy for putting the Iowa State defeat behind it. Oklahoma State is the next opponent. … Boise State did what it needed to do to top Appalachian State. … San Diego State won a 6-3 bore-fest over Northern Illinois. … Utah State lost a 55-35 score-fest at Vanderbilt. … In basketball news, the USC women (and college hoops as a whole) will not have JuJu Watkins this upcoming season. The best player in the nation announced yesterday her knee injury will sideline her for the season. … Fresno State men’s basketball coach Vance Walhberg is kicking in $1 million for his program.

Gonzaga: While we were away, an important 2026 target for the Zag men decided to go elsewhere. It made us wonder if the new world order is taking a toll on the GU recruiting, something we will keep an eye on. Meanwhile, the Players Era Festival Gonzaga will participate in this November continues to expand its reach.

Idaho: Linebacker Kaden Elliss is making a huge impact for the Atlanta Falcon defense. He also is the Colton Clark’s top player in this week’s look at local standouts in the NFL. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, conference play opened over the weekend and there was probably just one surprising outcome. (And, no, we were not surprised Montana State routed EWU 57-3.) Paul Wulff’s Cal Poly squad handed No. 21 Sacramento State its third loss of the season, winning 32-24 in Sacramento. The Mustangs did lose a key linebacker to injury though.  … No. 5 Montana made a statement with its home win over the eighth-ranked Vandals. … Idaho State surprised Northern Colorado during the Bears homecoming game. … Weber State lost its quarterback during its 34-12 loss at ninth-ranked UC Davis. … Portland State is 0-5, getting run over in its latest loss to Northern Arizona.

Preps: Like us, Dave Nichols was out of town over the weekend. He did, however, write for Sunday’s paper, posting his usual overview of the weekend’s games. … If you are interested (we were), here are the GSL football standings for the 4A/3A and 2A schools. … CBS Sports has Iowa State ranked in its top 25 for this season. The player it considers the most important for the Cyclones? Lake City High star (and Virginia transfer) Blake Buchanan.

Chiefs: We thought we should also pass along the WHL standings now that the league has played a few games.

Seahawks: Could the Hawks send cornerback Riq Woolen packing? … The kickoff times for games at Lumen Field might have to be adjusted due to playoff games across the street at T-Mobile. … Seattle seems to have made the right decision at quarterback, even if the running game isn’t giving Sam Darnold as much support as expected. … What happened around the league this weekend?

Sounders: Seattle is headed to the MLS playoffs. Again.

Kraken: Even before the first official puck drop, Seattle has an injury.

Mariners: There is no question who the M’s will open the playoffs against. The winner of an all-A.L. Central battle. Cleveland – the division winners – vs. the Tigers – the once-seeming shoo-in for that title. … There is a question, however, of Brian Woo’s availability. He threw off flat ground Thursday but has yet to try a mound. … Seattle lost its third consecutive game to end the season. Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers coasted to a 6-1 win over the Mariners’ JV lineup. The M’s will play two scrimmages this week and are charging $10 if you want to see it. … By the way, Root is done broadcasting the M’s games. MLB is taking over local control next season. That will change how all of us watch. … The postseason matchups around baseball are quite interesting.

Reign: Seattle picked up a win Sunday.

Storm: We weren’t here to cover Seattle’s decision to fire second-year head coach Noelle Quinn, but we are here for the continued squabbling of how the WNBA is officiated. It’s awful. Too physical. No freedom of movement. But criticize it, and the league will suspended you and ensure your team is handicapped in an elimination game. Ask Minnesota fans.

Ryder Cup: We posted our thoughts above. Others had theirs as well. There is something of a consensus of thought among U.S. golf writers.

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• OK, we’re back for the duration. Even though we have to make a quick trip to California for a high school reunion – Kim’s – and a birthday celebration – mine, with my older sister who is going through some health issues. Staying connected from the same time zone is so much easier than trying to keep up while nine hours ahead. Until later …