A Grip on Sports: If you want to try to avoid smoke getting in your eyes (and lungs), there are a few sporting events to watch this weekend, including one of the world’s biggest

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Have some free time this weekend? Want to fill it up without stepping outdoors and having to deal with more smoke than a Las Vegas casino in 1964? I just may be able to help.

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• There was a redder-than-red sky at daybreak this morning. I’m not a sailor – the closest I’ve ever been was taking a boat out to Catalina one time while the Beach Boys’ “Sail on Sailor” and “Sloop John B” blared on the sound system – but I still consider it a warning.

A warning to avoid ingesting the pea-soup air. Thank goodness our 30-plus year air conditioner is still running. And for the fact there are a few things to watch on the TV.

• The last match of the World Cup is Sunday (noon, Fox). From that uniquely American stadium in New Jersey that is actually the home of New York City’s professional football teams. And rumors still persist is the final resting site of famous union leader. Where either defending champion Argentina or Euro champ Spain will see their World Cup title hopes meet their end as well.

Funny thing, though. It may be the World Cup. It may be fútbol, not football. And it may be the world’s favorite game, but it will have a distinctly U.S. flavor. A long, Super Bowl-lite halftime show. The President in attendance. A made-for-television trophy ceremony. And, more than likely, some sort of officiating controversy.

The final is also not the only match this weekend. France and England will meet Saturday in Florida (2 p.m., TV). One fun aspect of a game that seems archaic in the modern, winning-is-the-only-thing times? France’s Kylian Mbappe could steal away the Golden Boot – the tournament’s leading scorer trophy – from Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

Mbappe and Messi are tied in goals with eight. But Messi’s four assists have him in the overall scoring lead by one.

• The last golf major of the summer is upon us. Though it seems a little anti-climactic for those of us on the West Coast. The Open, being held at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England (which happens to be about halfway up the island, not on the southern shore at all), is hard to watch in the Pacific Time Zone. And we’re not referring to the idea it’s on Peacock. It’s also on USA today and on NBC over the weekend.

It’s the time difference. The NBC coverage begins at 10 a.m. today and 4 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• Baseball returns from its All-Star break tonight. The Mariners, under .500 and 1½ games back in the American League West, could certainly use a fast start. Playing the woeful Giants will help. Throwing their best starter, this season, Bryce Miller out against one of San Francisco’s least known – Landen Roupp – and least successful – 6-8, 4.27 ERA – will as well tonight (7:10, Mariners Network).

But being these are the M’s in 2026, nothing is promised or a given.

With the Giants trotting out Logan Webb and former Mariner Robbie Ray on Saturday (5:05, Fox) and Sunday (1:10, Mariners Network), a win tonight might just be mandatory.

• Thank goodness the Sounders are not on TV again this weekend. If you were one of those folks who caught a small dose of World Cup fever and thought it was a good idea Thursday night to get a soccer fix on Apple TV through the regional MLS squad, sorry. Unless, of course, you were looking for an inoculation against further infections.

The Sounders certainly played as if they were on Ambien or something.

Weird. They were returning from an almost seven-week-long World Cup break, which should have been rejuvenating. They were back at Lumen Field. Their archrivals, the Portland Timbers, were in town. A crowd of 35,383 showed up.

And Seattle lost 5-1.

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WSU: Around the Pac-12, John Canzano had a column Thursday about the still ongoing discussions about the conference’s expansion,  UNLV and how the Mountain West is playing defense. Plus other thoughts on realignment. … Former Boise State football coach Lyle Setencich, who led the program the first time it played on the blue turf, died in late June. He was 81. … In basketball news, what can the Colorado State men expect from their incoming freshman class? It includes Mt. Spokane High’s Jaden Ghoreishi. … Around the West Coast and the nation, what has been said about Washington’s football players recently? … Can Utah’s Devin Dampier raise his game another notch? … Stanford will start this season with a new head coach and a new quarterback, Michigan transfer Davis Warren. … There will be more depth up front for the Arizona defense this season. … In basketball news, Colorado’s men will be playing Purdue in Indianapolis this fall. … UCLA’s women, the defending NCAA champions, opened summer workouts this week with an almost completely new roster.

Gonzaga: Anton Watson is a bit of an anachronism for Gonzaga basketball. Not because he’s homegrown, having played at Gonzaga Prep. But mainly because he made his bones as a defensive specialist and Mark Few’s program has always been known for its offense more than the other side of the ball. Watson filled the stopper role for Few. He’s now trying to do the same in the NBA, while adding other, less heralded roles as well. Theo Lawson touches on that in his latest report from the Las Vegas summer league. … Gonzaga pitcher Justin Feld signed with the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. … We linked (and wrote some about) this Athletic story on former GU (and Mariner) catcher Rick Sweet. It is on the S-R website today, so you can access it if you like. It’s worth your time. … Finally, much is being made on the NCAA’s new five-in-five eligibility rule and the decision to not include 2026 graduates in it. There are court cases in progress that could open the door for them, however. And close the door for others. It also has the potential to help Gonzaga in its time of point-guard need, as Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney pointed out recently. “The handful of teams that were already on the hunt for a player (and had money left over to pull that off) may have a first-mover advantage here,” he wrote this week. “Gonzaga lost projected starting point guard Mario Saint-Supery on Saturday in a shocking move, as he signed with Valencia back home in Spain. If there was ever a good time to lose a starter in July, it was now. In an environment where there are very few schools with giant openings like that, that Gonzaga point guard spot is a potential gold mine.” … The new rule also could severely limit the 2027 recruiting class.

EWU: Dan Thompson has a few notes about Eastern football, leading off with the preseason awards lists on which safety Jaylon Jankins’ name keeps popping up. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, as we’ve shared before, a Northern Colorado graduate is leading the Federal Court lawsuit about the five-in-five rule. … Idaho State’s men will play at Boise State this season.

Preps: Madison McCord has this story on summer wrestling, beginning with the news Gonzaga Prep freshman Austin Schield won a national title in Greco-Roman.

Seahawks: It seems more and more possible Aaron Donald will come out of retirement for at least some of the next season. My question about that? Donald was owed $30 million in the last year of his contract. Are there cap ramifications for Los Angeles or because he retired, do the Rams get a break? If it’s the latter, it seems as if that’s a loophole in the cap rules.

Mariners: A few stories to help you get your “second half” started. Matt Calkins’ column on the M’s expected run? It’s on the S-R site today. As are Jerry Dipoto’s comments, which seemed to predict a run that Calkins’ wonders will come. If it doesn’t come, and come soon, will a change be made? … If the Mariners decide to look for reinforcements, which teams will be willing to trade? … The 2027 MLB schedule is out. Seattle opens at home again. If there is a season opener – a new CBA has to be ironed out – it will be the earliest ever.

Kraken: The NHL also released its next schedule, which will include 84 regular-season games.

Golf: Before we get to more on the Open in England, we have a story that focuses on golf closer to home. As in at Indian Canyon. The 39th Rosauers Open Invitational begins today at the course and Jim Meehan has a preview. … It’s kind of silly to post a story from the Open’s first round. After all, as I type this, the second is about halfway done. Lucas Herbert is 8-under and leading in the clubhouse.

Motorsports: Doug Pace has a preview of this weekend’s race schedule at Stateline.

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• I realized last night there is little chance we’ll be able to post on Saturday. Kim and I are headed to the Midwest this evening. Taking the red eye. Landing in Indianapolis in the early hours of the morning. It’s possible, I guess, I could find a coffee shop, borrow the wi-fi and do a quick trip around the Interweb. But wouldn’t my time be better spent wandering around southern Indiana, maybe even the metropolis of French Link or Milan, and taking in the ambiance from a state with the most-storied high school hoops in the nation? Until later …

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• Photos: The Spokesman-Review, Getty Images, Tribune News Service