A Grip on Sports: The month turns with a hot streak starting for the M’s, a USMNT win and the end of WSU’s best baseball season in years

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Is it possible the first Monday in June has the same main subjects as, say, the final Friday of May? Sure. The M’s, the Cougars, the U.S. men’s soccer team. Wait, what’s that last one?

•••••••

• I’m not sure the folks in York, England would get excited about their boys winning a friendly against anyone a couple of weeks before the start of their quadrennial disappointment in the World Cup.

They know such things are the prelims to, well, the real thing. Which is nothing like a Sunday night friendly in that soccer hotbed of Charlotte, N.C., against Senegal. Even if the African power is ranked 14th by FIFA, two spots ahead of, as FIFA lists us, the USA.

And yet, here we are, 11 days from the United States’ opener vs. Paraguay in the 2026 World Cup and the folks from the New York Times’ athletic arm, The Athletic, are gushing over what they saw.

OK, that’s fair. The performances this year have been uneven at best. And manager Mauricio Pochettino seems hell bent on trying something new about every hour or so – including, soon, maybe a new job.

Sunday’s 3-2 win was refreshing at least. The star of stars, Christian Pulisic, scored. So did Ricardo Pepi. And the parts of the beautiful game most of us older Americans may not understand seemed seamlessly attuned to each other.

At least that’s how I read the reports.

That’s refreshing too. Most of what I’ve read in the past year has been relentlessly negative. Or unimpressed, which might be worse. In a country in which every green space everywhere has been converted to a soccer pitch in the past 50 years – or paved over for a pickleball court more recently – this is supposed to be out World Cup – and not just because we are one of the three host nations.

This is the generation, right? Or are we going to be fooled again? If even lifelon soccer fan Roger Daltrey doesn’t know, how would I?

• I know the Mariners are in first place in the American League West on June 1. By 2.5 games. Over the A’s and the Rangers. Just like everyone thought would be the case at the beginning of the season.

The journey? Quite a bit different than expected.

Cal Raleigh on the injured list? Offseason hope Brendan Donovan too? Six starting pitchers, all in the rotation at the same time? Colt Emerson starting at third base? Julio Rodriguez actually crushing the ball in the first half? Nope. Not on my bingo card. But, six game winning streak and bingo, all is well in Seattle.

Not really but, you know, a 2.5-game lead in the West. That’s better than where the M’s were to start May, that’s for sure. And, maybe, the lead will be larger to start July.

• Yogi Berra, I’m sure, said something about the importance of pitching and used math that only us English majors really understood. But it’s true. Nothing beats good pitching, not even great hitting. At least not consistently.

The Cougars opened the Eugene Regional on Friday with a great pitching performance from Nick Lewis. Received another strong one from Luke Meyers Saturday, at least for seven innings.

After that? Not so much. They also ran into outstanding pitching, from host Oregon in the winners’ semifinal Saturday and from Oregon State in the loser-out contest Sunday. And that means their best season since 2010 is over.

Still, 2026 did mark the first return to the NCAA tourney since that year. A year in which they won the Mountain West tournament. A year which marks the beginning of the reconstituted Pac-12, in which three-time NCAA titlist Oregon State will also be a part.

Now the only worry would be defections. Money talks, right? Washington State doesn’t have the deep pockets, or national title chances, of many Power Four schools. Players will be offered. Coach Nathan Choate? Why not. If you can win in Pullman in this NIL era, you probably will be able to win even more in sunny climes.

Forget that for now. That’s for next week or next month or maybe never. For now, WSU has a successful season to look back upon. And that’s not nothing.

•••

WSU: We linked Greg Woods’ game story above. And do so again here. … John Canzano also has a column from Eugene. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, let’s talk playoffs, shall we? The 24-team format that will destroy the sport’s regular season? It is in use. In the FCS. … Who might be included? How about all these teams? Wait, there will only be 12 this year. … Canzano has another column from Sunday. … Colorado State can only have one most-important football game this season. It is against Wyoming. … In baseball news, top-ranked UCLA lost to Saint Mary’s again though neither will be moving on. Big West champion Cal Poly will be. The Bruins (and Oregon State) couldn’t overcome the loss of their best starting pitcher. … Oregon is moving on. Arizona State will not be. … USC still has a shot. … In the softball World Series, UCLA kept hitting but its pitching was not good enough to keep its season alive.

Gonzaga: There was a lot of chatter across the social media wires Sunday about Chet Holmgren. And none of it good. The former GU star was a non-factor in the Western Conference finals against the Spurs. As he was for much of the season against Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio. It’s a problem for OKC. And it has to be solved.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, it was a record-breaking season for Montana State track and field. And it will continue for a lot of athletes.

Indians: The final game in Pasco resulted in Spokane struggling at the plate and falling 4-2 to the Dust Devils. Dave Nichols tells us Tri-City’s 4-2 win Sunday gave it a 4-2 edge in the series.

Mariners: We linked the game story above and do so here again. It was, for now, the final piggyback performance for Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo. And it was a 3-2 home win for the M’s, thanks to Victor Robles’ first career walk-off hit. … We linked the Raleigh story above too.

Seahawks: You know, if Seattle can host the World Cup, why can’t it host the Super Bowl?

•••       

• Sorry this is late. I know it did not make the email that goes out to S-R Sports subscribers. Or arrived before work started for many of you. But I got it done. Until later …