There is one thing missing this Saturday
A GRIP ON SPORTS
When you wake up on a crisp fall Saturday morning and look out the window, does the yellow and orange color scheme just scream football to you? It does to me. Maybe it's because of all the football movies ever made feature, at some point, the palette of fall. There always seemed to be the obligatory montage of fall colors, even if the movie was in black and white. Which bring us to this morning. A football Saturday if I ever saw one. Read on.
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• Except around here. Want to attend a college football game live today? You are out of luck if you live around Spokane. And by "around Spokane" I include the Palouse – as far south as you want to take it. The Cougars are off. The Eagles are in Missoula to take on the Griz. Idaho is about three light years away – in distance and in football intensity – at Mississippi. Even Whitworth is on the road. Which means a perfect fall football afternoon around here is, well, wasted. Not to worry, though. Even if the teams were at home, we could count on the games being held, oh, I don't know, at about 8 p.m., when the wind would be cold enough to blow the icicles off your eyebrows. So thank your blessings (is that how that cliché goes?) and just hunker down in front of the TV. There are at least 23 games on, and that's only counting games with teams from the SEC. Just kidding. Actually, you can watch college football from 9 a.m. until after midnight if you want, a Jabba-the-Hutt-body-creating day if there ever was one. But if you do attempt the Saturday octo-header today, please do me a favor. Dedicate the halftimes to getting off the couch and saying hello to your loved ones. And maybe grab a rake for 10 minutes of quick exercise. Four halftimes would add up to 40 minutes, which is a like running a marathon in my world. And we all know what marathon runners use as a reward, don't we? Yep, cold adult beverages. You can enjoy them while watching, I don't know, a football game?
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• Gonzaga: The Zags broke the seal on the 2013-14 season, though the results won't officially count. Their exhibition win over Simon Frazier accomplished a lot, not the least of which was introducing the new faces to the GU faithful. Jim Meehan was in attendance and has this game story and blog post. ... The Lakers cut a forward yesterday and it wasn't Elias Harris. That put the team at 15 on its roster, meaning Harris more than likely will start the season in the NBA.
• WSU: Though the Cougars don't play until Thursday night, Jacob Thorpe has a blog post from last night concerning practice and another from this morning with links. He also has a short post updating some basketball player news. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog has its usual lineup, including Friday's mailbag and a look at Saturday's games. ... I love the letters in this LA Times weekly feature.
• EWU: I bet the colors are vibrant in Missoula right now where Jim Allen is hunkered down, ready to cover today's showdown. He has an advance of the game and a blog post from this morning.
• Idaho: The Vandals are included in our weekly roundup of area games and Josh Wright has a blog post previewing their game.
• Chiefs: Spokane had little trouble with Brandon, with the final of 7-1 indicative of that. Chris Derrick has the game coverage following the rout. ... Things get tougher, though, as Portland, riding a seven-game win streak, is in town for a game tonight. ... It took a shootout, but Tri-City got past Seattle.
• Preps: If it is a typical autumn Saturday, then that means last night was a typical autumn high school football Friday. It was. There were two games at Albi, Mead's romp over Rogers and Mt. Spokane's 45-35 win over Gonzaga Prep, more than likely costing the Bullpups a share of the GSL title. ... Out in the Valley, Mike Vlahovich (with the story) and Jesse Tinsley (the photographs) were at CV where Shadle Park pulled away for a 47-28 win. ... East Valley separated itself early from Pullman in a big GNL win while Cheney got past West Valley. ... Greg Lee was over in North Idaho for the showdown between Coeur d'Alene and Lake City. The Viks won handily, 44-13. ... We also have box scores, a scorelist and a roundup of other Friday night football action. We also pass along a roundup of other sports from the day.
• Seahawks: With the Hawks playing the Rams in St. Louis on Monday night, the week's schedule is off a bit. For example, Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman held their weekly press conferences yesterday. And the obligatory concussion stories appeared in today's papers. ... Speaking of injuries, the Hawks are pretty healthy. Except on the offensive line, of course. ... Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn also spoke with the media yesterday.
• Sounders: Lamar Neagle may be the Sounders humanitarian of the year, but guys like Eddie Johnson, who has made up with the team, and Clint Dempsey will have more to say about the team's playoff success.
• Mariners: Art Thiel has his thoughts on the Mariners' worth. Financial worth, I mean.
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• That's it for this morning. It's time for me to plant my body (what, you thought I would use a bad word or something?) in my chair and watch football. I can't wait for that Ball State game. (And, if you are wondering, that's a plant. The managing editor of the newspaper attended Ball State. I want to see if he's reading. It's just a coincidence Ball State's game with Akron is available on pay-per-view. He's probably the only guy in the Inland Northwest who will buy it.) Until later ...
