Happy Labor Day to all
A GRIP ON SPORTS
It's Labor Day. So it's appropriate we were laboring to get through this morning's links. But we've done it. Read on.
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• My favorite Labor Day? That would be back in 1984, when Kim went into labor with our first son. Again, appropriate. Being the fan she is, Kim waited until the finish of the Monday Night Football game – the Cowboys rallied in the second half to defeat the L.A. Rams – before we headed to the hospital. Nothing like that will happen today – the NFL doesn't begin on Labor Day weekend anymore and we're a bit too old for more kids – but we're hoping to usher out summer (unofficially) with a relaxing day. The weather seems to be cooperating, as we woke up to rain, making laboring in the yard problematic. As for the sporting scene, it's pretty quiet today, with most everyone looking back at the weekend instead of ahead. We will too.
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• WSU: The Cougars spent Sunday evening in their usual laid-back practice then Christian Caple had a chance to talk with head coach Mike Leach and defensive coordinator Mike Breske. That led to this blog post. As for next weekend, Christian has a story on USC and his morning post. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog must have been a bit impressed with WSU's performance as the Cougars are listed in the bowl projections. ... Yep, football season is here. How do I know? There's a story on the Cougars waving their flag on the GameDay set.
• EWU: The Eagles were one of eight FCS schools that earned wins over FBS schools last weekend, with Eastern and No. 1 North Dakota State (at Kansas State) posting the biggest ones. Jim Allen has more in this story from this morning's paper. ... Those wins made the national media take notice as well. ... The Beavers and coach Mike Riley are still trying to figure out what went wrong Saturday.
• Indians: The season isn't officially over – that happens today – but the Indians' quest for the postseason ended yesterday. First was Spokane's 3-2 loss at Everett then came a win by Vancouver at Tri-City, clinching a playoff berth for the Canadians.
• Chiefs: Spokane was winless in a preseason tournament in Everett, losing 6-4 to Seattle.
• Mariners: Hitless in Houston. No, that's not a new Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movie but an exaggerated version of what happened to the M's yesterday. They did get a couple of hits against the Astros but that's all as Houston won 2-0 to salvage the fourth and final game of the series. ... Tom Wilhelmsen is back with the club as the rosters expanded but he'll be used in middle relief.
• Seahawks: Now that cuts are made and the 53-man roster put together, NFL teams are free to put together their practice squads. The Hawks began that practice yesterday, but seem to be fighting with the 49ers over receiver Chris Harper (pictured), Seattle's fourth-round draft pick. ... When looking at the practice squad, one can ask if it matters at all. ... Kicker Steven Hauschka spent the offseason making his leg stronger. ... The Hawks are favored by three over Carolina.
• Sounders: Three Sounders were expected to join the U.S. National Team this week but Brad Evans had to pass. He suffered a calf injury in Columbus. Still, Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson will be with the national group. ... The Sounders will also be missing another starter this week. ... Still, Seattle is in third place in the West and has a couple games in hand.
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• That's it for this morning. We'll be back tomorrow. Until then ...
