Grip on Sports: The future is hard to see this week

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s lucky today is Wednesday and not Saturday. There are still more than 72 hours until college football games are scheduled to start in the area. And all 72 may be needed to scour out the smoke in the air. Read on.

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• The most important number in local sports right now is 253.

That’s the level of fine particulate matter in Spokane’s air. As they say on those financial network commercials, your results may vary, but there are few places in the Northwest right now with squeaky clean air.

Not in Pullman, not in Eugene, not it Corvallis. And all, including Spokane and Cheney, are scheduled to host college football games this weekend.

It’s an administrator’s nightmare. Contingency plans have to be made. Alternate scenarios developed. And all could be thrown in the trash if the weather breaks tomorrow.

(And that’s nothing compared to the work that has to be done at the high school level, where even more care is exercised with young lungs.)

Colleges have little choice. There are fans to think of, TV networks to satisfy, repercussions to deal with. Even if it were possible to stack up a quartet of games in the Kibbie Dome on Saturday – think Dulles International in Die Hard 2 – the indoor facility’s limited number of seats would cause migraines for WSU’s ticket folks.

While plans are being bandied, the rest of us can help. Start praying, wishing, hoping, whatever you want to do, for a cold front to drop down from Canada and clean out the air. Or there is a chance, a small chance, sure, but a chance, you’ll lose one of your 12 college football Saturdays.

By the way, if you are wondering where the smoke is coming from, here is a nice list Jonathon Glover put together so you know whom to blame.

• How Mariner was last night’s 3-1 loss to Houston? So Mariner it should be this year’s highlight-video kickoff.

Ariel Miranda threw six no-hit innings. The Astros had two hits overall. There was really only one hit that had any consequence and it came on the ninth pitch of an at-bat that probably should have been over a couple pitches before.

Yet the M’s lost, with Cameron Maybin’s two-run home run off Emilio Pagan in the seventh inning the difference.

Well, that and Seattle’s inability to muster any offense when there were runners in scoring position.

As a result the M’s are not just three games back in the wild-card chase, they have five teams between them and the promised land, the second wild-card spot.

Five. And, oh, they are also tied now with the Royals. So basically six other teams have to play worse than the M’s over the next three-plus weeks for Seattle to earn a postseason spot.

The optimist in me is having trouble treading water in that proverbial half-full glass.

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WSU: The Cougars moved into the indoor practice bubble yesterday, allowing them to practice for Saturday’s Boise State game. And it also made for some interesting post-practice videos, which Theo Lawson posted on our WSU webpage. … Theo also has a whole bunch of stories, including Mike Leach’s thoughts on a leaked NCAA transfer proposal – he’s against it – and the Cougars moving up in the AP rankings – WSU fans are for it. … Theo also has his weekly Pac-12 power rankings, which you can argue with him about when he holds a live chat this morning, starting at 10. Though I heard the air quality has to improve some or the chat may be moved to Hawaii. … Spokane’s Brett Rypien is probably hoping like crazy the game is played. After all, it’s his only visit to the Inland Northwest while he’s at Boise State. John Blanchette focuses on Rypien’s recent trials at Boise State in this column. … Rypien is also the subject of a Stefanie Loh story in the Times.

Around the Pac-12, the coaches spoke yesterday, which led to not only overviews from around the conference footprint but also power rankings from here to there. … The Pac-12’s special team player of the week also spoke, which is unusual. Of course, the circumstances around Jake Olson’s appearance were unusual. … Washington is one of the better teams and the Huskies have one of the better defenses. … It is only one game, but Oregon’s offensive swagger seems to have returned. … Oregon State, the only Pac-12 team with a loss, needs to improve its third-down efficiency. … It’s not easy being a football player at California. … Stanford has run over USC more than once recently. … UCLA’s comeback win helped more than just the Bruins. … Colorado is looking to improve up front. … Utah enters into the rivalry game with some experience. … The Bruins are looking forward, not backward. … The same could be said about USC. … Arizona State will have its hands full with San Diego State. … Houston poses a challenge up front for Arizona. … It has been 10 years already?

Gonzaga: The women’s basketball team has a challenging schedule set up. Jim Allen has more in this story.

EWU: Jim Allen not only filled his role as a sports writer yesterday, he took over as sports meteorologist as well. He pulled together this story on the smoke and its effects on college practices. … The Eagles face one of the FCS’ best Saturday in North Dakota State. Jim has an advance. … The Bison are also trying to prep for the game – and for Eastern’s speed. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana is bracing for its day in the national spotlight. … Idaho State has an interesting fan. … Southern Utah learned a lot from the Oregon game. … Northern Colorado is headed to Florida to pick up a big paycheck. It’s the first of two money games for the Bears.

Idaho: The Vandals have a couple of father/son moments going on every day at practice. Peter Harriman has the story.

Indians: The smoke already has claimed one sporting event. Last night’s Northwest League playoff game, scheduled for Avista Stadium, was postponed. It will be played tonight in Vancouver. Whitney Ogden shares all the particulars. … The South Division playoff game scheduled for Eugene was also postponed until tonight, though no change of venue was needed.

Chiefs: Six Spokane players will be in NHL camps this week.

Preps: The smoke caused the early cancelation of all outdoor activities yesterday, a circumstance Greg Lee reported. Later, Steve Christilaw explained how high schools deal with the problem. … Indoor sports continued and we can pass along a volleyball roundup.

Mariners: Houston not only is dominating the American League West this season, they may do it for the next few years. … Miranda may have not given up a hit in six innings, but he did walk six Astros. … The M’s are changing the rotation a bit.

Seahawks: The NFL didn’t give the Hawks an ease-into-2017 opener, did it? Seattle has struggled with Green Bay the past couple years. … Tyler Lockett hopes to be a big part of the Hawk attack. … Will Jimmy Graham? … The Seahawks named their captains. … Michael Bennett called out the Las Vegas police in a social media post this morning, detailing an incident he said occurred after the recent fight in the city. 

Sounders: The U.S. National Team picked up a huge point in Honduras yesterday, and the Sounders’ Jordan Morris played a role in the tying goal.

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• The theme song for this week? “We Didn’t Start the Fire” or “Light My Fire?” Maybe “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes?” Anyone got anything from a song that is less than 20 years old? My XM doesn’t get those stations. Until later …