A Grip on Sports: There is a (good) chance this U.S. track and field group will go down as the deepest in Olympic history

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Funny thing about modern TV. More and more, short, bingeable series hit a crescendo before a season’s final episode. The bad guys are vanquished in the penultimate chapter or, at the latest, early in the finale. Then everyone celebrates, talks, and/or surveys the damage done in the ultimate battle. As the Olympics are the poster child of modern TV entertainment, why should they be any different?

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• There will be many medals handed out Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Popular ones too. Heck, Sunday, when the baton is officially passed from Paris to Los Angeles, the U.S. women should be playing for their eighth consecutive basketball gold medal – just after the women try for another volleyball medal.

And that doesn’t even include cycling or weightlifting.

But the Olympics were founded on track and field, or “athletics” as the Games terms the events. And the climax of the week-long track meet is today. At least for the American team.

Three major stars. Three major races. Three major luminaries trying to add their brightness in what’s already been a heavenly host.

Noah Lyles in the 200, his signature event. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the 400 hurdles, a race she has dominated for years. Grant Holloway in the 110 hurdles, trying to get over a figurative barrier he has carried since Tokyo.

Three races. Three gold medal favorites. Three more chances to hit the highest of high notes. And then three days to bask in glory of what may be the best team U.S. performance in “athletics” ever.

Don’t come at us with 1984. Those Olympics carry a larger asterisk than Barry Bonds. Not the athletes’ fault, sure, but without the Soviet bloc and its Bonds-like PED-fueled power, the U.S. success in L.A. was diminished. These games, even with Russia’s flag still banned due to drug-testing issues, has all the world’s best in one place.

And for the first time in ensuing 40 years, the U.S. is running well out in front.

The sprinters are doing their part. Not every gold medal, sure, but if Lyles wins, three of the four golds will be U.S. possessions – as well as an assortment of silver and bronze ones.

Quincy Hall’s unexpected comeback in the 400 meters and Cole Hocker’s unexpected at all 1,500-meter gold highlight the middle distances thus far.

And then there are the surprising medals for Grant Fisher in the 10,000 (bronze) and Kenneth Rooks in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (silver). They have allowed men’s distance running to exceed expectations.

That’s just track. The U.S. women have medaled in the discus (Valarie Allman, gold), hammer throw (Annette Echikunwoke, silver), pole vault (Katie Moon, silver), triple jump (Jasmine Moore, bronze). The men? Ryan Crouser (shot) has grabbed the only gold – his third consecutive one – but Joe Kovacs took silver in the same event and Sam Kendricks a silver in the pole vault.

The funny part of this year’s success is the sword of Damocles hanging over the future. The U.S. is unlike other nations in that club track and field isn’t the conduit to national team success. This country relies on college track programs to churn out not only stars, but depth. In more events than any other country, all three U.S. participants are legitimate threats to medal – thanks to a system that’s worked for a century.

But the changing landscape of college athletics, with football devouring an ever-growing share of campus resources, poses a threat. Not just to track and field, sure, but it may manifest itself more prominently there each Olympics

Bottom line? Will the next generation of track stars be winnowed early due to a lack of investment?

Unanswerable questions. Change is inevitable. Evolution is the natural order. What the next season, or seasons, of the sport hold, no one knows. It’s the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.

It’s also for the next generation to worry about. This generation, the U.S. track and field athletes of the XXXIII Olympiad, have done their best. Arguably the best ever. With more to come – possibly.

The script for the next sequel? We’ll worry about that tomorrow. All we are sure of is it will be another mega-hit.

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WSU: Sadly, injuries are a part of football. There is no argument. How many, who, what positions all play a part in how much they impact success. Losing wide receiver Carlos Hernandez for a while, as is the case for the Cougars, will have an impact. Greg Woods looks at that today in this notebook. … We watched CJ Allen’s Olympic 400-meter hurdle semifinal yesterday. And didn’t like the result. He faded down the stretch and did not make the final. … Former golf standout Derek Bayley has returned to Pullman as an assistant coach. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column. … Finally, this story on Brennan Jackson and his time in the Rams’ training camp is worth your time. Whether he makes the team or not, Jackson is soaking up knowledge. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner delved into some Arizona financial documents and found a window into the Big 12 as a whole. … John Canzano thinks Oregon is missing the boat when it comes to gambling revenue and the state’s universities. … The Oregonian’s number stories roll on, with No. 24 today for Oregon and Oregon State. … The Ducks have really helped themselves in the transfer portal. … The defensive line is finding contributors for Washington. … Why do scouts think Shedeur Sanders is a top prospect coming out of Colorado? … Micah Bernard wants to be Utah’s top running back this season. … Kyle Whittingham’s family recently had a problem in Hawaii. … The quest for size up front has helped one player at USC. … An Arizona State player has filled a need. … Arizona needs toughness from the wideout spots. And some health. … In the Mountain West, the Boise State defensive backs stick together. … Fresno State has money problems. It still must remodel its football stadium. … Air Force did already – and nailed it. … Hawaii is getting a lot out of a reserve quarterback. … Football is just part of why a new safety is at San Diego State. … Utah State is in one recruit’s blood. … Colorado State held its first scrimmage. … Oregon State baseball has picked up a highly sought-after transfer. … Jade Carey, who added two more Olympic medals in Paris, is returning to Corvallis for one more year. … How would you like to break your dad’s Olympic record – and still not win the gold medal? That’s what happened to Cal junior Mykolas Alekna in the discus. He earned a silver medal. The Bears have won a few medals.

Gonzaga: The date has been set for the Zags’ trip to San Diego State. The two West Coast powers will meet Nov. 18. Jim Meehan has more in this story.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana has made a new addition to its staff with a familiar face. … A strong offensive line is important to Montana State and everyone connected to the offense. … Cal Poly will play Fresno State in 2028.

Indians: Charlie Condon’s second game with Spokane went better than his first – for him and his team. Condon homered and Spokane won 7-0 at Tri-City. Dave Nichols has the coverage from Pasco and a story on Condon. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Eugene bounced back Wednesday with a 9-3 win over host Vancouver. … Hillsboro walked off visiting Everett 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the 10th.

Velocity: Oftentimes in soccer, scoring first is the key to winning. It was for Spokane on Wednesday night in Chattanooga during a key USL League One match with the Red Wolves. Mainly because the Velocity didn’t allow a goal. Ethan Myers has the coverage of Spokane’s 1-0 victory.

Olympics: We’ve had some fun with Snoop Dogg in recent columns. He’s just part of a different feel to these Olympic Games. Part of which has been designed in and part that has happened organically. … Serbia is something else. And we mean that in a good way. … The ending of the women’s basketball quarterfinal win over Nigeria got ugly. Both teams had a player do something uncalled for. …

Mariners: To paraphrase a great comedy from the distant past, the M’s picked the wrong week to quit hitting. Their third consecutive loss, the second to the Tigers, dropped them out of first place in the A.L. West. The big play in the 6-2 loss? Parker Meadows robbing Cal Raleigh of a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth and Detroit up 3-2. If the 6-foot-6 centerfielder hadn’t risen at least 3 feet above the right-center wall to take away Raleigh’s potential second homer of the night, we’re confident Seattle would have won. … Julio Rodriguez might DH for a while after he returns from his leg injury. … George Kirby’s command has changed. … This Robinson Cano story is a must for every Mariner fan.

Seahawks: Wednesday’s practice was nasty. Physical. Violent. Not in a good way. Too many fights. DK Metcalf with another helmet swing, this time hitting a teammate in the head. It’s the first test of new coach Mike Macdonald, who wants the Hawks to play with an edge but not go over it. … The offense has tools, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba. … The defense does too, especially at cornerback. … It’s not easy for an undrafted player to make the roster.

Sounders: Another injury has struck. It is Pedro de la Vega who will miss time again.

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• Have a great Thursday. We will be glued to the TV. At least for a while. Until later …