A Grip on Sports: Not every question can have a definitive answer every day – or even every week

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s get right at it, shall we? We have some questions. No definitive answers. Speculation? Sure. Hope it’s enough.

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• Who will be the Cougars’ starting quarterback on the last day of the month? Maybe more importantly, on Sept. 7, when Texas Tech, the Washington State of the Big 12, comes to visit?

A week ago, we were pretty sure. This week? We are even more confident. We put our money on John Mateer. Not just because he has a bit of WSU experience, though that helps. More importantly, Mateer, the third-year sophomore from Texas, has been taking better care of the ball in practice.

Ball security goes an even longer way when the head coach has a defensive lean – and loves to force turnovers.

The other contender for the spot, Bryant transfer Zevi Eckhaus, also has experience. More, actually. Though his came at the FCS level. Even if Mateer wins the job, it behooves the Cougs to have a player of Eckhaus’ pedigree available if needed. And these days, backup quarterbacks are often needed.

• Before we leave Pullman, we need to check David Riley’s first nonconference schedule at the helm of the men’s basketball team. One interesting fact: The Cougars don’t play a true road game until December – and only three overall.

WSU’s first eight games include four in Pullman, a fifth in Cougar-dominated Spokane (against Dan Monson and Riley’s old school, Eastern Washington) and three at neutral sites, including facing Big Ten contender Iowa in Illinois.

The final four nonconference battles, however, have games at Nevada, Boise State and UW.

The schedule seems designed to build continuity and confidence for a group that probably wore name tags the first few days of summer workouts.

• Yes, the Mariners have one of the best starting staffs in baseball. And, if they get to the playoffs, one of those dominating starters – and maybe more – can help out in the bullpen during a series or three.

There is only one problem. We question whether they can get there. The way the bullpen is being battered doesn’t bode well in that regard.

The past few years the front office has done a great job – yes, we are praising Jerry Dipoto’s guys – of mixing and matching in the pen. Adding and subtracting might be a better phrase, always seeming to find enough arms to get from the starters to the clubhouse – with a lights-out closer in between.

The magic may have run out.

This season’s additions, from gambling on Orioles’ castoff Mike Baumann in April to the seemingly less risky trade-deadline deals for Yimi Garcia and JT Chargois, haven’t paid off as Dipoto would have hoped.

Garcia has appeared in eight games with Seattle. Thrown eight innings. Given up four earned runs. Not great. The problem? He’s not missing bats as he did with the Blue Jays. He didn’t miss Kerry Carpenter’s in the eighth last night, and Carpenter’s home run tied a game the M’s would lose in the 10th, 3-2.

Chargois has done better since coming over from Miami. In four appearances, he’s yet to give up a hit. But for some reason he hasn’t pitched in a week, sitting ever since finishing up the 4-3 win over Detroit in Seattle.

The setup issues have rendered Andres Munoz somewhat moot recently. The closer has – we double-checked this to make sure it was correct – three appearances in August. None of them were in save situations.

• We have been keeping one eye on the Jordan Chiles’ bronze-medal saga. All the machinations, the allegations, the missteps and the plain stupidity.

To summarize, Chiles, the final gymnast to compete in the floor exercise in Paris, performed her routine at a level that was bronze-medal worthy. However, the judges made a scoring error. The U.S. coaching staff appealed, as the rules allow. Her score was adjusted and she was awarded the bronze.

Since then, the Romanian team took the ruling to court, such as it is in international sports, alleged the appeal was four seconds late, and received a favorable ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sports panel. The IOC decided to reallocate Chiles’ medal.

Got it? Well, it turns out the head of the CAS panel works for Romania, the group sent notice of the hearing to a non-existent email and the U.S. staff had no time to prepare a defense. After the hearing resulted in the medal change, despite the gymnastics federation admitting it didn’t even know who documented the appeal’s timing, a video was found, allegedly showing it was filed in time.

The video has been ignored. Ironically, the panel says it is too late.

Questions? We have a million. And no answers.

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WSU: We mentioned the nonconference basketball schedule above. We linked Greg Woods’ story there – and here as well. … The game with UW is slated for Dec. 18. … Staying with hoop, Theo Lawson has a story on Cougar alum Robert Franks, who is still searching for his NBA chance. … The Cougars’ soccer team was picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference’s preseason poll. Gonzaga was slotted in the fifth spot. All that is part of the S-R’s most-recent local briefs column. … We also found stories concerning a former Washington State volleyball assistant, now in charge at Nevada, and another look at what Cam Ward is up to at Miami. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner in the Mercury News delves into the Big 12 schedule and who had the best misses among the schools. …  Oregon State wants to speed things up on offense, running more plays and giving its quarterbacks a chance to shine.… The numbers stories on the Oregonian website continue, with No. 17 for Oregon State and Oregon. … One of Washington’s strengths last season was its offensive line. That group is pretty much gone. A rebuild is underway. … The linebackers are just the opposite. … A lot is going on at Oregon, from special teams to figuring out the offensive line to injuries to thoughts on the coaching staff’s shared history. … Transfers are going to play a big role for Colorado once again. Even in women’s basketball. … More folks are jumping on Utah’s bandwagon. … Helmet audio is now allowed, which means we will probably experience at least two or three instances of the game stopping to fix whatever isn’t working. … How wil California do in the ACC? … USC is counting on its cornerbacks while across town, UCLA is doing the same with its safeties. … Arizona State may have to force a lot of turnovers to be successful. … There have been some great defenses in Tucson. This Arizona group thinks it can reach that level thanks to its willingness to fight each snap.… In the Mountain West, Colorado State’s river trip built a bond for the defense. … With all the turmoil at Utah State, there are still weak links to be strengthened. … A new coach’s first time doing anything must be special. … Recruiting never stops. We have proof from Fresno State. … Hawaii has two punters vying for time. … All of New Mexico’s specialists want to have a better season. … San Diego State will probably not have a key running back in its opener. … The two-deep is up in the air at Air Force. Sorry about the pun.

Gonzaga: It’s pretty obvious from Jim Meehan’s conversations with him, Mark Few had the time of his life in Paris. On and off the Olympic basketball court. Good for him. Coaching is hard but such moments as Few experienced in Paris make it all worthwhile. … Former GU pitcher Marco Gonzales’ season is over, done in by another arm injury.

Indians: Whenever your pitching staff puts together nine innings of shutout ball, there is about a 99% chance of a win. Spokane got one last night at Avista, scoring three times against Vancouver and evening the series at one game apiece. Dave Nichols has all the information. … Elsewhere in the NWL, all the home teams won, with Eugene handling Hillsboro 5-1 and Everett topping Tri-City 7-2.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Sacramento State’s money game at Oregon State has been moved from 2026 to 2029. Make sure to update your calendar. … Northern Arizona’s starting center wants his offensive line to bounce back from a subpar season. … Weber State is trying to get this NIL thing worked out. … The captains were picked at Montana State. … Montana is trying to pick out the best defensive linemen. … In basketball news, the Bobcats finalized a couple nonconference games. … The MSU women have a large group of transfers.

Mariners: For much of the early part of the season, the M’s dominated less-talented teams. That hasn’t been the case recently. … With the Astros winning again and Seattle falling 2.5 games back in the West, maybe it’s time to start keeping track of the American League wild-card standings. Oops. The M’s are three games out there. … Julio Rodriguez is still dealing with his ankle injury. … Being as the Mariners’ owners also own Root, we thought we would pass along the news the Portland is ditching the network for its upcoming NBA season.

Seahawks: Reunions can be sweet. Or sour. The Hawks had one with a couple of former defensive teammates as they practiced in Nashville with the Titans. … The offense showed promise. … Geno Smith benefits from the joint practices. … So did Byron Murphy.

Sounders: Real Salt Lake had a busy summer transfer window. What’s the opposite of busy? Whatever it is, that’s what Seattle had.

Storm: A Seattle star is taking over from LeBron James in one area. Off-the-court, sure, but important nonetheless.

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• We’re getting done here this morning and attacking a bunch of items on the to-do list. Funny how they pile up if your focus is derailed a couple days. Until later …