A Grip on Sports: The weekend is crowded and, in our case, will always be thus with memories of long ago

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is no holiday weekend we hold in higher esteem than Labor Day. It’s not just what it represents, the backbone of this nation’s success. It’s also the weekend in which we first became a parent. Forty years ago. Right after, appropriately, the mom and dad to be watched a football game.

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• Those memories, watching the Rams and Cowboys play on ABC’s Monday Night Football – yes, the NFL used to play on the holiday – before heading to the hospital, will always be intertwined. For Kim. For this guy.

Labor Day. Football. Eighteen hours of labor. The result? The greatest gift ever.

We reflect on those connections this weekend every year. It’s unavoidable. No matter how much life, and football, has changed since.

As we said, there is no NFL this weekend. We suspect, however, when the league expands to 18 regular season games, it will return. Whenever that is.

It doesn’t matter though. College football has filled the void. The game’s new world order hasn’t changed that. If anything, It has made the holiday weekend more intense. With a 12-team playoff, there should be more forgiveness for a stumble. The great powers of the four great conferences should be more willing to cross over to help boost an already great TV weekend.

North Carolina and Minnesota kicked it off Thursday night, with the ACC topping the Big Ten, 19-17. OK, not the best of starts. You can thank Minneapolis’ rain.

The ACC’s Stanford – oh my goodness, that’s hard to write – hosts TCU of the Big 12 tonight, which probably won’t do anything to raise the standard of play.

Saturday? That’s different. Clemson, ranked 14th, tries to plant the ACC’s banner in SEC-dominated Atlanta by upsetting No. 1 Georgia. It kicks off at 9 a.m. on ABC, just after Nick Saban and the Cougar flag dominate ESPN’s GameDay experience. (An aside: Saban on the same platform with Pat McAfee is the best visual representation of college football’s evolution we could imagine.)

Over on Fox at the same time, West Virginia hosts No. 8 Penn State, a Big 12 vs. Big Ten contest that also encapsulates the Fox/ESPN rivalry pretty well.

But we’re not done. Miami, with former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward already designated top transfer (and the Hurricane’s messiah), travels to Gainesville, putting its No. 19 ranking (and ACC pride) on the line against SEC (and in-state) rival Florida. That starts at 12:30 p.m. on ABC.

You won’t be watching Ward, will you? We won’t, anyway. We will labor to find someplace quiet to access the easily accessible CW Network, as the Cougars open their first season in the two-member Pac-12. The opponent, Portland State, is a familiar one in a year that promises to feature the unfamiliar. (Another aside: The CW is easy to find. But we’re traveling and finding a place to listen to Ted Robinson, Ryan Leaf and Nigel Burton – familiar all – call the game won’t be.)

The final “big” matchup of the day is in College Station, Texas. And on ABC. The SEC’s Texas A&M, under new management and ranked 20th, welcomes in No. 7 Notre Dame, an island of independent stability in the sea of conference change. That one kicks at 4:30.

Sunday features a typical Las Vegas extravaganza. Flash and showmanship, sure, but USC and LSU, ranked 23rd and 13th, respectively, probably won’t display a lot of substance. That it’s a Big Ten vs. SEC battle is the headliner.

Labor Day? Nothing to see here. Last week’s upset poster child, 10th-ranked – not for long – Florida State plays another ACC game, hosting Boston College. That just seems too normal to fit in this weekend. Or in the new look of the sport.

• We’ve covered college football. But that’s not all that’s on your TV this weekend.

There is U.S. Open tennis from New York. Yes, the tourney will continue without stars Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka, both eliminated Thursday night. With ESPN preoccupied with football, though, the broadcasts hours are not the best.

The Mariners’ aren’t on Root tonight. Their game in Anaheim was picked up by AppleTV+, so be ready to stream if you want to watch first pitch at 6:38. Saturday and Sunday are back on the regional sports network, though, with start times of 6:38 and 1:07 p.m., respectively. Oddly specific times, wouldn’t you say?

The PGA Tour also finishes up its season with the FedEx Cup Championship from East Lake in Atlanta. The Golf Channel has today and NBC the weekend.

Us? We’ll be listening today on satellite radio. Ya, we’re that guy. It’s a wonder we were ever allowed to be a dad.

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WSU: We start today linking the S-R’s college football section once more. That’s where every college football story is contained. Including this Dave Boling one on Cougar coach Jake Dickert. It’s too good to skip. Read it. … Dickert is all in with freshmen. If they are good enough, he wants them on the field. Often. Greg Woods delves into that subject today. … Before athletic director Pat Chun took off for Washington, he played a huge part in successful volleyball coach Jennifer Stinson leaving for West Virginia. The person tasked with replacing one of the Cougars’ best mentors? Korey Schroeder. Jim Meehan has this introduction to the first-year coach. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner made his picks for the weekend yesterday afternoon. He is already 0-1, thanks to Colorado’s tight 31-26 home win over North Dakota State. The Buffs had a lot of flash, sure. Substance? Not so much. That’s not a huge surprise. … John Canzano had his picks as well. He is 2-0 after hitting on both Colorado and Utah. The 12th-ranked Utes steamrolled Southern Utah 49-0. Cam Rising showed once again why he is so important. … Oregon State might just do some wild stuff in 2024. Or the Beavers could keep it simple. A new era starts Saturday against Idaho State. … The final Oregonian’s numbers stories hit today and tomorrow. We have No. 2 on Oregon State and Oregon for you today. … The change at Washington is not really experimental. It just seems that way. … Oregon will host Idaho, but the folks in charge are already looking forward to Ohio State’s visit. And beyond, according to Canzano. … The Ducks’ outstanding receiving corps harkens back to another time. And sport. … As we mentioned above, Stanford kicks off its ACC membership by hosting TCU tonight. … USC has a new defensive coordinator and, the Trojans hope, a new fighting spirit. … What should we watch with UCLA? Hawaii feels it matches up pretty well. … Arizona State feels it has a dangerous group of wide receivers. The Sun Devils’ first opponent? Wyoming, which brings in a lot of experience. … Arizona, as befitting its 21st ranking, is pretty good everywhere. The Wildcats face New Mexico at home. … In the Mountain West, San Jose State began the Ken Niumatalolo Era with a 42-24 home victory over the Big Sky’s Sacramento State, ranked eighth in the FCS preseason. Emmett Brown, a WSU transfer, led the way at quarterback. … Colorado State has a tough task Saturday. Playing fourth-ranked Texas in Austin is not easy. Especially for the quarterback. … Boise State faces Georgia Southern tomorrow. … Fresno State has an interim coach at the helm. … San Diego State opens at Snapdragon Stadium this season. … Utah State is happy with its linebackers. … UNLV is improved. This much? … Every starter on the offensive line at Air Force is new.

Gonzaga: It sure looks as if the Bulldogs will face Baylor again this fall. Where? That’s TBD. Theo Lawson shares a report that mentions Mexico City as the site. That would be interesting. … Also interesting? A Gonzaga football story. Well, sort of. The New York Giants’ No. 1, worn by Ray Flaherty, of pre-World War II GU football fame, has been retired longer than any in NFL history. Not anymore. With the approval of Flaherty’s family, it will be un-retired for as long as Malik Nabers, the team’s first-round pick, wants to wear it. If you are unfamiliar with Flaherty’s legacy, Bill Pierce wrote about him a decade ago.

EWU: Having your All-American receiver and returning conference passing leader connect early, often and in about every way, is a great way to start the season, right? That’s what happened last night in Cheney, as the Eagles passed over Monmouth 42-27 in an intersectional FCS matchup. Dan Thompson and Tyler Tjomsland were at Roos Field to cover the opener. Dan has the game story, Tyler the photo gallery. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana star Junior Bergen is part of a big family. … Montana State welcomes Utah Tech to Bozeman. … Northern Colorado will challenge itself again with its opener at Incarnate Word. … Weber State has made changes. Behind the scenes. … Paul Wulff enters his second season as Cal Poly’s head coach. … There was a little controversy accompanying an injury in Sacramento State’s loss to San Jose State last night.

Idaho: Saturday’s game at the University of Oregon seems like a dream for a few Vandal players who grew up in the state. But being the Ducks are the third-ranked team in the nation, FBS division, it has the potential to turn into something Tim Burton might put on film. Peter Harriman has this preview of the contest. The Vandals will enter the game ranked seventh in the FCS polls. … Like the school across the border, Idaho will feature a new volleyball coach this season. Unlike the Cougs, though, Romana Redondo Krišková is taking over on an interim basis after the last guy’s tenure was destroyed by controversy. Jim has all the particulars in this story.

Indians: A scoreless battle for the first nine innings was shattered in the top of the 10th, when visiting Tri-City scored three times to hand Spokane a 3-0 defeat. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Everett and Eugene split a doubleheader, the Emeralds winning the opener 5-3 and Everett the nightcap 7-5. … Hillsboro held off visiting Vancouver, 4-3 to keep the Indians and Vancouver tied atop the second-half standings.

Velocity: The Jagermeister Cup is over. For Spokane. The Velocity fell 3-2 at the Richmond Kickers to end its role in the in-season competition.

Seahawks: The once and current kings of Hawk football, Russell Wilson and Geno Smith, still have points to prove. … A new Seahawk wants to get his career back on track. … The roster churn continues, albeit only on the practice squad. … Mike Macdonald likes to surprise his team. In a good way.

Mariners: No game Thursday, so the M’s could make the long trip down the coast to Anaheim – we think we saw their bus pass us on the freeway – but we can pass along Matt Calkins’ column we linked in the Times yesterday. And, yes, we were joking about the bus but if the MLBPA wasn’t so powerful, we wouldn’t put it past this ownership group.

Storm: Jewell Loyd seems to have a knack at hitting clutch 3-point shots.

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• We don’t want to sign off today without acknowledging one last time Dennis Patchin’s last sign off as KHQ’s sports director. Our friend has been at this a long time. Long enough to work at two stations, both of whom acknowledged his retirement yesterday. Don’t despair. Dennis will still be around. If you listen to Idaho football and basketball games on the radio. Dennis used to give us crud about still working after retiring. We told him more than once this wasn’t work. It was a joy. And if we enjoyed it, we might as well do it. As long as there is some sort of paycheck, right? He must have listened. Until later …