A Grip on Sports: Now that was a wacky weekend, highlighted by watching the Hawks’ Leonard Williams run 92 yards with an interception

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What a Sunday. Crazy, actually. From one side of New York to the other. Or, to be precise, New Jersey. All of which meant the day’s events fit right in to the rest of the weekend just past. And set us up for a crazy week ahead.

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• Crazy and Aaron Rodgers just go together, like peanut butter and mayonnaise, know what I mean? His aura, which is something I’m sure he’s believed in at some point in his wild 41 years on the planet, permeates everything J-E-T-S, Jets these days. And seems to have leaked into the Seahawks’ Gatorade yesterday.

How else to explain the special team breakdowns, other than to blame them on assistant Jay Harbaugh? And we can’t do that. He’s a Harbaugh. No one has it better than him. Or, as the narrative goes, coaches better. New York’s 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown? Seattle’s fumbles on two kickoff returns? Wild.

Or the other wacky-racer type of events, including Leonard Williams, all 6-foot-5, 310-pounds of him, running 92 yards with an interception return. Someone send that man a Bloomsday shirt. He earned it.

An early 14-point deficit that should have been 21. A bunch of odd flags – on the home team. A Hawk defensive effort that pitched a shutout for all but 20 seconds of the final 50 minutes. A 26-21 Seattle win that, with Sunday’s other chaotic results, left the Seahawks alone atop the NFC West at 7-5.

Wild. Wacky. Welcome.

• The NCAA released its first NET rankings of the basketball season Sunday and guess who was third on the men’s side. Yep, Gonzaga. Despite its Bahamas loss to West Virginia, which was slotted at 29. Other men’s rankings of interest include Saint Mary’s at 25 (one spot behind my alma mater, UC Irvine), Pac-12 rep Oregon State, like WSU playing in the West Coast Conference this season, at 49, and the aforementioned Cougars at 87. Eastern Washington is 188 and Idaho 303, which seems awful but is still ahead of 61 schools.

Among the women, there is one WCC school in the top 100, undefeated Portland at 98. Washington State checks in at 143 and Gonzaga, the conference’s usual frontrunner, at 181 after its 4-5 start. Idaho, at 93, is higher than any WCC school and yet just third in the Big Sky. Eastern, after its 1-5 start, is 259.

OK, the first NET rankings are always a little wacky. But they also set a baseline for the season, which makes them worth checking out.

• Speaking of ratings and rankings and the like, some of the best entertainment during college seasons, the Associated Press dropped its latest football ones Sunday. And got us thinking of an old Star Trek term. Captain Dunsel. Everyone in Nerd Nation, where I vacation often, knows what that means. Something that is no longer useful. Has no purpose. Except, in the show, it was misapplied.

In the world of college football today? It’s not, at least as far as the legacy polls are concerned. The only ranking that matters will be revealed Tuesday night. The CFP committee’s list this week will serve as a window into what it is thinking after the wild weekend. And in anticipation of the conference title games ahead.

There is no way I am sailing into this storm. I’m going to ride it out. And sift through the flotsam and jetsam left behind. Hopefully, I’ll find something fun.

• Social media is, well, wild after an awful loss. Doesn’t matter if it concerns a blue blood like Ohio State or a castoff like Washington State. The virtual neighborhoods have more in common with a riot than a reasoned discussion.

Let’s forget the Buckeye nuts – redundant, I know – for now. Let’s take the folks who have a passion about the Cougars. And check in with them after Saturday’s inexplicable 15-14 home loss to 3-9 Wyoming. The consensus? Burn the whole house down. Tear up the foundation. Bulldoze the remains. And start over.

Sounds reasonable. Might as well get rid of a guy who loves being in Pullman, is still learning his craft, has guided a team, torn apart in many ways before the season, to an 8-4 record that somehow, someway included being in the CFP conversations for 10 weeks. And replace him with, well, what exactly?

It’s not like there are a lot of affordable options out there. Or guaranteed better ones. Sure, the season ended poorly. Changes are needed. Fine. But the guy in charge? Jake Dickert deserves the time to grow into the position. To guide the program through the firestorm of continuing change. To build something. Any other decision would be crazy.

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WSU: Maybe Ryan Day will want to move to Pullman? No, that’s not a good choice. After all, Dickert has more wins over Washington than Day has over Michigan. That’s important. More important than winning a late November game against Wyoming? Sure. Even with the litany of failures that had to occur for the Cougars to drop the one-point game. Greg Woods delves into those this morning in this look back at the final regular season game. … Chau Smith-Wade blossomed in Pullman, going from a backup defensive back to a starter to star to the NFL. And he had his best game in the league yesterday. That news kicks off Ethan Myers’ weekly NFL locals column. … Elsewhere in the (new, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner ranks the Best of the West in the Mercury News. … Washington just doesn’t have the bodies to hold up with the bullies of the Big Ten and elsewhere. Fixing that problem is going to take some time. That’s why we say recruiting never stops. Ask the Huskies. The Ducks. … John Canzano has a column on the latest social media star to rise up in Eugene. … The Ducks, who routed Washington, know where they are ranked now. Where they will be ranked Tuesday night. But where they will be after playing Penn State in the Big Ten title game Saturday? That’s up to the result. The Nittany Lions may have backed into their spot but are still dangerous. … Colorado would have liked to have backed into the Big 12 championship. But didn’t. Now the Buffaloes have to wait for their bowl assignment. … Arizona State earned its spot next to Iowa State and moves to the CFP with a win. … Can USC still find its identity under Lincoln Riley? … UCLA has to find a quarterback for next season. Meanwhile, its home, the Rose Bowl, will undergo offseason change as well. … Brent Brennan will be back for year two as Arizona’s coach despite the disappointment of his first season. … In the Mountain West, Boise State is a top 10-ranked team for the first time in 13 years. Its opponent in the MWC title game, UNLV, is ranked 19th. … Colorado State is headed to a bowl game, without its top two receivers. … What is ahead for Hawaii? How about San Diego State, which is headed for the Pac-12 in the not-too-distant future? … In basketball news, Oregon State has started this season much better than it ended the last one.

Gonzaga: Around in the WCC, USF continued its good start to the season.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the special teams lifted Montana to its first-round FCS win. … Idaho State is done after its first respectable season in a while. Can it take the next step? … Sacramento State’s season was not what the Hornets expected.

Chiefs: A two-game home weekend resulted in two wins for Spokane. Dave Nichols was in the Arena last night and has this coverage of the 7-4 victory over Portland. The red-hot Chiefs have won six consecutive games and seven of their last eight.

Seahawks: There were about seven times in the first 10 minutes of Sunday’s game when throwing in the towel seemed the best option for Hawk fans. The final 50 minutes, though, were worth the watch. … Dave Boling didn’t have the option of walking away. If he had, he may have missed writing what turned out to be a fun column. … One person’s back spasm actually helped key the win for the Hawks. … Williams is one of the main reasons Seattle has emerged from the NFC West swamp. … There are always grades. And instant reactions.

Mariners: How could the Juan Soto free agent sweepstakes impact the M’s? It may not. But it just may.

Kraken: Three consecutive losses. That’s not good. The season is shaping up to be an up-and-down affair.

Horse racing: Jim Price has an update on Spokane’s Tim McCanna, the thoroughbred trainer who continues to rise up the ranks of career winnings. Jim’s story notes McCanna is tied on the list with Charlie Whittingham, the Santa Anita-based trainer who was a longtime friend of my father’s and is buried about 10 steps from my dad.

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• We all need a break, right? A chance to step back, take a breath and prepare for the onslaught that is December. The NFL recognized that. And scheduled the Browns for Monday Night Football. Thanks. No matter who they play (hey, It’s Denver in Denver – maybe it will snow), it is OK to ignore tonight’s game. Until later …