A Grip on Sports: If the weekend’s warmth is too much, can we suggest watching the heat hit soccer or tennis or pro baseball players instead?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The first Friday of July. Sounds like royalty to me. Like when you say “the first family of rock” or something. This weekend should be hotter than blazes where ever you are, if you’re not at the Oregon Coast or south of the equator or something.

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• Why not stay in and watch sports on TV, then? The (second-) best international soccer has to offer. A home series for the Blue Jays 2,455 miles from home. Wimbledon. Uh … well, that’s about it. Thankfully.

After all, who wants to sit inside when the sun is shining, the rain is vacationing in Canada and the neighbors are away?

Not us. Heck, we’re leaving town too. But we’re more than willing to point out what’s available to watch if that’s your bag this weekend.

The Euros and Copa America tournaments are in their knockout rounds. And miscues like, say, Lionel Messi missing a penalty kick, could decide a country’s fate. (And, by country, we actually mean country, because the national’s team international success is crucial to the self-image of some nations.) Unless, of course, your keeper wipes away all your sins.

Speaking of sins, Dave Sims constant and unrelenting “atta-boy,” “hey now,” and “the offense is just a step or two from turning the corner” pronouncements are growing old. He’s been selling the turnaround sermon so hard recently, and so often, it has to come true, right?

It did last night. To his delight. Mainly because he could project one game out until October, seemingly, and see the M’s reaching the promised land. Our view is more tempered: A simple “maybe?”

Anyhow, at least the home team won’t be booed this weekend in T-Mobile. Or maybe they will. When the Blue Jays come to town, it’s hard to tell which team actually pays rent on the place.

We know the drill. Thousands of Canadians descend like locusts down I-5 from Vancouver, bringing their positivity and good manners with them. Can we all agree we hate that? No, not the niceness. That’s OK. The cheering for the Jays.

If you want to watch at home (like most Mariner fans), all three games are on Root, with tonight’s starting at 6:40 and the two on the weekend both at 1:10 p.m.

The best event between now and the middle of July? Wimbledon. The Championships, as those pretentious Brits like to call tennis’ one Grand Slam in England. They took some time off from voting in national elections yesterday to say goodbye to one of their own, Andy Murray, who won his home Slam event in 2013 and 2016 (and a U.S. Open in 2012). Murray lost in doubles with his brother. And the Centre Court crowd said goodbye. Murray is retiring from the game at age 37. The tournament rolls on though, with coverage on ABC starting at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

• Other than Sims’ over-the-top enthusiasm, the Mariners were actually enjoyable to watch Thursday. Mainly because Julio Rodriguez got the barrel to the ball and scalded a couple pitches. When your five-hole hitter is driving the ball all over the yard, your lineup is exceptionally deep, isn’t it?

Sure, laugh. We meant it as a joke. Scott Servais and the M’s brain trust has yo-yoing their young star up and down the lineup recently in an attempt to get him going. Has it worked? We hesitate to “pull a Sims” and make a hard-and-fast pronouncement but, for one game at least, he didn’t look like a .244 hitter.

(Well, for one at-bat, in the eighth, he did, chasing a pitch in the dirt just seconds after Sims told Mike Blowers one thing Rodriguez was doing well was staying off pitches just like that. Announcers’ jinx indeed.)

A mammoth solo home run to center leading off the fifth. An even harder-hit (and more impressive) double to left-center in the seventh, starting the winning rally. A crucial stolen base – of third with no one out – in a tie game. And a slow walk home on J.P. Crawford’s key three-run double to right-center.

He played like a superstar. For one day. If he does the same for the next four months, we’ll have to send Sims one of those Hallmark “Our Bad” cards.

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WSU: The first spring we worked in Spokane corresponded with George Raveling’s decision to leave the Palouse’s amber waves of wheat for the corn fields of Iowa. We never did get to cover his teams, though we chatted with him a couple times while we were holding down the Pullman beat in the early part of the century. He was always gracious with his time, always informative and perceptive. And always aware of what was happening in Pullman. A decade-and-a-half later, he’s still that way, as Dave Boling’s column this morning shows. Raveling is a treasure and not just because of his basketball success. … Speaking of basketball success, the recently graduated Jaylen Wells is in Memphis, continuing his upward trajectory with the Grizzlies. … The future? That’s in play with the football program. Greg Woods has this story on the latest football recruit to say he’s headed to Washington State. … We thought we were out. Nope. We have to pass along this story in the S-R concerning Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and joy. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, football recruiting stories hardly ever stop, with Washington, UCLA, Arizona and most especially Oregon – the highest-rated high school receiver in the nation – adding players yesterday. … And we’re at No. 58 in the Oregonian’s football number stories about Oregon and Oregon State. … How does one Utah opponent view the Utes’ football chances this fall? … Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley is happy with how the summer basketball workouts are going. … Arizona’s Adia Barnes is happy how her life is going.

Gonzaga: Recruiting is so fun. It’s a long process, with long days and nights. All for a July 4th like yesterday. Jim Meehan had to break away from his family cookout – been there, done that – to write this story on Davis Fogle, a five-star shooting guard from Anacortes, telling the world he’s headed across the mountains to play for the Zags.

Indians: The winners of the Northwest League’s first half are also now tied for the lead in the second half. Spokane moved into that spot on Independence Day with a 2-0 win over struggling Tri-City in a sold-out Avista Stadium. Dave Nichols was there and has this coverage. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, the Indians caught up with Vancouver (at 10-3) in the second-half standings thanks to Everett’s 8-1 home win. … and Hillsboro scored 10 times in the top of the fourth and hammered Eugene 11-6.

Velocity: It will be in the low 90s tomorrow evening when Spokane hosts the Chattanooga Red Wolves (6, SWX) at ONE Spokane Stadium. The visitors might not mind, however, as the Velocity is on a bit of a cold streak and, you know, the humidity won’t be anything like it is in Tennessee this time of year – something we experienced a couple summers in our high school years. Justin Reed has this preview of the Saturday contest.

Storm: This story on Ezi Magbegor hits a nerve. If being snubbed for the All-Star team adds a level of motivation – and who knows if it is really true or just a convenient narrative – for a professional athlete, then maybe said athlete isn’t going about it in the exact right way. They are a professional, playing for money. They play for pride, legacy, titles, fans and teammates. More should never be needed.

Mariners: The 7-3 win allowed Seattle to maintain its two-game American League West lead over the surging Astros, who sent Toronto off to the Northwest with a 9-2 rout in Canada. As the M’s host the Jays, Houston is in Minnesota. … Two injured pitchers, Bryan Woo and Gregory Santos, will throw rehab outings in Everett. … Hot dogs from the sky? Yes, please. If the baseball folks in the M’s offices were as bright as the ones in marketing, there would be two or three titles already. … There is a kerfuffle on podcasts and sports-talk radio going on in L.A. concerning the Lakers, Lebron James and his son Bronny. Big deal. The M’s went through this long ago. Except the tables were turned. Most wondered if Ken Griffey Sr. deserved a spot. … Before we leave baseball behind this morning, there are two stories we want to pass along. One is Jayson Stark’s annual rating of Hall of Fame chances for current players. It’s fun. The other covers Paul Skenes’ chances of winning the National League Rookie of the Year award. Not so much fun, but a good example of why we don’t bet.

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• If you’re wondering, the anti-anxiety meds worked wonders for our dogs last night. Well, those and the air conditioning kept on until after midnight. House shut up tight. And the TVs left on as well, blaring away to cover up any booms from outside. We didn’t take any chances. Though, we must admit, your truly did wander outside after 9 p.m. and listened. Alone. It didn’t seem nearly as loud in the neighborhood as it’s been over the past few years. Maybe everyone was away camping or at the lake. Our cul-de-sac certainly has been empty. No matter. We’ll take it. And we’re sure Junior agrees with that sentiment. Until later …