A Grip on Sports: Questions abound on this Monday but answers are a lot harder to come by

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s never good to start a day or a week with more questions than answers but that’s the predicament in which we find ourselves on this fine Monday. We settled on a couple questions to discuss here. Answers? Not sure we have any definitive ones.

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• We could start with the Mariners’ eventful Sunday but their ongoing issues have a bit more shelf life. Instead, we thought we would kick off our question-and-no-answers session with the most-important news of the day worldwide.

Xander Schauffele won another major golf tournament.

What, you thought we were going to mention something else? Nope. Nothing is more important than determining the champion golfer of the year. If you don’t believe us, ask the stuffy folks at the Royal and Ancient golf club. They’ll tell you. The Open championship is the be-all and end-all.

And the slog on the Scottish coast this weekend ended with Schauffele strolling down Royal Troon’s 18th hole without a worry. He was about to finish a hard-to-fathom final-round 65, and win the Claret Jug by two strokes. But it left us with a question. An unanswerable question.

Who is going to be the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year?

We know who is No. 1 in the world. Despite Schauffele’s second major championship this year, Scottie Scheffler remains atop the world rankings. And, with six PGA wins this season, including the Masters, he is still the award’s frontrunner. But Schauffele, who entered the PGA Championship with the unenviable title of “best player in the world without a major win” and left it feeling 60-pounds lighter, won half of the four most important events. That’s counts for a lot among his peers, who just happen to pick the winner.

Thankfully, there are still a few events that could make the choice easier, though one of them, the upcoming Olympic Games, technically shouldn’t be part of the equation. After all, the Games are a once-every-four-years, world-wide spectacle and we’re talking about a PGA Tour award. But with Scheffler and Schauffele representing the U.S., there will be a chance to measure them once more.

The same can be said for late September’s Presidents Cup team competition in Montreal. Both will be on the U.S. squad, facing the non-European World group. Another unofficial measuring stick.

By then, though, the competition should be over. The FedEx Cup will be decided on Sept. 1 at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. If either win it, the title is theirs.

But what if someone else wins? That’s why we have no answer to the question who will be the player of the year.

• We also have no answer on what Jerry Dipoto is thinking. The M’s president of baseball operations must have decided by now whether to make a big addition to the team’s understaffed offense. Or to write off this season and cash in a few assets for the future. Maybe a little of both?

The moves Dipoto made over the weekend could signal the start – and any of the three ways. Mike Baumann, the reliever the M’s acquired earlier this season from Baltimore, was sent packing, traded to the Giants for cash. A minor deal signifying nothing. Except a few extra bucks. Money the organization may use to help pay off Ty France’s contract.

Seattle put its starting first baseman on irrevocable waivers Sunday after the all-important 6-4 win over the Astros. He’s gone, either to someone who makes a claim (and takes over the rest of the couple million dollars France is owed this season) or he clears waivers and is released. There seems no chance France, who has enough service time to make the decision, agrees to play in Tacoma.

Will today bring some huge news? A trade with Toronto for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is owed $6.6 million this season, is arbitration eligible for next and then is a free agent in 2026? Or will the Cubs send them Cody Bellinger, who is owed $9.2 million and has a player option for the next couple years? How about the Rays’ Yandy Diaz, who will make $12.7 million by the end of 2025?

The Mariners have the prospects to swing either deal. They now have an opening at first base. They also have some uncertainty about Julio Rodriguez’s health, after he injured his ankle Sunday.

All those variables – and about a quadrillion more – make it impossible to predict what Dipoto will do.

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WSU: Edge rusher wasn’t a term used all that much five years ago. Now it’s a crucial position on defense. One Jake Dickert must rebuild during preseason camp. The Cougars lost both starters to graduation. There is a large group of candidates to replace Brennan Jackson and Ron Stone Jr. Greg Woods delves into them in his second camp preview story. … Jaylen Wells’ rocket-propelled rise from Division II standout to NBA rookie continued Sunday with a 28-point performance that lifted Memphis’ summer league squad into tonight’s finals. Theo Lawson has more on Wells’ exceptional year, one that has seen him move to Pullman, star for the Cougars, be drafted by Memphis in the second round and now emerge as the Grizzlies’ best player in Las Vegas. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the Oregonian’s series of football numbers stories continues with No. 42 and 41 for the Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers. … The inside linebackers need to improve for Colorado. … Can Utah make the playoffs? … Arizona has plenty of options at receiver. … The two Wildcats playing internationally finished up yesterday. … USC feels it is well positioned for the upcoming changes concerning player pay. Of course it is. The Trojans have been doing it for decades. (Just kidding Kent.) … We would have put the Trojans’ Rod Dedeaux on our list.

EWU and Idaho: Dan Thompson, who covers Eastern for the S-R, has a story this morning on the Big Sky football polls. The Eagles were picked eighth by the coaches and sixth by the media. The Vandals were third in both polls. He also mentions both schools’ preseason all-conference picks. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the all-conference football team included 17 members from Montana and Montana State. The Griz were also picked to win the title. … The Bobcats have the defensive MVP. … MSU also picked up a legacy in recruiting. The coach’s son. … This is a key year for Idaho State coach Cody Hawkins. … In basketball, Carter Ash leaves Montana State with memories. … The ISU softball field is getting a makeover.

Indians: Dave Nichols has this amazing tidbit in his story covering Vancouver’s walk-off 7-6 win over Spokane on Sunday. Even with the seven-game-winning-streak-snapping defeat, the Indians hold an 18-4 edge in the season series. Twenty-two games? The unintended consequence of MLB’s minor league contraction is way-too-many matchups between the remaining franchises. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, all three home teams one Sunday, with Everett handling Hillsboro 5-3 and Tri-City topping Eugene 6-3.

Olympics: LeBron James will be a U.S. flag bearer during the opening ceremonies. … Are James and his teammates awake now?

Seahawks: More roster rankings. No. 20 to No. 11. … What will Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s role be this season? …The offensive line may be key to all offensive plans.

Mariners: Seattle won the game despite Rodriguez leaving with an injury (it was listed as a sprain and he’s day-to-day), Yordan Alvarez hitting for the cycle (the second in T-Mobile’s history) and J.P. Crawford dropping an easy line drive (on purpose, for a double play, even though the umpires gave him a pass). … Bryan Woo threw well. … The two teams don’t play again until the last few days of the season, in Houston. Will the A.L. West race be over by then? … The Hall of Fame welcomed its newest class Sunday.

Golf: Pros play in the 37th Rosauers Open Invitational at Indian Canyon. Lots of them. But it was an amateur, Andrew Von Lossow, who went home with the title, only the third amateur to do it. Jim Meehan was there and has this coverage. … We posted most of our thoughts about the world’s oldest golf tournament above. We have one more. Why aren’t there more Scottish-style courses up and down the coastlines of this country?

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• We are sad about Ty France. He attended the same high school as my wife and her siblings. She has a picture of him from a Mariner game on the fridge. But he’s also the poster boy for a sadder group. His career has defined the “a-player-peaks-at-27” argument. Since reaching that age, France’s offensive numbers have retreated each year in every major statistical category. Until later …