A Grip on Sports: We’re staying positive despite what’s been happening with the M’s and elsewhere

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Maybe it is the falling temperatures. Or maybe it was the red sky this morning giving us a warning sign. Or, just maybe, we are actually, happy. Weird, huh? Whatever. We are going to relentlessly positive today. From beginning to end.

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• We are so happy to have a long memory. One that remembers events and folks from the early 1970s as easily – maybe even easier – than last Tuesday. It’s that memory that gave us a smile, and a grimace, yesterday.

We didn’t watch Argentina and Morocco play their Olympic soccer opener during the morning. But we did catch up with the highlights. And thought back to 1972.

Munich. Olympic gold medal basketball game. The U.S.S.R. vs. the U.S. Ancient – at 67, our own age today – Oklahoma State coach Henry Iba befuddled on the American bench as Olympic officials give the Russian squad not one, not two, but three chances to win the game. Repeating the final seconds over and over again.

It was the most embarrassing on-court Olympic moment ever as the U.S.S.R. “officially” won 51-50 and snapped the U.S.’ 63-game winning streak at the Games. We have been positive for 50 years it was a moment that will never be repeated.

Until it sort of was Wednesday in France. In men’s soccer. The Argentina team, down 2-1, scored in the 16th-minute of extra time – yes, you read that right, an incredible 16 minutes of time added on – to tie the group match. That didn’t sit well with Morocco’s fans, who poured onto the pitch. So did security. The match halted. The teams left. Went back to the locker rooms. Were told the match was a draw.

Until it wasn’t. About an hour-and-a-half after the fans were cleared, both teams were brought back. And, unbeknownst to the players, the referee announced the tying goal was disallowed. VAR had ruled the Argentina player offsides. A couple more desultory minutes were played and the match called. Morocco had the win.

The Olympics. Nothing like ‘em. This bodes really well for the next couple weeks, don’t you think? The entertainment value could be off the charts.

• Very little was entertaining in Wednesday’s obligatory Mariner loss. The Angels scored late and sent Seattle to its 137th 2-1 loss in its last 138 games – or something like that. Boos rained down. The players looked positively defeated, not just from the latest loss but the recent bad stretch – eight losses in the last nine games and 20 in the last 29.

Houston defeated Oakland later. The M’s fell into second place, a game back.

The positive? Seattle still has lots of prospects in the minors, with five of Keith Law’s top 60 in the latest Athletic rankings. Trade potential abounds. Especially if the idea is to sell after the recent awful month.

See, there are not enough sellers to match all the buyers this season. Why not talk (or pay) Luis Castillo into waiving his no-trade clause, package him with J.P. Crawford and pick up a power-hitting outfielder like Randy Arozarena? Bring up one of the youngsters to play short. Let Emerson Hancock slide back into the rotation? Maybe trade Andres Munoz and Cal Raleigh for Vlad Guerrero Jr.? Bring up Harry Ford to catch and patch together the bullpen with duct tape?

We’re not sure the record improves but there should be more runs scored. (There couldn’t be fewer, right?) And we’re positive the entertainment value would be Olympian.

• If you are wondering, Major League Baseball’s trade deadline this season is 3 p.m. PDT July 30.

• Here’s a positively weird note to end on today. The Mariners have played just one game longer than three hours since reaching their seasonal high-water mark June 18. The 8-5 win at Cleveland, which put them at 44-31 and 10 games ahead in the American League West, took 3 hours and 15 minutes. Since then, outside of a 10-inning loss to Toronto on July 7 that took 3:22, every game has finished in three hours or less.

Maybe Scott Servais should try to slow things down on the upcoming road trip to Chicago and Boston. Push the pitch clock. Use every possible time out. Or, in what would really be outside-the-box thinking these days for the club, put players on base. Often.

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WSU: We’ve made up our mind on the direction our coverage of the Cougars, the Beavers and the new look of college athletics starting in August. We will share it over the weekend. Here’s a hint about what’s ahead: We’re positive it will be more work for us. … Greg Woods is working hard prepping for the beginning of preseason camp. His latest story is about newcomers who could make an immediate impact. … Former Washington State quarterback Cam Ward is in the spotlight as Miami tries to regain past glory. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, what finish in the Big Ten football race would be a success for Washington? … Just surviving the ACC travel will be a success for California and Stanford. … John Canzano is at the Big Ten media days, where he talked with former Oregon State coach (and player many years ago) Jonathan Smith. No, he was not “a forever guy” in Corvallis. … Don’t lose hope, though, Beaver fans. … The Ducks are the new kids on the Big Ten block. But they also have a chance to bully their way to the top of the conference race. … The numbers stories from the Oregonian continue, with No. 38 for Oregon State and Oregon. … Poor DeShaun Foster. The new UCLA coach did something he never did as a player with the Bruins. He froze in a big moment. On the dais at the Big Ten media event. He will bounce back. As will the Bruins. … Lincoln Riley feels USC is still one of the best schools in college football. And aims to prove it. … Speaking of the Trojans, an Oregon sprinter is headed south to run for them. … Colorado’s defensive backs are led by the coach’s younger son. … The upcoming conference seasons, without divisions in most cases, will feel weird for Arizona and others. … In women’s basketball, playing for Colorado has been a dream for one player. … Softball’s player of the year, NiJaree Canady of Stanford, will be pitching for Texas Tech next season. And earning around a million dollars. Times really have changed, haven’t they?

Gonzaga: Jim Meehan caught up with Mark Few one more time, adding another chapter to their how-I-spent-my-summer-vacation-like series. This story, which covers the exhibitions and a whole lot more, is the best of the series. … Jim also shares the news Andrew Nembhard, who will play for Canada in Paris, has inked a three-year extension worth $59-million with Indiana. … The Gonzaga women won on the court this season. They also won off the court, with an award-earning grade point average. That nugget leads the S-R’s latest local briefs column. … This French basketball player faced the Zag women in the NCAA Tournament’s first round in March.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Portland State is once again expected to suffer through a tough football season. … This story highlights 12 possible FCS-over-FBS upsets. A third of them involve Big Sky schools. … Sacramento State is listed in two of them. … Recruiting never stops anywhere. And that includes Montana State. … Weber State basketball players who appeared in international competition this summer did well. … A former Montana women’s player has become a world traveler.

Indians: A couple of home runs proved to enough to allow host Eugene defeat Spokane 3-1 Wednesday. Dave Nichols has this report. … Vancouver lost 4-2 again at Hillsboro. … Everett scored six times in the top of the eighth and defeated Tri-City 9-4.

Olympics: Before we delve into the first day of competition, we want to highlight the upcoming Paralympics, also in Paris. Madison McCord has this story on the many Inland Northwest athletes who will be competing in the event. … What Simone Biles can do on the vault is hard to fathom. … How much Los Angeles meant to the Olympic movement in 1984 isn’t. … Barry Svrluga is one of the best sports columnists in the nation. A pair of columns from Paris, one on France and its current dilemma and another on the IOC, shows why. … Two Seattle Reign players will try to help the Canadian women win soccer gold again. … Something odd will happen in Paris. It always does. … Maybe the U.S. rugby win over France can be considered odd. But the 3-0 loss in soccer certainly wasn’t.

Seahawks: There is nothing better in late July than seeing a grown man acting like a little kid at Christmastime. Mike Macdonald didn’t race down the stairs to his first Hawk practice but he certainly seemed happy to be a head coach. … You know who was also happy? Safety Julian Love, who signed a three-year extension worth $36 million. … Former WSU standout Abe Lucas is still not ready to play after his offseason knee surgery but the rest of the injury news seemed positive. … So has the impact of Ryan Grubb. … Geno Smith sure seemed sharp.

Mariners: The 2-1 loss was not just disappointing for the players but also for those watching the getaway game at T-Mobile. They booed as the M’s left the field. … Gregory Santos is the latest Mariner to leave a game with an an injury. … Trade deadline stories abound.

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• We’re staying positive. And we’re positive the battle between Warner, TNT and the NBA will be worth watching over the next year. Until later …