A Grip on Sports: Sure, we’re interested in the going-ons in Paris but our main focus is on the most American of sports: football

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Ever leave the house intending to end up at, say, Home Depot but find yourself at 31 Flavors instead? Regret the calories but revel in the unplanned joy of an ice cream cone? We present for you today the column-writing equivalent. Though we’re not sure there is anything here that compares to a mint chocolate chip/chocolate fudge on a waffle cone. More like the ensuing sugar-caused dentist visit.

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• We had a rant written, in our head, last night. From start to finish.

But when we awoke this morning, we realized there was just too much going on to spend our limited space on one subject. A subject that can wait. After all, there will be an important baseball game between now and the end of October that will turn on a missed ball/strike call. It’s more of a certainty than taxes. And it’s will be the death knell of baseball if the billionaires who control the sport (and pay little in the way of taxes) don’t fix it.

But, as we said, we’ll save the rant. For a quieter time. Today we want to focus on what you all are focusing on.

Paris? Uh, no. Sorry. Practice starting for Washington State or Eastern Washington or Idaho football? Well, no. Not that either. There is still time for that. We’re talking about that beautiful metropolis of Renton, Washington. Home of the Seahawks. The one team that unifies most of the Pacific Northwest.

The NFL is king, isn’t it? And the 32 prince regents who make up the league each dominate a geographic area. For some, like the Chargers or the Jets, who share a city and a city’s name, that region might be a few blocks down by the wharves, but even they have areas where they reign supreme.

The Seahawks have, by far, the largest area in which they are unrivaled among the masses. Their fiefdom stretches from the Arctic Circle to the Rogue River rapids. From the Pacific Ocean to Our Lady of the Rockies.

For nine months of the year, the Hawks give the region something to rally around, if only to burn the head coach in effigy. That’s what happened after last season, as the old king of Lumen Field, despite having given his subjects their only true championship, was deposed in a coup.

OK, it had to happen. Pete Carroll was past his prime. As were the roster and schemes. Off with Carroll’s head. All hail the new king, Mike Macdonald.

Will the regime change actually lead to anything better? Especially considering the power behind the throne, Jody Allen and her football savant, John Schneider, still have the true power?

In some ways it already has. There is more excitement swirling around the franchise early in training camp. A different energy, one not limited to the guy in white tennis shoes but spreading out and ensnaring even the ficklest of fans. Change, especially revolutionary change, does that. Until the games begin.

Macdonald has done well in his previous, albeit supportive, roles. But being a head coach is different. A lot harder. Made even tougher without the ability to control the roster. And the Hawks’ roster still has flaws. Major ones.

The most glaring? The offensive line. It’s pretty much the same group that hasn’t been good enough for a couple years. Can offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb sprinkle magic dust on it and make the pumpkins transform into carriages? Nope. His University of Washington offense was powered by a veteran o-line that kept Michael Penix Jr. clean and opened huge running lanes. This group isn’t the professional equivalent, that’s for sure.

But there are other issues, even on Macdonald’s favorite side of the ball, the defense. Lack of quality in the front seven is the main one. And that’s enough to make anything we write here redundant. But we still have to ask, do you trust at all the defensive line? The linebackers? We don’t. And no scheme will be able to cover up the deficiencies in those areas.

Yes, in late July those fans in Renton, those in Butte, those in Anchorage and Medford and, yes, Spokane, they might be smiling and grinning at the change all around, but who among us is confident we won’t be fooled again?

We aren’t.

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WSU: We’re a bit more positive about the Cougars’ fortunes than most pundits, but we’ll also save our thoughts on them until deeper into preseason camp. As is our way, we’ll make the drive south at some point to watch, even if Mike Leach’s Lewiston adventure hasn’t resurfaced. Greg Woods is in Pullman now and for the foreseeable future, so he has the coverage we follow. Today, he looks at the tight ends, a position in which Leach’s tenure highlighted – if by “highlighted” you mean “eliminated.” … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, John Canzano had a mailbag Monday and it contains questions pertinent to OSU and WSU. … There are at least five questions for Washington to answer when training camp opens. … The Oregonian’s football number series continues, with No. 33 for Oregon and Oregon State. … The Ducks held a media day yesterday and the number of stories from it is quite impressive. Subjects as varied as NIL and video games. Add in the Oregonian finally getting around to previewing some position groups and we have way too much to pass along. As much as Dillon Gabriel will be passing come September. … Oregon State, which will start camp soon, has another member of the seven-year club. … For Colorado to win big this season, five things have to happen. … We thought Utah had decided on the backup quarterback but we were wrong. … Arizona State has 10 players who are crucial to its fortunes. … Arizona picks up awards and a rival no one knew it had. … Boise State has three key questions on offense. … Utah State will have a legacy of sorts playing for it soon. And it will not-so-soon play Oklahoma. … Fresno State has moved its football coach into another position. … Hawaii’s quarterback is on the Maxwell watch list. … New Mexico’s preseason camp is a week old already. … This isn’t football, but there will be a new basketball arena in Reno in a few years.

EWU: For most of this century, Eastern’s football team has been known for its offense. It still is. But the successful seasons have been keyed by the other side of the ball. If the Eagles’ defense is anywhere near dominant, the entire team soars. As camp opens today, Dan Thompson highlights the changes on the defensive side installed over the offseason, with the hope of improving that team’s overall standing. He also delves into three key questions for camp. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the fact Montana and Idaho aren’t playing in football this season doesn’t please anyone. … The Griz and the Bobcats have put together a golden era of football in the state. Need more proof? A combined 11 members of the two teams are on a preseason All-American team. … Montana State will try to sort out the quarterback room in preseason practice. … What nonconference road game will be key for Idaho State? Maybe the one in Corvallis. … Northern Arizona is touting its six athletes in Paris. … Cal Poly announced the seven former Mustangs who the school will induct into its Athletic Hall of Fame in November.

Velocity and Zephyr: Football fans, no matter if you are using the New World definition or the Old, band together into groups of supporters. It’s happened in Spokane for the older sport’s newest teams, as a supporter group named 509 Syndicate has developed since the founding of the men’s and women’s teams. Olive Pete has this story on the growing group.  

Olympics: The contrast between the U.S. women’s basketball team and its Japanese opponent couldn’t have been starker. Not just the size, but the style of play. And it made for an exciting, if not competitive game. The U.S.’s size and depth won out 102-76 in the pool play opener for both. … The best female gymnast in the world will be determined this week. The person who won that title in Toyko, Sunisa Lee, has been through hell and high water since taking the gold. Now she’s back but her journey is worth exploring. … The U.S. men won their first team medal – a bronze – since 2008 on Monday and it was a Buddy Holly look-alike who took the group home. The women’s team event is contested today (9:15 a.m., NBC). … The women lost in the rugby semifinal this morning. … The end of an era was evident in the men’s tennis singles Monday. Rafael Nadal’s singles career is probably over.

Seahawks: In the first day of pads, the defense dominated. That’s not unusual. In reading stories about other teams, we found the same theme often. … This could be another great season for Tyler Lockett. It seems Grubb’s offense was made for him. … The Hawks may have found another ace in the discard pile. … Russell Wilson is getting one more chance with the Steelers.

Mariners: If you thought we were going to rant about the one missed call that cost the M’s seven runs in a 14-7 loss, you would have been right. If you had been around the house last night. But we read Logan Gilbert’s comments and decided not to let off steam. Besides, it won’t change until, well, we will delve into that scenario when it happens. We’re sure it will someday. … Justin Turner is the type of veteran presence that has helped the M’s in the past (Carlos Santana anyone?). But he’ll help only if there is something left in his bat. One guy who is ticked about the trade? The person who washes the uniforms (see the picture). … Ty France is headed to the Reds. … There are more trades to be made before the 3 p.m. (PDT) deadline today. Seattle still needs a bullpen arm or two and a left-handed bat.

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• We tried to hide an old-time rock-and-roll Easter egg in our column today. Hope you found it. If you did, we tip our hat to you. You weren’t fooled. Now back to your regularly scheduled program, where we try to determine who’s next for the Mariners. Until later …