A Grip on Sports: It’s time for the Pac-12 to strike, injuries to quit striking the Seahawks and the Dodgers to strike out

A GRIP ON SPORTS • You know what’s weird? Nothing major has happened. Got up this morning and no additions to the Pac-12. No new injures for the Seahawks. Heck, even the Dodgers haven’t been knocked out of the postseason yet. That last one? Just give it some time.

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• We might as well just be patient with all of them. We’re 100% sure that two of the three will happen before Halloween.

Yep. We’re of the mind the Pac-12 is done expanding for the moment. And by moment, we mean until they can figure out, at least preliminarily, how much the media rights to their new basketball-centric conference are worth.

That’s a hand that better be played quickly, though. The new lineup may not hold a better set of cards. Ever.

We shared some stats with you yesterday. The eight Pac-12 schools – as will be constituted in 2026 – put together six exceptional seasons in 2023-24. Only Oregon State and Fresno State were – how can we put this nicely? – awful.

Sure, the Beavers won 13 games. All but five of those came in a 40-year-old mattress-soft nonconference schedule. In their meetings with their Pac-12 brethren, the won five times. The highlight of their schedule? An 83-80 upset of Arizona in Corvallis in January. Otherwise, Wayne Tinkle’s team wasn’t good.

The less said about Fresno State’s sad season, the better. Especially around network bigwigs. The Bulldogs finished 12-21 and won one fewer Mountain West Conference game than OSU did in the Pac-12.

Everyone else? Nails. Gonzaga was the most successful, sure, getting to the Sweet Sixteen again, winning 27 games and being ranked 15th in the final Associated Press poll. But San Diego State (26-11) wasn’t far behind, checking in at 17 in the last poll. The Aztecs also had double-digit wins over Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, if you are wondering, and joined the Zags in the Sweet Sixteen.

Utah State (28-7) finished 22nd in the rankings and Washington State (25-10) 23rd. Each won an NCAA Tournament game.

This season? Who knows. But we do know duplicating those selling points will be tough. Sure, Gonzaga has assembled a national-title-contending roster. And the Aztecs are always solid. But this is the perfect time for the conference to sell this season’s football success – undefeated Boise State is ranked 21st and has a Heisman contender, WSU’s only loss is to the Broncos and Oregon State hasn’t lost to anyone outside the top 10 – and the basketball resume.

The eighth football-playing member? The one the NCAA demands? That can wait. A decent network offer sheet will attract a more-than-decent candidate.

• The one happenstance we’re most sure will occur among or column subjects this morning? The Seahawks will lose someone soon to an injury.

The NFL is just plain brutal that way. Everyone, from the high-flying Chiefs – wide receiver Rashee Rice may be out for the year with a knee – to the low-hanging Cowboys – Dallas’ struggle bus continued to chug, with receiver Brandin Cooks joining defensive stars DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons on its route to the medical center.

The Hawks? Last week’s debacle – giving up 42 points to the Lions – happened in large part due to a defensive front that was decimated. A secondary that lost leader Julian Love in the second half. A bunch of guys who aren’t good enough having to play.

This week the news is better. The d-linemen are healing up. Besides, the Giants are not good and their best offensive weapon, pass-catcher Malik Nabors, is in concussion protocol. Who could have anticipated a key injury? Oh, ya. Everyone.

• Speaking of anticipation, we await the Dodgers’ elimination without a hint of sadness, mainly because we know it will happen at some point soon. We do, however, await all the gnashing of teeth, rending of Ohtani jerseys and calls for manager Dave Roberts’ firing, with some melancholy, though.

We know they all will occur. The last one is a given. It’s part of the game. It doesn’t matter if you have a .627 winning percentage. Have won 851 games in nine seasons. Won three National League pennants and a World Series. When you are spending the equivalent of Colombia’s GDP on payroll, winning the last game is all that matters.

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WSU: Though the Cougars don’t play this week, they had an injury of note to report. Running back Dylan Paine, their bruiser tasked with getting the tough yards, will miss the rest of the season with an ACL tear. Greg Woods has that bummer of a note as well as some good news about Washington State’s injuries this morning. … Greg also relays the news the mix-and-matching on the offensive line is about to end. Jake Dickert said Tuesday the Cougars will decide on their best five before their next game at Fresno State. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, we linked this Jon Wilner column on Gonzaga’s impact on the reformulated Pac-12 yesterday. It ran in the S-R today. … John Canzano shares his thoughts on the conference’s next move. … Wilner also has his weekly look at BYU and Utah in the Mercury News. … It should be nice in Corvallis this Saturday as the Beavers welcome in Colorado State. … The last time Washington and Michigan played, a national championship went to the victors valiant. This week? Both teams are rebuilding under new head coaches. … Oregon’s Bryce Boettcher just keeps making plays for a Duck defense that this week faces Michigan State under new coach, and old friend, Jonathan Smith. … ESPN’s College GameDay is in Berkeley this week. That’s a first. And Cal wants to take advantage of the awareness bump that the show will bring. After all, everyone tunes in to see the Cougar flag. … Everyone should tune it to watch Colorado’s receiving corps. … The UCLA Big Ten gantlet continues with its game at Penn State. And possibly a backup quarterback starting. … USC has made a change on its defense. … Arizona State has one great running back. But it wants more against Kansas. … Arizona has a new defensive standout. … In the Mountain West, Navy is a formidable foe for Air Force. … San Diego State is dealing with injuries. So is Wyoming. … Hawaii has found it has decent offensive line depth. … Boise State has an incomparable running back. … Utah State joins the list of volleyball teams that have forfeited their contest with San Jose State. … Finally, Fresno State is going to have to find more money to compete in the Pac-12. … In basketball news, Washington and Washington State won’t play in a women’s basketball game this season. It’s a first since the two schools have been playing the sport they will not meet. … We have news to pass on concerning the Oregon State, Washington and Colorado men as well as the Washington and Oregon women. … The NCAA announced a bunch of future tournament sites for men and women (as well as other sports). Portland will hosts a women’s basketball regional. … Spokane will return as a first-weekend host for the men. John Stucke has this story.

Gonzaga: If you look up anti-climactic in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, you might just see a reference to the Zags’ official release of their nonconference schedule every season. There is rarely a surprise. There wasn’t yesterday, when the 13 games were announced officially. Theo Lawson goes through the contests once more, just for fun. … Speaking of fun, a pair of coaches with deep Gonzaga connections, former operations director John Jakus and player Eric McClellan have reunited at Florida Atlantic this season. It will be Jakus’ first as head coach and McClellan’s as a graduate assistant. Jim Meehan checked in with the duo and has this story.  

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, a ranked Northern Arizona team (in at 25) faces a ranked opponent for the third consecutive week (Idaho, which hosts the Lumberjacks this week, is 10th). … Weber State has responded well to its loss. … Football is a game that connect generations. … In basketball news, Weber State’s men feel they have better depth. … After a redshirt season, a Cal Poly defender has come up big. … There is a rendering of Sacramento State’s proposed new football stadium.

Preps: The weekend is a big one for GSL football teams. Dave Nichols tells us how big in this preview. … Dave also passes along a roundup of Wednesday’s action.

Whitworth: The Pirates will induct three athletes into the school’s Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame this weekend. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Chiefs: Berkly Catton wears a couple sweaters. One is of the Kraken variety, though it is in the closest for now. The other is well-worn but ready for more this season. It says “Chiefs” across the front and has a white C on it. That stands for captain, though the right word for Caton with Spokane in this his 18-year-old season is leader. Dave delves into Catton’s importance to Spokane this season and Seattle in the future.

Seahawks: Mike Macdonald shouldered the blame Tuesday for the Hawks’ poor showing in Detroit. Wonder if he meant he should have cured all the injuries magically. He did see a few players return to practice though. … He tried to limit some more yesterday by giving his team a lighter-than-usual day. … Despite their lineup issues, Seattle is a six-point favorite at home.

Mariners: Matt Calkins believes Seattle got what it paid for in the 2024 season. Cut corners, cut wins.

Kraken: The last preseason game was a success. Yes, Seattle won as Shane Wright had a visor trick. (He had two goals. Think “visor trick” will catch on? Sadly, we do not think so either.)

Sounders: The latest Cascadia Cup match with Vancouver was a success. Yes, Seattle won. Won 3-0, actually, which in soccer parlance is a rout.

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• Back to what should pass as normal today. A normal start time for us, a normal number of readable stories, a normal number of interruptions from the two dogs. Hopefully, we wrote better than normal. Until later …