A Grip on Sports: We cover four subjects in-depth today, three from the sports world and one from our own universe

A GRIP ON SPORTS • One-word descriptions of our thoughts from this morning. Polls. Transfers. Failures. Celebrations. Yep, that about covers it all. We could stop right there. Let you fill in the blanks. But we won’t. Sorry.  

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• It has been almost 100 years since college football has been poll driven. The Depression was in full swing, no one had money to spend of frivolity and newspapers around the nation were looking for a way to keep their product relevant. List the best college football teams from all parts of the country. Rank them. Start arguments.

It worked. Maybe too well. The Associated Press college football poll has started more disputes than politics. Changed the nation’s fabric more too. Once the be-all of the sport, deciding who got to claim the coveted crown of champion, it’s now just another way of keeping score. Heck, it didn’t even keep newspapers relevant and if college football can’t do that, nothing can.

However, the polls’ (there are lots of them these days) flaws did cause change. It took almost nine decades, but here we are. A somewhat complete playoff system in place. Twelve teams will line up in December with only the best team emerging in the end. And an end to any arguments … oh, sorry, spit out our coffee there, laughing. Of course, the arguments will continue. Always. Heck, we have one today. With the first in-season A.P. poll.

Where is the Pac-12? Neither of the two leftovers aren’t worthy of a single vote?

After all, Washington State and Oregon State opened their seasons with impressive home wins. That can’t be said about more than a handful of ranked teams. Heck, in the Northwest, all four FBS schools played Big Sky teams Saturday. At home. Oregon won, but barely. Washington won, handily. So did OSU and WSU.

The Ducks are still in the top 10. OK. The Huskies? They received 20 votes, even if Weber State, their opponent, is not much better than Idaho State or Portland State. Those are the two teams Oregon State and WSU ran over, respectively. And yet neither the Beavers or Cougars earned any respect.

Not a single vote.

There is one thing though. It’s early. If the Pac-12 goes 2-0 again this week – against Texas Tech in Pullman and San Diego State in California – and doesn’t receive a a single vote? It’s no longer early. It’s a conspiracy.

• Cam Ward could be the Washington State quarterback. He had a year of eligibility left. Decided to transfer. It’s his right. And the right decision, considering the rant above. Greener pastures don’t always include more money, but in Ward’s case it did. That and more notice.

Ward moved up throughout his college eligibility. From Incarnate Word to WSU to, now, Miami. And by “up,” we mean in NIL reimbursement, spotlight, competition. And other measures. Hopefully, no one begrudges his choices.

We don’t. Mainly due to a factor that usually seems to be lost when a player leaves any program. The spot is still there. It has to be filled. And there is always another athlete ready to fill it. Someone who wouldn’t have that opportunity if not for someone else’s unfettered movement.

In the Cougars’ case, John Mateer is getting his chance. He wouldn’t have if Ward had decided to stay. Will he better or worse? It doesn’t matter to us, mainly because we were in Mateer’s shoes for four years of college. Working toward a chance. One that never came. Maybe, under today’s rules it would have.

• We have a new definition of failure to call on for decades to come. The Seattle Mariners in 2024. From a 10-game lead to watching the postseason from home. Once more. That’s it. That’s the paragraph.

• We also have a definition of celebration. Sept. 4 has been a key day for us for four decades. It is our eldest’s birthday. The person who gave us the best job on this planet, being a parent, came into our lives on this day.

In many ways, we celebrate his birthday more than our own. Being Tyler’s dad (and Jack’s, but we’ll save those thoughts for November) has given us more joy than you could imagine. Wait. Many of you can? It’s the best, isn’t it? Even when it’s at its worst. We have also discovered there is nothing that reflects parenting more than the ups and downs of any sports season. Right?

But like a march to the Super Bowl or a run to the postseason, it sure has been great. Better than the M’s, that’s for sure. Thanks T. For everything.

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WSU: If the Cougars are going to win this week, are going to earn national recognition, are going to make some noise, the defense will have to play better than it did in the 70-30 season-opening win over Portland State. Buddha Al-Uqdah is trying his best to ensure that happens. Greg Woods delves into the Washington State linebacker’s leadership traits in this story. … The Raiders are about to experience (Gardner) Minshew Mania, with all that entails. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has lot on the Mercury News website today (and some of it may end up in the S-R down the road). He posted his A.P. votes. He posted his weekly bowl projections (and, yes, he still has the Cougars in the Independence Bowl). And he posted his expectations concerning the 12 CFP teams (no, the Cougars didn’t make that cut). … We can pass along other playoff thoughts as well. … Speaking of the A.P. poll, we linked it above. And here too. … What type of questions were answered in college football’s first week? … Who played for the Beavers as they ran over Idaho State? Here are the snap counts. A trip to San Diego State awaits OSU this Saturday. … Washington lost its tight end to an injury in the win over Weber State. The Huskies have sent film to the Big Ten, letting it know the conference’s officials missed a penalty on the play. The tackler came off the sideline to make the blind-side hit. Can’t say “Pac-12 officials” and shake our head, can we? … Oregon tumbled in the polls mainly because the offensive line folded against Idaho’s pressure. The same group will probably be on the field Saturday against Boise State. It will have to do better. … There will be noise at Nebraska. Colorado is well aware. … Utah moved up in the polls. It also is happy to have a BYU transfer filling a key role. … Arizona State did not have a good practice yesterday. … Arizona is relying on its offensive star. … In the Mountain West, Air Force’s new offensive line suffered some growing pains in the opener. … A number is an honor for one Colorado State player. The Rams are still dealing with the fallout from Texas. … Utah State hopes to be able to give USC a challenge. The Trojans’ Miller Moss isn’t perfect.

Gonzaga: We remember Alek Jacob when he pitched at North Central High. When he brought his funky delivery to GU. When he was drafted and signed. And when he made the big leagues. He’s with San Diego now, as the Padres try to right their ship and make the postseason. Maybe even catch the Dodgers in the N.L. West.

EWU: The Pioneer League is an outlier in the FCS. No football scholarships. Players in the conference go through the challenge that is college football for, well, the fun of it. How old-school. Eastern’s opponent Saturday, Drake, is a member of that league. So is the University of San Diego, which opened its season with a win over Big Sky member Cal Poly. The Eagles have been warned. Dan Thompson has more on the Bulldogs in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, North Dakota always gives Montana a test. … The conference has quite a few NFL players this season. … UC Davis will host Texas A&M-Commerce this Saturday.

Indians: Spokane had a rare Tuesday off this week (the Indians and Everett played on Labor Day). Which gave Dave Nichols a chance to share a story on a couple players who not only make up Spokane’s battery occasionally this season, did the same thing for the University of South Carolina for a couple years. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Vancouver topped visiting Eugene 8-5 and moved closer to a postseason berth, especially since Hillsboro dropped a 9-4 decision at woeful Tri-City.

Chiefs: Former Spokane star Tyler Johnson, who has won a couple Stanley Cups, will have the opportunity to show Boston he can help it win one. Johnson signed a tryout contract with the Bruins over the weekend.  

Paralympics: Tekoa’s Susannah Scaroni won her third medal Tuesday, finishing with a bronze in the women’s T54 1,500-meter final. Madison McCord has that news and more in this story. Scaroni will compete in the marathon Saturday.

Storm: Seattle turned up the defensive heat last night, limited Connecticut to 64 points and snapped its two-game losing streak with a seven-point road victory.

Seahawks: We have a good friend who has been a Broncos fan as long as we’ve known him. The Super Bowl was a tough time for the friendship, but we got through it after the pain of the 43-8 defeat wore off (and we agreed not to mention the final score in this column anymore). (Oops.) But the Russell Wilson trade came along, and our almost life-long friendship was tested once more. Kent was excited and a little disappointed with us for telling him, at the time, it was a huge mistake for Denver as Russell was not only over the hill but about to crash at the bottom of it. We weren’t lying. The Hawks won the trade. And Kent, being a true friend, acknowledged that every time another of the Seahawks’ draft picks from the trade did something incredible. We would be happy if the two teams never played again but here they are, matching up once more – the day after the two of us attend our 50th high school reunion together. What are the odds? Probably a million-to-one? The true questions are, has Denver found its quarterback (Bo Nix) and can the Broncos use his skills to overcome the Hawks’ draft-built roster? … One of those draft picks has become a defensive leader. … Yes, Seattle has questions. On offense. On defense. About the rookies.

Mariners: Did the M’s lose last night? In the bottom of the ninth? On a walk-off home run? Check, check and, surprisingly, nope. They led 2-0 after three batters, Luis Castillo couldn’t shut down the A’s, who tied it, and the bullpen, missing a tired and sore Andres Munoz, failed in the final inning. Oakland won 3-2 on Seth Brown’s single past Jorge Polanco, who waved at the ball as it rolled by. And waved at Seattle’s fast-fading playoff chances. … J.P. Crawford has suffered through an awful season. … Yes, Matt Calkins’ column on who to blame for the M’s woes appeared in the S-R today.

Tennis: We watched a lot of Frances Tiafoe’s quarterfinal win over an injured Grigor Dimitrov at the U.S. Open last night. Mainly because we are American and we haven’t had a lot of successful American men to cheer for lately. But for the first time since 2006 (Andy Roddick), there will be one in the Open’s final (he plays fellow American Taylor Fritz in a semi). Heck, the first time since 2009 (Roddick at Wimbledon) an American male has made a Grand Slam final.

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• It’s hot in Southern California. It will be hot this weekend. Over 100. Which means our old high school has moved our 50th reunion inside. What? The old football coach, if he were still around, would probably call us all soft and destined for failure. Might be right. Until later …