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A GRIP ON SPORTS • One truism in sports always seems to be the time around baseball’s All-Star Game is a dead period of sorts. It’s partly why ESPN slotted its ESPYs award show during the break. But due to season-creep and other factors, the dead period seems pretty darn lively this year.
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• Thanks to the abacus connected to all of us, our fingers, I am able to enumerate everything going on the world of sports this week.
The Open. NFL training camps (rookie version at least). College football conferences’ media days. MLS matches. NBA summer league. Heck, even baseball. Not games, though. Not until Friday. Trade talk.
There’s enough out there to keep me busy. And, hopefully, you happy.
• Let’s start with college football, shall we? Not just the Southeastern Conference media days, where the near future – this season – didn’t seem as important as the long – the playoffs for 2026 and beyond.
Everyone has an opinion on how they should be set up. How many teams. The mechanism of filling the bracket. And only two of the millions of opinions actually matter. Those of the SEC and the Big Ten. After all, everyone else in bigtime football ceded control of the playoff’s future to the twin 500-pound gorillas a few years ago. But what happens when they are fighting over prime spot in the sun?
It could be that nothing changes. Or the two could sit down, iron out their differences by December and tell ESPN what they would like. Or the folks in Bristol could dictate surrender terms.
If a 16-team field is the outcome, there will be more automatic qualifiers. That’s certain. The trust-fund twins will get more of them than their poorer cousins, the Big 12 and ACC. How many? That’s the rub. But as this is just another TV show, the term “stay tuned” seems appropriate.
• The Mountain West is also holding its media days. Yes, the usual appetizers are being served, with soon-to-be-gone Boise State assuming its rightful spot atop the media poll, earning 31 of 35 first-place votes. The school that stayed, UNLV, is second – even if its coach left.
What really matters, at least in this space, is commissioner Gloria Nevarez spoke. Told the assembled media the conference is busy negotiating its next media deal so it would pause the process of filling the huge hole the Pac-12’s expansion blasted in its membership.
But surrender? Not in the cards. She expressed confidence the MWC would prevail in the multiple pending lawsuits dealing with, well, money. Of course. Millions of dollars are at stake in poaching and exit fees. The Mountain West has to win so it can fulfill promises of riches for UNLV and Air Force. Promises made to keep them from flying away. Guess what? “Stay tuned” is appropriate here too.
• Watching major tournament golf from the British Isles – in this year’s case, the northern part of Ireland – is different than any of the other three events.
Part of it is the time difference, of course. If you want to be a spectator on the West Coast of the Americas, you have to stay up late, not get up early. The first golfers teed off at around 1 a.m. Spokane time this morning.
Household name – in his Denmark home at least – Jacob Skov Olesen’s early 4-under 67 set the pace at Royal Portrush. But others, such as former U.S. Open champ Matt Fitzpatrick, veterans Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, and some guy named Scottie Scheffler, are not out of touch. I may have to drink six cups of coffee tonight and stay up to catch Friday’s second round.
• By my count – and I ran out of fingers pretty quickly, so I could be off – there are 12 American League teams – including the M’s – within 4.5 games of a playoff spot. Ten in the National within 5.5 games. That’s … hold on here as I pull out the phone’s calculator … 22 of the 30 teams who probably believe they can make the postseason and win a ring. With just a move or two.
The other eight? It’s a buyer’s market. They are looking to get rich. In prospects.
Twenty-two for which the future is now. Ten for which it is, well, the future.
What happens? Teams will overpay. Both sides will declare victory. And somewhere, maybe even in Seattle, some big wig will step in front of the microphones and tell the world they didn’t make any big deal because “the price was too steep” and “we’re not mortgaging our future.”
Besides, they’ll say, “we’re getting so-and-so back from injury, and he’s better than anyone we could get in a trade, so we’re set.”
You don’t need to stay tuned. It will happen.
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WSU: Isaac Jones is not an NBA rookie. Not a hardened veteran either. The Washington State product is sort of in-between, which means he’s still playing in the Las Vegas Summer League. And producing, just like he did in Pullman. Theo Lawson focused on Jones for today’s story from the desert. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, can you define the true meaning of NIL? If you can, please call the federal court system. The judges will be tasked with figuring it out soon. Bank on it. Literally. … An appeals’ court ruling Wednesday threw a wrench in the plans of players hoping for an extra FBS year or two due to playing at a lower level. … An executive order about NIL may be forthcoming. But no one is sure what it will cover and if it can be enforced. … Washington athletic director Pat Chun shared his playoff thoughts with Jon Wilner for this Mercury News column. Chun told Wilner something we were amazed by. “We are the only sports entity that uses humans to pick the postseason – the only one.” What? Every playoff in every sport has a criteria that determines who is eligible. With tiebreakers. Who determined those parameters? Humans. And their decisions come into play often. … Oregon State faces Sam Houston this season. … Colorado is trying to improve its running game. … Utah’s logo is changing? It’s not needed. … Utah State has settled on its starting quarterback. … Boise State’s MWC dominance last season was bolstered by a hard-to-contain pass rush. It may be back this season though the cast has changed some. …San Diego State has two of the MWC’s preseason players of the year. … Colorado State was picked fifth in the poll. … Fresno State’s revised message to boosters seems to be working. The Bulldogs need it to, so they can build. … In basketball news, Colorado’s women lost a key player this week. … San Diego State’s Miles Byrd talked about his diabetes this week.
Gonzaga: The Zags’ newest roster addition, Mario Saint-Supery, will be on a European trip through September. As Theo tells us, he was added to Spain’s roster for the upcoming 2025 EuroBasket competition. A two-edged sword, huh? The good news he’s good enough to be picked as an injury replacement. The bad news is he won’t be on campus, learning how to blend his talents with his new team.
Idaho: The Big Sky Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are Saturday night in Airway Heights, part of the conference’s football media weekend. One of the inductees is former Vandal quarterback Doug Nussmeier. Dave Boling delves into what the Walter Payton Award-winner meant to UI back in the day. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, just how much are the conference’s football coaches paid? … A former Montana basketball player is back in a different capacity. … Football recruiting’s never-ended push helped Montana State add a key player. … A Northern Colorado player is in the running for the Allstate Award. … Sacramento State’s influx of transfers has earned them at least one high national ranking.
Preps: We were well aware of Jaden Ortega’s football talents when he played for Gonzaga Prep. And his propensity for violent contact. It’s the latter the 22-year-old Ortega has used to propel himself into the world of professional sports. Charlotte McKinley previews Ortega’s next big MMA event.
Velocity: Spokane traveled across the country and, behind two goals from scoring leader Anuar Pelaez, topped Westchester 3-2.
Seahawks: If football is king, does that make the NFL the emperor? Sure. Let us go with that. Which is why training camps opening is such a big deal. The games will be here soon. … And why we’re willing to link stories a couple times. Like this one from the Times on Sam Darnold. It is on the S-R site today. … Will Byron Murphy II have a better II season? … Can Kenneth Walker bounce back?
Storm: The expansion Valkyries have been a thorn in Seattle’s side this season. The Storm finally excised it last night, 67-58, at Climate Pledge Arena. As the score indicates, it was a defensive battle.
Mariners: Another story we’re linking again? This Mike Vorel column on what the M’s should do before the trade deadline. … Matt Calkins sees the team primed for a second-half run. … The trade deadline is going to be interesting again, what with all the teams trying to make that move or two that puts them over the top. … Does ABS need a buffer zone? No. Tennis doesn’t have one on line calls and it’s been just fine. Besides, after a century and a half of dealing with umpires’ huge buffer zones, whatever millimeter issues the ABS may have is still a huge improvement. … If you are still wondering about the swing off participants, this CBS story explains why few stars were chosen.
Kraken: The Winter Olympics return early next year. The NHL players will take part for the first time since 2014. So the season has been tightened down. Seattle announced its schedule yesterday. 
Golf: We mentioned the Open above. And have a couple stories to pass along here. … The main news, locally, comes from the S-R’s Jim Meehan. Clarkston PGA pro Joel Dahmen and his long-time caddie Geno Bonnalie, also from the Lewiston valley, have parted ways.
Sonics: Did you parse NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s expansion comments. Tim Booth did. And he’s not all that optimistic. Maybe if Silver actually thought for himself, he could move the process forward quicker. But he doesn’t.
Sounders: Seattle jumped ahead. Led 3-0 early in the second half. Then whistles. Two penalty kicks converted. Soon the match was tied at three and ended that way. It seemed like a lost opportunity for Seattle at home against the Rapids.
•••
• I wrote a bunch of names earlier from the Open’s opening day halfway point. As I’ve been writing, some have fallen and one, Scheffler, rose. The best player in the world shot a first-round 68. Until later …
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Updated 38 minutes ago
Donny Jones was born with a heart that was a little bit different.
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