A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, ya. Thinking about a lot of things that seem to be sports related. Money, of course. Always. Baseball. College football. Pro football.

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• Before I delve into the somewhat-unnoticed news of the day, Tuesday edition, I knew I had to stop and take a moment to acknowledge the Mariners’ win last night. And all it portends.

If there is anything the 1-0 victory over Milwaukee signals, it is the team’s trade-deadline needs have not changed. An offense consisting of a Cal Raleigh sixth-inning solo home run won’t win a lot of games. Some, sure, if Logan Gilbert – or whomever starts the game – and the bullpen are near-perfect, as happened against the lately unbeatable Brewers.

But such games are rarities. Adding a bat or two would help improve on the runs scored part and a reliable middle relief arm – or two as well – would help ensure the runs given up aspect might happen more frequently.

The fact Jerry Dipoto seems interested in trading some of his precious prospects to get Eugenio Suarez back from the Diamondbacks is rather ironic, sure, but good vibes are always worth the expense – something the team didn’t understand a couple years ago.

• Just had a thought. Wouldn’t it be a hoot if, on Aug. 1, Dipoto held a press conference. As the assembled media shouted out questions about not trading for a bat, he calmly said there was no need. Victor Robles would be back from injury soon and he’s all the team needs. And by trading Dom Canzone for a prospect, the future looks even brighter.

• Two weeks ago, the College Sports Commission, the entity charged with overseeing House money matters, decided to let everyone know booster NIL collectives were a thing of the pass. They weren’t real businesses. Paying athletes to help them raise money wasn’t real NIL either. It was pay-for-play and would automatically be turned down. The collectives might as well close up shop.

That didn’t sit well. Or last long.

The House plaintiffs’ attorneys immediately dismissed the settlement interpretation. The collectives’ group threatened legal action. The side talked.

Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday the conferences and NCAA backed down. The CSC would treat the collectives like other businesses when judging third-party NIL deals. An agreement should be announced soon.

Now we can all get back to wondering just how much that new left tackle is being paid to appear at an autograph session.

The importance of this? College administrators were hoping for a hard cap on costs. The House school spending limit of, this year, $20.5 million fits that bill. But once again, it looks as if that’s just a baseline. Collectives will still be able to funnel money to that transfer power forward or the NCAA-champion swimmer or the best softball pitcher in the land.

• You might have noticed it’s already 2025. Y2K? Long gone. So are the 20th Century’s-best lists that appeared just before computers all over the world crashed because their code was faulty. Wait, that didn’t happen. Lists still crash, though. After 25 years, there have been way-too-many “best-of” quarter-century ones already.

Except one I found this morning seemed intriguing. The best NFL teams of the quarter century. From Sports Illustrated.

Guess who I was looking for? Yep, the 2013, Legion of Boom Seahawks.

Scrolling down, the listing of their Super Bowl opponent, Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos, at nine seemed ominous. In a good way. It was.

The Hawks check in at No. 2. The best of the best, actually. How’s that? Well, the No. 1 team on the list is the 2007 New England Patriots.

OK, sure. The Pats were unbeatable that season. Except in the Super Bowl. When they choked like dogs as a 12.5-point favorite over a middling Giants team. So, sure, they are the NFL’s best team of the first quarter-century. Maybe Robert Kraft can buy them all champion rings. Finally.

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WSU: The men’s basketball team is headed to Europe. Greg Woods tells us why. It has a lot to do with building bonds within a team with more new players than you can count on one hand. … Greg also has a story on a former player, Dane Erikstrup, and his future plans. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we’re starting to get bearish on expansion of the college football playoffs. Not only is there a disagreement concerning the format and number of teams, there is an argument over who gets to decide it. … The Big Ten is in the midst of its media days. Which means predictions on the finish (we have Jon Wilner’s and Christian Caple’s to pass along) and thoughts about the conference overall. … John Canzano has those too, as well as a mailbag from Monday. … The Oregonian’s Oregon State position previews continue with the offensive line. There are also more of the same for Arizona at receiver and offensive line. … Oregon has an issue with a former assistant coach, now at Ohio State. … Colorado is counting on transfer at the linebacking spot. … It is preview season in the ACC too and we can pass along a couple each covering the California Golden Bears and the Stanford Cardinal. … In basketball news, an alum has joined the Oregon men’s coaching staff. … A transfer is expected to add depth for Colorado. … It’s been a busy summer for San Diego State. … Finally, Memphis State reportedly tried to buy its way into the Big 12. And was rebuffed. Ouch.

Gonzaga: Former GU guard Claire O’Connor is now playing for Colorado. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Santa Clara gave veteran coach Herb Sendek an extension.

Idaho: The Big Sky’s football media days, held over a long weekend in Spokane, allowed this season’s Vandal group to emphasize continuity. Even if there has been a change at head coach. New coach Thomas Ford and his players do have one difference they would like to see: win the conference. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … The recent buzz in the sports gaming world revolved around the revival of EA Sports’ college football game. Next up? College hoops, as the game developer will be releasing the next generation of a game last produced in 2010. Liam Bradford talked with Vandal players about what the game’s return means to them. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, commissioner Tom Wistrcill addressed some issues in his media day comments Monday. Dan Thompson covers them in his story. … One of them is an expansion to nine league football games. … Northern Colorado is hoping for improvement this season. … Sacramento State is recruiting nationally. … Recruiting never stops. Not for the Montana women’s basketball program. … Montana welcomed an alumni linebacker into its administration.

Preps: Greg Lee moves in a little different direction this morning with this story on Mt. Spokane’s Brycen Phillips. It’s worth your time today.

Indians: Spokane is still on the road, this week in Everett. The series opened last night, with the Indians earning a 2-1 victory. Dave Nichols has the coverage. … Dave also filled up the off day with a notebook.

Mariners: We covered the game story and the Suarez trade conversation above. We link both of them again here. … Ichiro was different when he played. Still is.

Storm: Climate Pledge Arena sold out Tuesday night and we’re guessing many of the 12,500 in attendance were there to see Dallas rookie Paige Bueckers. If so, they were happy. Storm fans were not. Bueckers and the Wings flew past Seattle in the second half and won 87-63.

Seahawks: This is the Hawks’ 50th training camp. There may not be 50 positions to cover but there are plenty. And Bob Condotta delves into each group before camp officially opens today. … The Athletics’ Michael-Shawn Dugar has five storylines he will be covering. … The Hawks have never really had a star tight end. … They have had a star defense before, though, and want another one this season. … ESPN and the NFL are close to another landmark agreement.

Kraken: Seattle checked off another chore from its offseason list.

Sounders: Finally, some good news on the injury front.

Golf: Want to know how dominant Scottie Scheffler was during this year’s major tournaments? These statistics illustrate it better than a Van Gogh painting.

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• I have an early morning flight Thursday but expect to be able to post. Unless Alaska decides not to have in-flight wi-fi. Happens way too often with the airline these days. We’ll see. After that, though, I’ll be back in Spokane. For at least a while. Until later …