THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A lot to look forward to, if you can find the time

This is the time of scheduling nightmares.

The Mariners are in a legit pennant race, and after some wheeling and dealing ahead of the trade deadline, this team is damn good.

One of the best in baseball.

It’s tough for fans to give everything to the Big Dumper and his pals, though, because we’re bracing for a return of the giant.

Football.

The Seahawks not only begin banging heads with their first exhibition game at Lumen Field on Thursday night, but for full show-biz appeal, they’re entertaining Pete Carroll and the Raiders.

How did we get here so soon?

It feels like the Hawks just gathered for preseason drills in Renton about five minutes ago.

In fact, Mike Macdonald has been drilling his troops since July 23.

That’s just a date we pull out of the sky, incidentally, a number representing the official opening of training camp.

The Seahawks actually have been grinding through a series of mandatory and “voluntary” sessions that almost fill the entire offseason.

The guys in pads don’t truly interrupt baseball season, though, until these near-meaningless exhibition games suddenly pop up on our calendars.

BY THE way, pro football isn’t the only August newcomer to crowd into our daily news wrap.

Down in Pullman, Wazzu is finally hitting full-bore under the watchful eye of new coach Jimmy Rogers.

Wait, there’s more.

We’ve got endless hoop info, as Gonzaga’s transfers and freshmen have already joined the veterans for non-stop summer workouts.

The Zags will feature a platoon of new talent, and these stars-in-waiting will have to be pretty salty — since the schedule this winter includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Maryland, Kentucky and UCLA, plus longtime matchups in the West Coast Conference.

This season will be the Zags’ last in the WCC, with the school moving to the new-world Pac-12 in 2026.

It’ll be fun to see Gonzaga and Washington State slugging it out as conference rivals.

Meantime, back to the NFL.

And the Mariners.

I suspect fans will reluctantly put the baseball pennant race on pause for a quick look at the hugely remodeled Seahawks.

The offense will seem evacuated (even more than in a normal exhibition dance), with Geno Smith gone to play QB for the Raiders, DK Metcalf off via trade to the Steelers, and 32-year-old Tyler Lockett a cap casualty who’s now in Tennessee.

In case you’ve forgotten, that is a massive percentage of the Seahawks’ yards (and scores) from 2024.

It will be jarring to see Sam Darnold at QB, with new wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdes-Scantling trying to find holes in the defense.

Not that we’ll watch any of these first teamers against the Raiders.

Sticking with tradition, Macdonald almost surely will keep his stars in bubble wrap until the regular season.

UNLIKE MOST years, however, there’s actually one pretty good reason to watch the Seahawks this time around.

Jalen Milroe.

The do-it-all, athletic quarterback from Alabama is technically No. 3 on the Seahawks’ depth chart, behind Darnold and Drew Lock.

But Macdonald and his staff want to see what exactly what they’ve got with this uber-mature young package of excitement.

No one expects Milroe to leap up and grab the starter’s job in Seattle.

Still.

Everyone wants to see how close he might be running the show for the Seahawks.

Milroe’s ability to run is spectacular, and also a serious headache for any defense that’s trying to keep him contained.

It’s almost certain that he’ll be fun to watch.

Milroe will be providing more than entertainment for the Seahawks staff, however.

In an era where sophisticated defenses often put a lock on routine plays and patterns, a quarterback who can take off into open space just about any time do changes the chess board pretty dramatically.

It’s basically a given that the Hawks will have some plays cooked up specifically for Milroe in the regular season.

Beyond that, though, just how useful might he become actually running the full offense?

Defenses would have to account for Milroe breaking free, and we’ve seen what QBs like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen can do in situations where they’ve bought some time.

You know what?

I might dodge tradition and actually watch the Seahawks on Thursday night.

I want to see Milroe, too.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”