THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: You'll get my takes — but you'll just have to wait

I love almost everything about my job.

Note use of the word “almost” in that first sentence.

See, there are times when schedules, events and the business of putting together a newspaper do not exactly cry out in harmony.

Consider Monday night.

The Mariners had everyone’s heart pounding in Game 7 of the ALCS, battling with Toronto for a spot opposite the Los Angeles Ohtanis in the 2025 World Series.

Oh, and the Seahawks were banging away against Houston in Lumen Field — a duel matching two former first-round quarterbacks, Sam Darnold and C.J. Stroud.

I mean, these are the games you wait to see, the games that can get your adrenaline moving.

The Mariners in the Series?

Or suffering one more year of heartbreak despite so many golden moments?

Couldn’t wait for it.

And write.

Yep, this is my gig, right here, so naturally I wanted desperately to get my analysis — and the Northwest’s emotions — into this column.

But it’s not to be.

A LOT of things have changed and become mega-modern since I started in this biz.

The internet, for instance, allows you to get game scores and whatnot 24 hours per day.

You were able to find the Mariners’ final score the instant it happened on our web site.

There might even be a quick recap of the game in our physical paper.

Nothing, however, can make a printed newspaper come to life (and land on your porch) all that much quicker than it did a few decades ago.

So, we have a deadline.

That’s the scary time when stories must be filed by reporters and columnists, edited for the page and sent off for the press folks to work their magic.

And Monday night, despite everyone’s skills and furious work, we could see ahead of time that a column written AFTER the game in Toronto was just too risky, time-wise.

That comes into play for people like me, who are working to get you the story behind the story.

We want to hear from the participants, and listen to explanations of the game-changing plays.

I had all sorts of opinions about the six games leading up to Monday, and I had hoped to fold them into a column wrapping up the ALCS.

For instance, I think this was the first series I’ve ever followed where you could fairly suggest BOTH managers should be fired.

Except.

Dan Wilson and John Schneider somehow got their teams to the ALCS, and to Game 7, so it’s hard to be TOO critical.

I might tee them up, anyhow.

More thoughts on the series — at least when we know the result — will have to wait for another column.

MEANTIME, I spent Monday prepping for all the follow-up columns — and digging into other news that matters to our readers.

For instance, the useless NCAA denying a waiver to Tyon Grant-Foster, who transferred to Gonzaga from Grand Canyon and is (quite legitimately) asking for an extra year playing in Division I.

Mark Few is furious over the ruling, which took an absurd 125 days.

Lawyers are involved now, and there will be a hearing for an injunction on Thursday.

“They just got this one wrong,” Few said.

Speaking of Gonzaga, how about if I share a fun story to ease the nerves ahead of Game 7.

It starts with the Bears beating Washington 25-24 last weekend, the first time in 99 years that a team has won one-point games by the exact same score (per ESPN Insight).

Here’s the CBS tale:

“The last team to pull off that feat came in 1926 when the Frankford Yellow Jackets won two straight games by a score of 7-6. 

“In the (second) game, the Yellow Jackets won after Hust Stockton hit Two-Bits Homan for a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to clinch the win. 

“You've probably never heard of Hust Stockton, but you might have heard of his grandson.”

Aw, you guessed it.

John Stockton.

OK, I’m ready to watch the Mariners.

Just saw a piece in National Geographic that explains how coffee actually relaxes you.

Wow.

Hey, they quote scientists who really know stuff.

Guess I’ll try a cuppa.

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.”