THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: What have we learned lately?

Well, hello there.

I've missed you.

OK, sort of ...

Because if I'm going to be honest, there was a lot to be said about spending that time curled up on the couch, watching the FIFA World Cup.

Did I learn anything?

Yep, I loathe Argentina's thugs even more than I remembered.

Leo Messi and his street gang ... ugh.

It would have been a travesty if Argentina had stolen the Cup, especially when you consider that the two teams finished regulation time in a scoreless draw — but with Spain having launched 20 shots to zilch for the Messi Boys.

Best play of the tournament: Spain's Mikel Merino (also an Arsenal hero) blocking a Messi rocket with his face.

Yikes!

PLENTY more has gone into the books now that we're writing off July.

For instance, some seriously yuck news slapped up Mark Few and Gonzaga.

Point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who figured to be one of the best in the nation at his position this year, stunned everyone by deciding on a return to Spain.

Maybe Mario got totally jacked by the World Cup and decided to stay in Spain for the parties.

Sorry: A joke, and not a good one.

Saint-Supery almost surely would have been the leader of a VERY good Zag team.

Gonzaga had been sitting somewhere in the the top 10-12 of most preseason rankings.

The real kicker on this thing is that if Few and his staff saw it coming, they kept really quiet — suggesting that maybe no one had an inkling on Saint-Supery's plans.

To be fair, Mario got a pretty good deal: $15 million over four years with Valencia of the EuroLeague.

However ...

I've talked to coaches and scouts who suggest that one (or even two) more years in Spokane might have set up the 6-7 Saint-Supery for a handsome NBA deal.

Meantime ...

The point guard job could wind up in the hands of another international player, 23-year-old Frenchman Nathan de Sousa.

Talk about bad luck: This will be the fourth straight season that Gonzaga has lost a key starter (to injury or other mishap) in the summer just prior to the start of practice.

This one comes just ahead of the Zags' entry into the rebuilt Pac-12.

Few now has to do some rebuilding of his own.

ARE YOU wondering if the Mariners can pull off a meaningful trade before the deadline on Aug. 3?

Sure, but ...

The Mariners actually could be buyers or sellers (gasp).

Right now, they're in the midst of a six-game road trip to Texas and Los Angeles — where the powerhouse Dodgers are running away with the National League West.

Texas could open a four-game lead (or more) this week, leaving the M's lost in Chavez Ravine and staring down into the abyss.

Seattle actually might be knotting up the AL West with a win tonight, or a loss could be the start of a catastrophic trip that drives a stake through the M's, once and for all.

The Mariners simply MUST get out of this two-team challenge without losing a ton of ground.

If they can't, the trade deadline could become almost meaningless.

If you saw the movie "A League of Their Own," you know that Tom Hanks announced once and for all that there's no crying in baseball.

Dan Wilson could feel like it, though.

The manager is begging for help, but the Mariners' front office is in a bind. 

Three key players are out injured, and boss Jerry Dipoto has to decide when (or if) he'll get troops back in time to make a trade.

Brendan Donovan, Matt Brash and Cooper Criswell are all critical pieces if the Mariners are going to finish strongly.

So, do you know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run? 

Oh, and you have to guess Wilson's fate is up for grabs, too.

He's not likely to be around when they actually get to the World Series.

You know, the season wasn't supposed to go like this.

Longtime journalist Steve Cameron writes the "Cheap Seats" column for The Press three times each week.