KEEPING THE SPORT UNDER CONTROL • The final weekend of the Olympics. What other highlights could there be if we delve into the TV schedule? How about the first football games of the season, if there are any?

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• The NFL hates the term “exhibition.” What does the league prefer? “Preseason game.” The correct term is somewhere in between. “Enhanced practice game” might be more accurate. “Trial training contest” would also work.

Whatever you want to call it (with the caveat that the NFL tends to use the pun only to justify higher prices), the Seahawks have one on Saturday night. In Los Angeles. Against the Justin Herbert-less Chargers.

New Seattle coach Mike Macdonald is being completely fair. He won’t let his starting quarterback Geno Smith play either. OK, we know both are injured. But if this were the Super Bowl, Smith would play.

Of course not. It’s an exhibition, and Smith’s absence will be a minor issue after a series or two. By then, every other Seattle starter will be wearing a baseball cap and watching from the sidelines.

If you absolutely must see it, the episode airs at 4:05 p.m. on Fox.

• The other key game this weekend? Or games? The Mets are in Seattle and have a three-game series with the resurgent M’s, who are once again tied with Houston atop the American League West. Friday’s (7:10 p.m.) and Saturday’s (6:40 p.m.) games will be broadcast on Root. Sunday’s series finale will be on ESPN, meaning it will start later than usual at 4:10 p.m.

• The closing ceremony are in Paris Sunday night. They’ll also be shown everywhere on NBC Sunday night, which means they start at 7 p.m. in the Pacific time zone. We’re sure you can find them somewhere nine hours earlier if you absolutely have to. But why? Spend your daytime hours watching the finals. The highlight? It should be the U.S. women playing for gold in basketball, trying to win their eighth consecutive undefeated Olympics (12:30 p.m., USA). But putting this game on your calendar comes with a caveat.

The U.S. faces Australia in the semifinals today (8:30 a.m., NBC). There is a warning, however. Tonight’s game may still be on after the bronze medal match in beach volleyball, according to NBC’s schedule. Yes, you read that right. To make sure you can watch the entire game, use Peacock’s stream if you have it.

For LeBron, Steph and the men, there are no such worries. Their battle for the gold medal – and it will be a battle – with host nation France airs Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on NBC.

Of course, there are at least half a dozen medals in athletics that should also pique your interest on Friday and Saturday, including the relay races, the pentathlon and the granddaddy of them all, the marathon.

• We cannot leave the Olympic Games without a few thoughts about the U.S. team’s semifinal victory over Serbia on Thursday. It included a comeback for the ages, Steph Curry’s first takeover play of these Olympics and enough thrills to keep your local barbershop running until the Los Angeles cauldron is lit.

The headlines will highlight Curry’s game-high 36 points, which he needed to win 95-91. That’s appropriate. There were also millions of words written about Kevin Durant’s key shots, LeBron James’s dazzling transition baskets and Joel Embid’s presence around the basket. All well and good. But lost in most of the conversations and highlights was a subtle late shift in defense that was the key to the comeback from a 17-point deficit.

Whoever decided to put James against the world’s best player, Serbian (and Denver Nuggets) center Nikola Jokic, deserves a platinum medal.

The subtle adjustment allowed Embid to skate around the basket or double-team Jokic when necessary. It also shifted the responsibility of carving out the heart of the Serbian offense to the supremely proud James, who was up to the challenge. The change worked brilliantly. Without Jokic to rely on in countless ways, the open three-point shot disappeared from the Serbians’ arsenal in the fourth quarter. Scoring was harder. Slower. Almost nonexistent. And that’s what the U.S. needed to win.

• Speaking of “need” and “win”, The Mariners’ game on Thursday was a good fit for both.

Getting swept in a three-game set by the mediocre Tigers, even though Seattle was still very much in the game after a two-run deficit in the ninth inning, could have been a stab in the back of their playoff hopes. Instead, the comeback, culminating with Mitch Haniger’s eighth career walk-off hit, allowed Seattle to win 4-3 and enter the series against the Mets with some momentum.

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WSU: Jake Dickert has proven himself to be a football coach who thinks. Want another example? Read Dave Boling’s column this morning. Whether you agree with Dickert’s thoughts on the future of college sports or not, you have to admit he’s been thinking about it. … Greg Woods covers practice, and it centers around defensive back Jackson Lataimua. But we have another thought. It seems defense wins the day-to-day battle much more often than offense does. … Greg also has news on the basketball schedule, with a few non-conference games this season. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 (new and old), the Mountain West and across the country, Oregon State’s new left tackle is hard to miss. … We’re bringing you more numbers stories from the Oregonian, with No. 23 today for Oregon and Oregon State. … Not every practice can meet the head coach’s expectations. And they shouldn’t. That was the case in Washington yesterday. … One reason Oregon is ranked No. 3 nationally? It’s the recruiting, especially this past season. … A Colorado running back is out to prove himself. … Sam Huard, who first played for Washington, is in the running to be Utah’s backup to Cam Rising. … Stanford isn’t particularly valued by its ACC opponents. … Elijah Page wasn’t in USC’s offensive line plans not long ago. Now he is. … Competition in UCLA’s running back room is fierce. … The starting quarterback role isn’t yet set at Arizona State. … No such decision is pending at Arizona. … In the Mountain West, we can skip a look at Nevada from Corvallis. … How did Colorado State fare in its first scrimmage? … UNLV is wearing protective gear and sweating a lot. … Another blow has fallen as Utah State grapples with the fallout from the coaching change. … San Diego State is trying to decide who will start at left tackle. … Boise State is trying to decide who will start at quarterback. … Wyoming is trying to decide who the No. 2 cornerback is. … Why is Fresno State playing at Michigan? One reason is payday.

Idaho: The defense also had a good day in Moscow. Peter Harriman reports on the Vandals’ practice game. … Elsewhere in Big Sky, a former Northern Colorado football player was surprised to be told he would be inducted into the school’s athletic team Hall of Fame. … Second-year Idaho State coach Cody Hawkins was also surprised by some things. … A defensive player is ready to take the lead at Northern Arizona. … Sacramento State has added the University of San Diego to three future schedules. … A former game commentator is back at Weber State.

Indians: If you’re going to lose, you’re going to lose badly. That’s what happened Thursday night in Pasco, where Tri-City pulled out a 13-2 victory. Dave Nichols has the story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Vancouver scored early and often in a 15-4 win over the visiting Eugene. … Hillsboro gave the home team a 3-0 lead with a 6-5 win over Everett on the night. The Hops also began construction on their new MLB-approved stadium.

Olympics: We highlighted three races in our column yesterday. Two of them, the women’s 400-meter hurdles and the men’s 110-meter hurdles, were won by the favored Americans. In the former, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone even set another world record. And in the latter, Grant Holloway finally won his gold medal. But the highlight videos focused on Lyles and his bronze medal in the 200-meter dash. Mainly because he collapsed afterward and then announced he had COVID-19, which he knew before the semifinals. The fairness of all of this is debatable. But it’s important to remember that the Olympics are essentially a television show these days. And Lyles, no matter the outcome, is worth his weight in gold. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who won the gold medal, and the American Kenny Bednarek, the silver medalist? They’re not. Better on the track today, sure. Better at making things happen? Not really. … The women’s water polo gold medal match ended with a semifinal loss to Australia. … The youngest U.S. athlete ever ran in the men’s 4×400-meter relay heats today. Quincy Wilson is only 16. … We didn’t highlight the women’s long jump yesterday, but Tara Davis-Woodhall continued U.S. dominance in the event. … There have been some interesting debates at these Olympics that haven’t just revolved around the events themselves. We’d rather focus on those, including the women’s 1,500-meter dash. … The U.S. women will play for soccer gold this weekend.

Seafarers: We can repeat the game story and this news. Julio Rodriguez is recovering from his ankle sprain but will likely not be ready to play Sunday night. … Andres Munoz is more than just Edwin Diaz 2.0.

Seahawks: Brawling is part of football practice. But using the helmet as a weapon? That’s not the case. … Macdonald made a change to Thursday’s practice plan after Wednesday’s controversial practice. … Bryan Murphy II has the chance to show the Hawks what they can do in the first friendly. … How reliable will the offensive line be this season?

Echo sounders: The LA Galaxy just don’t win in Seattle. At least not recently. The last game in the Leagues Cup was no different. The Sounders scored three early goals and won comfortably 3-1.

Golf: Chi Chi Rodriguez died Thursday at the age of 88. His status as golf’s most popular ambassador was probably unchallenged during his career. His showmanship was also unmatched in his day. And he was so successful that he was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame. But we remember him most for the greatest golf joke ever shown on television. Watch this WKRP video. We dare you not to laugh.

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• We are trying to lose a little weight. We’ve lost the few pounds we gained back after our hernia surgery and the subsequent drop in training. But we’re also craving donuts. What’s a well-meaning senior to do? Oh well, damn it. We just smeared powdered sugar on our keyboard. We’ll never get that out again. See you later…