The Front Row with MARK NELKE Sept. 30, 2012

So is Idaho now the best 0-5 team in the country?

Losing to North Carolina wasn't unexpected. But not giving yourself a chance - falling behind 28-0 in the first quarter before you even get a first down - has to get a little demoralizing after a while.

On the other hand, the Vandals did get to see what rain looks like. We haven't seen that out here for a while.

The Vandals lost to LSU and Carolina by a combined 129-14 in their two "money" games.

Idaho begins Western Athletic Conference play Saturday at home vs. New Mexico State. It'll be interesting to see if the Vandals can bounce back from their latest beatdown and, like they did vs. Wyoming last week, put up a good effort against a "like" opponent.

* Funny all the excuses Seattle Mariners fans trot out in justifying why they can't be a playoff team - park's too big, can't attract big-money free agents because they won't be able to put up big numbers there, yada, yada, yada.

The Oakland A's, who can't attract big-name free agents either, seem to be able to make it work, with pitching and just enough hitting (sound like a familiar formula?). And as opposed to the Mariners, who have been out of playoff contention for several years, the A's still have a chance to make it into the postseason - and even if they don't, they'll likely finish ahead of the Angels, who are able to spend tons of money on free agents.

* Here's a vote for Golden Tate for most influential man in America.

Not only has he helped make Top Pot Doughnuts a household name, he was the last straw in getting the NFL to end its lockout of the officials, by convincing the replacement refs he had enough of the ball the other night to have them rule simultaneous possession and give the Seahawks a gift win over the Packers.

Now if Tate can do something about gas prices and unemployment ...

• I remember when no-hitters used to be stop-the-presses, tear up the front pages in the Sports department. But this season, there’s been more than one a month.

• Speaking of baseball, love the extra wild card, hate the fact the playoffs open with a one-game playoff between the two wild cards. If there was one game that was NOT meant to be played in a single-elimination format, it’s baseball. I imagine the losers might not really feel like they were in the playoffs, like the losers of the opening-round games might not feel like they were really a part of the NCAA tournament.

• Most times when I drive home late at night after covering a game in Lewiston or Moscow, I get a similar sendoff — “watch out for deer.”

On the way home from Lewiston on Friday night, after Lake City’s 21-19 win over the Bengals in 5A Inland Empire League football, I saw three — one curled up by the centerline between Lewiston and Moscow, one walking along the shoulder of the road a little farther north, looking a lot like my neighbor taking one of his late-night strolls through the neighborhood, and another just finishing crossing the highway. He didn’t use the crosswalk.

• Not sure what to make of those pink shirts the Europeans wore Saturday in the Ryder Cup. For their sake, I can only hope they were meant to disturb the Americans, though the move may have backfired — the USA won five of the eight matches Saturday to take a 10-6 lead into today’s final day.

And for all those who wanted a Rory vs. Tiger singles match today, they’ll have to keep waiting. Rory goes out third, with Europe needing a quick start. Tiger is in the final match, if it comes down to that.

• I’m sure ROOT Sports would rather have been able to keep showing Pac-12 football games, but them now showing Big Sky games — like Saturday’s Montana-Eastern Washington showdown — is a bonus to us football fans in the area.

(Pac-12 games are now being shown on ESPN, FX, Fox and the newly formed Pac-12 Networks)

Now, if DirecTV can get with it and start showing the Pac-12 Networks, we can have the best of both worlds.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.