THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Sammie is fine, and so, to, will be the Mariners

Apologies.

It seems like I’ve said over and over that we’d do a “notes and quotes” column to catch up on some of the sports items that might interest you.

So, finally…

Let’s get on with it.

But before we start, I owe replies to all of you who’ve been reading this sports piece and/or the “lockdown blog” I wrote for a couple of months as the COVID-19 pandemic began changing our lives.

Your email questions about me and my roommate have been terrifically polite, so here are the two main answers…

Sammie the World’s Greatest Cat is absolutely fine.

She loves you for your interest, by the way — but would step that up even further if you’d rub her tummy.

As for me and that beat-up spine, I’ve had a couple of surgical procedures on my back, with another big one coming this autumn.

Meantime, though, I managed to play nine holes of golf on Wednesday without needing an ambulance, so…

Sammie and I are both just fantastic for a couple of old cats.

Now on to some real sports…

ITEM: Let’s stay with golf for a moment.

Bryson DeChambeau is one of the PGA Tour’s young guns, and his nickname is “The Scientist.”

DeChambeau was already in the spotlight for playing with clubs that are all exactly the same length — which seems logical to me (I’m looking for any excuse), but not to his fellow pros.

Anyhow, Bryson is now taking the notion of tweaking his game to the extreme level. He’s gained about 40 pounds while working out like a madman.

Result: DeChambeau is hitting the ball prodigious lengths off the tee — he averaged 350 yards two weeks ago in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and already has clobbered one 423 yards in this week’s Memorial tournament.

No surprise, then…

There is talk among the game’s gatekeepers about changing the golf ball itself — so that massive length doesn’t dictate everything in the sport.

Hitting a wedge for your second shot on every par-4 makes it a different sport entirely.

DeChambeau says he isn’t bothered by the idea of authorities fiddling with the ball.

“They can’t ban my workouts,” he told Golf Digest. “Proportionately, I could still be longer off the tee than anyone else.”

Let’s wait and see how Bryson’s bombs help him down the road.

He’s never finished better than a tie for 15th in a major, and he’s missed the cut in six of the 14 he’s played so far.

Stay tuned.

ITEM: The Seahawks thought they had addressed that hole at cornerback.

Seattle was 27th in the league against the pass a year ago, but made a move to upgrade by trading for Washington DB Quinton Dunbar.

Now, unfortunately, it appears Dunbar has as much chance to spend the season locked up as he does to replace Tre Flowers at corner.

Dunbar and New York Giants defensive back DeAndre Baker are accused of robbery, following an incident in Florida during which Dunbar and Baker (who witnesses claim brandished a gun) allegedly took $55,000 from a group of people to whom they’d lost money gambling.

In a bizarre twist, Dunbar’s attorney Michael Grieco has been accused of bribing the alleged victims to change their accounts of the incident — which occurred on May 13.

Now Dunbar, who pleaded not guilty in the case, has changed attorneys.

“We agreed that new counsel would allow for continued advocacy of Mr. Dunbar’s innocence without any collateral distractions,” Grieco said in a statement.

If you’re wondering why a football player making millions in the NFL would risk everything for a piece of $55,000 …

I don’t get it, either.

ITEM: Some good news and a little not-so-good concerning the Mariners’ hottest prospects during the club’s “Summer Camp” at T-Mobile Park.

Let’s start with excitement over 20-year-old outfielder Jarred Kelenic.

He’s the M’s No. 1 prospect and (depending on whose rankings you follow) one of the top five in all of baseball.

Kelenic, who originally would have started this season in the minors, hit two whistling home runs in an intrasquad game a few days ago.

Even more impressive, the lefthanded-hitting Kelenic whacked one of his shots off lefty Nestor Coates.

Bottom line: Kelenic, who has a short, controlled but violent swing, looks as good as advertised.

Meanwhile, fellow prospect Julio Rodriguez — a year younger than Kelenic but with similar impressive tools — had just smashed a double off the fence in center earlier this week when he tried just a tiny bit too hard to make spectacular play during a defensive drill.

The result of his dive for a sinking line drive was a hairline fracture of the wrist.

However, we need to understand the context surrounding both Kelenic and Rodriguez.

The Mariners will stick with their rebuilding program, and while they planned to have both players on their 60-man expanded roster when the season opens in Houston next Friday, neither is going to play in the majors this year.

It makes sense.

Why start a player’s “service time clock” just for some part of 60 games?

Kelenic absolutely should be an opening day starter in 2021, with Rodriguez likely following a year (or less) behind him.

Patience, folks.

Hey, you’ve waited 19 years to see another playoff team in Seattle.

Chill out.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, once per month during the offseason.