All's well that ends well?

If a player announces he’s entering the transfer portal, but doesn’t wind up leaving does it make a sound?

Hell yes!

Forty-eight hours of wailing about everything from the current state of college football to the ethics – or lack thereof – of someone whose name starts with an “L” and ends with “ane Kiffin.”

But quarterback Demond Williams announced on Thursday night that he is staying at the University of Washington.

Usually, that would be the cue for a collective sigh of relief. There is absolutely nothing usual about this particular situation, however.

A lot of Husky fans are very mad. Some are mad enough that they would prefer Williams didn’t return. It’s possible the majority of Husky fans feel this way.

To be clear, I am not in that category. Even after everything that has happened, I would prefer he remain at Washington and play quarterback.

However, I also have becoming increasingly nihilistic and cynical about the current state of college football. I am findin some (very dark) humor in the multi-million dollar anarchy. I also thought Williams provided an adequate though not examplary apology for his timing.

That and more is included in an emergency episode of Say Who, Say Pod, which Christian and I recorded on Thursday night.

As part of the episode, Christian and I discussed whether the apology Williams delivered was sufficient. He said he was sorry that his announcement had taken attention away from the memorial for Mia Hamant, the UW student and soccer goalie.

I’ve changed my mind on that largely because of Christian’s column at OnMontlake.com.

Full disclosure: The column is behind a paywall. I usually don’t link to premium content because I appreciate your support of my endeavor and don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you to spend more money. I’m making an exception in this case for two reasons:

1. The column is really good.

2. I am a paying subscriber and huge supporter of Christian’s work. I think he provides the best coverage of UW football, and this column changed my perspective which is — in my opinion — the highest compliment you can give a column.

I tend to view players as independent contractors employed by a company whose function is to field a football team. This is drawn from my experience covering pro sports, and I (initially) saw this entire saga through that lens. This was a player making business decisions.

College sports is different. This remains true even if athletes are getting compensated. We -- as fans -- are asked to do more than just buy tickets and watch on TV. We're asked to donate, to be part of its community, and what Christian's column framed more clearly is that there's an obligation on the other end of that.

I don't know if Washington is going to make Demond Williams available to answer questions. Given my outsider's view of how Jedd Fisch governs availability, I'm inclined to think he'll put up a wall and we won't hear anything from Williams until spring football.

I think that would be a poor approach in terms of PR. I also think it would be wrong. Fisch has been very up-front asking this community to up its support of the program in terms of fundraising and attendance. In my mind, that comes with certain responsibilities.

I do think Washington fans are owed an explanation and a direct apology not just because it will help mitigate the anger toward Williams but because that's the right thing to do.

How do you dispose of your Christmas tree? Well, here in New York, we pile them outside the multi-story apartments that we live and let them sit there for days on end before some mysterious vehicle comes in the night and scoops them up, half a dozen at a time.

The Seahawks have the weekend off. As do the Denver Broncos.

The Seahawks are here (in part) because of the players they acquired when they traded Russell Wilson in 2022. More specifically, the four draft picks that Seattle received in that deal were used to select OT Charles and LB Boye Mafe in 2022 and CB Devon Witherspoon and LB Derick Hall in 2023. I suppose quarterback Drew Lock could be included here, too. He was one of three players included in the trade, but Lock left as a free agent in 2024 and then returned to be Sam Darnold’s backup this season. 

The Broncos have gotten to this point in spite of trading for Wilson. Not only did they give up two first-round picks, two second-round picks and three players, they spent a gang of money on him. 

As for Wilson, he has a new agent and indicated he fully intends to play next year.

After Wilson was benched in New York, he did everything he could to be a great backup. Maybe he’s accepted that’s the role he’ll have going forward.

That would be a marked shift in mentality, though, and I suspect he’s going to be looking for a team where he can compete for the starting job. I don’t see that happening at this point in his career.

If you’re looking for a guide to understanding the implications ofthis weekend’s NFL playoff games, the team the Seahawks play in the divisional round will depend on the results of this weekend’s games:

• If the Packers beat the Bears on Saturday night, the Seahawks will host Green Bay regardless of anything else that happens.

• If the Bears win on Saturday …

  AND the 49ers defeat the Eagles on Sunday night, the Seahawks will host San Francisco.

• If the Bears and Eagles win …

  the Seahawks will host the winner of the Rams-Panthers game that will be played on Saturday afternoon.

In the five seasons that the current playoff format has been in place, home teams have had a decisive advantage in the wild-card round.

It’s worth noting that 2020 was the COVID year when many stadiums had heavily restricted attendance or – in places like Seattle – no fans were in attendance.

If you’re looking for the likelihood of Green Bay beating the Bears on Saturday night, well, there’s only been one instance in the past five years of the No. 7 seed upsetting the No. 2 seed. That was 2023 when Green Bay upset Dallas 48-32 in the wild-card round.

Finally, in light of Seattle’s bye through the wild-card round, here is the most wholesome video on cigar smoking that you will ever come across:

David Hill is a writer whose work I really enjoy especially when it relates to gambling. His book “The Vapors” on Hot Springs, Ark., is part American history of gambling hot spot for the Mob, part family memoir and thoroughly excellent.