A Grip on Sports: We have a couple thoughts on how to get through the next few days without burning out and why are rules so slow to reflect modern realities?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We have a couple of thoughts today. Only a couple. Hey, don’t worry. It’s two more than we usually have when we start pounding away at the keyboard.

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• The first fleeting electrical charge that spun through our brain cells had to do with how sports will inform the upcoming weekend. We will cover the television viewing aspect of it tomorrow, as we most-always do, but that’s only a part of it.

There is so much more, especially if you live in a place in which getting out of the house and actually attending games in person is an alternative. Like, you know, for us.

Our father used to tell us everything in life is a choice. We don’t think he was referring to picking which basketball game to watch tonight, but maybe. After all, we told a friend we would attend their high school playoff game without knowing that it overlapped with a Gonzaga game for which we already hold tickets.

Choices. Other than buying one of those over-the-counter clones they advertise on TV late at night – wait, you don’t see those when you can’t sleep at 2:30? Is it just us? –  we’ll have to come up with a way to see at least part of each.

And then there is the all-important choices we have to make concerning what to eat Sunday – the nation’s football, drink and food celebration otherwise know as the Super Bowl.

As we constantly key our food choices off the Seahawks’ opponents in the regular season, our Super Bowl food picks have to reflect the two teams playing. Kansas City barbecue is simple. A given. But what San Francisco food choice pairs well with that? Certainly not clam chowder. And we had cioppino when the 49ers hosted the Hawks, so that’s out.

Rice-a-roni, the San Francisco treat? Nope. Sourdough bread? Too much of a cliché. What to do? Maybe Dutch Crunch rolls, hollowed out and filled with a dollop of cioppino? That sounds pretty classy. And filling.

• Our other thought? That was triggered by an email yesterday from an old friend in Pullman. She was wondering if what she heard was correct. If the impetus for the students’ anger last Saturday in the Kennel came from the video board replaying a key blown call – something even noted in a national story on the Zags’ NCAA chances – five times.

She mentioned each conference has their rules concerning showing such things and thought showing replays like that aren’t allowed by the Pac-12.

Well, we don’t know exactly how many times the replay was displayed Saturday, though family members in attendance reported seeing  multiple ones. But we do know it is past time for rules prohibiting such things to go the way of college athletes’ amateur status.

Times have changed folks. Most people in an arena or stadium have access to the broadcast on their phones – or pocket-computer-that-can-make-phone-calls, if you prefer. The savvy ones always watch the replays shown to people at home.

If Joe Fan in an easy chair is going to be ticked, so will their at-the-game counterpart. By not showing replays due to a worry about inciting an incident like Saturday’s, you are showing a complete lack of understanding of modern times. And, more importantly, making the in-game experience worse for those of us who aren’t all that technologically literate.

Oh, sure, we can – and do – watch replays on ESPN+ or whatever, when we are at games. Heck, we were at a recent Big Sky contest with 300 of our closest friends and watched a replay of a call we didn’t agree with (and saw it was correct). It’s a pain at times, though pretty much always possible.

But, sure, pretend it’s 1984 and everyone is held captive by Big Brother’s control of the video board. After all, risking a little angst over showing some controversial call is a lot better than having to sit through another coach asking us to donate some of our hard-earned income to hand over to their players. Actually, anything is better than that.

Even a commercial for a local plumbing conglomerate.

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WSU: Though yesterday was the first day of the late-winter national letter-of-intent signing window, which includes football, we start with Greg Jones’ story on one of the biggest reasons why the Cougars are tied for second in the men’s basketball standings. Not biggest in stature, maybe. But in importance. And motor. It’s Isaac Jones, the transfer from Idaho. … Can the Cougs stay in second in the Pac-12? Or ascend to the top spot? To do that, they’ll have to successful on their weekend trip through Oregon. Greg passes along five keys for that to happen. … The Cougars’ game tonight is against an Oregon State squad that has struggled on the road but has been good at home. … Wondering how Jake Dickert is doing? Well, John Canzano asked him. … Matt Calkins has some thoughts on Kyle Smith. … Finally, before we get to the links, The Athletic has another Inland Northwest-based story today, an update on WSU and OSU’s plans for the Pac-12’s revival. Yep, another story on the subject. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his weekly Best in the West rankings. The Cougars are eighth. … He also has his hot-seat ratings in the Mercury News. … There were two games last night. UCLA kept on a roll, making long-distance shots and handling host Stanford 82-74. … California had a sell-out crowd in the building and sold-out in overtime to top USC and Isaiah Collier 83-77. … Washington could sure its big man back. Oregon is probably happy he’s not available tonight. … Colorado has been lights-out at home, which means struggling Arizona State is probably in trouble. … Arizona travels to Utah. To get a win, the Wildcats will have to hand the Utes’ their first home loss. … The women have seven of their teams in the NET ranking’s top 24. That’s two more than any conference. Jeff Metcalfe has his weekly power rankings in the Mercury News. … UCLA’s Cori Close has brought the Bruin women to new heights. … A deep guard rotation has helped Colorado. … Oregon may have lost another player for the season. … In football news, Nick Saban is joining ESPN’s College GameDay. We are surprised, though, he’s not just replacing Lee Corso, who will continue as of now. … Jedd Fisch can define what he’s trying to do with Washington in six letters: NIL, NFL. … Trent Bray feels his assistant coaching staff is more focused on recruiting than the previous Oregon State group. … Oregon feels as if it has its best recruiting class ever and, for once, that might be true. … Colorado has made a key hire. … Even an interim athletic director knows the importance of money. … A California player retired from football. … An injured Oregon State player will be back for light duty in the spring.

Gonzaga: We thought about spending some time today musing about the gap between Saint Mary’s and the rest of the WCC. And there is one, sort of like how for many years there was a gap between Gonzaga and the rest, including the Gaels. After the Zags’ boringly easy 96-64 rout of Portland last night, though, we changed our mind. Even if the win, which Jim Meehan covers in this game story, once again illustrated how crucial 3-point shooting is to the Bulldogs’ success. … Former GU standout Johnathan Williams took in last night’s game. He also talked with Theo Lawson for this story. … Theo has the difference makers as well. … Tyler Tjomsland was in the Kennel and has this photo report. … The folks in the office put together this recap with highlights. … By the way, the win helped the Zags jump two spots in the NCAA’s NET rankings today. … Greg Lee has his weekly women’s basketball notebook, which leads off with the Zags’ poll status. Gonzaga is ranked 19th in the nation in the AP poll. It is ranked 10th by the NCAA’s NET tool. Huh. … Former Gonzaga player Kelly Olynyk was traded this morning.

EWU: The February NLI day is crucial for Big Sky football schools, mainly due to their ability to attract high school players who slipped through the FBS cracks. Dan Thompson has this story on the players Eastern signed this recruiting period. The group has a local flavor. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, we can pass along signing stories from Montana, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Weber State, Portland State, Sacramento State, Cal Poly and UC Davis. … A Montana State player is happy to be healthy again.

Idaho: The Vandals finished out their recruiting class with a handful of walk-ons and a couple scholarship players. Peter Harriman has more.

Preps: We’ve said it often and we’ll repeat it today. Signing a LOI is a really cool experience for those lucky high school athletes. Dave Nichols has this story on a few local athletes. … Dave also has a roundup of Wednesday’s playoff basketball action, with a focus on the 2B games.

Seahawks: We can pass along the Times’ story on Chip Kelly and the offensive coordinator spot. And another on the hires thus far. … Will the Hawks keep Jamal Adams?

Mariners: The M’s invited a few non-roster players to spring camp. … They also claimed off waivers a player with a familiar last name. … The A’s Las Vegas move has failure written all over it. But that’s nothing new.

Kraken: Working construction can certainly focus anyone, including a budding NHL star.

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• Enjoy your day. We have plans. Fun plans. Busy. Retirement is cool. And, lest we forget, happy birthday Kent. And you too Klay. Until later …