Grip on Sports: There may be college basketball on TV from early morning to late at night, but it doesn’t include the local men’s teams

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s get right to it. After all, there are 29 college basketball games on television today. And a college football all-star game. Read on.

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• None of those 29 games feature the Gonzaga men’s team. Nope, the Bulldogs, ranked fourth in the nation, have this fine Saturday off.

The women, on the other hand, play in the Kennel this afternoon, and that game will be broadcast by SWX.

It’s all part of a typical January Saturday in which you can watch college hoops from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. If that’s what you want to do.

Maybe you need a palate cleaner. Can we suggest the Senior Bowl? Yep, college football players are still plying their trade, throwing their bodies and the football around, starting at 11:30 a.m. PST on the NFL Network.

Of interest to the Inland Northwest, a couple of players on the South team hail from Washington State. And, yes, I know Pullman isn’t south of anywhere except Spokane, Colville and Canada.

But Gardner Minshew and Andre Dillard are wearing the colors of the South today, as they try one last time to impress NFL scouts in competition.

Except, most of them have left Mobile, Ala., already, having watched practice all week and seen what they need to see.

You, on the other hand, may need to see one more college football game. It’s available today.

• It’s kind of odd that neither Gonzaga nor Washington State are on the court today. The Zags don’t play again until Thursday at BYU. The Cougars’ game at Oregon is Sunday night. So both are off today.

And with Eastern Washington, Idaho and Whitworth all on the road today, if you want to watch the men’s teams at one of our local four-year universities play live, you’ll have to drive out of state.

Thank goodness the radio was invented more than 100 years ago.

• As we have been telling you for a couple weeks now, the S-R is sponsoring an evening with a couple local Super Bowl legends. The event, Monday at the Big Crosby Theater, features Jerry Kramer and Mark Rypien, each of whom built some powerful NFL memories.

Dave Boling has a story today that chronicles Rypien’s memories of his Super Bowl MVP season. And Rypien will be in the Bing on Monday night to relate more.

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Gonzaga: Brandon Clarke enjoyed his return to the south part of the Bay Area. Jim Meehan looks back at his performance in the rout of Santa Clara. … Laura Stockton is dealing with a shoulder injury and may not play today as the Zags host Santa Clara. Jim Allen has more in this preview. … Former GU star Matt Santangelo joined Larry Weir yesterday to talk about the Bulldogs – and Hoopfest – in the latest Press Box pod. … Around the WCC, BYU can celebrate a win over Saint Mary’s. But not for too long.

WSU: On his way to Mobile, Theo Lawson stopped in Brandon, Miss., to check on Minshew’s roots – and legacy. The legacy is still ongoing and growing. … Despite athletic budget problems, WSU’s Regents gave approval yesterday for the school to begin construction on a new baseball project. In the end, private donations will pay for the $10 million renovation of the field and environs. Theo has more in this story. … The women’s basketball team couldn’t keep up with fifth-ranked Oregon last night. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the conference football title game is up for grabs after next season. Jon Wilner has a suggestion as to where it should end up. … Will USC ever play in the game again? Not if the transfer exodus continues. … In basketball, Washington is leading the conference standings but isn’t satisfied. … USC is playing better thanks to a zone. … UCLA’s misses are costing the Bruins. … Arizona is in Los Angeles, licking its wounds.

EWU: Ty Graham is coming home to Cheney. The former CHS star, who played three seasons at Idaho, is transferring to Eastern. Ryan Collingwood has more in this story.

Chiefs: Spokane lost its fourth consecutive game, falling at Kamloops 3-0.

Preps: Dave Nichols was at University High last night, as Mt. Spokane’s girls handled the Titans, 64-49. We also have a GSL boys roundup and roundups from boys and girls action in the area.

Seahawks: You have questions. There are some answers.

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• We had some Internet issues this morning but worked around them. Still, there are probably a few things we missed. Sorry. We will be back tomorrow and, hopefully, everything will go better. Until later …