A Grip on Sports: If Tom Brady gets to celebrate again tonight, his ‘legacy’ stories will envelope us all

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Today is the seventh day of February, 2021. It also happens to be Super Bowl Sunday, though that appellation seems less important than it usually does. At least in some places.

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• We’ve avoided talking about the Super Bowl for many reasons. Not the least of those is the danger we see from holding the game in the first place. No, we’re not referring to the specter of it becoming the basis for a COVID-19 superspreader event throughout the country, even though that is a real possibility.  It’s more the danger of it becoming a Tom Brady-is-the-greatest-team-athlete-of-all-time superspreader event.

The warning signs are already blinking. It’s being whispered, and shouted, from Florida to Washington, from Massachusetts to California. Tom Brady is going to win another Super Bowl and cement his place in the pantheon of greatest team athletes of all time.

OK, fine. He deserves to be in the conversation. If the Buccaneers upset Kansas City this evening, Brady will have seven Super Bowl rings. That is impressive. Just think, four more and he’ll tie Bill Russell’s NBA title haul. Or three more and he’ll catch Yogi Berra and his 10 World Series championships.

Heck, if Brady wins, he’ll have as many rings as Babe Ruth, and will share the distinction of having led two different franchises to the promised land.

But he will be ordained the greatest. Why? Because it happened now.

There are other arguments to be made, sure, but all of them can be torn apart with a modicum of critical thinking.

The guy plays quarterback. It is the most important position in the NFL. A great quarterback can elevate an average team to a good one – think Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. And Brady has done that more than once in his career with New England and, now, Tampa Bay. He deserves accolades for that.

But a quarterback is no more important to the success of a pro football team as, say, a center was when Russell was leading the Celtics to title after title. The NBA was different then, much more inside-centric. And no one dominated the inside more than Russell.

Think the Celtics could have won all those titles with Darrall Imhoff or Cleve Buckner playing center? Wilt Chamberlain would have beaten them by himself. Yes, the game was different and the depth of ability was not as great, but gauging any athlete’s greatness starts with his success against his peers. If not, than all records will be immaterial in weeks as games change on a yearly basis, with rules evolving and abilities advancing.

Both Brady and Russell had success in their eras. Russell had more.

Heck, Ruth dominated at two positions. He was a starting pitcher and part-time outfielder when helping the Red Sox win three World Series. And he was the greatest hitter in the game with the Yankees. Are his accomplishments better than Brady’s? Apples and oranges, as they say. But remember, he changed the game. Home runs were not really a thing when he started. They were after and still are today. He changed the country’s most popular game.

Brady is special. He’s the most accomplished champion in NFL history, having already won as many titles as three Packer greats, Fuzzy Thurston, Herb Adderley and Forrest Gregg, all the while playing the game’s crucial position.

But win or lose today, he isn’t the all-time best across all of this nation’s team sports.

• The S-R has quite a few stories today concerning local connections to the two franchises playing in today’s Super Bowl.

David Oriard wrote two of them, one on his brother Mike, who went from Gonzaga Prep to Notre Dame and then on the Kansas City Chiefs. Dave’s other piece invokes the memory of Ferris High and Washington State great George Yarno, who played for Tampa Bay for many years.

Ryan Collingwood has some more contemporary connections, touching on former Coeur d’Alene High and Idaho quarterback John Friez’s interactions with Brady and a former Coeur d’Alene High offensive lineman, Josh James, who played a while with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan uses this Super Bowl Sunday to delve deeply into the circuitous path that led Andrew Nembhard to Spokane and GU. If the Zags win an NCAA title this season, Nembhard will be a big reason why. … Rui Hachimura is still recovering from his injuries but is starting to hit his stride again with the Wizards. … Elsewhere in the WCC, there was just one conference game, with Pepperdine defeating host Portland in the Pilots first game after Terry Porter was fired. … Does BYU have enough talent to overcome Gonzaga tomorrow night?

WSU: Watching the Cougars’ 68-66 loss at Oregon State yesterday, there were a few plays made by all three teams on the court that made me want to retch. And we used three on purpose. Theo Lawson’s game story includes Kyle Smith’s thoughts on what happened in Corvallis, his first loss against a Northwest school as the Cougars’ coach. … The volleyball team couldn’t match its success in the first match against UCLA. … Back to hoops, Oregon State was happy to win without its star player at its best. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Oregon State’s president did an admirable job this week of explaining why college athletics are important to schools. … A high tide does raise everyone in a conference. … There is a new leader atop the standings. USC handled a short-handed UCLA team with ease last night and took over the top spot. … A Bruin freshman made his first appearance. … Washington lost again at Oregon and Mike Hopkins received the dreaded vote of confidence. … The Ducks, battling injuries, needed the win. … Colorado broke out to a huge lead, Arizona battled back and, with the game on the line, the Buffs figured out how to win. Leaving Boulder, Sean Miller expressed happiness, not with the outcome but with his team’s fight. … In football news, it’s crowded at Utah’s athletic facilities right now. … Any WSU fan knew this already. … Arizona is connecting with its past. … Recruiting is different at Colorado these days. Everywhere, actually.

EWU: Well look at that. Eastern is atop the Big Sky basketball standings. The Eagles are 7-2 after handing Idaho a 90-64 defeat at Reese Court. Ryan has the game story. Jesse Tinsley completes the coverage with this photo gallery. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State, who host Eastern in a key two-game series next weekend, lost again at Weber State. … Montana ended up splitting at Portland State, losing Saturday night’s game. … Two football coaches with Washington State connections have turned down Montana State.

Idaho: The Vandal women made it two consecutive wins over the Eagles. Peter Harriman has the story from Moscow.

Softball: One of the nicest men in Spokane sports, Rich Hobson, was recently voted into another softball Hall of Fame. Hobson has also spent many years as one of the area’s best umpires. His honor leads off our weekly local briefs.

Seahawks: No, Russell Wilson did not earn a Most Valuable Player vote. He did, however, win the NFL’s most coveted award. He is the league’s Walter Payton Man of the Year. … By the way, Rodgers won the MVP for a third time.

Mariners: Do the M’s have the financial resources to actually win a title?

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• We will be watching the Super Bowl at home today. It will be a quiet family affair, if I can ever watch a sporting event “quietly.” To help that happen, I am making pizza. It’s become my new passion. And, yes, there will be vegetables involved – hidden under layers and layers of meat and cheese. Actually, though, I’m more excited to see of Jordan Spieth can play well today and possibly win a golf tournament. The Tour’s current David Duval equivalent needs a victory to set his career back on an upward path. Until later …