A Grip on Sports: Isn’t it great to have Tom Brady back where he belongs, in the Super Bowl?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • With no dog in the hunt yesterday, it was odd watching the NFC and AFC championship games. Kind of boring actually. So much so, I fell asleep and missed one of the worst decisions in the history of mankind. Or at least it seemed that way on social media.

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• Kick a field goal? Are you kidding me Matt LeFleur? Your Packers are down eight, there is just a bit more than two minutes left to play and you face a fourth-and-goal from the eight-yard line. You have the best red zone offense in the league, a Hall-of-Fame quarterback and, really, nothing to lose.

Put the ball in Aaron Rodgers’ hands and see what happens.

After all, even if he fails, you have three timeouts and the two-minute warning. Plus the Buccaneers would be pinned deep in their territory. Sure, you would need a touchdown and a two-point conversion to just tie, but no matter what happens, you will be relying on your defense to get a stop.

A stop it couldn’t earn. The Packers’ last chance, it turned out, was no chance. It wasn’t even taken.

And America can breathe a sigh of relief. After all, everyone in our great nation wanted to see Tom Brady in another Super Bowl, right? It is a winter tradition around this country, something akin to watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” at Christmas or throwing your back out shoveling that heavy late-January snow. More the latter, probably, because it does come with some pain.

Brady has a tendency recently to be insufferable. We can all agree he’s ascended to the position as the greatest all-time quarterback – sorry Joe – but do we really enjoy our heroes throwing their status in our faces all the time? Maybe. Whether we do or not, Brady is going to do it. And he gets to continue to do it for a couple weeks.

Remember, however, he has lost the Super Bowl three times. If the Kansas City Chiefs win in two weeks, Brady would not only be the quarterback with the most Super Bowl wins (six), he’ll tie Buffalo’s Jim Kelly with the most losses (four). Now that’s a record we would love to see Brady earn.

It would put him in Whitey Ford territory. The former Yankee left-hander holds the record for World Series wins (10) and losses (8). Opportunity cuts both ways at times.

But I’m not sure Brady and the Bucs are going to lose. After all, the last time a young quarterback took his team to the Super Bowl with a chance to win two consecutive times, Brady stood in Russell Wilson’s way. And we all know how that turned out.

Sorry to open that wound, but it is relevant. You know what isn’t? Kicking field goals. I’m 99 percent sure, faced with the same scenario LeFleur had yesterday, Andy Reid is going to say the heck with it, put the ball in Patrick Mahomes’ hands and expect something good to happen.

It may not, but at least it would keep us awake.

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Gonzaga: Really, looking back at the Pacific win isn’t a good use of Jim Meehan’s time. So he covered other subjects instead in his usual game rewind. … Jim also has some recruiting news. … The women traveled to Portland yesterday on short notice. No matter. They romped over the Pilots. Jim Allen has this story. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Pepperdine and BYU will meet again Wednesday, giving their regular-season matchup something of a playoff feel.

WSU: Regulation, overtime, double overtime. Whatever it takes, the Washington State women seem willing to do it for a win. It took two extra periods Sunday before they came out on top at Oregon State. The Beavers hadn’t played in a while so the extended action probably felt good. … Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, Washington has won two consecutive games for the first time all season. The second one, over Utah yesterday, had Larry Krystkowiak questioning himself. … Oregon got beat on the boards by OSU, no question about that. … Colorado needs to keep winning at home to stay in the conference race. … Arizona State and Arizona meet again tonight in Tucson, as the conference is trying to free up the final week of the season for makeup games. … In football news, Washington’s offense has a lot of starters returning. … Oregon will have both top quarterbacks back.

Seahawks: The defense has quite a few free agent questions to answer in the offseason. … Jamal Adams isn’t one of them. … Who will be in charge of the offense is another question that has yet to be answered. … Greg Olsen answered the one about his football future. He won’t be playing anymore.  

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• The Chiefs have to be the favorite but one play may come back to haunt them. Left tackle, the key position up front for any pass-first offense, may be manned by a backup. That’s because starter Eric Fisher left Sunday’s game with an Achilles injury and Reid said after it doesn’t look good for him to play in Tampa. That’s something to keep your eyes on the next couple weeks. Until later …