A Grip on Sports: Throw the confetti and raise a toast to another Super Bowl MVP with strong local connections

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where do we stand today? Well, we have plenty of heart-shaped candies, so we’re good with Valentine’s Day. And we were a quiet Super Bowl host Sunday, so we’re probably good there as well. All in all, a good weekend.

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• We watched the Cooper Kupp Bowl alone. Oh, the house was full – the kitchen sounded and smelled great – but we were sequestered downstairs in front of the big screen, working. It was a first for us. And, more than likely, a last. It wasn’t worth it.

The Super Bowl is more about friends and community than football. Nothing drives that point home more than being separated from it. While others were snacking, chatting, laughing and ooh-and-aahing, we were scribbling notes and rewinding key plays. Advantage, the folks in the kitchen.

Not that we didn’t join them. Halftime was a hoot, as 30-somethings discovered they had aged out of their youth and into adulthood without even knowing it. No more Boomer musicians to entertain the masses. Now we’ve evolved. Hip-hop. Rap. That’s the new over-the-hill gang.

We’re still chuckling about it. Too bad our dad isn’t still around to once again help them understand the natural progression of life.

The game itself? Though tight throughout, it didn’t seem all that exciting. There was the stretch to start the second half. That got us out of our seat. And seemed to herald a fight to the finish. There was one. A good one, though it was obvious the Bengals’ offensive line was just too sieve-like to survive. One other score was all Joe Burrow and Cincinnati needed and they couldn’t get it.

Meanwhile, the Rams’ offensive chess pieces kept being eliminated from the board. The rooks (tight ends) didn’t even get out of the box. Their knight (Odell Beckham Jr.) went down with a first-half knee injury. The bishops (running backs) were useless. Which left king Matthew Stafford just one piece to call on for help.

Cooper Kupp played the queen role to perfection. And Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay used him wonderfully.

The result was another Super Bowl heartbreak for the Bengals. They have reached the game three times. They have lost the game three times. All to what are now NFC West teams and all by less than one score. The margins? Five, four and now three. It’s almost like a countdown.

Maybe some day they will take flight.

• How fun is the Kennel for students? Ask Jared McCain and Dusty Stromer, two highly coveted high school guards Gonzaga is hoping to entice to leave sunny California for the basketball oasis that is Spokane.

Enter the Kennel Club, who gave up coveted space up front for the two during Saturday night’s Saint Mary’s game. Is there a better way to show the duo the atmosphere they can expect at GU while they play hoops?

The smiles on their faces were so wide we had to wonder if the action is illegal under NCAA rules. After all, most fun things are.

Will it work? As they are juniors, we won’t know for a while. But how could it hurt? They didn’t even have to sleep in a tent to be in the front row.

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Gonzaga: The two recruits spoke with Theo Lawson on Saturday and he put together this story. … Jim Meehan looks back at the game itself and puts the spotlight on Andrew Nembhard. … The Zags are still No. 1 in this ranking. And should return to the top of the Associated Press poll this morning. … Elsewhere in the WCC, the section on the conference in this Seth Davis piece is enlightening. Especially the comments about BYU.

WSU: Around the Pac-12 and college basketball, the women played yesterday, with Oregon State picking up a much-needed win for its NCAA hopes, topping Oregon in Eugene. … Arizona earned some revenge against Arizona State, though both burnished their NCAA resumes recently. … Stanford is still undefeated in league play after handling visiting Colorado. … On the men’s side, Davis has comments about the Pac-12 in this column we linked above. … Jon Wilner has thoughts about five different things in the Mercury News. … The middle of the standings is pretty muddled. … Utah is in a rebuilding mode this season. … Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd had to like his trip back to Washington. … In football news, Arizona State’s 2018 recruiting class has some lessons to share. … We missed this Washington story earlier and shouldn’t have.

EWU: Three guesses which Los Angeles Rams player The Spokesman-Review focused on today. To make it interesting, your first two guesses don’t count. Yep, you got it right anyway. Cooper Kupp. Of course, the AP has a story on his winning the MVP award, 30 years after Mark Rypien did the same – something Kip Hill writes about. … Dan Thompson has a column on Kupp’s performance. … We chip in with our TV Take that is mainly about Kupp but also has some thoughts on the show of shows. …. There is also this Kupp-centric photo gallery.

Seahawks: Though the big news is yesterday’s Super Bowl result, there is a bit of sort-of-Seahawk-related news. Adrian Peterson was arrested recently. … Russell Wilson was seen in the commissioners’ box after picking up his Bart Starr Award.

Mariners: There are always questions to answer during spring training, whenever it starts.

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• Watching the Food Channel can be detrimental to your health. On a recent episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, the Mayor of Flavortown (and Super Bowl commercial star) Guy Fieri visited a place that deep-fried its hot dogs. Tried that yesterday. It worked. But we’re paying the price this morning. Fried foods are not the best for me these days. And what is a Super Bowl party without them? Until later …