A Grip on Sports: With the sun out, it might be tough to sit and watch the rivalry games available today

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Another Saturday in February. But not your usual one. Nope. It’s the one before Valentine’s Day. Ya, uh oh. We forgot too.

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• That’s really not the ground we want to cover here. We just thought it would be a good reminder. Just in case. There is still a little time, even with the Super Bowl taking up all of Sunday. Most of it at least.

Though today it might be tough to carve out some time for shopping or making reservations or finding a way to hide out of town for a while. Yep, today is pretty crowded too.

There is that game this afternoon over at the Kennel. The one with the pre-celebration for Courtney Vandersloot, not the one later with the post-game goodbye to BYU.

But both probably shouldn’t be missed, unless you have other obligations.

And that’s not all. Eastern Washington’s men put a 14-game winning streak on the line in Moscow. Idaho would love to erase the Eagles from those internet maps showing undefeated Division I conference leaders (there are just three these days: EWU, Oral Roberts and Alabama).

A fun rivalry, to be sure. But there is also another rivalry game down in the Palouse. And it might not be so fun. The Huskies visit, with Noah Williams wearing purple. That might have some Cougar fans seeing red – as opposed to crimson. Or not. Especially if Washington State hits its outside shots.

Actually, though, all those games pale in comparison to what’s happening outside. The high temperature in Spokane is supposed to hit an un-February-like 44 degrees this afternoon. The sun will even be out.

Maybe instead of watching the world through the TV, a bunch of winter-hating Spokane folks will head outdoors to walk, run, bike or clean up the debris of the last few months.

Now that sounds like a plan.

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WSU: The Cougar women led by 11 late in the third quarter Friday night but No. 25 Colorado rallied for a 71-68 win in Boulder. … In men’s play, the Huskies will be fired up today for their trip to Pullman. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, Oregon has a chance for an eye-opening win as No. 7 UCLA visits the Ducks. … USC, coming off a tough loss in Eugene, will try to bounce back against Oregon State. … Arizona, playing better since a lineup change, faces Stanford today. … Defense should be on display as Utah and Colorado match up. … In women’s action last night, it’s been a long time since Oregon lost to USC. Then again, its been a long time since the Ducks have shot this poorly. … California handed Arizona State another conference loss. … UCLA rallied late to get past host Oregon State. … No. 7 Utah hit 16 3-pointers to get past visiting Washington. … In football news, this is the sport that is driving any expansion talk, as Jon Wilner explains in a Mercury News mailbag. … Could the slow pace of expansion and the media rights deal lead to more defections? … Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith had a lot to say about his Beavers. … Utah may lose its offensive coordinator to Notre Dame.

Gonzaga: Before we look ahead to tonight’s matchup with BYU, Theo Lawson rewinds Thursday’s win over visiting USF. … Jim Meehan has the preview to the Cougars’ visit as well as the key matchup. … The Cougars would really like to win their final McCarthey game. … Portland would really love to upset the 23rd-ranked Zag women and take over first in the WCC on Vandersloot’s special day. Jim Allen has this preview. … No one loves Spokane’s Davenport Hotel more than ESPN’s Sean Farnham. Not even people who hoard Marriot points. Garrett Cabeza has this story.

EWU and Idaho: The two schools meet in a doubleheader today in Moscow. Dan Thompson has a preview of the matchups. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana named its court after its longtime women’s basketball coach. … There are a couple Big Sky alums who will play in the Super Bowl.

Whitworth: The Pirates couldn’t stop host George Fox in the second half and dropped a 98-84 decision.

Preps: There were quite a few basketball games last night, with Dave Nichols covering the start of District 8 4A play at Gonzaga Prep. The Bullpup boys won, the girls lost. But, because the 4A schools are playing a double-elimination district tournament (for some reason the 3As are not), both continue into next week. … Dave also has a roundup of other games. … Pullman traveled to West Valley to decide the GSL 2A title and also highlight the soon-to-end career of longtime Eagle coach Jay Humphrey. Justin Reed has the story. … Rogers’ softball program earned a grant from the Mariners.  

Chiefs: Spokane has lost eight consecutive games after a 2-1 defeat to Everett in the Arena. Kevin Dudley has the coverage.

Seahawks: This Super Bowl will make history no matter who wins.

Mariners: Who are the best players in the M’s minor league system?

Kraken: This isn’t the best road trip, no matter who is in goal. The Kraken lost for the third consecutive time since the break.

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• Hey, we have an assignment for tomorrow. We will be watching the Super Bowl. Commercials, that is. And writing about them. We’ll have our favorites, of course, and those of other family members. The ones we hate. The ones we don’t understand. But, no, we won’t be doing the drink-every-time-a-beer-commercial-runs game. Though it sounds fun. Until later …