A Grip on Sports: From the unusual to the ridiculous to the expected, the Super Bowl delivered

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We experienced a first last night. It came during the Super Bowl. And we feel a little out of sorts this morning because of it.

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• The S-R asked us to work Sunday. That’s not unusual. We’ve worked lots of Sundays in our journalism career. But what the newspaper asked us to do was. They folks who run the joint wanted a Super Bowl TV Take. On the commercials.

An opinion piece on something everyone in America will have an opinion about? Well, sure. We can do that.

So, instead of focusing our attention on Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and the inevitable controversial officiating decision, we focused on Best Foods and EVs and Sly Stallone hanging from a computer-generated nose.

What a concept.

For the first time in our memory we watched every commercial with laser-like intensity. Need another Diet Pepsi? Wait until the game returned. Another fall-off-the-bone rib? There’s a punt coming, go-ahead and rush upstairs to get it. Need to close our eyes for a second? Well, the halftime show is starting.

But don’t take your eyes off the screen when Steve Martin starts talking.

You know what? Trying to rank commercials is hard. We have things that hit us hard. Dogs, talking babies and donuts come to mind. But we know others see things differently. Chocolate-covered clams gross us out, sure, and yet we realize that might very well be the centerpiece of a memorable advertisement.

Or not.

We will say this. The burden of the assignment would have overwhelmed us if not for the support of our family. After all, how could we have spent four hours focused on the best Madison Avenue threw into our living rooms if there wasn’t someone available to bring us a wet wipe halfway through the second quarter?

It’s that type of support that leads to Pulitzers.

• The football game? Once again, the NFL gave us a chance to understand one thing. We will never know what constitutes a catch. Or when defensive holding, which seems to occur on every play, rises to the level that deserves a flag.

While watching the fateful fourth quarter Sunday, we pondered such questions. Even before the decisive, and divisive, call on the Eagles’ James Bradberry, a call that allowed the Chiefs to ensure Philadelphia wouldn’t have time to respond to the final field goal.

Yes, we understand Bradberry agreed it was holding. But his quote – “It was a holding,” Bradberry told reporters. “I tugged on the jersey. … They called it. I was hoping they would let it ride.” – was instructive. He was hoping the officials would let it go. Why? Because they let it go so often. There is holding, or illegal contact, or pass interference on, well, maybe not every passing play but most of them.

It’s up to the crew to decide which make a material difference.

(See what we did there, because, you know, pulling on the jersey is usually the deciding factor, as it was here. “It was a clear case of a jersey grab that caused restriction,” referee Carl Cheffers told reporters.)

Because the game is so overwhelmed with rules, such things will never change. Even completely automated officiating won’t fix it, because the robots would have to be programmed. Someone will have to decide what action is actually a penalty and what is just incidental. And arguments will still explode on social media when a flag makes a difference.

It’s as much a part of the game as a celebrity-infused commercial.

• A 38-35 final. Kansas City’s Mahomes, once again dealing with a bad ankle, named the MVP. Andy Reid winning his second Lombardi Trophy. A fumble return for a touchdown. Hurts scoring three touchdowns. Damir Hamlin in attendance. Which part of Super Bowl LVII will you remember the most?

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WSU: The Cougar women fell at No. 7 Utah, losing 73-59. … It was a bad weekend for the men’s NCAA bubble teams, as Jon Wilner documents in the Mercury News this morning. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, there were some key women’s games yesterday, the most important occurring at Pauley Pavilion, where No. 18 UCLA held off Oregon 67-57, handing the Ducks their fifth consecutive loss. … USC got past Oregon State 60-56 in overtime. … No. 25 Colorado hounded Washington into a 65-43 defeat. … Sixth-ranked Stanford pounded winless-in-conference Arizona State 96-64. … Arizona, ranked 17th, defeated California 80-57. … Among the men, Colorado doesn’t look to be making a late-season push. … Utah still thinks it can make one.

Gonzaga: The 16th-ranked Zags found a way to flip the script often Saturday night against BYU, as Jim Meehan documents in his game rewind. … There are some thoughts about the Bulldogs and their March prospects in this Athletic story. … Elsewhere in the WCC, this will be the worst Cougar conference record in almost 20 years. Hello Big 12.

Seahawks: The Geno Smith contract negotiations are probably more complicated than we ever imagined.

Mariners: Pitchers and catchers report to Peoria in three days. Then you can focus on these storylines.

Kraken: In their coach’s return to Philadelphia, the Kraken finally pick up a second-half victory, 4-3 over the Flyers.

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• Football is finally over. Nothing to get in our way of enjoying basketball. Not until March, anyway. Then the pressure of March madness will probably overwhelm us. By the way, tomorrow is Feb. 14. If you do not know what that means, we cannot help you. Until later …