A Grip on Sports: We could just imagine what our boys would have done if we had acted like Jason Kelce back in the day

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What’s the best way to start this week? Anticipating the warmer weather ahead? Looking forward to the NFL conference title games? Taking a peek back at the weekend just past. Yes. To all of it.

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• Funny how having the temperature peek above freezing can change your outlook on life. The extreme cold streak we just endured made even getting the paper in the morning a chore. And yes, we still have a paper newspaper delivered to us. But there were a couple days recently when we contemplated stopping the practice. Too darn cold.

That’s what such temps can do to your psyche.

And we were not even trying to, you know, throw our body into another human being. We’ve always admired professional football players. How they perform their profession in extreme conditions with no regard to the consequences.

Case in point from the weekend: Jason Kelce. No, not his brother Travis, who scored a couple touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 27-24 win at Buffalo last night. Jason was the star. The media star for sure, but also the patron saint of all of us who love to watch, and experience, games as a fan.

OK, he went a little overboard. C’mon now man, keep your shirt on. No one wants to see your chest hair. And your daughter Ellie certainly didn’t appreciate the whole world seeing you shirtless, as she told her mom, “Dads (sic) boobs are showing.” But the dude was enjoying himself, sitting in a sort-of-warm box in Buffalo’s stadium, shirt off, beer in hand – wait, were those, like, 4-ounce cans he was drinking? They looked so small – and mouth wide open, screaming.

Heck, he even vaulted from the box to mingle with the common man. No worries that he was rooting for the visitors. Who is going to call a guy with hands that big on it?

• We’re happy the Chiefs won. The NFL is a league of quarterbacks and the two who will be meeting in Baltimore next week are the best. Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson do things on the field no one else does, things we used to see in Seattle a decade ago when a young Russell Wilson made our jaw drop about three times a game.

But neither would be where they are this week, nor would the NFC championship participants Detroit and San Francisco, if they didn’t have violent defenses as well. That’s another parallel to the Hawks from the golden era.

Sure, there were stretches of Sunday’s game in Buffalo in which no one could get a stop. And it was fun. But the game turned on the Chiefs’ ability to force a punt. Well, a fake punt. It reeked of desperation. That it didn’t cost the Bills any points – a replay-called fumble ended KC’s goal-line chance – was luck, not skill. But the tide seemed to turn when Damar Hamlin was stacked up short of a first down on the Bills’ 32. From there, we had no doubt Jason Kelce would be showing up in Baltimore on Sunday.

The other game? We’ll be rooting for the Lions. Other than die-hard 49er fans, of which this area has its share, who else will be rooting for San Francisco?

Detroit is the ultimate underdog story. The long-shot-turned-contender. The team coached by a mad-man with a plan. Everything Madison Avenue loves.

The Lions vs. Taylor Swift and the Kelces in the Super Bowl. Who says no?

• Funny thing about high school sports. In our state you have to get special dispensation from on high to do anything on a Sunday. And that’s the day the governing body, the WIAA, chooses to approve and announce next year’s classification data?

Guess that’s about the only day this time of year the school folks can gather to make the final call – though a day off would probably have felt better. Still, the changing of a lot of schools is pretty big news that won’t garner much attention on an NFL-playoff Sunday.

Locally, the Greater Spokane League will again change. Ferris and Mead move back up to 4A. Central Valley moves down to 3A, joined by Shadle Park’s return. Deer Park takes the Highlanders’ 2A spot, with the 1A ranks also losing Freeman and Newport (to 2B). Oh, and North Central, its petition to drop to 2A denied, was allowed to play football at the 2A level.

The changes touch everything from regular season schedules to the postseason, travel to rivalries. A big deal, hopefully not lost on a crowded news day.

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WSU: Every win in Pac-12 women’s basketball is a big deal this season. The conference is as tough as it’s ever been, top to bottom. There are few breathers, including Sunday’s Cougar opponent, Arizona. So, the 78-57 victory is a big deal, even more so as it preceded a road trip next week to Los Angeles, where both schools are ranked in (and rightfully so) in the top 10. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the inevitable happened yesterday in Stanford’s 65-56 home win over Oregon State. Tara VanDerveer moved past Mike Krzyzewski’s NCAA-record Division I basketball win total with her 1,203rd victory. And the Cardinal did it without their best player, with Cameron Brink out injured. The record win elicited quite a few responses, of course. … California pulled away late to hand Oregon another defeat. … Third-ranked Colorado bounced back from a loss to No. 5 UCLA to top sixth-ranked USC. … We’ve been caught up in a court storming in the past, even had one of our players injured during it. So, we have sympathy for Caitlan Clark and what happened at Ohio State yesterday. … Jon Wilner takes a look back in the Mercury News at the men’s weekend. … UCLA suffered the most-crushing loss of the weekend, blowing a big lead at Arizona. … Oregon suffered a loss at Utah on Sunday, something that hasn’t happened that often in the past. …  Colorado will be in Washington for a key weekend. … In football news, a couple more Arizona players committed to the Huskies. And a former UW receiver will be at Alabama next season. … However, a couple key players will be staying in Tucson. … NIL money helped keep Cam Rising at Utah for another season. … It has nothing to do with the Pac-12 this year but next season San Jose State will have former Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo leading it against the Pac-2 and the Mountain West. … Finally, John Canzano has an interesting column on party planners? Yep.

Gonzaga: It’s Monday, so we have Theo Lawson’s look back at the Zags’ easy 105-63 rout at San Diego on Saturday.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Dillon Jones set a Weber State steals record Saturday while the old record-holder was in the building. … The Northern Arizona women earned another win Saturday.  

Whitworth: The weather forced postponement of Friday’s game to Sunday. But it couldn’t stop the Pirates from gaining another win, this one 79-70 over visiting Puget Sound. Whitworth’s men remain undefeated in Northwest Conference play.

Preps: We delved into the classification announcement above. Dave Nichols has all the particulars in this story.

Seahawks: The Hawks have interviewed quite a few folks since firing Pete Carroll. Now they are getting ready to interview some of them for a second time. … Could the Hawks actually cut Tyler Lockett? Nothing is out of the realm of possibility in the NFL. … Former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is headed to the Bears, where he will either have Justin Fields at quarterback or the best college one, as Chicago has the No. 1 draft pick.  

Kraken: The franchise-record winning streak has now been followed by a four-game losing streak. The latest? Toronto won 3-1 Sunday at Climate Pledge Arena. … Seattle has an ironman of sorts on the roster.

Sounders: Other than touted Argentine winger Pedro de la Vega, who is expected to be signed this week, Seattle’s biggest roster additions have been defenders. After posting great defensive numbers in a disappointing season. Then again, midfield is always crucial as well.

Mariners: Joe Mauer, Hall of Famer? If we had a vote, we would vote yes. How do others see the Minnesota star? And everyone else on the ballot? The results will be announced tomorrow.

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• We love Mondays like this one. We have this message on our iCalendar: No Events. Maybe we’ll binge watch something. Or pay bills. But we don’t have to do either. Folks, that’s the best part of retirement. That or whatever Jason Kelce was doing Sunday. Until later …