A Grip on Sports: Another big night in college hoops, more changes for college football and a Super Bowl? How did we get so lucky?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What does this Thursday hold? Important basketball games, as always. More evidence college athletics has changed irrevocably. And the near-final sprint to another Super Bowl.

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• Where should I begin? In Corvallis, maybe. Where the Cougars will try to change direction. The good ship Washington State is listing a bit, making it tough for David Riley to get his men’s basketball team back on course. And playing an Oregon State squad on its home court after a week off will not be easy.

Wayne Tinkle’s team (16-7, 6-4 in West Coast Conference action) hasn’t played since a visit to Spokane in January. A tough visit, sure, as all 38-point losses are, but the aftermath, more than a week of practice and recover time, will undoubtedly pay dividends.

It’s not as if the Beavers actually need to change much, especially at home.

In its first year playing a WCC schedule, OSU is 13-1 in Gill Coliseum. That’s really good. Only a three-point loss to rival Oregon, in late November playing as well as anyone on the Coast, mars that mark.

Those are just part of the headwinds the Cougars, at 15-9, 5-6, a 6.5-point underdog, face tonight (8, ESPN2). That and their poor play, which has resulted in four consecutive losses and a swoon following their 13-3 mark to start the season.

There is no NCAA bubble for either of these teams. It’s win the WCC tournament and its automatic berth or bust. Before they go all in in Las Vegas next month, this one is about building momentum for that challenge.

The story is different for Gonzaga’s men, who are, for the first time in a while, sitting squarely on a bubble. Will it rise or pop? And, despite how well Loyola Marymount has played lately, tonight’s game (6, KHQ) in McCarthey Athletic Center can only change their direction one way.

Fair or not, the Zags (16-7, 7-3) won’t get any type of national boost from a win over the Lions (14-8, 6-4). A loss, though, at home to LMU, 142 in the NCAA’s Net rankings, would be a killer for GU’s at-large – if needed – hopes.

• Did you know Wednesday was a college football signing day? It had slipped my mind. And not in the same way lots of things slip my mind – like the right day of a local college hoop game – in my Medicare years. Yes, the steel trap has morphed into a plastic sieve, but that’s not it. It’s more the devaluation of the high school athlete, the disappearance of the national letter of intent and the growing influence of the transfer portal.

Add it up and there is little room for any early-February excitement. Schools all over the nation Wednesday afternoon touted their incoming classes. You know, a couple signings this week. But more importantly, 17 transfers already reported and 13 signings in the early period. What once was the biggest day in recruiting has become almost an after-thought.

Though not to the lucky few who signed whatever papers have to be signed these days to tie them, loosely to Whatsamutta U. or Fansville Tech. Their moment is still big. Just not as common as it once was.

• Who you got this Sunday, so to speak? Barbecue or cheesesteaks? Seems like an easy choice, doesn’t it? Both.

When you aren’t emotionally invested in the Super Bowl, it makes the Sunday a bit easier, doesn’t it? All you have to worry about is what to serve during the party. Which you eat as the on-field action rolls on, freeing up your mind for the commercials.

Laughing at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent or crying about a dog’s fate seems a lot less stressful on your heart than hoping Kansas City will win a third consecutive Super Bowl. Or will fail in that yet-to-be-reached quest. Heck, no worries about if the flags favor Patrick Mahomes. A botched handoff or an ill-timed interception? No big deal.

But your weird uncle Larry talking while Timothy Chalamet tries to sell some sort of cologne? Or the lady down the street showing off her new tattoo while two dudes in lawn chairs pretend to (not) drink Bud Light? Or Billy’s crying is too loud to hear Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck prove once again why they are in the running to become the Mayor of Dunkin’?

Unforgivable.

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WSU: With new coach Jimmy Rogers in place, signing day took on a bit more importance for the Cougars. Greg Woods got on the Zoom call – another change – and has this story on Wazzu’s latest 18 recruits out of a group of 40 the school has attracted since Rogers’ arrival. And, yes, that’s another change as the NCAA gave up on limits to the number of players that can be added in a year, due to the portal’s subtractions. … Thought I would link Greg’s advance of tonight’s Cougar men’s game in Corvallis, even though it ran yesterday and I linked it then. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Oregon State didn’t announce many new players. Only one in fact. But he’s a highly recruited quarterback. Replacing, it seems, another quarterback who transferred. … Oregon seems to add athletes that everyone feels will be stars. … Two former Washington coaches are back together. … Stanford officially announced its entire recruiting class, including former Lake City High and UI standout Zach Johnson among the 25 newcomers. … Former NFL coach Ron Rivera is settling in at California. … Maybe Deion Sanders is more self-aware than I previously believed. … Utah added one player in the late period. … USC seems to be spending more money on its staff than some schools spend at all. … Arizona State added a running back. … Arizona went big. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Utah State has a new coach in Bronco Mendenhall and new recruiting class. … New Mexico, under former Idaho coach Jason Eck, added even more players. … Another first-year head coach, Fresno State’s Matt Entz, also added a large class featuring local kids. … San Diego State picked an edge rusher. … Colorado State made additions. … In basketball news, John Canzano has an interesting column. He focuses upon a Portland school that has decided to eliminate its athletics program, even while its men’s basketball team enjoys unprecedented success. …The Oregon men are backpedaling faster than the guy in Allstate’s charred duck commercial. The Ducks lost again last night, dropping an 80-76 decision at Michigan. … Washington also lost to Nebraska. … Why was a San Diego State player ejected against Wyoming? The Mountain West explained. … New Mexico ran away in the second half and rolled over visiting Colorado State last night to stay atop the MWC standings. … The No. 1-ranked UCLA women didn’t roll last night. They were playing No. 8 Ohio State, though, and still won handily. … USC got back on the winning track.

Gonzaga: As I said, the Bulldog men host LMU at 6. There is no denying Mark Few’s team is playing better, despite the seventh close loss of the season, last week at Saint Mary’s. The Lions, who have won five consecutive conference games, might allow us to find out how well. Theo Lawson has a preview and the key matchup. … Former Gonzaga standout Kelly Olynyk is on the move again, part of another of the NBA’s multitude of trades. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s visits USF (6 p.m., ESPN2) in a game that holds import for the Zags. If the Gaels win, GU can move back into second place. But if USF wins, the Bulldogs can pick up a game on conference-leading Saint Mary’s. … The Dons have two players who have carried them lately.

EWU: Anyone with any knowledge of history knows how important Richie Frahm was to Gonzaga’s early NCAA success under now-Eastern coach Dan Monson. Dave Boling has that knowledge. And he also knew Frahm is back on the court, serving as a volunteer assistant for Monson in Cheney. What’s that mean? Boling tells us in this not-to-be-missed column. … Dan Thompson has a preview of tonight’s home game against Sacramento State. He focuses on a pair of Eagles who came across the state to improve their game. … Of course, Dan also has coverage of the Eagles’ football signing day group. … Where could Cooper Kupp end up? … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, former Lake City standout Avery Waddington is having a standout freshman season despite all the noise around the Montana women’s program. … In football news, Montana State added six players. … Montana’s Bobby Hauck feels as if recruiting these days is akin to speed dating. … Idaho State added 17 players to its roster. … UC Davis, with an NCAA playoff appearance to sell, announced its class. … Sacramento State’s hire has been met with praise in many quarters.

Idaho: No basketball preview – the Vandal men host Portland State – but there is a football signing story to pass along from Peter Harriman. New coach Thomas Ford added 14 more high school players yesterday to go with many more transfers and early signees.

Preps: Wednesday is wrestling day. We have a roundup to pass along as well as Madison McCord’s story on Shadle Park’s Brayden Burgener. … We could have put this latest S-R local briefs column which leads with the Big Sky basketball player of the week in a variety of spots. But because it is Dylan Darling, who came to prominence at Central Valley High before heading off to WSU and, this season, Idaho State, we have it here.

NIC: We linked this News Tribune story about Vaughn Weeks last week. It is on the S-R website today.

Seahawks: The offensive line has been a source of concern for years and years. What does the team have to do this offseason to improve it? Here is one opinion. … The new Hall of Fame rules are making it tough for Mike Holmgren. … We once again link the Hawks’ key offseason dates, this time on the S-R site.

Kraken: Shane Wright could see more time as the season winds down.

Mariners: The Times’ Mike Vorel lays out the fans’ angst quickly and succinctly in his latest column which ran in the S-R today.

Sounders: Preseason training is about over. Is the team ready for the season to begin?

Golf: Is this the year the LIV tour becomes mainstream?

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• I am a gamer. Sort of. The only game I play is on my Mac. Civilization. Have played it since my Pullman days, some 14 years and four versions ago. The latest version of the world-building game dropped – as us gamers say – late last night. Please don’t call or disturb me. No emails. I’ll be zoned out all day. Probably longer. Until sometime next month …