A Grip on Sports: The Super Bowl/Winter Olympics weekend begins early today and won’t end until we find out if the Seahawks have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy once more

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Are there any sports worth watching this weekend on your TV? Besides Sunday’s Super Bowl, I mean? Or the Winter Olympics? Or a Saturday filled with ranked college basketball showdowns? Is that all there is? Well, no.

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• There are always a few sports weekends each year in which sensory overload is possible. Super Bowl weekend is always one of them. But it’s only every four years when there is a chance to add a world-wide spectacle – I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t love curling? – to the mix.

That’s what faces us the next few days. By this time Monday, I’m not sure my mental acuity will be anywhere near what it is this morning. And that makes me worried about those Seahawk fans who are still dealing with the fallout of the last few seconds of the last title matchup with the Pats. I’m not sure the region will survive another failure of that magnitude.

But let’s not worry about that this morning. Instead let’s spend a few minutes together poring over the TV sports schedule and pick a couple of can’t-miss events between this fine Friday morning and your already-scheduled Monday hangover.

• The centerpiece, of course, starts at about 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Though we all know the game is just one small aspect of Super Sunday. The lead up is just as overwhelming, from the Puppy Bowl on a handful of networks to talking heads on NBC and ESPN dissecting every injury, stat, clothing choice and meal plan.

The game? Mike Tirico, who is also NBC’s lead dog in Milan the next couple weeks, and Chris Collinsworth, who has been the network’s top analyst since before most of the players were born, will be bringing it into America’s homes.

If experience means anything, they will be up to the task.

The question is, however, is America interested? The Seahawks are the Northwest’s Team, sure, but the rest of the nation is ambivalent at best. The New England Patriots? Weren’t they Tom Brady’s original team? And that Belichick guy’s? Are they still in the league?

Yes. Yes. And yes. And they once again stand between the 12s and a year-long party.

• Tirico is in Santa Clara this weekend. He’ll be in Italy not long after. I’m pretty sure he won’t be crossing the pond seated in business economy, surrounded by crying babies and snoring Italian-Americans making the pilgrimage to the ancestorial stomping grounds.

The highlights of this weekend? The opening ceremony is live this morning on NBC, starting at 11. But if you are working – sorry – there is always a prime time encore at 5 p.m.

Saturday is the first packed day, with the U.S. women’s hockey team, a golden favorite, playing Finland at 7:40 a.m. (USA). Figures skating dominates NBC’s day, though one of my favorite sports, luge, is on the network just prior to the world’s most-popular judged sport. The men’s singles in luge starts at 9:30 a.m. 

Not a fan of all the jabbering before the Super Bowl? The counter programming Sunday, on USA, is more figure skating. It will be done, of course, long before kickoff.

• The men’s college hoop schedule makers weren’t about to cede February’s first full weekend to football and ice dancing. Nope. Though some of the big matchups Friday night and Saturday were more luck than predicatory excellence.

In the latter category may I present tonight’s matchup in the Garden? No. 22 St. John’s, led by the least-controversial Italian-American coach in the NCAA, Rick Pitino, hosting third-ranked Connecticut, with the quiet, calm, patient Danny Hurley in charge. Fox carries the Big East showdown starting at 5.

Though just about every Division I team plays Saturday – Sunday’s window is so short – there only a couple matchups pitting ranked teams.

Of course one of them is fourth-ranked Duke at No. 14 North Carolina (3:30 p.m., ESPN). The other? Fifth-ranked Illinois at 10th-ranked Michigan State (5, Fox).

Wait, there is a third, though now that No. 16 BYU has lost its last three games, unless the host Cougars get past the visiting Cougars of No. 8 Houston at 7:30 on ESPN, this matchup will lose one of its ranked members as soon as Monday.

By then, though, not sure any folks in these parts will care much. The euphoria of a Lombardi Trophy or the depression of an upset loss will be all that matters.

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WSU: It has been a tough season for the Cougars’ women’s basketball team. Nothing has come easily for the group. But after a one-win nonconference slate, they have persevered in WCC play. They won for the fourth time Thursday night, edging host San Diego 80-76. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the SEC’s commissioner, Greg Sankey, is siding with the NCAA in the eligibility lawsuit involving one of his schools, Alabama. … John Canzano’s notebook column from yesterday includes the Super Bowl and a super-surprising college basketball upset. … Once again, the Colorado men are trying to regroup at home this weekend. Arizona State has other plans. … Boise State plays the villain role in The Pit. … Fresno State pulled off an impressive recent comeback. … San Diego State posted an impressive recent win. … Utah State is now posted at the top of the MWC standings, after defeating New Mexico. … The Washington women struggled offensively and lost to No. 9 Ohio State. … Stanford topped Pitt. … USC routed Northwestern to continue its hot streak. … San Diego State is no longer undefeated in MWC play.

• In football news, Oregon State formally introduced former San Jose State and Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre as its defensive coordinator. … Recruiting never stops. For Oregon. Or Utah State. … Utah’s private equity plan is drawing some scrutiny from lawmakers. The Utes’ offseason changes are drawing the same from their fans. … USC seems to have better depth at quarterback. … Arizona State’s offensive coordinator may be moving on to the NFL. … The top ASU quarterbacks have already moved on. … A Fresno State receiver was contacted outside normal bounds by another school. He told his coaches.

Gonzaga: A couple weeks ago the Zag women traveled to Corvallis and dropped what has become a staple of WCC play, a close decision to Oregon State. How close? The Beavers prevailed in overtime. Would Thursday night’s return engagement in the Kennel be any different? Yes. How about a 30-point Gonzaga win, highlighted not just by the Bulldogs dominating every phase, by their pulling even with OSU in the standings (both are 9-2) but also by the Beavs’ Scott Rueck throwing in the towel midway through the third quarter. Greg Lee was there and he has this coverage of GU’s 67-37 victory. … Theo Lawson’s look back at the upset in Portland comes with a tinge of incredulity included. No, not that Pilot guard Joel Foxwell played as well as he did. But that this GU team would be so out-of-sorts on the defensive end. … Graham Ike is listed on the midseason Karl Malone Award watch list again. Theo has that story as well. … Is there anything Jalen Suggs can’t do? Up until Thursday night one could answer that with “post a triple-double.” He had his first NBA one – 15 points, 11 rebounds and assists – against Brooklyn. … The Pilots’ upset captured national attention.

EWU: The Eagle men and women completed a season sweep of their Montana counterparts Thursday night. The men’s 82-74 win, in Missoula, might have finished the Griz’s Big Sky regular-season title hopes. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana’s Bobby Hauck’s retirement is also resonating nationally. … UC Davis added 16 players in the latest football signing period. … John Madden’s Cal Poly legacy is still going strong. … Idaho State women’s basketball coach Seton Sobolewski has won 300 times at the school since 2008. … Northern Arizona’s basketball coaches were surprised by the school’s athletic director suddenly stepping down.

Idaho: Speaking of a regular-season title, the Vandal women are in the driver’s seat after Thursday’s 73-70 overtime win over Montana State in Moscow. … The Bobcat men won in Bozeman. … The Super Bowl has featured Vandals before. The latest? Linebacker Christian Elliss, whose emergence in the middle has solidified the Patriots’ defense. Greg Woods has this coverage from Santa Clara.

Whitworth: The idea of going to a college as a student first and an athlete second, of spending four years in the same place competing in the classroom and on the court, of proudly emerging as a team focal point, is alive and well in the Division III ranks. Case in point, Pirate men’s basketball standout Stephen Behil, who is leading the way for the Northwest Conference leaders. Ethan Myers shares Behil’s story today.

Preps: The Spokane Convention Center is known for RV shows, union gatherings and trade fairs. This weekend? It will host the District 6 wrestling tournament. Madison McCord has a preview of the event. The tournament starts tonight and ends Saturday. … Dave Nichols’ second Super Bowl-themed podcast features a conversation with former Shadle Park High star, and Super Bowl MVP, Mark Rypien. You can listen here if you like.

Mariners: There is no team in MLB sending more of its players to the World Baseball Classic than Seattle.

Sounders: Seattle is prepping for the MLS season in Spain. The Sounders split a pair of friendlies there.

Seahawks: Let’s start today’s S-R coverage with a Dave Boling column. It seems the right spot. And the subject, the defensive graybeards Leonard Williams and DeMarcus Lawrence, seems the right one for a column by the no-longer-young Boling. … Former Gonzaga Prep and Idaho star John Yarno talked with Peter Harriman recently, looking back on his days with the new-to-the-NFL Hawks. … Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the best receiver in the NFL this season. And also, as it turns out, the league’s best offensive player. At least he was honored with that award Thursday. Though Matthew Stafford, who last I checked played quarterback, an offensive position, was named the league’s MVP. … Yes, rookie defensive back Nick Emmanwori sprained his ankle in practice Wednesday. He did not do anything on it at practice Thursday. But he’s adamant he’s playing. So is Mike Macdonald. … Klint Kubiak has risen quickly in the coaching ranks. … Cooper Kupp does not take this Super Bowl for granted. … Yes, we found a couple Sam Darnold stories. And it wasn’t even hard to do. … A Marshawn Lynch one too. And he hasn’t suited up in years. … Kenneth Walker has more on the line than any individual player Sunday. He’s a free-agent in the offseason. … No Belichick? No problem. The Hall of Fame class is still loaded. … A Michigan man has a role in Seattle’s success. … Bobby Wagner is the NFL’s Man of the Year. Yes he is. How about its Man of the Past Decade Plus?

Sonics: Adam Silver took a meeting Thursday. With Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson. That’s interesting.

Olympics: Yes, we have stories to pass along. A story about dangerous sports. A story about curling, which just may save the U.S. team’s fortunes.

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• I noticed something different last night. There was still a decent amount of light in the sky at 5 p.m. And then this morning, as I went downstairs to get my second cup of coffee at 7, I noticed a similar occurrence. That’s 10 hours with some sunlight. Folks, we may have just turned a corner on another debilitating Spokane winter. Actually, the past few haven’t been bad at all. And yes, I just knocked on my wooden desk. Nope, not superstitious at all. Until later …