Just Play The Game!!!

This is Super Hype Week Part 2. I know it's all for the sake of the big show. Today all atheletes on the Colts and Bears are fair game for the media.

There will be an occassionally intriguing question raised, but for the most part, the press will ask about mundane and ridiculous details into the player's private lives.

We all know the true reason for media day, the press is looking for the slightest hint of a controversial statement that they can blow out of proportion for the rest of the week. An insult or a bold prediction (like Joe Namath made in Super Bowl 3 when the Jets inevitible upset the Colts).

This is the day to hunt for a drop of blood anywhere to be found in the stadium. When it's found the hounds will bark loud and looooong! I'll skip the hype.

Bring on the game. My prediction: Colts 35 Bears 14.
Manning will take MVP honors.
Dungy will give God all the glory, then exit.

Can You Believe This?

“Hundreds of chickens have been found dead in east China — and a court has ruled that the cause of death was the screaming of a four-year-old boy who in turn had been scared by a barking dog. The bizarre sequence of events began when the boy arrived at a village home in the eastern province of Jiangsu, where he screamed for a long time while bent over a henhouse window after being scared by the dog. A court ruled the boy’s screaming was “the only unexpected abnormal sound” and that 443 chickens trampled each other to death in fear. His father was ordered to pay about $230 in compensation.”

Non NFL Weekened

Pardon me but why can't I find a pigskin on the tv this weekend? Answer: Because we're at the midway point of Colts/Bears Superbowl hype. I hate the two weeks of reporters mining through the trivial and inconsequential elements of player's lives.

I liked it when you went from conference championships one week to world title the next. So what do I do this weekend? Well, I can watch college basketball. Thankfully Ohio State men are #5 in the nation! I'll check to see how many balls Greg Oden swats and how many times he rattles the glass as he goes up strong. But most of all I'll just come to terms with the fact that another season is on the brink of going in the record books.

I know some say but then there's the Pro Bowl. Ever watch that? 5 minutes is enough, almost like watching some NBA teams play NON-defense.

This weekend my mind will start gearing up for another season of NASCAR. In truth, I've lost some interest here but knowing that ESPN is assuming the mother-lode of coverage this year finds me hopeful that I'll be watching more. A just maybe Bobby LaBonte will break into the winner's circle this year.

It will also be the time when my mind starts wandering to places like Sarasota and Vero Beach where baseball dreams are on the line once again. Although I am mired in 20 something degree weather, mentally I can smell fresh cut grass and hear brand new mitts popping somewhere far from here. Actually my mind shift into the MLB gear as I was passing down the grocery aisle lined with magazines. There I spotted it, the first fantasy baseball magazine of the year. I chalked up the brakes of my cart, and dove headlong into the magazine of player rankings and projections.

Ah, it's a most wonderful time of the year! No football? No problem. (Of course if the Miami Dolphins were in the chase I might feel differently.) Truth is, the world of sports is bigger than the NFL. It's time to start dreaming of things on the horizon. And maybe that's just what I'll do this Sunday afternoon in the absence of football games. Soundly and warmly tucked away in my blankets with visions of better sports dancing in my head.