Viva Murillo!
Well, it's here: the worst week in the professional football season. Worse than Pro Bowl week, which is pretty bad. But at least that week isn't pretending to be anything. It's just a collective sigh of exhaustion and a paid athlete vacation that nobody cares about watching. This is different.
The conference championship games have set up an intriguing Super Bowl, and not just for the unique aspect of seeing the Cardinals there. Larry Fitzgerald versus the league's best defense. Edgerrin James getting a chance to actually earn a ring, as opposed to the one Bill Polian gave him after the Colts won the Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger going for a second title in his young career, and Mike Tomlin trying to become the youngest head coach to ever earn one. Not to mention Ken Whisenhunt trying to show the Steelers that he should have been given Tomlin's job (not that either option looks bad now). Kurt Warner, Hines Ward, Anquan Boldin -- lots of stars to be seen in Tampa on Super Bowl Sunday.
But that's next Sunday; not this one. This is a week of meaningless hype, the most uninspired stories and "news reports" you'll ever see or read and interviews with the extreme periphery of the game's participants. You won't even get any substantial practice news this week. There's only so much to talk about, and it's stretched out over two weeks. But next week has an actual game at the end of it, and this one has...nothing. Even if you like baseball (which I don't) there isn't any to watch. Basketball is too early in the season for the games to matter, and hockey has abandoned us as well: They're on break this week, with their defense-free, meaningless all-star game scheduled for Sunday.
So what are you supposed to do? Compile meaningless cheat sheets for 2009 when coaching staffs aren't even in place for some teams? Watch old Super Bowls which have absolutely no drama since you already know the outcome? Watch yet another story about Kurt Warner's faith or the history of the Racine/Chicago/St.Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals? I mean, really. Before you subject yourself to a touching story about Limas Sweed's pet parakeet, here are a few things you can do with your time.
Try to trade some Super Bowl stars in your dynasty leagues. Some owners get caught up in all the Super Bowl hype, and maybe you can sell high while they're still playing. If I owned Larry Fitzgerald I would certainly see what he might bring in a trade while he's in the spotlight. He's amazing, but we don't even know who will be throwing him the ball next year. Why not see if someone is willing to overpay based on his playoff performances?
Watch Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver Sunday night (for free) on the Versus Network. Okay, so World Extreme Cagefighting isn't as popular as Ultimate Fighting Championship, but the California Kid and Lil Evil put on quite a show this past June. Faber dominated Pulver, but the match went the full five rounds and offered a lot of entertainment. The rematch should be pretty fun to watch and it won't cost you a penny.
Watch college basketball. Personally, I don't care unless I have brackets to fill out but there are a lot of top games featuring top-25 teams this week. They aren't pouty millionaires (yet) and the games do have meaning. It's something to watch, anyway.
Boxing -- "Sugar" Shane Mosley is 37 and has been fighting for more than 15 years, but he has a title bout on Saturday night. HBO will televise the match between Mosley and Antonio Margarito for Margarito's WBA welterweight title. The card has a bunch of fights on it. Could be interesting if you like boxing.
Law & Order -- By my count, the USA and TNT networks will be airing a combined 39 hours' worth of L&O between Wednesday and Sunday. You can check the schedule, but if you just turn to one of those channels during the week it will probably be on.
Or you could get caught up in the Super Bowl sizzle when the steak is more than a week away. It's up to you. But when you're going through images of every Super Bowl commemorative coin and wondering about the heads/tails ratio for the games, don't say I didn't warn you.
Youtube Clip of the Week: If you have to revisit old Super Bowls, at least see some of the better halftime shows like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojkHjVnlnIg
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