THERE'S NO BASEBALL NEWS, BUT...

...I understand there are other sports.

** Some amazing pro football games on this past weekend. Two teams, Seattle and Denver, managed to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory. Because they only play 16 games in a season, sometimes it's hard to know just how good or bad a team really is. New England and San Francisco made it look like their opponents didn't really belong in the quarter-finals.
Next week should provide some of the best football of the season. Maybe we'll even get to see Ray Lewis cry again. Lord knows he's made enough running backs and quarterbacks cry during his career.

** Someone told me that the National Hockey League begins play this Saturday after being on strike. Did anyone else know about this?  That's the game that's played on ice, right?

** I have noticed in the last year, that the only broadcasters who are willing to come right out and say the officials blew a call with any regularity, are baseball broadcasters.
Football: After showing a replay 6 or 7 times, one announcer said, "Wow, they're going to have to reverse that call."  When the reversal didn't take place, he said, "Well, that could have gone either way." That's the way to back up your original statement.
College basketball: I watched the refs call a very questionable foul. On the replay, it appeared that the defensive player may have breathed too heavily in the direction of the offensive player. The announcer's take: "The refs MIGHT have let that go, but he did foul him." Are the refs holding a family member hostage? Speak up! The refs made a terrible call.

** It was fun watching the Harbaugh brothers abuse the officials. On Saturday, John beat up on the striped shirts for Baltimore, while brother Jim took up the gauntlet for San Francisco on Sunday. If the Ravens and the 49ers both make it to the Super Bowl, I'll bet the officials demand hazardous duty pay.

** Good news for Yankee fans. Tightwad Hal Steinbrenner, holder of the Steinbrenner family purse strings, has said that if he thought that the Yankees wouldn't be able to put a championship team on the field, he would be willing to exceed the $189 million payroll limit he has set. The bad news is, it's up to Hal, who has little interest in baseball and doesn't go to games, to make that determination. I have a bad feeling about this.

** I never watch Oprah (or Dr. Phil), but it might be fun to watch Lance Armstrong stumble through an interview tonight. I'll be taking bets on his choice of denials. The Finger Stab, the I Don't Talk About The Past, or No Habla Ingles. He's actually supposed to admit doping, so we may see some tears. But maybe Oprah will be able to control herself.

** I saw a very beautiful girl walking down the street yesterday. She looked perfect in every way, and...
 [We interrupt this blog to apologize for the previous statement. Mr Picasner's comments were sexist and uncalled for. We at ESPN, regret this inappropriate action.  ESPN]

What the heck did Brent Musburger say to warrant ESPN's immediate apology?  It was this:
"...quarterbacks always get the good looking women. What a beautiful woman."   How rude! What woman objects to being called "beautiful?"  If ESPN really feels the need to apologize for 'inappropriate comments,' how about saying something about the drivel that comes out of the broadcasting booths?

Please excuse any mistakes in the blog. My editor (& wife) is suffering from conjunctivitis and edited this blog with only one eye.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The NY Mets apparently are taking a look at erstwhile SF Giants closer Brian Wilson. What’s more optimistic – that Wilson will return to form after his second Tommy John surgery? Or that the Mets will have games to close?" -- Janice Hough
"Callers to 9-1-1 in Virginia reported seeing a lion that turned out to be a dog, Detroit fans can certainly identify."  -- Seattle Times reader, Bill Littlejohn
"MLB is instituting in-season testing for human growth hormone: "Players will be tested at random, or if they gain more than 30 pounds between at-bats."  -- Greg Cote
"Some 38 Sunderland soccer fans had their season tickets revoked for blocking other spectators' views by refusing to sit down. That's what you call a bad homestand."  -- Dwight Perry
"Yankee star Alex Rodriguez is slated for hip surgery this month. Doctors say he'll be 100 per cent ready for his October collapse."  -- RJ Currie
"Since the BCS title game, Katherine Webb, Miss Alabama, is a Twitter sensation, top Google search and reportedly headed for the SI swimsuit issue. But I wouldn't look at her twice. No way. In related news, my wife reads this column."  -- RJ Currie
"Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim passed Bob Knight with his 903rd career victory. Then, to really rub it in, Boeheim threw a folding chair 294 feet across a wood floor, breaking Knight’s old record by three feet."  -- Brad Dickson
"Danica Patrick announced she is going to skip this year’s Indianapolis 500. Which immediately threw the ABC broadcast team into chaos now that it won’t have 37 cameras trained on the car in 24th place."  -- Brad Dickson

CP-