Ridiculous

Missed work with a flu bug on Wednesday. Since I was home, I decided to watch the Congressional hearing involving Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee and the Mitchell Report. As a huge baseball fan, not to mention a Yankees fan, all I can say is that this whole thing is just such a waste of time. Why is Congress involved in this? Don't they have more important things to do?

Look, the whole steroid era is questionable. We'll probably never really know the exact affect that the drugs have had and likely continue to have on the game. I don't mean to defend the users, because I think its a shame that they've done this to a game that I truly love. But is anyone really foolish enough to think that this problem is about the star players like Clemens and Bonds? They are the easy targets, but what about the two players with marginal talent that are about equal, and one gets a shot because he cheats? That's the bigger issue to me.

And that's just at the pro level....What about the kids who despite warnings from coaches and parents try to emulate their heroes by taking drugs. Worse yet, what about the kids that are encouraged to do so by their coaches and/or their parents. Its sickening when you think about it.

I heard someone say this morning that if Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder hit 60 home runs this season will anyone believe it. Its sad to me, because I have so many memories that have been tarnished by the scandal already -- The Sosa/McGwire HR chase in '98, the Yankees '98 team, Rick Ankiel last season...These are just a few, but any fan has the same list. It doesn't completely ruin all of it, but it does make you look at it in a whole new light. But to hold up one guy like Clemens ignores the fact that somewhere between 20% and 80% of the batters he faced were probably also guilty of using the same types of drugs. There are no easy answers to the problem, but dragging someone's name through the mud doesn't address the issue. It just leaves an even worse taste in your mouth.

Lost is definitely back

I don't want to spoil anything for those of you that haven't seen the latest episode yet. So instead, I'll just say that the first two episodes have been so @#$!@#$ good, even though I don't really get what's going on. I am counting the minutes until next Thursday so I can see what they come up with next. I sat through the whole episode, didn't really completely understand what was going on, and wanted to watch it all again as soon it was over to see what I missed.

This show is incredible.

A Great Super Bowl

(With the Album "Barenaked Ladies are Men" playing....)

Each year, I sit down to watch the Super Bowl and hope for one thing (with the exception of 1986 and 2007, when my favorite team -- the Bears -- were playing in the game). For a stretch there, it seemed like a game where one team didn't jump out to a 20 point lead would be good. But over the last 10 to 12 years or so, it seems this game has gotten closer and closer. More often than not, we enter the 4th quarter with the losing team still having a shred of hope.

This year's game was fantastic. You had a team making a bid for an historic win, and another on an historic streak looking to shock the world. The Giants did just that. I will brag a bit and say that when these two teams met in week 17, I turned to my wife and said "I have a funny feeling the Giants will make it to the Super Bowl". I believed it at the time, but I also thought that same week 17 game would spell the end of the Giants should they meet the Patriots. Having seen them once, I thought the Patriots would steamroll them and march on to history. I am happy that I was wrong, though I do feel a little bit of sympathy for the Patriots. To be this close and come up short -- I can't imagine how tough that is. I'm sick of the Patriots and don't really like them, but I do respect what they've done over the years, and I'd take any of their players on my team in a heartbeat.

I've never really liked the Giants much, either. I think Coughlin is kind of annoying, I get tired of Strahan and I think Plaxico Burress is kind of a jerk. But, I do like Eli and have followed his career. I saw him play at Ole Miss, and though I never really thought he'd be Peyton II, I knew he'd be a good NFL quarterback. I desperately wanted the Bears to draft him, and as he's struggled in New York, I had hoped the Bears could deal for him. That won't happen now, but I am glad to see he has taken full advantage of his chance to silence all his critics. That last drive proved the kid has the heart of a champion, and while he might not be Peyton, he is worthy of a Super Bowl ring.

So I'm happy the Giants win. We've got at least one more year of the '72 Dolphins and their champagne toast when the last unbeaten falls. The only thing I wanted and we didn't get was for Eli to get up on that podium and say "Hey Tiki....Who's comical now?" He's got too much class for that, but it would have been a great moment.