My gosh, Erin Andrews, you really are terribly pretty.  You always are, but tonight?  Golly.  It's nice that you also happen to be ESPN's best sideline reporter.

Not that any of this is anything new, ha.

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First of all...

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, BABY.

I believe that's all that needs to be said.  Monday night, DEFINITELY among the best nights of my entire life.  I can't overstate that.  WOO!

But anyway.  Let's talk baseball.  Sara and I have talked a little about the smoov jazz numbers her team and the Dodgers chose for the national anthem on their respective home opening days, and I was wondering what my Royals would do yesterday for their opener against the Yankees.  Well, I don't know who sang the anthem, but I DO know now that Garth Brooks will be leading a round of "Friends In Low Places" at every home game this season.  According to the Kansas City Star, Garth took a few hours recently and recorded several different openings to the song, just to be played during Royals home games.  The Star says he did 20-25 different openings.  So Royals fans will be singing along to that song this season in the 6th inning or whatever.  Sure, seems like a semi-ripoff of the Boston "Sweet Caroline" thing, but pfft, what do I care?  Ha.  I kinda like it.  I'm all for Garth hanging with the Royals.  Why not?

But still, who sang the anthem?  Hmmmm.  I may never know.  Couldn't you kick in just a little early on opening day, Extra Innings?

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That was a good game.  A memorable game.  And a very good fourth quarter.  It does happen now and then, ha.

That one catch by David Tyree, wow.  Woooow.

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So, to follow up that last whiny post...

Now that the game is 3/4 of the way done:

- I think I like the Giants better than the Patriots.  I think I always did, but the prospect of an undefeated season had me leaning toward pulling for New England before the game.  Now I feel rather noncommittal.  I do like the Giants more, but an undefeated season would still be interesting.  So ... go ... Giants?

- I still think the Super Bowl is over-hyped and altogether less interesting than an average regular season game.  Even as close as tonight's game is, I think it's sorta dull.  I think one reason I feel this way is, the atmosphere created by a neutral site is just not fun at all.  I do agree that a neutral site is necessary when it's a one-game, winner-take-all championship, but I would never put the game in a dome, and I would give 90% of the tickets to fans of the teams involved.  Fox and NFL VIP's and rich morons can suck it.  Bring real fans to this game, you get a better atmosphere.  Actually, I would play every Super Bowl in the Rose Bowl.  Period.  OR, how about in Ann Arbor, at the U of M?  How cool would it be to play in a potentially snowy place?  Weather is part of football.  Let's play someplace frigid.

- The commercials have been better than last season, I think.

Looks like the Giants are driving.  Oooh.  I am SO sleepy.

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Well, it's almost that time of year again.  The biggest day on the calendar.  Tomorrow, it's here.  Yes, it's ... Stupor Bowl Sunday.  And I ... don't ... care.

I never care.  Not unless my team is involved.  The hype surrounding and popularity of this game always baffles me just a bit.  I suspect a lot of people actually don't care about the game at all, that the big day is really more a fine excuse to get together with friends and eat good stuff like chicken wings and pizza, and I think it's all really just become a tradition with a boring game at its center.  I don't honestly think it's about the game at all for a lot of people.  If you're a fan of one of the teams involved, it's huge.  If you have money riding on the game, huge.  Otherwise?  I don't think I remember a time when I didn't find the game to be a big letdown.  And so, yeah, I just don't care.  Unless the Broncos are playing.  Oh, John Elway, I miss you most of all!

I'm about the biggest sports fan you'll meet that doesn't care about the Super Bowl.  I think I generally know my stuff.  Could I go on ESPN and stump the Schwab?  Uh, no.  But I know enough.  On certain specific sports subjects, I know a lot.  I know much, much more about baseball and college basketball than anything else, but yeah, I know something about football.  A bit about hockey.  I can hold my own.  Well, historical hockey's not my strong suit, but whatever.  But I've been thinking tonight, and I'm not 100% sure I know who won last year's Stupor Bowl.  Was it ... the Colts?  I'll look it up.  Ah, it was.  Yay me.  But who won the year before THAT?  Hmm.  Did the Pats pull that one off?  Looking it up, and ... ah, the Steelers.  I would have never, never guessed that.  But hey, the Patriots won three of the four before that.  And wow, the Bucs won one?  Man, I REALLY don't remember that.  Was that Trent Dilfer?  Hmm, Brad Johnson.  Dude, I must have blacked out for that season, ha.  Really, I can talk football.  I know a good bit.  I follow the NFL to some degree.  I can talk to you about Payton Manning or Philip Rivers or Wade Phillips or Jay Cutler or whoever.  I can argue with you about why the NFL really oughta adopt the college overtime system, and why pass interference is stupid.  I pay attention to the regular season.  Even the playoffs, I'm pretty much tuned in.  And I watch the Super Bowl to some extent every season, but I just don't care.  I don't watch for the commercials, no.  If I watch, I'm watching for the game, and the commercials are just the fun parts between the hyped boredom in between.  That makes it sound like I watch for the commercials, but no.  I watch for the game.  And I'm always disappointed.  Even the closer recent games have been dull.

I guess my problem is, I like football, but not enough.  I don't like it so much that I can watch two teams I care nothing about slug it out for supremacy and still give a crap.  With baseball, pfft, I can watch any game and be at least somewhat interested.  College basketball, even more so.  With those two sports, and even hockey to some extent, I have teams I hate, teams I want to lose, teams I love, teams I like, outcomes I want to see.  In football, I like the Broncos.  And lately, I hate Philip Rivers for being such an ass.  But that's about it.  I don't really dislike or like any other team.  I feel like I may have once disliked the Raiders, but now I don't care.  What is it about this sport that fails to draw me in?  I know it's America's biggest sport.  But I care about the actual Super Bowl game most years roughly as much as I care about beach volleyball.  I'll tune in tomorrow because it's just a big deal, but I won't be watching the whole game.  I'll probably nap at some point during the game.

Anyway, having said all that, go Patriots!  I'm all for an undefeated season, and Tom Brady seems cool aside from the whole getting Bridget Moynahan pregnant and dumping her and dating Gisele Bundchen thing.   If New England wins, I really will remember it a year from now.  If not?  Uh, who was in the game again?

The sport I really only kinda pay attention to is pro basketball.  I follow the league for one thing: I want to see how former Kansas players fare once they hit the pros.  I know all about the day-to-day progress of Kirk Hinrich, Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard, Nick Collison, Raef LaFrentz and all the rest.  I pay attention to the Celtics because of that very reason.  But when was the last time I watched a full game?  Hmm.  I suspect it was when Bill Laimbeer was still playing for Detroit.  Ha.

I did watch Duke beat Miami today, though.  And Texas beat Baylor and Nebraska beat Iowa State and UCLA destroy Arizona and Missouri top K-State and Florida get dismantled by Arkansas.  And yeah, I certainly saw Kansas take Colorado down.  I do know my sports.

Oooh, it's almost time for the Puppy Bowl!

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I'll post something not about sports here again eventually, but...

Just in case anyone was actually beginning to think of Kansas as a football school (not likely, but that was a fine football season), whoa.  The basketball team is only getting better.  85-60 at Boston College?  I know KU was an 11-point favorite today, and I know BC was unranked, but still.  This was the one nonconference game I was worried about.  This and Georgia Tech.  The Tech game turned out to be pretty close, mostly thanks to Kansas' tendency to let up when in possession of a big lead, and yeah, I kinda anticipated a close one today, too.  In Boston, against a quality ACC opponent?  And at 11am Lawrence time?  It had potential to be tough.  But wow.  25 point win.  I never would have predicted that.

I will say, though, that had BC not made Kansas mad in the second half, it might have been closer.  The lead was down to 14, and BC had ALL the momentum.  But eeek, when KU is mad, they're kinda unstoppable.  That little altercation lit a fire under them that they had lacked in the second half.  After that, whoa.

AND, I've never heard announcers be so complimentary toward my team.  Thanks, guys.  And I love Bill Raftery.

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And to follow that last post with another post about the Kansas sports world, WOO!  KANSAS WON THE FREAKING ORANGE BOWL TONIGHT!  As a lifelong, die-hard, big-time Jayhawk (it's since birth, so my alma-mater doesn't trump my wild KU fanaticism, and hey, I have two brothers who went to school there), I have to say, it's amazing.  And I don't know what to do!  I'm used to celebrating big basketball victories, but this is foreign territory.  Kansas, 12-1, winning a HUGE, BCS bowl?  Unbelievable.  UNBELIEVABLE!  And thoroughly great.  It was kinda of a big night in my house, ha.

And I like Virginia Tech, too.  I mean, my dog is a Hokie!  We bought her from a couple in Virginia, and the guy there is a K-9 guy for the Virginia Tech campus police.  So yes, Abby's a Hokie.  Not sure who she was pulling for.  I think she took the game as an opportunity to nap in front of the heating vent.

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... I just saw the little survey thing you have on your website, asking who'll win the American League central division in 2008.  Now, I know my team has been in last place for a long time now, and I know they're not quite at the championship level, but you only offering the Tigers, Indians, White Sox and Twins as options there just makes me CRAZY.  The Royals have been down forever, but they're still in the AL Central.  So INCLUDE ALL THE TEAMS.  Don't snub my guys.  Ugh.  I hate you, ESPN.  When KC rises again and takes the division, I hope they keep your reporters out of Kauffman Stadium.

Also, SportsCenter is a joke now, a shell of its former self.  So there.

And Pedro Gomez and Skip Bayless are stupidheads, in case you haven't noticed.

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Who's the most surprising rookie in the NFL this year?

Adrian Peterson.

Now, let's answer more QotD's!  Like...

What do you think of Stephen Colbert's satirical bid for the U.S. Presidency?

Over a million iPhones have been sold.  Have you: bought one, considered it, or decided it's not for you?

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  How many people do you know that have been touched by the disease?

What's the best late-night TV talk show?

The end.

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Two sports things:

1. I'm still doing remarkably well picking football winners this season, but boy, does my favorite team ever suck.  Man.  That was the worst I've ever seen them play.  Ever.  Puke.

2. The baseball playoffs are going rather swimmingly so far, I think.  Except ... eek, the Yankees are up in the 5th inning.  What happened?  NOT COOL.

The end.

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