Pardon the Interruption

 We (err, I) interrupt your normally scheduled trip through my iPod to bring you a few thoughts from the world of sports.

It's not riveting television

Wednesday was National Signing Day, the day when college coaches pin their hopes (and careers) on 17 and 18-year old kids and their success on and off the field. It’s the day when . . . wait, did I say “off the field?” That can’t be right. Sorry, the day when coaches pin their hopes and careers on 17 and 18-year old kids and their performance on the field and hope and pray they don’t flunk out, get arrested (the number of times they can be arrested is directly proportional to their importance to the team’s success), or fail to live up to the potential the coaches see in them. So you’ll excuse me if I don’t get all worked up over players who may or may not actually impact the team. When they get on the field and start performing, I’ll start caring. Until then, I’ll save my excitement for games on the field and not on the recruiting trail.

You may have heard the Super Bowl is this Sunday. (If not, you heard it hear first. Expecting the Spanish Inquisition: The Third-Most Trusted Name in Really Obvious News.) There are countless sites where you can get a breakdown to the keys of the game. (Well, maybe not countless. Google probably has a pretty good count.) Instead, I’ll give you the most important key to the game. The key to the bus. As Woody Allen said, “90 percent of life is just showing up,” so the bus to the game is key. After that, it’s anybody’s game. (Prediction: Green Bay 24, Pittsburgh 20.)

The four greatest words in the English language are “you’ve won the lottery.” The next greatest words are “Pitchers and catchers report.” On that day, every team has hope, at least until their star pitcher gets hurt and their catcher falls down a flight of stairs and breaks his collarbone. But until that happens, even us Cubs fans can believe that if all goes well, and we catch a few breaks, this could be our year. Unfortunately, we’ll probably be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs by the time Opening Day arrives. Those Spring Training days, however, will be as hope-filled as I am all year.

Finally, with Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl set to air on Sunday, I give you this, one of my favorite posts from 2010 – an interview with the 2010 Puppy Bowl MVP.