Football withdrawals? There's much else to watch

Did anybody else go through football withdrawals over the weekend?

We get so used to college football (beginning the last weekend of August) to the NFL (beginning the Sunday after Labor Day.) Then when the Super Bowl is over and everyone goes home, it’s hard to believe that the games which are now on nearly every day or night of the week are over.

No more Drew Brees and the miracle New Orleans Saints. No more Peyton Manning and the can’t-do-more-than-come-close Indianapolis Colts.

Heck, there are even withdrawals for Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo … and maybe Brett Favre (except for the endless “will he come back? stories.)

At least there was plenty to settle for over the weekend if you like:

An NBA All-Star game before nearly 109,000 fans in the Jerry Jones/Dallas Cowboys palace. And how about Dwayne Wade with 28 points and 11 assists?

A Daytona 500 race that would never end with more than two hours of pothole delays … and more than a few wrecks at the end that made the race last forever. At least Jamie McMurray could celebrate victory and Dale Earnhardt Jr. a strong second-place finish.

The 2010 Winter Olympics with endless TV coverage and American Johnny Spillane becoming the first American ever to win a medal in Nordic combined. Now we can focus on the extensive coverage of the likes of Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn.

And don’t forget Dustin Johnson becoming the first golfer to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in consecutive years.

As it continues to freeze in many parts of the country, here’s something that will make many warm. Spring training begins this week for MLB teams!

Pro Bowl is fine before the Super Bowl

You won’t see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Philip Rivers playing for the AFC “all stars” in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Miami.

Ditto for Drew Brees and Brett Favre for the NFC.

The Pro Bowl – being played for the first time before the Super Bowl – seems like a good idea for some and a bad idea for others.

It’s a bad idea in that you won’t see any Super Bowl players from the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts. But some like me believe it’s a good idea since football season should end with the Super Bowl.

No matter when you play it, the Pro Bowl is anticlimactic.

The argument against this week’s game certainly is based on Super Bowl participants being excluded. But when you think about it, a high percentage of Super Bowl players in the past decided to skip the game for various reasons. (Why play in a meaningless game after being involved in the ultimate championship game?)

Even this year, players are skipping the Pro Bowl. Ones such as Brady and Favre are healing from injuries; Rivers’ wife is due to have their fifth child near game time.

So the AFC is left with the likes of Matt Schaub, Vince Young and David Garrard at QB. The NFC will go with a more formidable group of Aaron Rodgers, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo.

It may seem too bad that you won’t see any 2010 Super Bowl players in this game. But would you really have wanted to watch them anyhow if the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl?

Prediction:
NFC 31, AFC 27

Cowboys ready to upset Chargers this weekend?

Wade Phillips is loved by members of the San Diego Chargers’ defense.

Problem is he’s now head coach of the Dallas Cowboys ... not defensive coordinator of the Chargers.

LaDainian Tomlinson grew up loving the Dallas Cowboys.

Problem is he’s still the star running back for the San Diego Chargers, who have won seven straight games.

Igor Olshansky was a fan favorite with the Chargers but now plays for the Cowboys.

DeMarcus Ware of the Cowboys was picked one spot ahead of San Diego’s Shawne Merriman in the 2005 NFL draft … and Merriman hasn’t forgotten.

Yes, there will be lots of coincidences when the Chargers and Cowboys meet for the first time in four years Sunday at Cowboys Stadium.

Philip Rivers of the Chargers is proving to be as good of a quarterback as there is in the NFL. Tony Romo of the Cowboys seems to be more hooked on being Tony Romeo with the women than a winner of crucial games in the NFL.

The Chargers haven’t lost a game in December since 2005. The Cowboys seemingly haven’t had a winning December since Roger Staubach was QB (OK, a little bit of an exaggeration.)

Since the Chargers don’t lose in December and the Cowboys don’t win, that should make Sunday’s game an easy pick.

Not so fast!

Prediction:
Cowboys 23, Chargers 21

Super Bowl: Cowboys vs. Chargers?

When you are known as “America’s Team” and are flying under the radar, that’s very unusual.

When you have won your division three straight seasons, are on a current six-game winning streak and still flying under the radar; that’s also unusual.

Given those circumstances, could the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers fly under the radar all the way to the Super Bowl?

Perhaps.

The Cowboys (8-3) certainly are not drawing attention as much as New Orleans (10-0) or Minnesota (10-1) in the NFC.

In the AFC, San Diego (8-3) doesn’t get mentioned nearly as often as Indianapolis (11-0), New England (7-3) or even upstart Cincinnati (8-3).

Of the two, the Cowboys likely will have it rougher down the stretch than the Chargers.

Dallas is just 5-8 with Tony Romo as a starter in December, while the Chargers are 41-5 down the stretch since 2004.

Romo seems to have latched on to Miles Austin as his favorite receiver, something the QB could not have done last season while Terrell Owens was demanding all the attention.

In San Diego, Philip Rivers has quietly averaged more points per game than any starting QB in NFL history, according to CBS-TV.

Rivers has found Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd all to be his favorite receivers … depending on the week and opponent.

Cowboys vs. Chargers in the Super Bowl? Don’t discount the possibility.

Terrell Owens needs to keep his mouth shut: Again!

Terrell Owens is an idiot; but nobody needed to tell you that about the Buffalo Bills new wide receiver.

Just ask any of his past QBs going back to Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo or others.

His latest (stupid) comment involves whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will suspend Michael Vick any additional games following his 23-month prison term.

“It's almost like kicking a dead horse in the ground,” Owens said without thinking straight.

Well, let’s consider the facts. If not for a bunch of dead dogs in the ground thanks to Vick and his dog-fighting ring, the former Atlanta Falcons QB wouldn’t be in this situation.

Owens further went on to say that Goodell should serve 23 months in prison and suffer to see what it was like for poor Michael Vick.

Excuse me? Are we missing that fact that Vick had reason to serve in prison; Goodell does not?

If we start sending people to prison just to see what it’s like, imagine what that will do for our already overcrowded prisons.

This is not a judgment on whether Goodell should further suspend Vick. That’s his call.

This is simply a commentary on why so many people/teams have tired of Owens. Stay tuned Buffalo; you’re next!