Of course the Bucs were right to go for it from the one yard line. Mike Alstott is a far better percentage from that distance compared to OT. But in the NFL, change comes so slowly. It will come, it just needs chances like this to show the way.

In baseball, sabermetrics and moneyball have become hot issues in the past decade. It is logical that the statistical revolution should happen there, as baseball people worship stats above many things. A simple analysis of them yielded new insights, thank you Bill James.

I recently read that the Seattle SuperSonics have hired someone to do this kind of statistical analysis in the latest issue of Wired (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/posts.html?pg=3). Eventually the idea will catch on with other NBA teams.

But the NFL is probably the most conservative major sport. Only recently have blacks been allowed to play QB in significant numbers, for example.

The NFL is perfect for this type of analysis. There is break between every play and one can divide up each of those plays into all sorts of categories. Down, distance, substitutions, formations, etc. There are websites that do this already. Someone in the NFL will eventually figure out that there are new ways to think about things. Then we will finally see some changes. Or at least someone will be in the coach's ear saying he doesn't need to go for 2 in the first quarter cause some dumb chart says so. Save it for Mike Alstott in the 4th.

While it may sound like a fun and easy way to broach the subject, do not put this into the realm of fantasy. That makes it too easy for the "what if" game to become the "why not" game.

If you want to explore those feelings, then do it. But don't hide behind this passive facade. Come out and tell her about your feelings. You don't even have to say the word "love". Just tell her she is a very special person, but that you will remain friends first and foremost. If she really has connected to you the way you have with her, she will not end the friendship. In fact, you both can probably move on from this awkward part to something better.

Just stay away from the "what if" game.

Without FGs, how would U of Miami fans taunt Florida State fans for the better part of a decade?

Say the Colts are 14-0 with home field wrapped up. Then they rest their starters and lose one or both games. Then go on to win the Super Bowl.

Is that as good as the '72 Dolphins?

I don't know. I don't know if the Dolphins rested their starters at the end of their regular season. But the Colts have to play two more games than the Dolphins in the regular season, in a league where parity is king (no pun intended).

So if the Dolphins did not rest anyone you could make a case for the Colts accomplishing what Miami did. Get to 14-0 with two regular season games left and win the Super Bowl, I'd argue that is a similar accomplishment. Won't be official, but still amazing.

Of course, I don't think they will get to 14-0 anyway. Just a gut feeling.

...even if it was wrong.

Take race out of it. Just how impressive does an assistant coach have to be to get that job back in 2003?

Can you imagine Matt Millen, or any NFL executive saying, "Yeah Steve Mariucci just took the San Fransisco 49ers to the playoffs, but we've decided to hire this assitant coach. You should have seen his interview!"

Riots in the street! There is no way you don't hire Mariucci then. Yes, the good old boys network may have gotten him to the 49ers job, but he was there. Lovie Smith wasn't.

The problem started way before that. In those two career tracks you detailed side-by-side. By the time the Lions job was open, it was a foregone conclusion.

is an attention whore. That is all.

You can stop her now. What if she picks up a knife?

Either she gets therapy (yes the standard response) or you have to leave. It is not acceptable.

When the BCS was announced, I thought it was a step in the right direction. Finally, the two top teams were going to meet in a bowl game - regardless of conference alignments.

How wrong I was. Under the old bowl system, all those big name bowls meant something. It was glorious chaos as Nebraska fans argued they should be champs, while Michigan fans made their case.

Now, like King says, only one of the big time bowls means anything. The rest are less interesting now to the average college football fan.

Give us a playoff, like every other NCAA division seems capable of producing, or go back to the old way. That way I know the Big 10 and the Pac 10 are going to meet in the Rose Bowl. Bring back tradition and get rid of this BCS travesty. Or give us the playoff.

They say it won't happen because of the money. I have no idea how the BCS makes more money than a playoff. It is beyond my comprehension.

And judging by Mike Jeffries' picture, one he has not learned.

But then again, I am one of those trivia weirdos.