Must be a bitch, King. It's that boring week before the Super Bowl, the Senate just confirmed a new Supreme Court justice, the President is gearing up for the state of the union address, and you still have to come up with five hundred words about sports.

Maybe next time you can just call in sick.

I understand it when commentators take exception to the latest frivolous lawsuit, but Texas A&M has a legitimate beef here. The "12th Man" is a storied tradition at Texas A&M, and it is not surprising that the school wants to keep that tradition unique and undiluted. There is nothing to keep the Seahawks from using a functional equivalent of the phrase; there are surely countless uninfringing ways to convey the idea using different terms. The fact of the matter (if I have my facts correct, that is) is that Texas A&M has used the term for ages and has the trademarks to back it up. There is nothing inappropriate about it asserting its rights (and I thank you for acknowledging that). I know that this is a bunch of boring lawyer-speak , but once Peter King starts giving his "What the Heck" picks each week, things might seem a bit clearer.

p.s. I'd like to add that I enjoy reading your column each day. An intelligent perspective on sports is quite refreshing.

The Blues can't claim a trademark violation until the Clippers make the post-season for 25 straight years with no championships to show for it.

To respond to the letter in defense of the Aggies trademark, the main issue in the case is whether the phrase "12 man" has any source identification left. In other words, in a game of word association when you hear 12th man do you say Texas A&M or Aggies. I think most people don't, or if you're a big college football fan you would say that it originated with the Aggies but now it is used generically. Similar to how a knowledgable person might know that "elevator" was once a trademark of the Otis company. There are many cases involving so-caled "lost" trademarks, such as elevator, escalator, and thermos just to name a few. This is likely to fall into that category

King, I think you underestimate just how seriously Texas A&M takes its traditions. This might seem like a frivolous lawsuit to you -- to them, I assure you that this legal action is right up there with the Scopes trial, Brown v. Board of Education, or Roe v. Wade. Those guys are frothing-at-the-mouth rabid. Traditions are what make college sports great, but they are over-the-top crazy, in a separate category unto themselves. I assure you, to say their nose is out of joint over this doesn't even come close to describing the apoplectic fit those guys must be in right now. Thankfully, the one tradition they haven't perfected yet is beating my Longhorns.

The Buffalo Bills inducted the "12th Man" onto the "Wall of Fame" in 1992. (Do the Chinese have the trademark on "wall?" Oh no, they don't believe in trademarks.)

From the Bills website: "For their loyalty to the team throughout the years, the fans were honored in 1992 as "The 12th Man"…the team set the NFL record for single-season home attendance (635,889) in 1991…in addition, led the NFL in attendance for six consecutive seasons (1988-93)…selection was announced by owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. at the Welcome Home rally following Super Bowl XXVI."

Really, it's right up there on the stadium wall. Since 1992.

While I'm here, let me just say that NYU should be suing everyone. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans was the original "Hall of Fame" in this country, founded in 1900. "The Hall" (as we Violet alums like to call it) was originated by Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, Chancellor of New York University from 1891 to 1910, and was designed as part of the construction of an undergraduate college of that university.

Do you think we have a case? Can we get Cooperstown to get off our coattails? Canton schmaton.

Aggies fans need to get a life.

Go Violets!

You know, King, I usually think you do a good job on researching and writing intelligent columns, but you dropped the ball on this one.

Joke all you want, but it's quite clear that you have absolutely no knowledge or understanding of Texas A&M and the tradition of the 12th Man.

The Aggie website says it better than I can:

"The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation's top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, 'I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me.'

This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man because he stood ready for duty in the event that the eleven men on the gridiron needed assistance. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if they are needed."

Every game, we stand. And, in every game, a non-player gets to be on the kickoff teams. He wears the number 12.

One of our scholarship foundations is also the 12th Man foundation.

This isn't casual. It isn't offhand. And it's not a joke, no matter how cute you try to be about it or how slow a sports news week it is.