Spanish-Speaking Monkey Puppets and...Oh, there's a FOOTBALL game this weekend?

Well, we've made it this far.

4 days from kickoff of Superbowl XLII and mercifully almost to the end of the grueling 2 weeks of endless hype and general nonsense which surrounds the NFL's annual event.

The Superbowl represents one of the world's greatest ironies - the season's most important football game has SO LITTLE to do with FOOTBALL.

It's a damn shame. Yesterday's three ring circus in Glendale, also known as "Media Day" is one of the best examples of that. We had Spanish- speaking monkey puppets, men dressed as astrologers & women in wedding gowns asking for Tom Brady's & Eli Manning's hand in marriage.

Now, If I read that sentence out of context, I would assume it was the TV Guide description for an upcoming Jerry Springer show.

(note to the NFL for next year: see to a new set of guidelines for what constitutes "member of the media")

As a football fan, I always find the Superbowl to be somewhat of a letdown. There's just so much hype, buildup & "entertainment" around the game, that I'd really enjoy myself more watching a divisional playoff match up or hell, even a regular season game. I enjoy all the analysis and breakdown that goes on leading up to a big game, and this being THE game, one would assume we'd have discussion in spades. Not so much. As of today, I've heard very little in the way of analysis about the actual game. Sure, you've got your pundits and their picks - Have you heard about the camel at a zoo in NJ who has chosen Big Blue to win? She went 11-6 in the regular season; a better winning percentage than the JETS!

My favorite part of the 2 weeks so far has been Plaxico Burress. I think he must be in enjoying the same whacked Kool-Aid as the Steeler's Anthony Smith because he has opened his mouth twice to guarantee a win and said the Giants receiving core is "better" than their Patriots counterparts. Come on, guy. The way I see it, you guys have 2 options - blitz the hell out of Brady or hope to cover all his receivers. And good luck with that. Randy Moss has been held to fewer yards towards the end of the season, but when you've got guys like Wes Welker, Donte Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney, & Ben Watson, who are you going to double cover?? You can't be everywhere at once - but I'd sure love to see the Giant's secondary try.

But I get what Burris is doing.. I do. What are the Giant's going to say? "We don't have a chance"? "Our QB cracks in pressure situations"? "We can't believe we're here either"?

And what is the Patriots response? Well, not much, as usual. They do their talking ON the field. Admirable for sure, and it's the "Patriot's Way".

Obviously the other interesting football related news over this period has been Tom Brady and "The Boot". Has any more focus been put on someone's ankle since Curt Schilling's heroic bloody sock pitching performance in the 2004 World Series?

(I will not mention a certain mumbling Mayor who has begun to plan a parade...I swear to God, if he jinxes this team... he may be mumbling in the Mystic River by Sunday night)

I predict Eli Manning will throw at least 2 interceptions and the Patriots will hold the Giants to 17 points. With 2 weeks of rest under their belts, I think the Giants have a major beating coming at the hands of New England. I say 42-17, Patriots.. oh and Wes Welker takes Superbowl MVP.

So while some of us will be talking about the actual FOOTBALL GAME, other people will be discussing who's singing the national anthem, what commercials they can't wait to see, and Tom Petty and his halftime show. Of course, the halftime show holds little excitement when you have someone as "safe" as Tom Petty. I can't imagine he'll be having an epic "wardrobe malfunction"; the worse thing he can do is sing off key.

Give Tim his Binky Back...

Doug Mirabelli & the Red Sox are reportedly close to a deal to bring the backup catcher/Tim Wakefield personal binky/security blanket back for another year. (this is all pending a physical - which I'm sure he'll pass provided he has laid off the Krispy Kremes in the off season)

So yea, this makes me happy. Why? Because there was crap on the free agent market as far as catching goes and the guy is even taking a pay cut to stay here. He will be getting $550K with incentives, down from the $750 he made last year. It never hurts to save a bit of money on a guy, right?

Now, I am not blind to Mirabelli's offensive shortcomings. He was pretty much a guaranteed out last season. His stats are not great, for sure: 114 AB's, .202 avg, 23 hits, 16 RBI's & 5 HRs. Not too stellar when he's playing every 5th game for you. Also, Mirabelli was plagued by some wacky injuries like the strained calf muscle he got from just running the bases.

But, in 2007, Tim Wakefield had his one of his best seasons with 17 wins - and for most of those games, it was none other than Dougie Fresh back there, calling the game.

And lets be frank here: no one else in a Sox uniform has caught Wakefield more consistently or effectively than Mirabelli. Plus, Wake feels more comfortable with his guy behind the dish. Wake has admitted that because of the nature of the knuckler, most of the time when he releases the ball he has no idea where it's going to end up. Um, come again? So Mirabelli is back there apparently doing his best to estimate where his glove/body should be positioned to cut down on the number of passed balls and potential runs scored. Makes me think of Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get.

Let's hearken back to early 2006 and the "Josh Bard Experiment". Otherwise known as "Don't mind me while I spend the whole night running to the backstop to retrieve the ball I failed to catch...AGAIN" Yea, that went over like a lead balloon; like a fart in church, if you will - you were there.. you get the picture. Thankfully, that ended mercifully with Mirabelli making a superhero-esqe, State police escorted, grand entrance back into the Red Sox fray vs. the Yankees. (yes, we here get quite excited about our backup catchers - ONLY in BOSTON, folks)

This season, while Mirabelli was injured. we had the "Kevin Cash Experiment" which actually went rather well once he got the hang of it. But Cash did not take too kindly to being optioned to Triple A Pawtucket at the end of the 2007 season, he is however a non roster invitee to spring training. If the Sox are going with Mirabelli, and since there's no room on the roster for 3 catchers, I can't imagine Cash will be sticking around for the 2008 season.

So I hate to even say these words.. but Jason Varitek can't go on catching forever. (did I just hear a collective SCREAM from the Pink Hat crowd?) With his contract going through the end of the 2008 season (with an extension being discussed during this spring training) the Sox need to address the long term backup/TEK replacement plans for the future. Obviously Dougie Fresh, at 37 doesn't fit into those plans. I predict Wake may retire after this season and once Wake is gone, it's safe to say his personal binky won't be needed any longer.

There are several catching prospects in the Sox farm system. George Kottaras in Pawtucket is 24, good offensively and has some experience catching the knuckleball, but scouts say he still needs some work on his basic catching skills - nothing that cannot be corrected though. Dusty Brown, 25 spent most of last season in double A Portland. He has a great arm and is a great defensive catcher, however he needs some work offensively.

So the Sox have some work ahead of them for sure in regards to this backup catching situation. As far as the 2008 season goes, I hope Dougie finds his way to the batting cages, works on the offensive side of his game and quits hurtin' himself running the bases. He's had better offensive seasons and what better time than now - with the Sox poised to make another Championship run - to have another one.

But bottom line, if Wake is on the mound, I want his binky behind the dish, and I'm pretty sure Wake does too.

Memo to Jim Rice from the Baseball Writers: You Ain't Worthy

Jim Rice got jobbed.

Again.

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) couldn't see fit to give him his due and put him the the Hall of Fame on his 14th year on the ballot. He had 72.2% of the vote. Just a bit shy of 75% needed to make it in. He's been on the ballot more times than any other player and not been put in the Hall. If he's not elected in his last year (2009), he has the possibility to be put in by the Veterans Committee in 2010.

Click here to see the rules on the BBWAA voting procedures
Click here to see the voting info for the Veterans Committee

What a kick in the pants. Like the Buffalo Bills of HOF ballots; always the bridesmaid, never the bride and all those other analogies one thinks of. Jeeze Jim, thanks for showing up, sorry you're still not good enough for us, why don't you come back next year and we can do this all over again. How fun!! I can only imagine he's pissed - I'm pissed for him.

Rice's stats speak for themselves: .298 lifetime batting average, 382 HRs, over 2400 hits, 8 all-star appearances in his 16 seasons.

So what is the problem? He wasn't a media darling, didn't always get along with the folks writing the stories - some of those same writers who are now holding his HOF fate in their hands.

This is a flawed system. These writers undoubtedly are going to have SOME BIAS when it comes to their personal interaction with a player; this may cloud their ability to judge a player solely on their BASEBALL performance. And isn't that what we are supposed to be judging here? A players BASEBALL performance? Their HR, AVG, OBP, total hits, etc. - their stats?

What is the solution? I wish I could offer one here. Fan voting? Maybe. Player/manager voting? For sure. Maybe the solution is votes collected from the BBWAA, fans, and players/managers. I don't know. But I'm sick of the way it is, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

I sincerely hope next year Mr. Rice receives those last 16 votes he needs and crosses the threshold into the hallowed HALL to take his place among the other legends of the game. There's no doubt in my mind it's where he belongs.