Friday 12/12 A.M. Quickie:Heisman, Bears, Celtics, Hot Stove, More

The Heisman situation -- or, more accurately, figuring out which player is the "best" in the country -- is as convoluted as the recent BCS snafu. I laid it out in today's SN column, but I'm going to re-publish it here, because last night's awards were so strange:

*Tim Tebow won the Maxwell, the poor man's Heisman, for being nation's most outstanding player, ahead of finalists Colt McCoy and Graham Harrell -- even though Tebow is projected to finish 3rd in Heisman voting.

*Sam Bradford, the leading Heisman contender, won the O'Brien as the nation's top QB -- but he wasn't even a Maxwell finalist.

*Colt McCoy was named Walter Camp Player of the Year.

*Graham Harrell was a finalist for both the Maxwell and O'Brien, yet apparently wasn't good enough to invite to New York as a Heisman finalist. (Total crock.)

So who will win the Heisman? As last night's spray of results showcase, it is as wide open as any Heisman voting ever.

With less than 20 percent of ballots publicly available, it looks like Bradford will win the Heisman and McCoy will come in 2nd, although -- oddly -- Tebow will earn more 1st-place votes than either of them.

(That indicates that Tebow is going to be left out of the Top 3 on an inordinate number of ballots. Are we seeing "Tebow Fatigue?" How strange, given that last night he won the "Spirit" award as the nation's most inspirational player; isn't that supposed to be a GOOD thing? It's not like he's Matt Leinart.)

There is a case -- a strong one -- to be made for all of them. I guess if there was some solace to offer the runners-up, it would be two words: "Vince Young." VY never won the Heisman, yet is still widely regarded as the best player of the last 25 years.

You might be wondering if I'm going to camp out at the Nokia Theater in Midtown Manhattan tomorrow night to watch/stalk the Heisman ceremony in person. Unfortunately, I'll be out of town, watching it on TV. I find it so odd that Tebow will likely get the most 1st-place votes but will still likely come in 3rd.

Anyway, the Celtics are sick. And you know how much I liked to rip them last year during the playoffs. Well, they are better this season. If they were on a "title-or-bust" mission last season, what the hell are they doing this season? Do they want to crack 70 wins? 75 wins? Ray Allen is on fire. Rajon Rondo is an All-Star. It's ridiculous.

The Saints are out of the playoff picture in the NFC, but -- hey -- at least Drew Brees was the leading vote-getter for the Pro Bowl! And the offensive coordinator is so valued that he got the head-coaching job at Syracuse! May want to practice that pass-defense by the DBs, though.

Short a.m. post today, but you can get it all in the SN column. More later.

-- D.S.