Sunday 12/28 (Very) Quickie

All fans can really ask for in an NFL season's Week 17 is that it is meaningful in some way.

Partly, that's because your fantasy season is over and you have that much less reason to care. Partly, that's because most teams' seasons are virtually over (no playoffs) and you have that much less reason to care.

Instead:
*The AFC East is totally up for grabs.
*The AFC West is a bonafide playoff game.
*The Cowboys may or may not make the playoff field in the NFC.
*And the Lions could be the first NFL team to ever finish a season 0-16 -- reason enough for that to have been a "national" game.

(For that last one, I say: Embrace it, Lions fans. Immortality doesn't come easy in sports -- and in 10, 20, 30 years, you'll be proud to say you suffered through this season.)

CFB Bowling: Pat White is one of the great college QBs of the last 25 years. Not only is he the leading QB rusher, but he ended his career an unprecedented 4-0 in bowl games as a starting QB, including yesterday's win over UNC, in which he passed -- not ran -- for a career-high 332 yards. There can and should be an NFL career in White's future.

Meanwhile, speaking of NFL careers, how about Cal RB Jahvid Best, who set an Emerald Bowl record with 186 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Only a sophomore, he should head into 2009 as a candidate for 1st-team All-American (along with Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter and Pitt's LeSean McCoy) and looks like a future NFL 1st-round pick.

Finally, was Florida State better than everyone thought -- or was Wisconsin just that bad?

CBB: God, West Virginia just destroyed (previously unbeaten) Ohio State. At least by what we saw on TV, it seems like WVU should be the team ranked in the Top 20 and OSU should be unranked. Great day for West Virginia yesterday, wasn't it?... Meanwhile, Louisville needed to shake things up; Pitino did (benching starters, elevating young reserves) and the Cards got back on track vs. UAB.

NBA: Well, at least we know the Wizards are better than the Thunder -- sigh. In a battle for the NBA's worst, OKC proved themselves the best (Blake Griffin will make a huge difference)... 7 straight wins for the Magic... 41 for Joe Johnson in a Hawks win over the Bulls (JJ has to be an All-Star, right?)... Say this for the Grizzlies: At least they are competitive (loss to Spurs in 2OT), and I think that has everything to do with the arrival of OJ Mayo (29 pts)... More 2OT goodness: Rockets over Jazz (Ron-Ron: 28)...

Enjoy the last week of regular-season NFL, friends. If your team isn't going to the playoffs, it's a long offseason.

-- D.S.