Thursday 02/01 A.M. Quickie:SB XLI Can't Arrive Fast Enough

Super Bowl XLI Ramp-Up: Cripes, is it here yet? I really don't have much to say. All the coverage has been recycled quotes from Media Day. Yawn. And having just come from two days in Chicago, I'm a little OD'ed on the SB.

The big post is tomorrow, when I/we make our picks. So start preparing now. My big dilemma: Do I stick with my well-publicized (uh, self-publicized) Colts over Bears pick from the PRESEASON? Or has my time in Chicago -- and perhaps my legacy of serious Bears fandom from age 0-18 -- affected my judgment? Come back tomorrow.

You know what we haven't talked about yet? The ads. There's the K-Fed ad (which doesn't deserve our attention), but which ads have you heard about or seen that you think will score big? Hell, most of them are already available on YouTube. A huge part of the SB XLI live-blog on this blog will be about the ads.

UPDATE: There IS a big story: Super Bowl Week, 15-minutes-of-fame, hot-for-Web-oddity Bears fan Sarah Spain rejected Matt Ufford (of WithLeather and KissingSuzyKolber) as the guy to give her extra Super Bowl ticket to. This was lame. And wrong. You can't bite the hand that feeds you freaking Super Bowl tickets. Check out WL for Matt's epic three-part tale of rejection.

NFL Coaching: Given that the Cowboys haven't picked a head coach yet, I'm going to predict that the next coach of the team will be... Ron Rivera.

(Why doesn't the NFL let assistant coaches whose teams are in the Super Bowl do job interviews? Is it really THAT disruptive?)

Kobe scores 43 in return from suspension. (Bitter much?) The Celtics continue to suck. (Oden much?)

College Hoops Parity Watch: Wisconsin as No. 2? Not for long: The Badgers (one of my preseason Final Four teams) lost at Indiana. The Gators and Heels rolled on – I think they're on a collision course for the NCAA title game.

Speaking of Oden, if the Celtics DO get the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, they might want to consider picking Kevin Durant over Greg Oden. Did you see Durant's game last night? 30-some points, 20-some rebounds. Yeesh. He's a monster.

Nick Saban is a complete jackass.

Barry Bonds' various contract snafus are even more boring than you think they are.

Today's Must-Read: The always-brilliant Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop has this amazing post that continues to enlighten we plebian NBA fans about the real inner workings of the system. Or is that "Wes-tem?" Here's the link.

Carmelo-vs-Shanoff MySpace Challenge: In the latest update (as of 11:38 a.m. on Thursday), I have reached 270 friends. Carmelo has 31,145. Based on my "1 Percent" goal, I need to reach 312 friends. Only 42 behind! The big question: When will Melo request to be my friend?

Not about sports, but perhaps of interest to you: Do you like politics? Do you run a politics blog or simply like to talk about politics? Do you appreciate the reference if I compliment you for being "clean?" Dan Lewis, one of the brains behind ArmchairGM.com, wants to talk with you about a potential opportunity. Email him at dan[dot]lewis[at]gmail[dot]com.

-- D.S.

Monday 01/29 A.M. Quickie:Will the New Blog Look Get Me to Miami?

UPDATE (12:40 p.m.): Barbaro euthanized. Yes, this will be a huge story today, whether you like Barbaro or not. I will personally miss him -- don't forget: I picked him to win the Derby.

New-ish name! New-ish look! Have you read the post below about the blog's new look? (And don't forget: It's now www.danshanoff.com.)

Super Bowl XLI: The Bears arrived yesterday. The Colts arrive today. The media mayhem begins now. What I want to know: Are any of YOU going?

UPDATE: The biggest sensation of Super Bowl Week? Sarah Spain. Is she the new Jenn Sterger? Only if she parlays this into Maxim. (No, getting on da WSCR morning show in Chicago wouldn't count. Nor would an interview with Sean Salisbury on Chicago's WMVP. Has he sent his application to be her Super Bowl seat-mate via camera-phone yet? No?)

Tiger wins Buick, 7th Tour win in a row: Apparently, "parent-to-be" status is going to be pretty good for Tiger this season.

It's like Woods and Federer are playing in their own exclusive game of "Can you top this?" en route to legacies as the best ever in their respective sports.

NBA: Suns win 17th in a row. Nash has 23 pts, 15 ast. How many MVP voters are sorry they gave him the award last year (it should have gone to LeBron), because Nash is even more deserving THIS year. (But they can't possibly give him the MVP three years in a row... can they?!)

Officer Shaq: Some idiot allegedly hit Shaq's Escalade and tried to flee the scene. Little did he know that Shaq fancies himself a lawman. Shaq gave chase, caught up to the guy and beat his ass called in the real cops to close the deal.

More NFL: Cowboys hiring Norv Turner? Really, does it even matter? It's a caretaker job until new O.C. Jason Garrett is ready. (Again: If it is ultimately Garrett's job, why not just give it to him now?)

Meanwhile, isn't the NFL fining Reggie Bush $5K for taunting Brian Urlacher superfluously adding insult to injury? After all, Bush's taunt inspired the Bears to kick the crap out of Bush's Saints.

Barbaro in trouble? He had some risky surgery this weekend, and now he's had a set-back. The Barbaro Watch is on.

College Hoops: So maybe Oregon IS the best team in the Pac-10, especially after No. 3 UCLA lost to Stanford yesterday.

Women's College Hoops: I really had high hopes for Maryland to repeat, but after that ass-kicking they took from UNC (in College Park, no less), it's UNC's title to lose. (How about a men's-women's double?)

MLB Hot Stove: Are the Red Sox really going to get Todd Helton in a trade with the Rockies? I smell a swindle coming on...

Missed this weekend? Well, for starters, my kid's very first words may very well have been the tagline for a sports-apparel company's TV ad.

-- D.S.