Culling the Field

 * I have to commend fantasy football - it's existence has fully expedited my grieving processes for the both the Cowboys and Horns' seasons. Though their epic fail has precluded me from getting up steam to do a weekly column on them, it now frees up space for life's other frustrations. Hell, has there ever been a more poetic sense of finality to a season than a broken collorbone and Romo trying not to choke on his mouth guard?

* A fantasy win streak does help things focus on what is important: that there is damn fine football still left to be played - even if it isn't in the state of Texas. In the NCAA Oregon looks like offensive monsters and are highly fun to watch, but lighting up the scoreboard does hide the mercurial nature of the Ducks' defense. All it takes is one off week for the offense to truly expose a D that has been doing just enough to get the job done vs. other ranked opponents. Auburn's schedule is just too tough for them to run the table, especially with the Iron Bowl looming. I am counting on them falling out of the top two spots so I can see an Oregon/Boise national championship; I guess I am just a sucker for efficient and well-coached offenses.

* The much-ballyhood NBA season got off to a meh start as the Heat look far from ready to take the mantle away from the Lakers as the marquee NBA team. The Heat were decimated by injuries in the preseason, which has created a lack of cohesion that is pretty glaring; right now it just looks like they don't have a clue as most possessions devolve into 1v5. Their saving grace early in the season is going to have to be LeBron and D-Wade going nuts off of defensive blocks and turnovers.

* I am glad I generally only watch the World Series. I can't imagine taking 180 games of announcers drolling on about percentages, pitch counts, and the amount of big league chew the players go through. Once they start promoting mound rushing that percentages of "bats to the face," I'll consider tuning in.