A lot happened this week

Big, eye-popping stuff, too.

- Superbowl XLI 1/2 living up to the hype, as the Patriots effectively rendered the rest of the regular season in the NFL a formality by winning in Indy.
- Liverpool erupting in true backs-to-the-wall Reds fashion for an 8-0 victory over Besiktas in the Champions League. Here's a highlight reel of all eight goals that'll have any fan creaming their pants.
- Chris Paul reaffirming that he is next in line to assume the mantle of best point guard of his generation with his 21-assist/2-turnover clinic against the Lakers (nevermind Peja Stojakovic lighting up the Lake Show for ten 3s because they seemingly refused to defend the shooter).
- Kentucky getting shocked at home by minor (not "mid-major," but "minor") Gardner Webb! This, of course, set off angry hordes of torches and pitch forks in the direction of Billy Gillespie's house and got me buzzing because COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS OFFICIALLY BACK, BABY!
- Ruud Gullit becoming the new head coach of Los Angeles Galaxy. This isn't necessarily making the Galaxy elite, but the push to continue bringing the biggest names into the fold is one that I'm enjoying and, more over, soccer fans are enjoying. Put me down for a couple more Galaxy games, next season. I'm still interested.

I can get excited about all of these things, wildly so, and talk about them forever. But, when it comes to updating this page I feel like I've been thrown irrevocably off course, recently, for a variety of reasons. And strangely enough, it was another piece from Kyle Whelliston that cemented the idea, for me, that blogging with the intent to make any sort effort to be heard or seen is more and more a waste of time. Sure, I'll gladly talk sports with my friends and, every so often, I'll probably still find my way back to this page to gush or rant about whatever the topic of the moment is, but after one year in and disposable time decreasing exponentially, it might be time to throw this whole operation under the bus.

I'm still hyped about the Lakers playing Minnesota tonight, Liverpool hosting Fulham tomorrow, and the Kings facing off against the Stars tomorrow night, but damn... I need a more interactive, responsive medium, if I were to keep up this rambling with any consistency.

The Giants and Jags: NFL enigmas

I can't even begin to wrap my head around the New York Football Giants and the Jacksonville Jaguars, two teams I thought I had perfectly figured out, yet two teams who aim to confuse. I've been a huge believer of each at different points in the season and, yet, have no idea what to make of either at the moment. As I said in my picks on Friday, last night's Monday Nighter was incredibly difficult to call. So why not a comfy Jags victory?

NY's problems seem to stem from inconsistent play from Eli, whereas J'ville plays to the level of their competition. Plus they lost Leftwich for the year and there doesn't seem to be any discernable difference. Weird.

I think the Giants should still be considered the favorite to win the NFC East regardless of what all the Dallas bandwagoners would have you believe. Jacksonville's future is a little more blurry, playing in the much more difficult AFC, though their wild card hopes are as good (if not better) than Kansas City's or Cincinnati's.

A few other things before wrapping up.

1. I strongly disagree with Ryan Howard winning the NL MVP over Pujols. Howard may have hit more HRs, sure, but the Phillies A) missed the playoffs and Howard B) played 16 more games than Pujols. You mean to tell me that if Pujols was healthy for those 16 games that St. Louis wouldn't have won 95 games and his numbers wouldn't have been better than Howard's? I'm sorry, you're just plain wrong.

2. It's been a couple years since Athens (and only a couple more 'til Beijing), but The Thorpedo is calling it a career at the ripe old age of 24. Is the gradual decline of a swimmer's ability so steep that at 24 it's time to walk away?

3. College hoops: UCLA vs Kentucky. Maui Invitational. This game to follow what should be a fierce show of athleticism between Georgia Tech and Memphis. I get the distinct feeling that the Bruins aren't getting much respect or publicity from around the nation despite the top five ranking. UK figures to be second tier this season, but it's a prime opportunity for Luc Richard M'Bah a Moute to make his case for national player of the year and for Collison, Afflalo, Shipp & co. to revive the rest of the country's memory. With all the hype surrounding Ohio State and North Carolina (and of course Florida), people are forgetting that UCLA is a national power. They'll beat the Wildcats by 10 tonight.