teh randm sports collum

(No, I won't write it all in lolcat - kthx!)

* Everybody and his twin is suddenly picking the Steelers to beat the Patriots on Sunday. Need we remember that this is the same Pittsburgh team that lost to the Jets?

* Speaking of the Patriots and Jets - what are the odds that the Pats can win by 45 points, they way the Celtics beat the Knicks a couple weeks ago... 3 to 2? Pick-em?

* I saw a 2008 New York Mets page-a-day calendar in Target. Decided not to buy it, since I don't want to own something that totally goes to pieces after September 1.

* OK, so the Mets need a catcher and they trade for one, Johnny Estrada, for the bargain price of Guillermo Mota - the reliever who'd been suspended 50 games for the 'roids. Now they need... um... maybe a starting pitcher? And maybe they can has trade for Johan Santana, or Erik Bedard, or Dan Haren, who happen to be three of the American League's ten best pitchers. So they pull the trigger quick on their first choice - a mediocre, expensive catcher (Brian Schneider) and a fourth outfielder (Ryan Church) in exchange for Lastings Milledge.

Forget for the moment that they now have too many average-to-bad catchers on their roster, and that Milledge is a better outfielder than Church. Don't they need Milledge to help bring back one of those three pitchers? Is it that terribly hard to plan this out ahead of time?

* Islanders = NO SCORING. Urge to kill... rising...

* My own humble deck hockey team won its first playoff game 4-0, and will go for the t-shirts on Tuesday evening. Then we get to start a new season after the New Year. Sometimes I think that they should award sweatshirts in the winter, and t-shirts in the summer. Oh well.

(I had planned a few other odds and ends columns too, loosely organized around other broad topics. I will have a busy weekend, however - it's Mystery Science Night tomorrow, and there are many things I need to do in the real world. I'll still write them, I think, but it may be a few days. Expect me when you see me!)