Good news for Colts fans- Peyton Manning's thumb, the one he injured when he hit o-lineman Tarik Glenn's helmet, is fine. The X-Rays showed no signs of a fracture, and Manning is a good-to-go for the Superbowl. Even if Manning had broken his thumb I would be surprised if he didn't play in the Superbowl. I imagine he would pull a Brett Favre, suck it up, and and play in his first ever championship game.

Fellas, I have found the kind of wife I want in life, and her name is Colleen Pavelka. She is a Chicago school teacher that understands how much her husband loves the bears. Colleen was expecting the couple's second child on Monday Jabuary 22nd, but when she went in on Friday for an appointment her doctor informed her that she could opt for an early delivery. Knowing her hubsand Mark wanted to attend the NFC Championship game, she agreed for the early delivery, and watched the Bears play on TV while her husband enjoyed the victory from the stands. That is what you call love...and a good woman.

There seems to be no urgency on the part of the Steelers to find a new head coach. This may be because many of the other coaching vacancies around the league have been filled. As of now the Dolphins, Cardinals, and Falcons have all found new coaches, and it is highly unlikely that the Raiders will steal away one of the Steelers top choices. Pittsburgh may be looking to hire away the Bears defensive coordinator, but to do that they will need to wait for another couple weeks while Chicago prepares for the Superbowl.

Bad news for the Raiders: ESPN is reporting that Steve Sarkisian and James Lofton have both decided that they do not want to be considered further for the Oakland Raiders head coaching position. Sarkisian was considered the front-runner and Lofton was considered the second choice, so this puts the Raiders in the same tough position they were in last year after Louisville's Bobby Petrino turned down Al Davis. To add insult to injury Dennis Green has also declined to be interviewed. To make things worse there aren't many talented coaches out there. The Raiders top choices now are likely former Giants' coach Tom Coughlin and current Raiders' defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Fassel runs the type of offense Al Davis likes, but Ryan has done some great things in Oakland. Plus Ryan will already know the players. Regardless the Raiders are still likely to struggle. Even if they pick up JeMarcus Russell it will take at least a season or two before he is truely "ready" to play. And of course there is always the Joey Porter- Randy Moss question lingering...

Whenever there is a head coaching change some players, no matter how good, are bound to be cut or relegated to roles they do not want to be in. Will this be the situation for Daunte Culpepper in Miami. The Dolphins new head coach Cam Cameron (formerly the Chargers offensive coordinator) has been excellent at grooming quarterbacks, specifically Drew Brees and Philip Rivers. He was also pretty good when he played under Lee (I Say Dumb Things) Corso at Indiana. But Cameron has always preferred pure pocket passers over mobile quarterbacks. At a press conference Cameron indicated that he will give Culpepper a shot, but more likely than not, Cameron won't hesitate to cut Culpepper if the later is not fitting in the system well.

This just in: The NFL Network will be airing a commercial featuring various NFL stars and celebrities attending Chad Johnson's Super Bowl party. I guess the Bengals are getting something here right?

Ironically, the Network turned down Britney Spears' request to appear in a Super Bowl commercial.

Although this issue gets some attention in the media every now and then, it really requires more exposure. As spectators its easy for most of us to watch our favorite players hitting each other, but with each hit comes the chance for a concussion. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh told the New York Times that Andre Waters, a former defensive back in the NFL, had brain tissue that resembled that of an 85-year old man. Omalu commented that the damage was most likely related to multiple concussions experienced by Waters during his 12-year tenure with the Eagles and Cardinals. Waters committed suicide last November at the age of 44, and Omalu said the trauma Waters experienced was a "significant factor in the brain damage."

Concussions are a huge problem in the NFL, and unfortunately no one in the league knows what to do about it. It seems to be an intrinsic part of the game, a risk all players incurr, but if we know the dangers is it still ethical to allow these men to put themselves in harm's way?

Donovan McNabb seems to be getting better, and Philly fans are excited about it. On a radio interview with head coach Andy Reid, the issue of McNabb's rehab came up. Reid had this to say,

"He's working like crazy right now... He came out today and ran in the pool for the first time and didn't have a limp when he ran in there. Those are all positive things. He's focused in right now, he's working his tail off right now."

McNabb is a guy with a lot of heart, but with consecutive seasons with crippling injuries it may be time for the Philadelphia organization to consider bringing in some fresh blood to groom.

The Raiders seem to be interested in SC's offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. In fact, Al Davis interviewed him first, and gave him a call back. After genious Norm Chow left for the NFL, Sarkisian, along with others, helped to create the historic SC offense that battled Texas, and worked to make this year's Trojan offense productive. At Oakland he would have the opportunity to forge a new offense out of (almost literally) nothing. But would you want to leave Southern Cal for Oakland?

Mannings comments after the Baltimore win, while probabaly ill-timed, have truth in them. People need to start looking at the Colts as a whole versus Manning and the rest of those guys. For so long Manning has been credited with running one of the best offenses in recent history, but somehow he always takes the blame for losses. To be fair he doesn't have the best games in the playoffs (he threw 5 INTs against the pats in '04, 3 against them in '05, and this season has only 1 TD and 5 INTs in the postseason- but he's at least winning this January), but there is more to it than that. At times the defense has faltered, at times the o-line has faltered (see Steelers-Colts divisional round game last season), and more often than not Manning has just been successfully schemed against (mostly Belichick). Regardless, football is a team sport, and it should be either that the Colts win or that the Colts [can't help but] lose.

Of course by now you have all heard about the little incident between LT and Ellis Hobbs after the Chargers-Patriots game on Sunday. What you may not have heard is that Philip Rivers yelled at Hobbs as well, calling him the "sorriest corner in the league." Regardless of whether Hobbs should have done the "Merriman" dance won't be discussed by me, but what I will say is that if Hobbs really is that bad why didn't Rivers pick on him more. The Pats secondary is absolutely decimated right now, and Hobbs doesn't even have great safeties to help him over top. Rivers stat line was a pathetic 14/32 for 230 yards , zero TDs, and one pick. Way to go Philip, how about you win some more before you go saying something to the team that just beat you.

When the Giants announced that Tom Coughlin would return to New York next season, fans became irate. It seems some of the players are pretty hacked off too. In an article in the New York Post this morning, a reporter quoted an unknown Giants offensive player bashing his head coach:

"Guys are so sick of hearing him yapping all the time," the player said. "You watch film, a guy gets beat and he yells 'We can't have that!' Like a whiny baby."

I think there are three ways of looking at this. First, Coughlin's style might be wearing out the Giants. Second, the Giants, especially offensively, are ass hurt that they suck. Or three, which is a combination of the above two. I think the last one is probabaly the most accurate description of the situation. But one thing to keep in mind is that if the coach has lost some of his players, it will be tough for him to be effective next season.

A high school teacher in Dallas stands accused of videotaping a girls wrestling match for sexual pleasure. Reports say that the 28-year old teacher filmed two hours at a wrestling tournament, often zooming in on the genitals of female wrestlers. The lawyer of the accused seems to be taking a "I know this sounds dumb but its the only defense we got" route: he argues that the law under which the teacher has been charged is too broad:

How do you draw the line?" said Palmer, adding he has not seen the video. "If you go to a Cowboys game and take a close-up shot of their cleavage, are you committing the same offense because you think that has sex appeal? Apparently you are under this statute."

I have a feeling taking pictures of a cheerleader from the stands is a bit different than filming high school girls' genitals.

Carolina suffered this season. After being touted in the pre-season as a Superbowl contender, the Panthers didn't even make the playoffs. Much of that is due to their offense, which is structured around a power back. DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams proved that they were not power backs, so during this offseason the coaching staff should be looking for a new back. One name that stands out is Chargers back-up Michael Turner. At 5'10" and a staggering 237 lbs, Turner is a beast that has averaged almost 6 yards/carry for San Diego. He is also good enough to be a starter. But the most intriguing part of Turner is that he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Will the Chargers opt to re-sign him? Probably not, especially considering the fact that he will be a hot commodity this offseason.

Rumor is that the Raiders are interested in interviewing the Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz. If Moss and Porter can be convinced to stay, and Martz is given a decent quarterback, the former Rams head coach could turn the Oakland offense around in a season. They already have a good defense in place so as long as Martz isn't allowed to touch it the Raiders could have another winning season. How? Well, the weak link (and it was a damn weak link) was the Raiders offense. Their defense performed well, especially towards the middle and end of the season, and if they had had an offense to match Oakland may have been in the hunt for a playoff spot.