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GRIDIRON..Florida QB Tim Tebow is to be lauded for his 3.72 GPA, yes. But what the heck is a Degree in “Family, Youth and Community Service”, his major, doing on the curriculum of a legit University?…Brett Favre is expected to play the entire first half as his Minnesota Vikings visit the Houston Texans tonight on MNF. New to the MNF booth is ex Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden…the Buffalo Bills were a dreadful 0-8 last year against 3-4 defences. Now, do you think a Dick Jauron lead coaching staff has developed solutions and new approaches to this sizeable problem during the lengthy off season? Of course not! The Bills are going to have another lukewarm season and they deserve it after extending Jauron’s contract. Thus far in preseason the Bill starters have put up three points in fifteen possessions…the Green Bay starters have accumulated 66 points in 12 possessions. They have yet to punt. With Dom Capers running the defence in Wisconsin the Pack should improve dramatically off a dismal 2008…there has been a notable lack of chemistry between Dallas QB Tony Romo and wide receiver Roy Williams. The Boys desperately need Williams to step up in order to stretch the field and take some heat off the running game. Has not happened. I’ve called the acquisition of Williams an act of breathtaking stupidity and it’s going to be up to Romo to prove me wrong…looking very sharp; Kerry Collins of the Tennessee Titans continues to thrive despite the buckets of money the Titans through his way via an extended contract…looking very worried; the New York Giants have been unable to find a replacement for Plaxico Burress. The lack of a deep threat is significantly impacting the play of Eli Manning…it is going to be a joy to behold Tom Brady lining up with Randy Moss and Joey Galloway. How will teams defend the twin rockets? The Pats should score in bunches this year but, unfortunately, their leaky pass defence is also going to surrender numerous big scores…damn it must be frustrating to be a Washington Redskin fan. The season hasn’t even begun and Clinton Portis is nursing an injured rib. The star running back fell to pieces at the end of the 2008 season and it is clear his touches must be limited in 2009. The Skins are going to need a stellar year from Jason Campbell, something I’m not sure is in the cards. The team has one of the most underrated defences in the NFL but is impotent with the ball without Portis…I had a laugh reading the Kansas City Star’s appraisal of the Chiefs; “talent starved” would sum up their indictment of the once proud franchise. The Chiefs have a plethora of young players but the short term prognosis is grim indeed…S I’s Peter King sums up life in Denver succinctly; “Everything the Broncos have touched in the past five months has turned to crap”. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Simms supplants Kyle Orton in the starting QB role by midseason…PUG LIFE..police had to be called to separate a screaming Ricky Hatton from his girlfriend on the weekend. The pair were both drunk. Hatton seems to be following a well travelled downward trajectory. The fighter is being told to retire by virtually all his followers and he does not seem to be coping well with the possibilty of a future without boxing…Naseem Hamed, who last fought in 2002, has revealed the reason for his retirement. The Brit told the BBC that the perpetual swelling and pain he felt in his hands caused him to abandon boxing…PONIES..Quality Road’s chances of a three year old Championship pretty much ended with his third place finish in the Travers on Saturday. In his second start after a layoff he was a strong bounce candidate. It’s a shame, with a more judicious approach I think he would have had the measure of winner Summer Bird…MEDIA..I was saddened by the recent passing of Dominick Dunne. His masterful prose and elegant bearing marked him as one of the great crime journalists of our time. Dunne’s piece for Vanity Fair on the murder of his daughter Dominique is one of the best pieces of crime reportage ever published, poignant and overwhelmingly sad (it is available on line). During his coverage of the O J Simpson trial he revealed the background to the murders that no other journalist would touch; namely that O J was on Coke almost constantly at the time of Nicole Brown and Ron Goodman’s murders and that Kato Kaelin was allowed to live on his property not as a selfless act but rather to serve as the “gofer” for the Juice’s drug buys. The man lived a grand life and contributed immensely to the greater good…just finished Wayne Johnston’s “The Time of Their Lives”. It may well be the talented writers best book. Their are no tricks or twists, just a straightforward narrative outlining the suffocating parameters of a family paralyzed by alcoholism, social decorum and poverty. It is amazing and impossible to put down…