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GRID IRON..it’s just the latest revelation to tarnish the image of Dallas QB Tony Romo; apparently the air head did not realize his final throw against Denver this past Sunday was a fourth down play. As the Broncos celebrated Romo attempted to line up his players and run a, uh, fifth down. The Cowboys ran identical plays on third and fourth down, both directed at stud Champ Bailey, an act of monumental stupidity. Despite flashes of trenchant stoicism on defence, this Cowboy squad is not an elite team. The problem stems from a dismal head coach and an insufferably stupid pivot…speaking of which, reports indicate JaMarcus Russell has repeatedly missed or turned up late for Oakland Raider team meetings. Boomer Esiason of The NFL Today also called the flunking quarterback “fat”. A sound organization would simply pull the plug on Russell. Like many I was enamoured with his prodigious talent, but it is clear that he is lazy and lackadaisical. He does not possess the gumption to mine that skill nor the jelly to lead a team. Oh, a couple of years from now, JaMarcus will try a comeback and have a list of all the people that failed and mislead him (see Daunte Culpepper). But the fault is his alone. He has squandered multiple opportunities to excel and is destined for the dustbin of history…okay, four weeks done and it’s time to start doing a little wagering. We have a Red Zone play this week, Baltimore offering eight and a half to the Bengals of Cincinnati. Using total yardage as the barometer of performance, instead of points, we find Baltimore “beat” New England and that Cincinnati “lost” to Cleveland last week. Big shot at the cover for the Ravens here…I’ve found the Suicide Pool scene rather pedestrian this year. I’ve used New England, Washington, Baltimore and Chicago thus far and will employ the Philadelphia Eagles in defence of my honour this Sunday. A dearth of huge upsets has my pools still at 50% capacity. I’ve plotted right through to the end of the season and remain most optimistic concerning my chances…and, lordy, in a big money pool I was advantaged horribly by a computation error. That’s a rough moment, we all love the bling, but I know what to do. I e-mailed the administrator immediately and sacrificed my lucrative standing by pointing out the error. I don’t want even a dollar I haven’t earned. But, lads, the problem with a pool is that a little devil pops up on your shoulder and blurts, “Just stay quiet!” Oh, how I hate that little devil! In my case the ghoul looks exactly like Bobby DeNiro in the Goodfella days so I have to use all my willpower to brush him aside…ICE..that’s right, baby, I’m the dude who pocketed Alex Semin in all my hockey pools. Oh yeah, it’s going to be fun watching the bulked up winger slash and burn his way through the NHL this year. I’ll be so bold as to predict a one-two finish in the NHL scoring race for the Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin and Semin…yes, thanks for pointing it out, I did write the exact same thing about Semin last year. This year I believe his commitment to strengthening his body can produce an 82 game run…spies in the Toronto Maple Leaf organization confirm what just about everyone suspects; Jason Blake is a total prick…the Leafs are loaded with “good guys”, however. I’m delighted to hear how friendly and receptive to the public players like Luke Schenn and Mike Komisarek are….MEDIA..I just read Bill Simmons epic two part story on his latest trip to Las Vegas. Parts of the tale had me howling out loud - it is a great read and available on the ESPN site. As much an ode to friendship as to the wondrous city (a place I have yet to visit because of my somewhat rational fear that I would never leave) the work finds Simmons at the peak of his formidable powers…the Onion is consistently the funniest site on the internet. A current headline, “Michael Vick Fails To Inspire Team With Great Dogfighting Story”. If you have time and feel a bit silly, I recommend “Cat Congress Mired In Sunbeam” as an absolute classic…