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GRID IRON..the Dallas - Washington game, for Suicide players who had the home team, was the equivalent of watching a car crash unfold until Tony Romo pulled out a win with 2:41 to play. I guess, in retrospect, I had a great afternoon watching the game - I’ve never cursed, ranted and freaked as much as I did yesterday watching a lethargic, disinterested Cowboy offence skulk through three scoreless quarters. Does the excruciatingly overrated Roy Williams have a clause in his contract that requires him to catch balls only that hit him on the numbers? Could he show a little interest or passion in the pursuit of a profession that has filled his miserable coffers with millions of dollars? And, hey, Tony Romo, if Williams is running into triple coverage, please take a quick glance at Jason Whitten or Miles Austin - one of the pair is likely wide open. I didn’t quite build to the rage that once saw me rip apart a VCR (those were the days) with my bare hands but, then again, the ‘Boys did snatch the win. We head into Week 12 with elimination pools still plump with players. I’m looking for a stress free weekend with the Cincinnati Bengals, my pick, at home to the abomination known as the Cleveland Browns…the stage is set for an epic Pittsburgh Steeler - Baltimore Raven showdown on Nov 29^th. This much is clear; only one of the two will make the playoffs. The team that can sweep their remaining two games will be that team. Rest assured, both the Steelers and Ravens are confident they can dominate their hated foe. The losses of the Ravens, Steelers and Bengals yesterday only ramped up the intensity for Sundays game…Denver Bronco coach Josh McDaniel’s taunted San Diego Charger linebackers with the comment, “We own you”, immediately before their game yesterday. The Chargers were incredulous, but kind enough to promptly administer a butt whipping. I’ve noticed an incredible lack of professionalism among the new breed of young head coaches. It has become the norm to celebrate as madly as your players, to hug and console, to goad your opponents. Sorry, give me a Tom Landry or a Bill Walsh anytime. I expect a coach to remain rational and calm in order to maintain and develop a strategic fluidity as a game unfolds. When I see a Raheem Morris leaping madly in a scrum after a Tampa Bay touchdown, I’m not the least surprised when the team is grossly ill prepared for their opponents adjustments…watching the St Louis Rams attempt to rally against the Arizona Cardinals yesterday was pitiful. Marc Bulger was once an All Pro quarterback. I suspect this is final year in The Show, or certainly his last year in St Louis. On a 4^th and 18, with time dwindling, the slow, vapid Bulger opted to run. He, needless to say, didn’t get far but did make sure to add a fumble as a kind of final indignity. Worst of all, Bulger has added a “loser’s limp” to his game, his body language meant to proffer an assortment of ailments that are really the cause for his abysmal play…hang on, did you know that the Oakland Raiders had, at the beginning of the season, chosen yesterdays date to commemorate the life of Marquis Cooper, their former star special teams player who died tragically during the off season? That Cooper’s whole family was in attendance for a moving ceremony? The Raiders played their best football since Week 1 in upending the streaking Cincinnati Bengals…Josh “The Milkshake Man” Freeman had three interceptions and a fumble while his Tampa Bay Buccaneers were skewered by the New Orleans Saints. The lads from the Bayou took the merciful step of playing ancient Mark Brunell in the latter stages of their 38-7 blowout win. The teams meet once more before seasons end…New York QB Mark Sanchez doled out his second five turnover game of the season yesterday against New England. You can turn out the lights on the Jets. Head coach Rex Ryan has announced he will stick with his rookie for the rest of the season…

ICE..huh? Ilya Kovalchuk was ejected from last night’s Atlanta - Pittsburgh game for fighting? I imagine puckheads, myself included, will be scouring the internet for footage of the Thrashers star throwing down with Matt Cooke of the Penguins…Jerome Iginla has eleven goals in Calgary’s last nine games; coincidentally, or not, the Flames are 6-2-1 during the same period…John Tavares expects friends and family totalling 100 to be in attendance tonight as he makes his Toronto debut. The sniper was targeted by Leaf GM Brian Burke in the off season but nothing came of the backroom manoeuvres. Tavares currently toils for the New York Islanders…Vesa Toskala starts in goal for the Leafs tonight. The Monster, Jonas Gustavsson, is licking his wounds after a couple of brutal starts…