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GRID IRON..in a sharp blow to the Pittsburgh Steelers post season hopes, safety Troy Polamalu has ruled himself out of Thursday’s game against the Cleveland Browns and also, possibly the rest of the season. Polamalu, a vital cog on the teams 2007 and 2008 number 1 ranked defence, has watched the famed Steeler resolve crumble in his absence…New England Patriot Randy Moss was sent home for the day this morning after missing the start of an 8am meeting. Not the distraction needed by the reeling Pats…Terrell Owens has stated he intends to play at least two more seasons. Owens is 36 and enduring a most unfortunate stay in Buffalo with the Bills. The wide receiver gave no indication where he would like to reside in 2010, but I’m fairly confident it won’t be on the other end of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s dismal spirals…post concussion syndrome has ended running back Clinton Portis’s season in Washington…the Sporting News Scouts spend some time raving about a player probably 95% of fans haven’t had a chance to watch this season, St Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson. Described as a tantalizing mix of “speed, size and playmaking ability”, the blurb ends on a forlorn note, recognizing Jackson has wasted his talents on a dreadful team…I’d wager the majority don’t realize Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson is not the leading rusher in the NFC; he trails Jackson by over 100 yards…the Scouts had a dreadful week with their picks, going 0-5. I didn’t fare much better, falling out of my “suicide” pools when a vampish Steeler defence allowed itself to be used like a two dollar whore at a Shriners convention. Bitter? Oui…

ICE..could the end of an era be close in Detroit? Chris Osgood has lost his last five games and is being supplanted by the scant abilities of Jimmy Howard. Cracks have appeared in Fortress Detroit as the team is engaged in the unthinkable; a battle to remain in playoff contention…San Jose Shark Joe Thornton sits atop the NHL scoring pile with 7 goals and 33 assists. He should get a bit of breathing room from second place Marian Gaborik when the New York Ranger darling suffers his inevitable season ending injury…Martin Brodeur, at 1,024, is just five starts away from Patrick Roy’s NHL record for most games played…ex Leaf Nik Antropov is settling in on the top line in Atlanta, notching 2 goals and 21 assists while feeding the puck to Max Afinogenov and Ilya Kovalchuk…

TURN LEFT..Dale Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports made it fairly clear what they are selling when they announced the signing of Indy Car racer Danica Patrick to a Nationwide Series contract yesterday; Patrick looked absolutely stunning at the press conference, clad in a black leather jacket, tight black jeans and the sexiest open toed pumps this side of Elizabeth Taylors Cleopatra. Patrick could become a superstar in NASCAR but she is to be commended for her cautious approach. She can learn the game in the “B” series before graduating, in 2011, to the Sprint series. Man, if she can drive, at all, she is going to be huge…

PONIES..on a cold, snowy day in the Big Smoke, it was nice to see Steve Haskin of Bloodhorse has released his first list of 2010 Kentucky Derby contenders, headed by Super Saver and Lookin at Lucky. The permutations of the three year old campaign serve as signposts through the seasons, with the Florida Derby from Gulfstream in late March a welcome reminder in Toronto that spring is right around the corner. Fifth on Haskin’s list is what represents a rare indulgence, a Meridian hunch bet; a colt named Dublin will hopefully be in Kentucky on May 1^st to welcome my first sojourn to the world’s most famous race…Irish jockey Mick Kinane announced his retirement yesterday. Kinane partnered the sublime Sea The Stars as the colt carved out one of the greatest three year old campaigns in modern times and evidently wants to end his career on a high. Mick was leading rider in Ireland 13 times and won 58 Grade 1 races while riding for Aiden O’Brien and Coolmore from 1998-2003, piloting such stars as Galileo, Johannesburg and High Chaparral. He was a punter’s dream, a smart, adaptive, committed jock who would certainly rank as one of the best I ever observed. His efforts on the headstrong Sea The Stars allowed the colt to produce his best, though Kinane’s ride in the Arc, when the colt had clearly had enough of being told what to do, was a masterpiece in coddling and cajoling a talent into conserving and then unleashing his abundant brilliance. You can stroll through the grandstands of the Curragh, the bars of Leopardstown and the muck of Tramore, but you won’t find an Irishman who has anything but respect and admiration for Kinane…

PUG LIFE..heavyweight David Hayes has described Kevin Johnson, fighting Vitali Klitschko on Saturday in Switzerland, as possibly the weakest challenger in the history of the division. That’s saying allot. Hayes noted Johnson’s only win of note was against Bruce Seldon, seventeen years after Bobbling Bruce had been knocked out by Riddick Bowe (I just read Kev’s comment from yesterday, great stuff! Hayes is quite a character and the toblerone reference is pretty damn funny)…an old-timer will recall the circumstances of that infamous Bowe - Seldon fight. Seldon began hyperventilating in his dressing room as fight time approached and ended up passing out. He had to be revived and marched to the ring where Bowe promptly dispatched him in the first round. Seldon is also remembered for taking a scandalous dive against Mike Tyson and for serving time for sexual assault on a 13 year old girl. This, comrades, is the man the Johnson camp selected as their first big name opponent. Johnson struggled with Seldon before a late round stoppage…I’ve had a veritable riot following Johnson’s online diary as he prepares for Saturdays fight. Johnson loves to, uh, stretch, do a nice 40-45 minutes in the gym and, occasionally, spar. His brain dead recounting of a fitness regimen below that of even a moderately motivated working stiff is unintentionally hilarious. Johnson appears to spend the bulk of his days wandering the streets telling people who he is and forcing his autograph on them. Vitali needs to make a statement by ending this fraudulent exercise in the opening stanza…Off the top of my head I’d cite Jean Pierre Coopman (Ali), Richard Dunn (Ali), Alfredo Evangelista (Ali & Holmes), Lucien Rodriguez (Holmes), Lorenzo Zanon (Holmes), Leroy Jones (Holmes) and Chris Arreola (Klitschko) as the worst heavyweight title challengers I’ve ever seen. Interestingly, Muhammad Ali certainly fought the best collection of heavyweights ever (Frazier, Foreman, Liston, Lyle, Shavers, Norton, Young), and also the worst…Larry Holmes fought an irredeemably impoverished group, no highs and repeated lows. I’d argue two of his most impressive performances, against Ray Mercer and Evander Holyfield, occurred while he, relatively speaking, was in his fistic dotage…