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GRID IRON..the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers are current co-favourites for Superbowl glory at 3-1. Next is New Orleans at 4-1 and Minnesota at 6-1. Best value must be the surging Dallas Cowboys at a friendly 7-1…the New York Jets will have Bart Scott back in the line-up this weekend for their match against the San Diego Chargers. Scott’s touchy ankle kept him out of Saturday’s Bengals beat down…Carson Palmer had a hideous performance against the Jets. He missed virtually all of last year with injuries and, like others coming off significant injury time, a Tom Brady or a Michael Vick, he struggled to find his former class. I’ll look closely at the Jets this weekend but it is important to recognize the degree to which the stumbling Bengals shot themselves in their prodigious paws…then again, who has been better at implosion than the San Diego Chargers? Established playoff wimps, the feeble ruminations of Norv Turner literally guarantee moments of singular stupidity in any playoff game…I don’t think anyone who watched Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Josh Freeman slice the New Orleans defence could be emphatic concerning the Saints prospects in the playoffs. New Orleans was dead in the water in the final weeks of the season and will need to find their earlier form to keep up with the Arizona Cardinals. One thought; the Saints changed their strategy towards the end of the year, maximizing Drew Brees protection. The new awkward set-up was handled ineffectively by the players. It is safe to assume we’ll get the ramblin’, gamblin’ Saints this weekend, with lanes flooded and Brees airing it out…well, I just turned that Green Bay - Arizona debacle off at half time and went to bed. It had been an arduous weekend and the last thing I needed was a mockery of all that is sacred in the NFL; defence, proper strategy, intensity. If you don’t pressure Kurt Warner, he kills you. I can’t say it enough. It was true ten years ago and it will be true this weekend. Again, this is a quarterback ditched by Tom Coughlin and the New York Giants when they ascertained that he was a mediocrity if not provided with 3.5 seconds a play. The Packers didn’t have the jam to attack Warner and I couldn’t deal with the resulting migraine…

ICE..the sagging Toronto Maple Leafs get an improving Carolina Hurricane squad tonight in the Big Smoke. The Canes have been a different team recently, with the sharp play of Cam Ward and Eric Staal propelling the cellar dwellers to three wins in their past four games. Perfect, just what the Leafs need. The Buds have crumbled in their past ten, led into their darkest hours by the utter disappearance of Phil Kessel. Lads, Tyler Bozak, called up for tonight’s contest to centre the ex-Bruin, is just not going to be the answer…is it churlish to suggest that Leaf GM Brian Burke should remove himself from his Team USA responsibilities in order to focus on the crisis enveloping the team that pays his considerable wages? Timing is everything, and it seems highly inappropriate to hear Burke waxing eloquent on the likes of T J Oshie while his own team brandishes shameful incompetence…ice cold; Columbus Blue Jacket Rick Nash has gone nine games without a goal…1993 playoffs, Curtis Joseph in goal for the St Louis Blues against the Doug Gilmour led Leafs; still the best goaltending I have ever seen. God love Cujo, a brilliant goalie who just never seemed to be on a team able to ride his talent. Well, except for that Detroit experiment, when the puck stopper began to display the inevitable ravages of time…don’t you wish Minnesota Wild star Pierre Marc Bouchard, who has yet to play this year, could seem just a little, I don’t know, pissed at his predicament? Bouchard is nonplussed as the 2009-10 season melts away, his feet up and a freezing daiquiri in hand…

PUG LIFE..Fightnews is reporting Mike Tyson wrestled for the WWE Monday night in Minneapolis. He apparently ended up knocking out Chris Jericho who, unfortunately, was his partner…I finally caught a replay of the Paul Williams - Sergio Martinez fight. I scored it even with both fighters having their moments. But, let me be clear, Williams does not beat a sober, fit Kelly Pavlik. No way, no how. The impetus must be with Pavlik to regain his fitness and his mojo; a showdown with the Punisher is a fight Pavlik can win, and one that can also vault him back to the top of the middleweight pile…first must-read interview of the year is featured on the Ring Talk website. Victor Conte, former head of the infamous BALCO Labs, weighs in on the Pacquiao - Mayweather accusations. Conte states emphatically that even Olympic level testing is beatable, referencing many athletes that are using HGH but are able to pass even the most stringent tests. The sophistication of the modern abuser has left the testing process in the dust, and Conte claims Mayweather is wasting his time if he thinks his proposed level of investigation would catch a committed user. Conte dismisses claims that bizarre head growth is a tip-off of steroid abuse. But he does suggest he is highly suspicious of Pacquiao, without providing any proof or particular insight, merely noting the cut of the Filipino’s body despite rapid weight growth. Conte did juice Shane Mosley before his successful venture against Oscar De La Hoya in 2003 and he claims to see many of the attributes of a good doping regimen present in the Pac Man. Again, just his opinion, and no proof. I’m not sure how Conte would have dealt with a Henry Armstrong, a featherweight who eventually drew for the middleweight title, and many of his observations seem self serving. But it’s clear his thoughts and observations are relevant and indicative, possibly, of a problem far more pervasive in modern sporting culture than we may realize…

PONIES..big congratulations are in order to the thoroughbred industry for their courageous decision to shut down You Tube sites archiving classic horse races. It was ludicrous to think that a fan should be allowed to watch replays of races like the Preakness or Belmont. What would be next? New fans? Increased interest in the sport? Maybe new attendees at the track? Man, that was close, an industry in a death spiral must be very careful to ensure any initiative to create excitement or attention be squelched immediately…

TURN LEFT..lost amidst all the Danica hype has been the news that former F1 Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr has also decided to pursue a future in NASCAR. The details are murky at the moment, but Piquet has stated the American circuit represents his best prospects for stardom. Piquet Jr may begin in the truck series…