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GRID IRON..Mike Chappell of The Sporting News suggests that Dwight Feeney is almost as important to the Indianapolis Colt defence as Peyton Manning is to their vaunted offence. Feeney is “questionable” for the Superbowl and a recent ESPN report suggested he is dealing with a torn ligament. If Feeney can’t play, or is unable to play well, the New Orleans Saints will have caught a massive break…wait, was the Pro Bowl yesterday? Nope, didn’t watch a down. If the game was on in the afternoon that would be fine, but a late start surely doomed the affair. The Diva’s I wanted to watch last night were wearing sequins and tight skirts…Jay Cutler and Mike Martz met in Nashville on Saturday night. Martz is almost certain to be the Chicago Bear offensive coordinator next year, a move that can only help the beleaguered Bears mine the talent of their slumping quarterback…

ICE..four bags of pucks are moved for an elite player - and the Toronto Maple Leafs are on the right side of the deal? Fantastic, the Burke regime is in full flourish after two brilliant trades Sunday. Let me start with the best part of the deals; Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala are off the roster. I can ruminate and mull over that joyous development for hours. The fact the two dead-weights are moved in the same deal, a move that also shores up the goaltending situation with the acquisition of J S Giguere, is proof of the sagacity of the much maligned Leaf GM. The acquisition of Dion Phaneuf looks like this; it’s a schoolyard and you just keep peeling off those dreg hockey cards until you acquire something of value. At the end, Burke is the bright kid, holding a Bobby Orr rookie card, while Sutter is the dopey lad leaving with an assortment of California Golden Seals and Kansas City Scouts. Sometimes it’s just that straightforward. Doug Gilmour redux? You betcha. Phaneuf will thrive now that he has been released from the clutches of the challenged Sutter clan. His omission from the Canadian Olympic team will spurn him to greater achievement, and the trade to Toronto will be the impetus for his acceptance of a leadership role, and possibly the captaincy, of the Buds. What a steal. Dion Phaneuf of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sounds good, is going to look even better…

PUG LIFE.. Art Manteris of Station Casinos reports his book is still taking bets on a Floyd Mayweather - Manny Pacquiao fight. Floyd is currently -120 while the Pac Man is at evens. Interestingly, Pacquiao opened as a solid favourite at -160 but has seen his stock fall as punters wagered enthusiastically on Mayweather. While both fighters are taking on tough foes in the coming weeks, I’d expect both to prevail and get around to settling their “Blood Feud” in the fall…the blood feud moniker is the name suggested by Dan Rafael of ESPN for their historic clash. It’s perfect…while Mayweather and Pacquiao can be safely assumed to be able for, respectively, a “clean” Shane Mosley and Joshua Clottey, another proposed big fight has no such assurances. I’m puzzled that the Paul Williams - Kelly Pavlik fight has not been revived. The Pavlik camp should jump at the opportunity to fight Williams, a battle well within Kelly’s scope if he is fit and motivated. Instead, Pavlik is close to signing a fight against the slick Sergio Martinez, a fight where, at the minimum, Pavlik will likely look bad. An off night and Pavlik may not lay a glove on the speedy Martinez. Williams, on the other hand, is looking at a May 8^th engagement with hard punching Kermit Cintron. A very dangerous opponent for the Punisher. Cintron was blitzed twice by Antonio Margarito and has been looking for a suitable spot to announce his still abundant talent. Williams is inconsistent and could be vulnerable to Kermit’s charged offense and newly developed boxing “smarts”…

PONIES..Rachel Alexandra appeared on the work tab this weekend for the first time since her historic win in the Woodward Stakes last September. The champ strolled through a half mile in 52 flat and is probably a good eight weeks away from her four year old debut…thanks to the rashness of West Coast decision makers, Zenyatta will likely start in a race named after her. The Lady’s Secret Stakes was renamed in Zenyatta’s honour after the mare accounted for the Breeders Cup Classic and is considered a possibility for the six year old…

GRAMMIES..ooh la la, indeed. The highlight of the night was the passionate rendition of Speechless/Your Song by the immaculate duo of Elton John and Lady GaGa. Gorgeous voices (sans backing tracks and electronic gimmickry), dramatic fashion and profound mutual respect had the show off to a gripping start, but the early momentum was bungled by some subpar performances…sorry, Beyonce, the military theme of your performance was inappropriate and unwelcome. And why the hell are you spending so much time pondering what it would be like to be a boy? And why does none of it make any sense? Sexy woman, embrace your bodacious self and move beyond the mediocre songs that occasionally strangle your set list…Black Eyed Peas - uh-oh. Tinny voices, out of breath gasps, Fergie’s growing ass, all combined for an unsettling performance. This is the group that wants to unseat U2 as the world’s biggest band? Sadly, it appears the Peas do their best work in a studio. Their live appearances verge on atrocious…massive props to Taylor Swift for the inclusion of the wondrous Stevie Nicks in her brief set. When Swift’s band launched into “Rhiannon” I was momentarily disoriented and confused. Then out marched Ms Nicks, clad in elegant black, dripping with tastefully cropped silver bracelets and charms. The gesture was magnificent and if the pair didn’t mesh quite as seamlessly as was hoped, well at least a torch of sorts was passed with class and dignity (and no swapping of spit..though..come to think of it…hmmm)…Eminem’s performance was destroyed by the enthusiastic application of the censor’s “drop” button. Every time a word that may have been off-colour was enunciated, wham, the sound of the broadcast was lost for up to seven seconds. It was grating and annoying, with huge chunks of the performance blacked out…no, I don’t want to piss everyone off so I’ll bypass mentioning the excruciatingly banal “Earth Song” and its accompanying video, which was apparently created by Michael Jackson and featured luxuriant close-ups of supine children. El creepo, not missing you at all…

MEDIA..must recommend today’s article in The Onion entitled, “Bald Eagle Tired of Everyone Just Assuming It Supports War”. The rather erudite fellow notes, “I’m not a hawk or a dove. I’m an eagle”. He goes on to bemoan the fact that every time he lands on a flagpole to discuss issues, crowds erupt in U S A! chants…another article proclaims, “Bunch of Phonies Mourn J D Salinger”…