End Regular Season.

That used to be the 3 words you'd see on the older "Madden" games when you'd completed the season. Then, duh, playoffs.

I was 10-6 for the week that ended with Seattle's stirring defeat of the Rams. It's funny, you watch those teams last night and you know the Rams will be back on a bigger stage soon. I think Seattle simply got a little lucky that Bradford's receivers had the drops.

I'm thinking my typical run-through of the games is ponderous. My big upset call was the Browns and the Steelers apparently cared about the game - so I was wrong. I was 122-84 for the season (though I'm far far too intellectually lazy to do the math and make sure I'm right about that). As far as I'm concerned, the experiment was a whopping success (and if I missed some games in there, well, how's that count against my record? I simply didn't pick them).

Yes, my Washington Redskins played an average game yesterday against yet-another superior opponent with The Great Rex Grossman under center. Ok, I'll live with it. Somehow, this 6-10 finish has the feel of progress. Unless it's not - we'll find out next year. At least the team didn't simply quit altogether in December. That counts for something.

And my New England Patriots finished with the NFL's President's trophy. At 14-2, I think this Patriot team is superior to the 16-0 team that played 3 years ago. That team was almost all offense, designed (I'm guessing) to run with the Indianapolis Colts. This year, they're a more complete team that resembles their championship teams in 2001, 2003, and 2004. They've got a running game and an improving defense. They're not unbeatable, but I think they've got the red-ass over the 33-14 home-field clubbing the Ravens put on 'em last January.

But, still, all things considered, I wish the Redskins were better. Sigh.

Anyhoo, on to a superior sport: ice hockey.

Y'all see the Winter Classic? As far as I'm concerned (and no one consults me on these important issues) New Year's Day hockey is a great idea. I don't follow college football, for the most part, so January 1st is almost always the melancholy day I take all the Xmas stuff down and pack it up. For the past 4 years, however, I've had this event to distract me from the dreary un-decorating of my home. As some or most of you know, the first one was the snow game in Buffalo, the second was the Wrigley Field game in Chicago, the third was my Bruins in Fenway, and this year's was Heinz Field, Caps vs. Penguins.

I'm already on record with my Penguin-hating here. Can't stand 'em. They're responsible for ending the career of my favorite player, ever. They habitually ended the post-seasons of the Bruins and Capitals throughout the 1980's, 1990's, and 00's. I recognize that Messrs. Lemieux and Jagr were amazingly gifted players (because they're retired, never to haunt my teams again) but I recognize their gifts only through the lens of sports-fan hatred and jealousy. I fart in their general direction.

So, I pulled on the new Caps Winter Classic sweater on Saturday and pulled for the road team. Outdoor hockey looks great on TV (best in Buffalo, with the snow, at least so far) and the rain did little to detract from the visual enjoyment of the game, inasmuch as it didn't blur my picture. [they were very smart to delay it until after dark] But, having played on lousy ice before, you could tell that the wet ice surface was causing the puck to bounce around more. Additionally, a wet ice surface (like, oh - any suburban Maryland ice rink in August) will cause the puck to stop moving as if it were applying its' own brakes - this makes stickhandling a dicey prospect.

[and, any of my hockey brothers out there can insert the joke here, "when does Bob ever stickhandle?"]

The Caps adapted to the conditions by playing simple, boring, dump-and-chase hockey. But that was a stroke of genius that clearly paid off. And, for one night anyway, the Penguin fans in Sh$ttsburgh went home sad. I hate Sidney Crosby, who killed Team USA last year and has his Stanley Cup. I'd hate him less if the Caps win one soon.

If you missed it, you missed a pretty good game. Hell, there's plenty of room on the NHL bandwagon. The game goes from good to amazing when the playoffs begin. For some reality-show fun, check out HBO's 24-7 Caps and Penguins show (I saw the first three episodes on youtube). Worth the 3 hours, really.

And I'd be in remiss without a shout to my brother Bill and his wife, Amanda, who took our kids for most of Saturday and Sunday. Watching the Classic was never so....quiet in my house.