Aside from the realization that either the Steelers or the entire Browns defensive line from a year ago will be going to the Super Bowl, Sunday was a pretty good day. The Colts loss means about 300 metric tons less hassle around work for the next three weeks, which is nice, and such an early exit from the playoffs, and against a non-Boston area based team brought out alot of the true colors of the “true blue” Colts fans. (Hint: It’s not necessarily blue.)

But beyond football, BG beat Toledo in basketball, which doesn’t totally take the sting off the football loss, but it soothes it a little bit, which is nice. Once again, BG’s hoops team seems to have all the potential in the world, but has a hard time turning it into acceptable results. Even last night was a bit fortunate, considering they shot 35% or less from the field.

Most importantly, for at least the next 10 hours or so, the Carolina Hurricanes have the best record in hockey. I keep expecting their typical mid-December slide, then I realize it’s the middle of January, and they’ve won seven straight. There’s still a long way to go, but they’re setting themselves up for not having to scramble to miss the playoffs like they do every other year. Hell, they’ve already collected more points this season than they did in all of 2002-03 (the year after they reached the Cup finals), and at this pace will have topped last season’s total by February. I don’t know what they’re doing, but I think I like it.