Didn't we hear about Jesse Owens from our dad or granddad? We certainly never saw him in person, but we sure know the legend. He was the Olympic track champion that, in just 45 minutes, established three world records, tied another and won four gold medals. Owens made a statement that transcended American athletics.

A montage of evil was played during the Nazi anthem while Adolf Hitler stood tall and threatening during the 1936 Olympics, held on the Berlin, Germany soil. Owens single-handedly crushed Hitler's myth of Aryan supremacy, winning gold in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the long jump and 4x100-meter relay. Owens 4, Hitler 0.

Oh, how times have changed. Global politics doesn't quite spill over into athletics like it did then, but American track and field has yet to duplicate the heroism Owens berthed  75 years ago. Carl Lewis, of course, is a much better athlete in all areas in terms of medal count and performance — Owens had the 100-meter dash world record at 10.2 in 1936, and Lewis owned it in 1991 with a 9.86 effort. Tyson Gay (9.69), Maurice Green (9.79), Leroy Burrell (9.85), Justin Gatlin (9.85) and Mike Rodgers (9.85) have all run faster (legally), but none have come close to what Owens did for the sport. Still today, 75 years after Owens made history in Germany, we’re still searching for a hero. And we’re not going to find one at the World Championships this year, either.

Since former world records Michael Johnson (200m: 19.32) and Greene (100m: 9.79) retired from track, Gay has been the only ray of sunshine American sprinters have seen. He owns the second-best 100-meter time ever recorded (9.69) and third-best 200-meter time (9.58), but the 28-year-old is always injured. Again, he will not compete in the World Championships this August. I had at least hoped he would run the 4x100-meter relay, but he had surgery on his injured right hip. So, we now bank our hopes on Justin Gatlin, who won Olympic gold in 2004 and world titles in the 100m and 200m one year later. He returned last year after a four-year suspension following a second positive drug test.

As of late, the sprint world has been dominated by the Jamaican’s. Former world record holder Asafa Powell holds the fastest 100m this year, running a 9.78 on June 30. Gay had run 9.79. Powell's teammate, Steve Mullings, has run 9.80, American Mike Rodgers has run 9.85, Jamaica’s Michael Frater's best this year is 9.88. Current world record holder Usain Bolt has run 9.91. Gatlin's best is 9.95.

In the 200-meter dash, Bolt's the fastest with a 19.86 with Jamaican teammate Nickel Ashmeade next-best at 19.95. American Rakieem Salaam has run 20.05, teammate Walter Dix has run 20.06 and Gatlin's best is a 20.20.

At least the American female's have done the red, white and blue some justice in 2011. Carmelita Jeter is the fastest 100-meter run this year at 10.70 and the U.S.A. holds the top-12 slots in the 200-meter dash led by Shalonda Solomon's 22.15 effort. In the 400-meter dash, 25-year-old Allyson Felix has the best time in the world in 49.81 seconds.

The world championships are in Daegu, South Korea, from Aug. 27 to Sept. 4.

Jay Cutler's infamous early exit from the NFC Championship Game in January ticked off many people, especially Chicago Bears fans, and the 28-year-old deserves all the flack he's gotten and is still getting.

Joe Theismann, who's remembered more for his gruesome Monday Night Football career-ending knee injury than he is for anything else, said it was unfair for anyone to assume Cutler didn't want to play through the pain.

To refresh, Cutler went 6 for 14 with an interception, was sacked twice and lost a fumble in a 21-14 loss in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. Cutler hurt his knee and played only one series in the third quarter.

Do we need to talk about Jack Youngblood and how he played the entire 1979 playoffs, including Super Bowl XIV, with a fractured left leg? He also played in the 1980 Pro Bowl, a week after the Super Bowl, with the broken leg.

Theismann said it was wrong that people treated him very badly because he couldn't go back out on the field. Cutler was hurt in the first-half, but did attempt to go back in the third quarter, and Theismann said that we should give Cutler credit because he went back out and tried. Well, then how come millions of viewers saw Cutler walking around on the sideline and even jumping up and down at one point? Seems that if a QB can perform those actions, he ought to be able to help put his team in the Super Bowl. Maybe Cutler had thought that back-up QB Todd Collins could help engineer a comeback. The Bears were losing, 14-0, when Cutler opted not to finish the game. Collins, 39, has been a QB in the NFL for 17 years and has only started 21 times, and that includes 13 starts with the Bills in 1997. So, yah, I can see where Cutler might have thought this was Collins' time to shine — not! Collins went 0 for 4 before being benched.

I do think that Cutler had the thought process that "today stinks because I am not producing and getting the snot knocked out of me" and that "hopefully we make it to the Super Bowl and I can play." If that was his thought process, we can call him LaDainian Tomlinson, who twice pulled that with San Diego. The Chargers were in the playoffs with excellent teams, but Tomlinson opted to sit with an injury in hopes the Chargers would make the Super Bowl — they never did.

Anyway, way too much ink has been spent on the topic of Cutler and his questionable dedication to his team. He has earned every word that's been printed. Oh, and Theismann also said that Cutler is "quiet and reserved by nature." Um, ANYONE that knows who Cutler is knows this to be the exact opposite. Denver quickly got rid of Cutler because he is the biggest brat of a QB there ever was. He is a cry baby, and him leaving that game is a true illustration of his character.

The words “meticulous” and “perfectionist” describe me to a tee, and these two personality traits come quite useful in the life of a sportswriter.

Do you ever wonder how or who designs the sports pages that you see every single day? You can certainly identify who writes the stories you read because their byline (name) appears above them. But how exactly do these stories get put on a page with photos from the game with cool designs and other neat features? We sportswriters do that, too.

It’s called Pagination. Pagination is the process of dividing information (content) into discrete pages, either electronic pages or printed pages. For example, printed books and magazines are created first as electronic files (for example, PDF or QXD files) and then printed. We use QXD, better known as QuarkXPress, and I love putting pages together. On a Saturday night one designed sportswriter will come into the office for an 8-hour shift to put together the Sunday sports section. I usually come in earlier so I have more than eight hours because, like I said before, I am a perfectionist. I must take my time so that I am sure there are no errors. I hate errors like poison.

Anyway, it really is a cool process to put together the sports pages. Several high school events take place each night and you must determine which was the most important/significant and that becomes the centerpiece for the front page. It gets anchored with a couple photos from the game and a story. Then we must decide which other sports stuff is worthy of front page ink. It can be stressful, because you always want to make sure that you put relevant, up-to-date and reader friendly stories in the paper. No one wants to pick up Sunday’s paper and read old news and in this day and age with everything so easily accessible on the Internet, events that took place Friday night are on the bubble of being old news as far as Sunday’s sports section goes.

I am telling you all of this because, as of July 5, I am in charge of Paginating the Daily Messenger sports section every single day (except Monday‘s paper). That means that when you see the paper come out a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and most Sunday’s, I created what those pages look like. I am pretty psyched about doing this. I have Paginated the sports section of Fairport-East Rochester, Victor, Wayne, Henrietta and Gates-Chili in my three years at the Daily Messenger. This also includes having Paginated sports pages on an occasional Saturday night for the Sunday Daily Messenger, and also when the boss takes a rare vacation.

I love the idea of Paginating, and I hope that you’ll enjoy how our sports section looks. Never stop reading!

Times, they are a-changin'. The last time anyone cared about the Bulls and Heat, Michael Jordan and Tim Hardaway were going toe-to-toe in the 1990s. The Mavericks only ever had a chance once, and I was still in high school then. And the Thunder, well, they're only four-years-old.

Quite frankly, I'm glad. I'm glad these are the Final Four teams in the hunt for an NBA title. Honestly, I was getting sick of hearing about the Lakers and Celtics every single June. Heck, and the Spurs, too. But it's a new decade of sports, so it's great to make way for a new set of elite squads. And to say the least, there's been high entertainment for sure.

The Bulls have been the talk of the year, though, and why shouldn't they be? After all, Chicago hasn't done squat since Jordan, really. The Bulls are looking like serious contenders, that can't be denied and that's thanks to Derrick Rose.

Then there's the Mavs, who downright embarrassed an aging Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. Kobe's boys crumbled in a four-game sweep, and that made us all forget how the Spurs got shocked in the first-round to Memphis.

Four years ago Oklahoma City had 62 losses, and now their fan base is rich. I'll bet Kendrick Perkins is glad that the Celtics traded him to the Thunder, or else he'd be home watching a little roundball instead of playing it.

I'm not too sure how everyone else feels, but I am glad Kobe and his Lakers are home on the couch. New faces like Kevin Durrant and Rose make the NBA more exciting. Sorry, Kobe... it's over buddy.

I had more important things on my mind, like finishing the race. I had not a care in the world that Maurice Greene and Gail Devers outside signing autographs, and I cared even less that the helicopter that just landed atop the Franklin Field stadium was Bill Cosby’s ride. Nope, not a care in the world. All that was on my mind was to summon the ability to limp 100-meters to the finish line.

I was a senior at Palmyra-Macedon High School when my 4x100-meter relay team—and the girls’ team—went door-to-door to raise over $2,000 so that we could compete in the world’s largest track and field meet, the 169th annual Penn Relays (last weekend was the 177th edition). It’s hard to believe that eight years me and my buddies were trying to concoct some sort of plan for me to hobble on down the straightaway. Three days prior during a dual meet I tore my hamstring—again. I burst out of the blocks, darted out to a commanding lead, and 40 meters in I tumbled to the oh-so hard red rubber. All I could think was “gosh dang it all (those aren’t the exact words I used), now I can’t run in front of 50,000 people.”

The Penn Relays are a three-day event that features high school athletes on Day 1, collegiate competitors on Day 2, and on the third and final day the Olympic athletes took the oval. In order to compete in the Penn Relays you must first make a qualifying standard, and our 4x100-meter relay team did that. We had only run the race once, and clocked a 45.7-second effort in the very cold, windy rainy conditions at Newark in the first week of April. No doubt we were primed to go much, much faster especially since our third leg was absent.

It was all for naught. Me, run the race? Ha, I could barely even walk, so we came up with a mischievous plan. After all, we had a six hour bus ride to conjure up something. Much debate went into it, but the four of us—Ryan Williams, Tim Buckley, Brian Plesa and myself—decided that either our third leg (Plesa) would just run right on past me instead of handing the baton off and do a complete 200m to finish the race, or I would jump on his back and he would give me a piggy-back ride for the last 100m. Since we were wearing school colors with “Pal-Mac” on the front of our tank top’s, we decided against each. Plus, I wanted to clutch that red-and-blue baton and get down homestretch—even if I had to walk. So, that’s what I did.

When Plesa got to me he had to immediately slow down, almost to a complete stop. Needless to say, everyone was wondering what on Earth he was doing. Everyone was also wondering what I was doing, too, since I was standing at the very end of my zone. One step forward and I would have been disqualified, but since I could barely even walk I was trying to minimize the distance I had to travel. For those that don’t know, a handoff zone in relays is 20-meters in length, so any leg of a relay has the option of running anywhere from 90-110 meters. We decided the safest course would be the 90-meter option, as opposed to anything longer—or me just not doing this. By the time I got the baton, most all of the other teams had already finished. It had to have been the slowest jog of my life. Everyone was staring at me, looking at me with curious gazes. I actually might have moved faster if I did walk, but I tried to do my best to make it look like an effort. En route, I had to swerve into another lane because the first-leg of the next heat was setting up his blocks. Turns out, the starting official was waiting for me to get across the finish line so they could start the next race.

In the aftermath, I do care that I was unable to run and compete at my full potential on the biggest stage of track and field I’d ever been on, and biggest one in the world—yes, larger than the Olympics. And you know what? I was able to do what I did, how little it may be, with Bill Cosby watching. I am sure he got a chuckle out of it himself, even if the comedian was picking on me.

It’s a beautiful day in the [track and field world], and beautiful day for [running]. Would there be? Could there be? Yes there’ll be some fast times.

On a day like today, how can you not have the Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood Theme stuck in your head? You probably don’t because, well, you’re normally. I most certainly am not, which is why I can’t wait to click the F5 button on my laptop all night to see who dialed-in the fastest sprint times of the night.

Frankly, if you’re a sprinter and you don’t run fast this afternoon… you never will. It’s 65-degrees and climbing, and what breeze there is will be at the backs of most that hope to dominate the 100-meter straightaway.

If you're reading this and you see/hear about some fast 100-meter dash times tonight, shoot me an email:
denright@messengerpostmedia.com

My legs were burning, and I mean burning bad. Then, back when I was just 10, lactic acid meant the same thing to me as actual acid — yes, I mean the kind that actually eats through metal. Heck, who are we kidding... anyone that runs hills knows the two might as well be one in the same.

My dad had me running Prospect Hill when I was 10 to train for football, and, really, it has never stopped since. I continued to run and sprint for many years to come. There was a point when he was always faster than me, but that ended around the time I was 13. He used to grab the front of my t-shirt and run ahead of me. This would help my turnover and help me to run at speeds that I normally couldn’t — sorta like running downhill. Former Dallas Cowboy Bill Bates used to do this so that he could lower his 40-yard dash time in order to make the team. My dad applied these tactics, along with several others that Maurice Greene and Michael Johnson used to incorporate into their Olympic training.

Funny thing is, is that as much as I love the sport of track and field now, my dad forced me to sign-up. I did run modified track in seventh-grade and was not very good. I was a little soft in physicality — this is before the training with my dad. During the summer between seventh- and eighth-grade is when my dad applied these professional workouts.

There was this 1-man sled behind the Palmyra-Macedon High School. It was hidden in the tall weeds with no pad around it — just a metal slab where a pad should go. My dad grabbed a couple of blankets from our house and some duct tape, we went up to the school, and he made his own pad. When it rained, this pad was pretty mushy and obviously very wet. It ended up being one of the best workouts we had ever done. Try pushing a 1-man sled as hard and as fast as you can 10 times in 40-yard spurts. It’s a fantastic workout, and a few years later when he took over as head track and field coach at Pal-Mac, he had his sprinters — male and female — doing this, so it’s no wonder sectional champions were produced left and right and school records are still untouched to this day.

I got a lot faster. My last year on modified I shaved almost two seconds off of my 100-Meter Dash time. I ran a 12.7, and wound-up setting six school records that year. Then, for some reason, I decided I didn’t want to do track anymore. I still trained my butt off during the summer with my dad. We did some pretty sickening workouts, and because our football coach did not believe in running whatsoever, me and a buddy of mine literally got out of shape during football season.

It was winter and I was expected to sign-up for indoor track. I really didn’t want to. In fact, I missed the first three days of practice. But eventually I joined the team and it was one of the greatest decisions I ever made. Walk through those Pal-Mac halls today and my name is engraved on plates hanging from the wall, and I still have school records that have not been broken.

It has also given me a greater appreciation for the sport itself. There’s no doubt the sport of track and field is one of the most grueling. What other sport is determined by 0.01 hundredths of a second or a quarter of an inch? In football, you’ve got four quarters. In soccer and lacrosse, there’s almost an hour on the clock to work with. In track and field, once that starters pistol fires the competition is over in 12 seconds and in that time the slightest error will cost you.

Well that’s all from me for now.

The spring sports season is hatching from its shell, and with that, each Monday 
in the Daily Messenger sports section I want to tell a story of yours. Each 
team, no matter how big or small, has something notable to talk about. I want to 
tell that tidbit to everyone!

Be it a team, coach, or individual -- and it doesn’t even have to be from your 
school -- that has, is, or will achieve something, let me know. Nominate 
yourself or someone else. Tell me what the info is. A record, milestone, a 
first-ever, best-ever, or most-ever. Someone coming back from an injury or 
illness, a first-year head coach, a program in its first-ever season, a nickname 
change, team color change, a transfer student… anything!

The best advertiser for your school, team, and athletes is yourself!

I can’t wait to hear back from you! Email me now: denright@messengerpostmedia.com

Just before sitting down to write this, I got myself an ice cold -- and I do mean ice cold because I forgot it in the freezer -- diet Lipton raspberry white tea. In doing so, I peered out the kitchen window, and after seeing the can only be described as frigid, rather uninviting weather, it's hard to form a warm thought about Western New York at the unfriendly weather it offers athletics in April.

But then there's that "ting" noise when leather smacks aluminum at 90-plus mph, the mouth-watering scent of buttery popcorn or a Ball Park Frank, and, of course, the Bronx Bombers.

Ah, yes. The Yankees. You can't much more American than hanging Uncle Sam's hat from the barrel of a baseball bat. Ringing in a new decade for the greatest pastime in sports, we can expect nothing more.

The Yanks, already off to a 3-2 start, will once again be driven by its offense -- an offense that produced more runs than any other team in baseball last season. Back in that lineup, despite mediocre seasons last year, are Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. This triple-threat led the Yanks to a 95-win campaign last year, but their wild card berth ended in disappointment with six losses to the Texas rangers in the ALCS.

The retirement of Andy Pettitte left a pretty big hole in the rotation, especially since right-hander A.J. Burnett was lackluster last season, but the addition of Rafael Soriano, catcher Russell Martin and contracts for Jeter and Mariano Rivera most certainly will be a boost. New York also brought in vets like Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon to the mound, and Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones, and Pedro Feliciano will add strength.

Important this season, like always, second baseman Robinson Cano is going to have to perform at the same level as last season. He distinguished himself last season as not only one of the best all-around players on the Yankees, but in the league, as he hit .319 with 29 home runs, 109 RBI and 103 runs scored, while playing a near-flawless second base to claim his first Gold Glove Award.

But as always, much focus will be on A-Rod, who has looked great, so far. He was terrific for the Yankees last season, coming through time and time again in big spots for the team. Despite missing 25 games due to injury, the three-time AL MVP still hit 30 homers and drove in 125 runs.

All in all, the Yanks lineup this season should be better than last year, and yes, that's forgetting that Burnett had the worst statistical season ever by a Yankee starter. He is the key this year, and if he can pitch well, the Yanks will be back in the playoffs once again.

Who knew the bracketologists sequestered on the 15th floor of the Indianapolis Westin Hotel — you know, the selection committee — would after all get it right.

Many Big East partisans expressed disappointment that Round of 32 may very well feature two matchups from the conference that always seems to garner an outsized amount of attention. The Big East consists of 16 teams, and after landing an unprecedented 11 teams into the field of 68 — the most-ever by any conference — the Big East advanced just two of them into the Sweet 16.

Both Connecticut and Marquette beat their brethren to remain alive for the second week of play.

Eleventh-seeded Marquette (22-14) has fought off Xavier, the sixth seed, and a team they had never beaten in their program’s history until this season, third-seeded Syracuse. They will now face North Carolina (28-7), who will almost certainly stamp their heels of tar all over the Golden Eagles’ heroic wings. Let’s face it, Xavier was not a worthy foe, and despite my love for the Orange, Jim Boeheim’s youthful boys were simply not ready to move into the Sweet 16 for a third-straight season.

I’m not that fond of Connecticut, either. Although, I can easily see them ejecting San Diego State, a second-seed, from the bracket. I’ll give the Aztecs (34-2) all the credit in the world for having won their first- and second-ever games in March Madness, however, a double-OT win against a not-so-formidable seventh-seed in Temple just doesn’t shine brightly in my eyes.

Let’s just be honest with ourselves, forget the office pool shakedown’s, who our favorite’s are, etc. and grasp the simple fact that first-seeded Ohio State is clearly the bully of this tournament. You don’t just sock a team in the mouth with an NCAA tournament record 16 3s — which beat their own record of 12 set in their previous game — and slapping your opponents with 29- and 32-point victories without garnering the “team to beat” label. The Buckeyes, now another step closer to its first national title in 51 years, will take on fourth-seeded Kentucky.

On the upper-right side of the bracket in the Southwest, first-seeded Kansas should fly into the Final Four with ease. They take on No. 12 Richmond. And below, the No. 11-seeded Virginia Commonwealth Rams (yeah, exactly) take on tenth-seeded Florida State. The Seminoles extended the Big East’s troubles by shocking 2-seed Notre Dame, 71-57. Heck, the Fighting Irish were my pick to win the national title, so you may want to disregard anything I’ve said up to this point and hereafter.

Finally, in the lower-right of the bracket in the Southeast, it appears as though third-seed BYU is the team to beat. They take on a worthy foe in 2-seed Florida, but I can’t see how the Cougars (32-4) will succumb to the Gators (28-7). I see BYU facing 4-seed Wisconsin, who should put an stop to the upset-seeking and achieving 8-seed Butler. The Bulldogs (25-9) took a bite out of 1-seed Pittsburgh, another Big East flop.

Well, that’s that. The Sweet 16 starts this Thursday, March 24 and the Elite Eight tip off the 26th and 27th in Anaheim, Newark, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Then it’s on to the Final Four in Houston April 2 followed by the National Championship April 4 in Houston.

Not a single warm body of the 13-man Indian State roster got a look from Jim Boeheim coming out of high school. NBA scouts won’t blink twice. None of the Sycamores care, either.

All the Missouri Valley Conference title-holders care about are third-seeded Syracuse, their assumed titan opponent Friday night. The No. 14-seeded Sycamores (20-13, 12-6 MVC) will face the Orange (26-7, 12-6 Big East) in the second-round of the 73rd edition of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. It’s certainly the most intriguing 14 vs. 3 match-up in the tournament.

Syracuse's famed 2-3 zone has become the death to many productive offense's this season, but when it comes to an Indiana State team that shoots over 30-percent from the 3-point line, which includes a hot-hand from Jordan Printy who went 5-for-7 against Northern Iowa. Printy shoots 48-percent from the charity stripe as well.

The Orange are weak defending its opposition from beyond the arc primarily due to the fact that they are lazy in closing out on shooters too late. When your opponent is open, has the ball, and is gearing-up to fire one from downtown its important to swarm that man. It's no secret Syracuse lacks in this department, and failure to do so Friday night will spell disaster because players like Printy and Steve McWhorter will make it rain. This will probably stretch out that 2-3 zone, and then the Sycamore's will find success in the paint.

Rick Jackson, the Big East's defensive Player of the Year, needs to be a factor in this contest. Syracuse tends to shelve his ability, but the Orange are never better on offense than when Jackson is in control. Let's be honest, Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph can sometimes tend to be ball hogs, and this has led to many empty possessions, and in turn, opponents turn long fast breaks into positive points. When facing a team that finds production from the 3-point line, like Indian State, this could be dangerous.

In the four 14 vs. 3 match-ups, none offer such possibility of the lower-seed winning more than the Sycamore’s over the Orange. Boeheim had better prep his boys to enter The Q in Cleveland with an attitude, because anything else could surely result in the Orange going home early.

Things just keep getting uglier for the Buffalo Bills. Not only do they have nothing in terms of establishment at the Quarterback position, a head coach in Chan Gailey that’s 22-28 in the NFL, and a running back unable to crack 1,000 yards, but now Marcus Stroud -- Buffalo’s third-best in sacks last season -- is playing for AFC East rival New England.

Buffalo also failed to boost their defense when opting not to give former Indianapolis free safety Bob Sanders whatever he wanted. And is there really any point in talking about how the Bills dropped the ball when they decided not to bring back Terrell Owens last season. I don’t care what anyone says, T.O. proved that he is a play maker. He had nine TD’s and 983 yards in just 14 games last year, including a 78-yard TD.

The real topic I am going to delve into, however, is their recent talk about yet another uniform change.

Since changing their uniforms at the start of the 2002 season, the Bills are 59-85. Buffalo finished 3-13 in 2001, so when they switched uniforms to start the 2002 season, everyone was so happy because they went 8-8. Their 9-7 finish in 2004 is their only winning season since switching to their current uniforms.

Buffalo’s uniform from 1987-2001 (think Jim Kelly uniforms) gave them four-straight trips to the Super Bowl, nine winning seasons in 15 years, and their overall record was 141-99 record.

From 1975-83 (think O.J. Simpson) Buffalo’s uniforms saw a 58-86 record.

If changing uniforms, is there really any question that the Bills should go BACK to the days of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith-type attire?

Christina Aguilera and the Black Eyed Peas’ horrendous musical displays left viewers a day removed from Super Bowl XLV remembering more details from the flubbed Star Spangled Banner and the worst halftime presentation since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake's outlandish stunt seven years ago.

Sure, Aguilera has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and yes, maybe the only American artist to have ever won a Grammy per studio album had a sea of nerves gushing through her 30-year-old veins. I’m sure Aaron Rodgers was a bit nervous, too, considering he had to perform before even more people for 60 minutes with the Vince Lombardi trophy at stake. Aguilera, who said she’s been singing the Star Spangled Banner since age seven — that’s 23 years in case you’re counting — was on stage for 1 minute and 52 seconds. There are 310 words in the Star Spangled Banner, which is far less than Aguilera’s hits Genie in a Bottle (404), and less than What a Girl Wants (312). Regardless, it shouldn't be hard to remember a song almost every American knows by heart. Just for kicks, I sang it in the car on the drive to work this morning and was able to complete it word-for-word — including the ones Aguilera missed last night.

Though Rodgers has never written a song (Aguilera has written six studio albums), he earned his paycheck throwing three TD passes, 304 yards, and went 24-for-39 en route to becoming the first Green Bay Packer quarterback to earn Super Bowl MVP honors since Bart Starr secured his second in 1968.

If the Star Spangled Banner wasn’t bad enough, we were treated to a horrific halftime performance by the Black Eyed Peas. Between the Black Eyed Peas and the Jackson-Timberlake mess seven years ago, the Super Bowl halftime was seasoned with veterans The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Prince, The Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney. I'm not sure how the NFL thought they were going to get away with the Black Eyed Peas as an encore to all the above mentioned, but they certainly fumbled.

In case your brain is still clogged with the ineptness Bridgestone offered during halftime Sunday night, or Aguilera’s train wreck, the game’s attendance reached 103,219 total in Dallas stadium, which is third all-time and is 29,160 more than last year. In fact, it’s the first-time the Super Bowl has had a turnout of 100,000-plus since Super Bowl XXI in 1987 when the New York Giants beat the Denver Broncos, 39-20. The all-time attendance record is 103,985 set at Super Bowl XIV in Pasadena, California when Pittsburgh beat the Los Angeles Rams, 31-19, in 1980.

The 6-point margin of victory marked the 11th time in 45 Super Bowl's a game has been decided by such figure or fewer. It was the third time in the last four Super Bowls the game has been decided by less than one TD. Here are some other notables that were overshadowed:

* Super Bowl XLV averaged 111 million viewers and is the most-watched television program in U.S. history. The game beat the previous record of 106.5 million, set during last year's Super Bowl, which shattered the 27-year record held by the series finale of M*A*S*H (106 million), which held the viewership record from 1983 to 2010.

* Fewest rushing attempts in a game. Green Bay had 13, and Pittsburgh finished with 23 for a grand total of 36.

* Pittsburgh tied the record for most Super Bowl game played with eight. Dallas has also played in eight.

* Green Bay tied the record for fewest turnovers in the game with zero, tying 17 other teams.

* Green Bay tied the record for largest lead at the end of the first quarter with a 14-point advantage, leading 14-0. The record ties Miami in Super Bowl VIII and Oakland in Super Bowl XV.

* Green Bay tied the record for most points in the first quarter with 14. It is shared by six other teams.

* Green Bay tied the record for fewest rushing attempts in a game. Their 13 handoff's tied St. Louis' count in Super Bowl XXXIV.

* Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle El tied five other players for most 2-point conversions in a game with one.

* Jordy Nelson had 140 yards receiving, breaking an all-time Packers Super Bowl record.

* Aaron Rogders' 304 yards passing in an all-time Packers Super Bowl record

* Aaron Rodgers tied Brett Favre for most TD passes by a Packers QB in the Super Bowl.

* Greg Jennings tied Max McGee and Antonio Freeman for most TD catches in a Super Bowl with two.
 

I was the most hated person at Buffalo Wild Wings this past Sunday afternoon. Each Sunday for the past five weekends, I've made the 45-minute trip to Henrietta with my parents and girlfriend to watch the Silver-and-Black, who have gone 4-1 in my presence. Since starting the season with a 1-3 record, the Raiders are now 5-4 overall -- their best record since Rich Gannon-led Oakland won the AFC Championship Game and competed in the Super Bowl back in 2002.

So, back to being hated.

This past Sunday, the Raiders won perhaps the most important game of the season. Against division-leader Kansas City, Oakland claimed a 23-20 overtime win thanks to the thunderous leg of one Sebastian Janikowski. It's about time the 11th-year veteran won a game for the Raiders. In a 24-23 Week 3 loss to Arizona, Janikowski missed three field goals (9 possible points) including a 32-yard game-winner as time expired.

I yelled very loudly numerous times as the Raiders kept me on the edge of my seat in their overtime win at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. It was the first time the Raiders performed in front of a sell-out crowd since their season-opener last year, breaking an 11-game streak. People kept looking at me, but I didn't care.

The Raiders have struggled to draw fans in recent years as their struggles on the field and the economy have led to empty seats at the Coliseum, which has a capacity of 63,132. Five times in their last 10 home games the Raiders have failed to reach 40,000 in attendance. The Raiders drew just 32,218 for their game against Houston -- the franchise's lowest attendance since 1967. The Raiders have had 80 of 125 regular-season home games blacked out since moving back from Los Angeles for the 1995 season.
Oakland has lost at least 11 games for seven straight seasons, the longest such streak of futility in NFL history.

By winning their third straight game for the first time since that season, Oakland heads into its bye week just a half-game behind Kansas City (5-3) in the division. Oakland hasn't had a winning record at any time since being 2-1 in 2004 and not this late since '02. Kansas City had won seven straight in Oakland, tied for the longest active streak by a visiting team.

It’s refreshing to see that streak end, and the Raiders get back to their winning ways.

Now it’s onto a bye week, and when Oakland returns, they’ll face nemesis Pittsburgh at Heinz Field. Ugh.

Few and far between are Section 5 records this season. Ashton Broyld has made up for such vacancy.

Two week’s ago, the Rush-Henrietta senior quarterback broke the Section 5 record for career passing yards with 5,588 in his four-year varsity career. He passed former leader Neal Dotterer of East Rochester/Gananda, who had 5,401 yards.

Broyld is also close to a few other records, such as 57 career touchdown passes that currently ranked third all-time.

There have been a few running backs that have eclipsed the 300-yard rushing mark, like Brockport’s Dylan Brown (308) and Churchville-Chili’s Mark Simmons (305-twice), but rank near the bottom 300-plus yard rushers. In Section 5 history, the 300-yard mark has been achieved more than 35 times.

In terms of playoff records, Rush-Henrietta chalked-up 66 points in their semifinal game, which ranks third-most all-time behind Dundee (76) and Le Roy (69). Hornell scored 64 points in the playoffs this year, which ranks fourth-most.

Cory McNamara (Wayne) recorded four interceptions on defense in his teams first-round sectional game, which is the most all-time. McNamara finished the season with 11 total, which is also a Section 5 record. Last week, Josh Maves (Victor) had three interceptions against Wayne, tying four other athletes for second-most all-time.

This weekend is the final chance for any team or individual to make their mark in the playoff record books. Let the games begin.

I don’t mean to offend anyone, but what’s the deal with forfeiting football games? I’m quite sure each district has their rationale behind it, but as it is, each school only gets to play 6-to-7 games per-season.

C.G. Finney certainly isn’t the only school to have ever forfeited a game in Section 5, nor will they be the last. Nevertheless, this is the second time in three years that Dundee got a first-round bye in sectionals due to a forfeit. In 2008, Lyons forfeited their match-up with the perennial Scotsmen citing injury and low roster count.

Supposed to trek to Dundee last weekend, C.G. Finney packed it in a week early. With a 1-5 record and being outscored 257-88, it was an obvious mismatch versus the undefeated Scotsmen, winners of 24-straight regular season games, who have outscored their opponents 208-96. Dundee are two-time sectional and three-time Finger Lakes West reigning champions.

Earlier this week, winless Penn Yan Academy opted out of a rematch with Palmyra-Macedon (2-5) in Connors and Ferris Bowl action. In the regular-season finale, the Red Raiders trampled the Mustangs, 42-12. Also in the Connors and Ferris Bowl pool, Red Jacket (3-4) decided to forfeit their scheduled home game against Warsaw. The Tigers finished 2-5 this season.

In the case of the C.G. Finney situation, the real loss is to the Falcons, who missed out on a chance to play another game. In turn, that only helped the Scotsmen in preparing an extra week for Notre Dame in this weekend’s Class D semifinals. Unfortunately, six seniors on the C.G. Finney roster did not get the chance to strap on the pads one last time.

In regard to the other games, a total of 52 seniors -- Pal-Mac (18), Red Jacket (17), Warsaw (10), and Penn Yan Academy (7) -- did not get a chance to play one last game of high school football. When factoring in those from C.G. Finney, an overall total of 58 seniors were shorted the opportunity to play what very well may have been their final game of football for the rest of their lives.

I have a hard time clutching onto a reason for forfeiting a game. According to the New York state high school football rule book, a team is capable of competing in a game as long as it can field a minimum of 12 eligible players. If C.G. Finney was able to field enough athletes in their 40-18 regular-season loss to Canisteo-Greenwood, how were they unable to put together a complete roster six days later?

Why would Penn Yan Academy not want to shot at a rematch with a team in their own classification, in their own league, a team they have not defeated since 2005, and a team that just walloped them, 48-12? In the last five seasons, Penn Yan Academy has produced an overall record of 7-34, and the three years prior to that, the Mustangs put together a combined 21-6 record.

Most perplexing, is Red Jacket’s forfeit, since they were the higher seed with a better record playing at home. The Indians had scored 234 points all season, which is 172 more than Warsaw’s output of 62 offensive points.

Brett Favre is synonymous with everything pure, dynamic, and exhilarating that we love about America’s favorite sport, N.F.L. football.

Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1991, and traded to Green Bay where he played for the Packers from 1992-2007. Then, after a brief an emotional retirement, No. 4 took snaps in New York for the Jets in 2008. Another brief retirement, and he signed with Minnesota where he’s been the Vikings’ field general for the last two seasons.

In 1996, Favre admitted himself to the N.F.L. substance-abuse program for becoming addicted to pain killers. Two years later, Favre admitted to alcohol abuse, which nearly broke up his marriage, and then lost 23 pounds after becoming alcohol-free. In 2003, Favre lost his father, who died at age 58. Just 10 months after his father died, Favre’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2007, Favre underwent minor ankle surgery. In May of 2009, he underwent surgery to repair a tear in his biceps tendon. In April of 2010, he underwent another ankle surgery before entering his 20th season in the N.F.L.

The naysayer’s of our critical world tend to forget the above mentioned when dissecting Favre’s every move. Let’s remember that he also just turned 41, and is the oldest starting quarterback in the N.F.L.

I am an Oakland Raiders fan, and Favre is one of my all-time favorite players. So much, that when Favre went 22-for-30 for 399 yards and 4 TD passes against Oakland the day after his father died, a tear was in my eye. I did not care that he carved up the Oakland defense. He deserved it.

Whatever is happening in Minnesota this season is most certainly not what the Vikings had hoped for. With a 1-3 record, Favre has thrown only 5 TD passes and 7 INTs. He threw for 7 INTs in all of 2009. At this point last year, Favre had 8 TD passes with just 1 INT. In terms of yards, however, he has thrown for 861 yards this, and after four games last year, Favre had 837 yards.

Obviously, the Vikings are not finding the successes they had hoped for this year, but as the season matures, I think we’ll find Minnesota climbing back to the time where they rightfully belong. The days of Favre hanging his head are limited.
 

Hours upon hours of research, emails, and investigating went into the following:

We are celebrating the 33rd year of the sectional tournament, which began in 1997, and in all of those seasons, once has a former No. 1-seeded team that entered sectionals with an undefeated record failed to make the tournament the following year.

Palmyra-Macedon is that school -- this year.

The Red Raiders were the first-seed last autumn with a 7-0 record, but lost to Livonia. With two games remaining on the docket, Pal-Mac is 1-4, and will finish the season with their ninth losing season in the last 12 years. Currently, the scarlet-and-white are the No. 11-seeded team among the 12 schools that comprise Class B.

The harsh math of the matter is that No. 1 Midlakes, No. 2 Hornell, and No. 3 Attica are all in the tournament, no matter if they lose the next two-straight weeks.

If Pal-Mac wins the next two weeks, they will finish with -3 sectional points. What is unfortunate, however, is that for the rest of the season, all of the teams in Class B play one another, so while one team gains points, another Class B team will lose points. Both Newark and East Rochester/Gananda are ahead of Pal-Mac, but both the Reds and Bombers play Waterloo and Penn Yan, both of which are out of sectionals as well. To finish the season, Newark and ER/Gananda play Geneva and Wayne, and even if they lose, will drop just -4 points because Wayne and Geneva are Class A schools.

That leaves Livonia, Bath, and Dansville. This weekend, Livonia plays Dansville, and Bath plays a winless Wellsville team. Bath then finishes up against Hornell, which will be a Hornell victory, and will leave Bath where they currently are right now in points, which is the No. 7 seed. After beating Dansville, Livonia will more than likely fall to Letchworth last game of the season, leaving Livonia with the same points they have now, which is the No. 6 seed. Dansville will finish their season against Marcus Whitman, which could determine where No. 9-seeded Batavia falls in the mix.

After this weekend, everything will be all put in place. Tune in.
 

On the eve of opening weekend I was having a conversation with a couple of high school football players, all of which were part of the same team, and we spoke of the expectations of the 12 teams that comprise Class B. Interestingly, it was news to them when I mentioned how Attica and Dansville were new additions to the class, and that Geneva had been bumped up to Class A. When I mentioned both Attica and Dansville, all three laughed.

Turns out, both schools are currently ranked higher than the laugher’s school, but it’s all rather irrelevant, because there’s simply no slowing down the runaway train that is Hornell.

Sure, Midlakes is currently seeded No. 1 after four weeks of action with 21 points compared to Hornell’s 20, but that’s only because they defeated Class A Wayne. Not to discredit the Screaming Eagles in any way, because they are once again having a standout season, but Livingston County teams are simply a different breed of football players, not to mention Hornell is the highest scoring team in all of Section 5 with their 47 point per-game average. There are 71 teams in Section 5, and Hornell also has the 10th-best defense, allowing only 12 points-per-game.

With just three weeks of play left, last season’s No. 1-seeded team in Palmyra-Macedon currently sits as the 11th-best team in Class B with negative 10 points, and only winless Penn Yan is ranked lower, as the 12th-best team, with -18 points. The Red Raiders basically need to win-out the rest of the season to make the sectional tournament, and when hosting Class A Wayne this weekend — a win worth 6 sectional points — for their homecoming, victory is a necessity.

East Rochester/Gananda is No. 3 with 11 points, and average 31 ppg. as the 16th highest-scoring team in Section 5, Attica is No. 4, Newark is No. 5, Livonia is seeded sixth, Bath-Haverling is ranked No. 7, and Dansville is No. 8. As the ninth-ranked team, Batavia is on the outside looking in, with Waterloo seeded 10th with negative nine points.

Following this weekend’s action, two games will remain before the close of the regular season, and if any of the bottom four teams (9-12) lose this weekend, they can basically get geared up for Pool Play.

Please tell me I'm not the only one baffled by what's happening in the Finger Lakes East, or what's been going on in the Finger Lakes West.

Midlakes and Wayne are tied for first in the FL East, and both have permitted the fewest points defensively this season with 34, which is an average of a little more than 11 points-per-game. The Screaming Eagles defeated Newark, 20-0, in a battle of unbeaten’s last week, but what's so perplexing about that outcome, besides Midlakes holding Newark to 26 yards of total offense, is that Newark defeated defending champion Palmyra-Macedon, 27-7, two weeks ago, and the Red Raiders lost to Midlakes, 20-14, in overtime to open the 2010 season. Currently, Pal-Mac sits at 1-2 in the division and have been outscored 53-46 this year.

While not slighting Midlakes or Wayne, I would watch out for the East Rochester/Gananda Bombers, who are the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 32 points-per-game, which is roughly 10 more points-per-game than second-highest scorer Midlakes. The Bombers lost to Newark, 40-33, in double overtime to start the season, but crushed Waterloo, 37-14, and stifled a lesser-strengthened Geneva team, 27-12.

ER/Gananda and Newark both sit at 2-1, while Pal-Mac and Geneva stand at 1-2. Both Penn Yan and waterloo are winless at 0-3, and face each other this Saturday afternoon on Mustang turf where one team will walk away with its first victory of the season.

The most interesting FL East pairing in Week 4 has got to be when Newark travels to Wayne to take on the Eagles, who are 3-0 for the first-time in program history. Having been limited to 26 offensive yards last week, I see the Reds coming back with vengeance, and exploiting Wayne's somewhat padded 3-0 records, which as come against teams with a combined 1-8 record.

The Bombers play visitor to Pal-Mac, which could be nightmarish for the Red Raiders, and if the Screaming Eagles are the real deal, a thwarting is coming Geneva's way when the Panthers travel to Midlakes.

Most figured when perennial powerhouse Dundee visited Red Jacket last weekend, it would be the typical blowout, but the Indians had other plans. Despite losing, Red Jacket came the closest it ever has, falling in the final minutes of the game, 40-34. Do not discount the Indians, as they probably won't lose another game this season, and the reason is because Trevor Sanders is the real deal.

In the last two weeks, the quarterback has thrown 9 touchdown passes with 751 yards passing going 37-for-66 over that time. This year, Sanders has 11 touchdown passes with 851 passing yards.

Red Jacket is the highest scoring team in the entire Finger Lakes, both East and West, with 130 total points, which is an average of 34 points-per-game, and defensively, permitted only 12 points-per-game before Dundee's 40-point act.

This weekend, Marcus Whitman (1-2) team that has dropped their last two-straight will look to rebound against an always stout Clyde-Savannah (2-1) squad, and Lyons (1-2) will take on winless Mynderse (0-3). Red Jacket should easily rebound against South Seneca, and Dundee should continue their chase for a fourth-straight and 23rd consecutive regular-season win when hosting DeSales.