Recycling some trash from a polluted mind:

ABC has added Bill Belichick to their Super Bowl XL pre-game show as a studio analyst. Somehow, I can’t see the Patriots coach offering many of the controversial statements that other outspoken personalities (see Michael Irvin) have used to make a name for themselves, if not a fool of themselves. Then again, if ABC is looking for someone to break down the X’s and O’s and tell us what to look for and expect, they couldn’t have picked a better candidate.

I’m also willing to bet Belichick is better at this than most people would imagine. Put him in the right setting, and that intelligence and dry sense of humor translate very well.

Off course, I’d rather have seen BB on the same set as Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Irvin and Steve Young instead of with Mike Tirico. Wouldn’t it have been good drama to see the coach “whose players hate him‿ trading barbs with the guy who made that remark after the Lawyer Milloy situation a few years back? Plus, the look on Belichick’s face the first time Irvin said something stupid would be more than worth the 3 ½ hours of pre-game nonsense!

The Steelers have headlined three straight issues of Sports Illustrated. So much for the cover jinx.

Brett Favre says retirement is on his mind. What a shame! I’m going to miss hearing commentator after commentator marvel at how “amazing‿ he is despite another 3-interception performance. It says here Favre is the most overrated, over-hyped NFL player of all-time.

Don’t believe me? Chew on this for a second; in seven playoff games since 1998, the year after the Packers Super Bowl loss to Denver, Favre has thrown 11-touchdowns and 16-interceptions. Included in those numbers is a truly amateurish 6-INT performance in one game against the Rams defense (never to be confused with the Steel Curtain) and a horrific overtime pick against the Eagles a few years back that only a Pop Warner QB would attempt to throw.

So the NFL powers that be and some minority advocates are upset about the lack of African-Americans hired as head coaches despite all the openings this off-season. Well, since the greatest number of head coaches come from the offensive and defensive coordinator ranks, I decided to check on the hiring practices of the black head coaches given the top job in the last 3-years; Marvin Lewis, Dennis Green, Romeo Crennel and Lovie Smith. Care to guess how many of the eight coordinators hired by these four coaches are fellow African-Americans? One. Are these guys just not sensitive to racial issues, or like NFL owners, are they just hiring who they think are the best men for the job?

If you’re curious, the “one‿ is Maurice Carthon, who runs Crennel’s offense for the Browns.

Coco Crisp’s real name is Covelli Loyce Crisp. If you knew that, stand up and take a bow, then go get a real job because you have way too much time on your hands!

Lost in Wally Szczerbiak’s debut weekend was this Friday night gem from Gerald Green in the NBA’s Developmental League; 30-points and 12-rebounds. Just thought you might like to know.

Speaking of young hoopsters, if LeBron James is really only 21-years old, then I’m still in my early 30’s. Not taking anything away from a remarkable basketball player destined to one day enter the “greatest ever‿ debate, but tell me there isn’t something fishy here. The kid looked about 23 when he was in high school, and his body resembled nothing like the Olive Oyl build of most every other teeny bopper entering the NBA.

At one point during the final round of the Buick Open there were eight golfers, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jose Maria Olazabal, tied at 9-under par. Just one stroke back were Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik. Some pretty heavy hitters atop the leaderboard, but was there ever any doubt who would be the last man standing?

Tiger may not have brought his “A‿ game, but he just doesn’t miss a shot when it really counts. Eldrick would never gag a putt like the one Olazabal pulled to end the competition.

Me? I miss that same putt 19-of-20-times.