WHEN FANS OF ALL SPORTS MOVE ON TO BASKETBALL, BASEBALL, NASCAR AND SUCH, IT LEAVES A HOLE FOR THOSE OF US WHO EAT, DRINK AND LIVE FOOTBALL ALL YEAR ROUND. I WANTED A PLACE TO GO WHERE FANS OF ALL THE TEAMS COULD CHAT, WITHOUT FEAR OF CENSORSHIP, PROFILES BEING PULLED AND BOARDS GETTING CLUTTERED WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING TO FLIRT (FOR SOME KIND OF PERSONAL VALIDATION, I SUPPOSE), DATE, AND/OR CALL THOSE THAT DISAGREE WITH THEM NAMES AND PLAY JR. HIGH SCHOOL EGO GAMES.

BECAUSE I HAVE MY OWN WEBSITE, I WAS ABLE TO CREATE SUCH A PLACE. GO TO WWW.MIAMIDEMONS.COM AND CLICK ON "OFF-SEASON BLOG FOR FOOTBALL FANATICS." ONCE THERE, REGISTER AND SIGN IN. IT IS A REAL TIME BOARD WHERE THE FANS PICK THE SUBJECTS AND IT SEEMS TO  BE WORKING OUT WELL.

PLEASE NOTE: THE DEMONS BLOG IS SPECIFICALLY FOR HARD CORE FOOTBALL FANS. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR LIGHT CONVERSATION ABOUT THE WEATHER OR WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE BASEBALL PARKS, IT IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU...

I INVITE YOU TO COME ON OVER AND TAKE A LOOK...I'M PRETTY SURE YOU'LL LIKE WHAT YOU SEE.

THANKS, C.K.

I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING ME TO 'HANG' WITH YOU--EVEN THOUGH YOU KNEW MY INTENTIONS WERE NOT THE BEST. YOU TAUGHT ME SO MUCH ABOUT NEW ENGLANDERS--MOST OF YOU HAVE BEEN SO GRACIOUS, EVEN TO THE POINT OF HAVING MY BACK WHEN I GOT INTO TROUBLE.
YOUR TEAM PLAYED A GREAT GAME TONIGHT, AND I GIVE PROPS TO TOM BRADY, WHO I HAD MANY UNKIND THOUGHTS TOWARD DURING THE SEASON. HE WAS HIT OVER AND OVER AND HE GOT UP EACH TIME AND TOOK CONTROL. HE IS TRULY ONE OF THE BEST (ALONG WITH THE DOLPHINS' GIFT TO YOU, WES WELKER).
I HOPE YOU'LL VISIT ME AT MY WEBSITE - WWW.MIAMIDEMONS.COM, WHERE I WILL HAVE AN OFF-SEASON FOOTBALL BLOG FOR FANATICS WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS. IF YOU'RE INTO THE NEXT SPORT AND HAVE NO TIME FOR FOOTBALL, PLEASE DROP ME AN OCCASIONAL NOTE ON MY PROFILE HERE.
I SWEAR I'M NOT SAYING THIS AS A CURSE...I KNOW YOU WILL BE BACK IN THE SUPER BOWL NEXT YEAR...BUT LOOK OUT, TUNA'S WORKING ON MY DOLPHINS AND SOME TIME IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, THEY WILL BE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH! THANKS AGAIN, C. K.

JANUARY 27TH PLODS ALONG WITH ALL THE SPEED AND GRACE OF A SNAIL. I TRIED TO SLEEP LATE BECAUSE I KNEW THAT WHEN I WOKE UP THERE WOULD BE NO TAILGATE TO PREPARE FOR, NO GETTING TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS TO WATCH THE GAMES, AND EVEN THE REGULARS ON THE FOOTBALL BOARDS AT MSN FOX WOULD HAVE EITHER MOVED ON TO BASKETBALL OR WHATEVER, AND THERE WOULD MERELY BE A COMMENT OR TWO THROUGHOUT THE DAY WITH DIE HARD GIANTS AND PATRIOTS FANS GETTING THEIR LAST LICKS IN ABOUT NEXT SUNDAY'S SUPERBOWL. NO SURPRISE, BECAUSE EVEN THE HACK COLUMNISTS ARE JUST WRITING DIFFERENT TWISTS ON THE SAME STORIES THEY'VE BEEN PEDDLING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS: CAN THE GIANTS UPSET THE PATRIOTS? '72 DOLPHINS GRASP FOR WHAT LITTLE IS LEFT OF THEIR CHANCE TO REMAIN THE ONLY PERFECT TEAM! BRADY HURT HIS FOOT...BRADY DIDN'T HURT HIS FOOT...WHERE DID BRADY HURT HIS FOOT IF HE DID? PATRIOTS WILL NOT ONLY WIN, BUT THEY WILL BEAT THE GIANTS TO DEATH...

REGARDLESS OF WHO WINS (LIKE THERE IS ANY QUESTION ABOUT WHICH TEAM IT WILL BE)--THE BOTTOM LINE IS, FOOTBALL SEASON IS AT AN END , AND OTHER THAN THE PRO BOWL, WHERE ATHLETES GO NOT SO MUCH TO PLAY FOOTBALL, BUT TO ENJOY THE SUN AND PARTYING IN HAWAII--AND THE GAME ALWAYS REFLECTS IT...THERE WILL BE NO MORE GAMES UNTIL AUGUST.

THE NEXT SEVEN MONTHS ARE THE LONGEST OF THE YEAR FOR ME. FORTUNATELY, THE NFL CHANNEL ALLOWS ME TO WATCH A GAME EVERY NOW AND THEN--RELIVE THE DISMAL SHOWING OF MY DOLPHINS, REMEMBER THE MIGHTY ASSAULT THE PATRIOTS GAVE EVERY TEAM THAT CHALLENGED THEM, AND OCCASIONALLY GET A GLIMPSE OF WHAT MIGHT BE COMING WITH THE 2008 SEASON. OTHER THAN THAT, IT IS LIKE A DROUGHT--I THIRST FOR THE EXCITEMENT OF THE GAME I LOVE, WITH NO REAL SATISFACTION UNTIL AUGUST FINALLY CREEPS BACK INTO MY LIFE.

EVEN THE WEATHER HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA TODAY HAS A CHILL IN THE AIR--SOME THINK IT IS JUST THE CYCLE OF WEATHER, BUT I KNOW DEEP DOWN IN MY HEART, THAT IT IS REALLY NATURE'S WAY OF MOURNING THE END OF FOOTBALL THIS YEAR.

Patriots Rule! SUPERBOWL CHAMPS TO BE! Brady is King! LONG LIVE THE PATRIOTS!

Okay, that being said--I find it necessary to explain what brought about this implausible change in my allegiance to my beloved Dolphins.  I have decided to sacrifice my honor and undying loyalty for the better good of the 1972 Team. Hear me out...

I have been a curse on every team I rooted for this year. Well, we all know what happened to the Dolphins, but the Canes? First time in how many years that they didn't make it to a bowl game! Then there was my NFC favorite, Green Bay--beaten in the conference championship game at Lambeau! So then I pulled for the Jags--pfffft! They're gone now too. Finally, in desperation, I backed the Bolts--like lightning, they are back in San Diego for the SuperBowl. I was as devastated  as the  teams I backed.

Light bulb goes off  in my head! Duh--cheer for the Patriots! Put all the heart and soul you have into supporting their run for perfection! Embrace the Coach of the Year, the Leagues MVP and the inevitable SuperBowl Champions 2008!

So here I am world--hanging with the fans, loving the boys in red, white and blue and pulling for the first team in the NFL to ever hit a perfect season of 19-0!

My friend, ThinkSpeak, says the Law of Averages is bound to catch up with me here--but shoot! I've kept ahead of it throughout the season, so why should it kick  in now? So I'll see you around the FOX boards, talking up my Patriots and doing everything in my power to see them get everything they really deserve...Go Pats!

Oh, man...if the Dolphins didn't hit bottom today, I don't know where else they can go. That game was as painful as a root canal without anesthetic (for the few Dolphin faithful that sat broiling in the oven that is Dolphin Stadium). That team just sucks the air out of you and fades while the fans melt away. Oh, man--it is hell to be a Dolfan.

It amazes me that a game of this magnitude is the victim of NFL greed. Dolphins lost a home game to London because the league can make even more money by opening up the overseas venue...which was bad enough, but now we are subject to the NFL withholding any game they choose by broadcasting it over its own exclusive network.
It's not bad enough that tickets to the games are outrageously priced, and that the food and drink concessions charge outlandish prices in the stadiums to those who care enough to buy the tickets; but now we are held hostage by the league and cable companies and cant even view regular season games without paying even more.
I wish I didn't love the sport as much as I do, because I would boycott the NFL for sure. I have held seasons tickets to the Dolphins for 37 years, through good and bad times--but since Joe Robbie sold to Huizenga, mostly bad. Eight seats at close to $80 apiece now and we've been through four coaches since Shula left and about 90 quarterbacks since Marino retired. I can't remember when the team has won at home (or anywhere this year).
The Packers are my second team and tonight (I hope) will be the highlight of my season (so far)...I am one of the lucky ones. I have a 52-inch television and satellite so I will see it, and a lot of friends will be here as well.  So, we will party and enjoy the game, but I hope that eventually the fans can find a way to band together and force the NFL to (for once) do the right thing.