Cardinal crest

A couple notes on the Super Bowl...first, a much better name for the Arizona Cardinals would be the Arizona Pyrrhuloxia. The cardinal-like birds reside in scrubby areas of southeastern Arizona.

Second, a fun item from the New York Times. Several players share their "Welcome to the NFL" moments. I like Bryan Robinson's story the best.

Lifting confusion

I'm going to get my ass kicked at the gym one of these days.

Loyal readers know that I previously worked out at a small Park District gym. In a final attempt to rehabilitate my knee, I got a membership to a "real" gym recently. I figured the ease of access, space and amenities would make going to the gym easier. I just couldn't bring myself to go to that cramped park gym any more with rickety treadmills that were mostly out of service.

The etiquette of the big gym is overwhelming at the moment. Strangely, the constricted space and simple machinery of the park gym made everything easier. It was clear who was doing what; the protocol went unsaid.

My first trip to the new gym I mistakenly stepped in to use a piece of equipment only to realize that someone else had been using it. The person using it was wearing a hood and weightlifting gloves. Rather than specifically note that I was cutting in line, he grunted something that drew my attention--only after I had replaced some weights. I immediately apologized but he signaled that I should continue.

I vowed to myself that I'd be more diligent in the etiquette department.

Workout machines these days are hard to figure out. I feel like Borat when he was in Miami Beach.

So I made another misstep on Monday.

I went up to a machine and looked around to make sure no one was using it. I've found that people at this gym have fiefdoms to themselves--at 5 p.m. Johnny goes to this one spot and works out EVERY DAY. Don't invade Johnny's space. So I looked around carefully and only saw one guy nearby, probably 10 feet away. I trusted that my piece of equipment was free and began to look for a 25-pound weight to add on. I grabbed what appeared to be an available weight and placed it on my machine. I noticed that the nearest guy was looking at me, and I looked up and briefly made eye contact. He looked away.

I sat on the bench and prepared to lift the weight and was interrupted by a small noise from a few feet away. The man was indicating to me some sort of displeasure. He gestured toward his machine. I had taken off one of the weights while he was in between sets and placed it on mine. The complicated machinery had confused me--what I thought was a stationery weight was actually the one he was using at the time. I apologized profusely and laughed about the confusion. He mostly ignored me.

I think what's most funny to me--other than that you should secure a 25-yard perimeter around every machine before lifting--is that both of these people were so damn passive-aggressive. They watched me remove their weights and never said anything until I made the gaffe. I don't get it.

Picture time

I can't resist sharing this. I like the child on the floor the best.

Fabio's remorse

I haven't paid much attention to "Top Chef" this season, but here goes with a somewhat-live blog:

8 p.m. -- Wow, I think this is the Gail Simmons wedding shower episode. And I just realized that I'm watching a rerun. Oh well, blog on.

8:02 -- Stefan inexplicably has a crush on Jamie. Yech.

8:03 -- This cast includes several well-trimmed beards.

8:05 -- Damn. I just realized I forgot Worcestershire sauce in the meatloaf I'm cooking.

8:06 -- Carla could pass for Scottie Pippen's sister.

8:09 -- Stefan and his Jamie love fall to Hosea in the Quickfire.

8:13 -- Ariane says that because she's married she understands the "Something borrowed..." saying. Memo to Ariane: I'm married and have never heard of it.

8:15 -- Gail's shower. Damn this is pressure.

8:15 -- I like the "Top Chef" Fabio more than the guy on the romance novels.

8:17 -- Carla's anecdote is funny because my wife and I have our own whistling call for locating each other in grocery stores.

8:21 -- Rice is so darn hard to make. I feel for Eugene.

8:32 -- Gail has a lot of friends.

8:33 -- I love it when Tom is stalking around the kitchen, inspecting dishes and scaring the cast.

8:36 -- The editor of Food and Wine has sort of a Julius Caesar haircut, I believe it's called. Kind of like Burt Reynolds in "Deliverance."

8:40 -- Fabio uses his Italian accent to win over the crowd only to fall on his face when it comes time to taste the dish.

8:52 -- My own meatloaf is good. I fear the judges would describe it as "old people food" which is what they said about the dish by Fabio & Co.

8:59 -- And another well-trimmed beard is eliminated.

Mountain best

Dan Wetzel hits the nail on the head with this post on Yahoo! Sports about the University of Utah and how they are getting derailed by the BCS. Not unlike the patternless area post about Heisman hype. One thing I hadn't thought of: big networks promote the conferences that they have agreements with. So the ABC and Big Ten and CBS and SEC and ESPN and Big 12, etc. So who's going to promote the Mountain West Conference? No one.

Classic winter

Today dawned with the sound of a helicopter hovering over the North Side as part of the coverage of the Winter Classic hockey game. The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 6-4 outdoors at Wrigley Field before a crowd of more than 40,000. This is the second straight year the NHL staged a game on New Year's Day outdoors (last year's was in Buffalo). While I wasn't able to get a ticket, it's a lot of fun to watch these games. The Winter Classic tradition may be pushing college football bowls out of the spotlight on Jan. 1--the bowls are now so spread out and diluted that the first day of the year is just another day with a bunch of bowls.

I think my favorite part of the telecast today was the presence of The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. The broadcasters play up the impact of the elements a bit during these games (today it was a mild 30 degrees and overcast, though windy), but Cantore makes weather even more interesting. He was able to reference the "altocumulus" clouds while sitting on top of the centerfield scoreboard.

I heard a rumor that the NHL made snow to fill up the area around the rink but within the ballfield; I'm guessing this makes the Winter Classic more wintry. The truth is there's hardly any actual snow on the ground right now and we are in one of those typical Chicago phases of limited snow and cold temps.

Heisman hype

Last year, Central Florida running back Kevin Smith rushed for 2,567 yards and fell just short of Barry Sanders' single-season NCAA rushing record of 2,628 yards. Yet Smith finished eighth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, which ultimately went to Tim Tebow of Florida. Two years before, Reggie Bush of Southern California captured the trophy by rushing for nearly 1,000 fewer yards than Smith.

Winning the Heisman Trophy correlates now with team success more than at any point during the past 25 years, according to a study by the patternless area. Just three of the past 27 Heisman finalists, 11 percent, are from schools that finished outside the top 15 in the final Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings. Between 1983 and 2000, 32 percent of finalists were "outsiders" from beyond the top 15 (using the AP poll between 1983 and 1997). The heyday of the Heisman outsider was from 1985 to 1990, when 42 percent of finalists came from less-successful teams or even from outside Division I-A.

Despite Smith's omission in 2007, the four-finalist Heisman field included one outsider: Darren McFadden of Arkansas. The only other outsiders since 2001 are Brady Quinn of Notre Dame (2004) and Larry Fitzgerald of Pittsburgh (2003). This year only three players have been deemed Heisman finalists--Tim Tebow of Florida, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Colt McCoy of Texas--and they are from the top three teams in the nation.

Heisman history is dotted with players who came from relatively obscure programs but made it to Manhattan's Downtown Athletic Club as finalists: Tim Couch of Kentucky in 1998, Randy Moss of Marshall in 1997, Troy Davis of Iowa State in 1996, Marshall Faulk of San Diego State in 1992 and 1993. Three outsiders have won the trophy in the past 25 years: Ricky Williams of Texas in 1998, Ty Detmer of Brigham Young in 1990 and Bo Jackson of Auburn in 1985. Two finalists weren't even playing for Division I-A schools when they were invited: Steve McNair of Alcorn State in 1994 and Gordon Lockbaum of Holy Cross in 1987. Obscure players like Shawn Moore of Virginia (1990), Anthony Thompson of Indiana (1989) and Paul Palmer of Temple (1986) made it to New York.

Even as the Internet and cable television have made it easier to follow college football, the pool of potential Heisman candidates has narrowed. Rarely do players come out of nowhere like Sanders did in 1988, or Faulk in 1992, and if they do, like Kevin Smith, they are mostly ignored. Why?

-The BCS has focused all attention on schools in the big six major conferences: the Atlantic Coast, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pacific 10 and Southeastern. This year, Utah and Boise State have gone unbeaten and only Utah scraped into a BCS bowl. Boise State isn't even playing after Christmas, facing Texas Christian in something called the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23. Back in 1984, Brigham Young, of the Western Athletic Conference, won the national title by beating Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. Nearly half the teams in the grouping formerly known as Division I-A aren't even competing for the national title now.

-The media like to reward themselves. Heisman prognostications arrive in mid-summer, and the forecasters don't like to admit they were wrong when someone emerges in October.

-As expansive as the TV coverage is, few people watch the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night games that showcase lesser known conferences. Many sports fans are following baseball on those nights early in the football season.

-Widespread analysis and coverage derails the hopes of anomalies like B.J. Symons of Texas Tech, who threw for more than 5,000 yards in 2003. It's easier to dismiss players as "products of a system" rather than inherently talented. Analysts also seem more like to take this tack now, though I'm not sure why. Back in 1989, when Andre Ware won the Heisman at Houston, few decried his choice even though he was a product of the new-fangled Run and Shoot offense.

-The criteria for the Heisman Trophy have changed over time. Already murky at best, the definition of the "most outstanding player" has evolved to mean the best player on the best team. Back in the 1980s, stats seemed to matter more and team success not as much.

The Heisman already is inherently flawed since it 99 percent of the time awards players from three positions: quarterback, running back and wide receiver. In recent years, it's nearly all quarterbacks. This year, voters have a chance to combine the best of the '80s with the 2000s approach and pick Oklahoma's Bradford, whose jaw-dropping numbers combine with team success.

Other observations: Back in the late '80s and early '90s there were a lot more defensive players in the hunt for the Heisman. Names like Steve Emtman and Marvin Jones made the top 10 in voting. Charles Woodson of Michigan, of course, somehow won the Heisman as a defensive back in 1997.

-Lockbaum was a two-way player, a tailback and defensive back.

-A lot of winners were total washouts in the NFL: Jason White, Eric Crouch, Chris Weinke, Danny Wuerffel, Rashaan Salaam, Gino Torretta to name a few.