Well, folks, Super Bowl weekend is finally upon us. God help us all. Don't know about you, but the game seems a fait accompli for New England to me — they're too close, too good and too well-coached. Well-coached teams don't blow games like this one. I'm betting they pull away in the second half and win with relative ease.

(I'll be rooting against them, of course.)

In any case, here are some Friday links:
— What's it like to cover Nick Saban on a daily basis? Well, occasionally, you'll probably have days like this one, where he gets all riled up and goes after you. My favorite part of this is the commentary below, where all the readers (predictably) go after Rapaport for being smug (and he probably is, even though I don't really know anything about him). for being a reporter and — this one was my favorite — actively rooting for Alabama to fail (even though 95 percent of Rapaport's blog posts are pro-Alabama and he's never had a run-in with Saban up until this point). Hilarious.
— Didn't realize Mike Wilbon had suffered a heart attack. Yikes. Hope he comes back soon — LeBatard doesn't need any more time in the spotlight.
—More ridiculousness from ESPN: Sportscenter anchor says "wife beater" on-air (referring to a shirt), forced to apologize for it later. Good grief. Where have you gone, Howard Cosell?
— Recruiting wheel continues to turn in Alabama's favor: cornerback Alonzo Lawrence committed to Tuscaloosa this afternoon, which could provide some much-needed secondary depth. Also, for those interested in what Jim McElwain's offenses might look like, TD has more.
— Auburn-related links: Phillip Marshall discusses what life has been like for AU offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey, who's received a good deal of heat for his block on Glenn Dorsey even though a) Dorsey was already hurt when the game started (he hurt his hamstring in a non-contact play on the game's first series), b) Dorsey wasn't seriously injured on the play (in the clip below, you can see him getting up and walking off the field) and c) LSU, you know, won the damned national championship.

Ridiculous.
Also, Auburn and West Virginia re-scheduled their game for October. So Auburn's killer early schedule looks a little easier, plus they get to play on TV.
— OK, I know no one but me cares about the NBA around here — still, this was ridiculous. Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown? Sheesh.

wlh