Assorted musings

-- It's funny what does and doesn't get edited out of The Sopranos on A&E. And some of the complete redubbing of scenes is downright hilarious -- close to being like the old kung fu films.

-- I actually got to see Bill Simmons' appearance on Mike and the Mad Dog and I was actually looking forward to his writeup of it. The one thing interesting about Simmons is that he was just wandering around trying to get radio gigs during Super Bowl week, whereas almost all the football people (save Gil Brandt, apparently) had everything set up by publicists to shill some product, service or event. Usually while watching/listening to Mike and the Mad Dog, those guys get decent guests because they can, so it was weird having to hear some famous player pitching a Web site or odd product at the end of the interview.

-- So apparently I was one of about five people who actually watched the NHL All-Star Game as opposed to Andy Griffith, Ace of Cakes or Mythbusters. (I still flipped back and forth to Idol.) And the only reason I got to see it is because the INHD channel picked it up since I don't get Versus. Great job, guys. Not a bad game, and the ongoing discussion between the booth and Marty Turco (who was playing goal) in the third period was a stroke of genius.

-- Speaking of things happening on channels I don't get on my cable, it took me an extra day or two to realize they'd just crowned a new Miss America. There was little buzz about it to begin with, and now she's doing the talk show rounds. Who knew?

-- If you want to see the generation gap when it comes to the sports world, just check out the Barbaro saga. Horse racing doesn't have the same relevance to today's sports fan, so the reverence by some for a horse, even a Kentucky Derby winner, seemed a bit much. We felt that way at the office, and obviously so did many others since I think we might've pushed the limits of our snarkiness with this whole drawn-out affair.

-- Finally, here's my contribution to the overly exhaustive Super Bowl coverage at work. And it has nothing to do with fantasy football. How about that?