Tuesday morning at the office didn’t offer up any less buzz about the weekend that was in the NFL playoffs. Nobody around here can believe Brady’s fallibility, Watson’s hustle, Delhomme’s resurgence, Big Ben’s surprise sharpness in carrying through Cowher’s surprising game plan, the Pittsburgh pass rush, the lack of Bear’s pass rush, and the simple fact that the NFC championship game is being hosted in Seattle. But there are new stories around sports this week that just may, for a moment, help you stop thinking about awful refereeing, fumble returns that should have been, and road teams splitting in the divisional round. Who are we kidding? The NFL holds the keys to the sports kingdom for 3 more weeks. Lets run it full:

BALL ONE: Congratu-flippin-lations — The NFL has come out publically to admit that the refs blew the call on Steeler safety Troy Palamalu’s apparent interception in the 4th quarter of the Steeler’s shocking upset win against Indianapolis. That’s all well and good, but why is it that there is not a definitive system of rules in place that can be determined by the 4,000 camera angles they have at their disposal? Why is it that there are more overturns and discussions over calls WITH instant replay than back in the days when there was none. I would rather not have replay than watch the putrid efforts put forth by those Foot Locker employees out there. I’ve seen less discussion amongst the women on The View. Something needs to be done to correct it, not just apologize for it.

BALL TWO: A-Rod Selling Out? — A-Rod has been put on the 60-man provisional roster for the Dominican Republic. His parents were born there and he is of Dominican descent. Let me say this right now and be done with it: any player that was born in and has lived in the United States of America that wants to go play for another country in this thing should have to pack his bags and take all of his crap with him, because the doors to life, liberty, and the pursuit of millionaire happiness will be closed when you come back. That goes for Mike Piazza and any of these other spoiled attention seekers who want to leave their home country to sell out to their “heritage.” You are an American, Alex, born and bred. We are the melting pot, and every player on our roster has descendants from other countries. It’s a disgrace. He’s a disgrace. There is no argument.

STRIKE ONE: Mangini a Fresh Face in the East — Bill Belichick has been littering the college and pro ranks with assistant coaches that have become head coaches during his incredible run with the New England Patriots, and now, he has taken to supplying his own division. Eric Mangini takes over for the New York Jets and becomes the youngest coach in football by some 7 years, surpassing recently appointed Packers head man Mike McCarthy. Mangini has the imagination that comes from being under the tutelage of Belichick, and the daring that comes with being a mere 35 years of age. The youth movement in the NFL is upon us, and the old guard will be hard pressed to adapt to the new NFL, where coaches are innovators and coddlers, instead of chalk talk geniuses and disciplinarians.

STRIKE TWO: Keeping Tex in Texas — Congratulations to the Texas Rangers for giving a good faith deal to their franchise player, Mark Texeira, locking him up for the next two years even before he can consider free agency. Texeira will get $6 million this season and $9.4 million in 2007. The deal will keep Texeira in Texas until he is a free agent, giving the Texas Rangers a good chance to extend the deal before then, or, make an offer for him to stay. Texeira, 26, hit .301 last year with 43 bombs and a gawdy 144 RBIs in the hitter’s American League. For once, Texas keeps a guy around who will pay long term dividends.

BALL THREE: Rivalry Stretched Out — The University of North Carolina and Duke have seen their share of hoops against each other over the yeas, but this weekend, 24 students from each school got together to play the longest basketball game in history, lasting 58 straight hours for charity. Usually, this would be a strike in running the count full, but it’s a ball today because the score ended Duke 3,688 UNC 3,444. Thats a lot of balls.

Have a good week.