If only these athletes played today

With football seaosn having ended, Tebow mania has subsided ... for now.

No worries, though. The void has been filled by a little Lin-sanity.

Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin is the current athlete being forced down the throats of sports fans by today's entertainment and sports media (ESPM).

Then again, many fans seem all too willing to accept being told what's important. After all, why should people think for themsleves when they can be couch potatoes and turn on the idiot box?

Tebow, Lin: Flashes in the pan or long-term quality?

Who cares? Doesn't matter.

There's no patience in today's world, which seeks immediate gratification.

All the hoopla surrounding current sports sensation Lin makes me wonder what if today's 24/7 ESPM was alive and well in 1976 -- the year of "The Bird."

Mark Fidrych, a flaky, curly haired right-hander, resembled "Sesame Street's" Big Bird. On the mound, Fidrych would bend down and groom the mound with his hands, talk to the baseball and slap high-fives with teammates in the middle of the diamond.

Can't you just see it, the Bird miked up for the MLB Network during a start? Or a cable reality series called, "The Bird Cage."

Then there was "Ickey" Woods, the former Bengals running back best remembered for his "Ickey Shuffle" end zone dance.

Ickey would have been a natural for "Dancing With the Stars."

But nobody would have sent ratings higher than former Indians rookie of the year Joe Charboneau.

"Super Joe" would dye his hair unnatural colors, open beer bottles with his eye socket, and drink beer with a straw through his nose. He also reportedly did his own dental work and fixed a broken nose with a pair of pliers and a few shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey.

A song entitled "Go Joe Charboneau" reached No. 3 on the local charts.

Charboneau could have been a triple threat -- TV, movies and the music charts.

But that was 1980 -- a good 7-8 years before Tebow and Lin were born.

And a time when sports fans were able to think for themselves a little more.

Chinese and MSG

Apparently it helps to be Chinese at Madison Square Garden. The dog world's Jeremy Lin -- a Pekingese -- won Best in Show on Tuesday night.

But I must say, the other Best in Show contenders resembled ... well ... dogs!

The Pekingese looked more like a Pillow Pet knockoff that a dog.

Plus, the dog's handler slyly combed the hairy pillow during it's time before the ultimate judge.

Seems like cheating to me. :)