Out of the doorway, the bullets scream

Here they come:

• So Barack Obama is going to run for president after all. Good - now he may even see some legitimate scrutiny. It will be well nigh impossible for him to skate all the way down Pennsylvania Avenue without answering some tough questions. His name ultimately is not tabula rasa.
• The problem with making your fearless predictions public is that you when you get them wrong, you can get called on it. I picked Baltimore, Seattle and San Diego to win over the weekend. Didn't happen. So we are left with New England at Indy, and New Orleans at Chicago. Let's try this again. New England 27, Indianapolis 24; and New Orleans 31, Chicago 23. I won't believe Rex Grossman can get anyone into the Super Bowl until he shows me. As for Peyton Manning, he's unfortunately becoming the Wilt Chamberlain of football - a towering talent who never has enough of a supporting cast to get past the competition. A Bears loss also means we would be spared the inevitable comparisions to Super Bowl XX, including sending reporters with wide-angle lenses down to find the 400+ pound William "Refrigerator" Perry, or a touching story on the sensitive side of Otis Wilson.
• The Gophers have named Tim Brewster to be their new head football coach, leading to widespread shrugs. From what I can tell, they may have made a good hire. I dimly remember Brewster as a versatile tight end catching touchdown passes from Jack Trudeau down in Champaign back in the 1980s. He apparently is a good football mind and an excellent promoter/recruiter. Given Glen Mason's general disdain for promotion, I can see why the majordomos at the U wanted to get someone who doesn't mind undertaking a few promotional efforts. It will take a significant amount of marketing to bring the median age of the Gopher fan base back down below, say, 79. Bernie Bierman ain't coming back, folks. And the U has plenty of things going for it; if you were a potential recruit, would you rather spend 4-5 years in Minneapolis or Iowa City? I know what I'd answer. And best of all, they can save the money they'd had to have spent on a big name football coach to continue wooing Flip Saunders back to Dinkytown. Given the way things are going in Detroit, Flip may be more amenable to returing here than he's let on....
• Bucky is now #2 in the AP basketball poll. Bo Ryan has had a lot of good teams since he's been in Madison, but this one could be special. Could they beat the Florida Gators and win the first NCAA trophy since distant 1941? We'll be interested to see. Alando Tucker is a great player - that much is certain.