Even without a little rum or brandy, eggnog is the greatest drink known to man - even better than Dr. Pepper or Mr. Pibb. Of course, more than a couple glasses during the year will shorten your lifespan by a year a glass.

For those looking at the score only, the Patriots smacked the Dolphins. It was not close and for a short period, it looked as though Miami might go two games in a row without crossing the big stripe.

The announcers made a big deal of saying that it was the last regular season game in Foxboro. There is no love lost between the fans and the old stadium. The "World's Biggest Urinal" was a miserable place to go with long waits to get in and out of the parking lot, men's/ladies rooms, and the concession stands.

It was also a very unsavory place to bring children or wives/girlfriends. Until Bob Kraft came in and enforced changes that made the stadium a little friendlier.

Dave Wannstedt has decided that his team will live and die with Lamar Smith. Time to start ordering the headstone.

Does Terrell Owens' end zone dance remind anyone else of the dance that Michael J. Fox did in "Teen Wolf?"

Note to Andy Reid or whomever does the drafting of talent for Philly. You need to get a run-stopper.

Another note to Andy Reid. Having the team penalized 11 times in a close game doesn't cut it. That type of immaturity is what loses games against good teams. You will be playing good teams in the playoffs and not the NFC East.

Jon Gruden should look back into the playbook as the Raiders are calling the wrong plays. Throwing the ball 50 times when your lead back averages 5.2 yards-per-carry on the day seems backward. With the playoffs nearing, they are heading in the wrong direction.

Did anyone forget that Sebastian Janikowski had a groin injury? Seems it may have contributed to his 1-for-4 efforts Saturday.

Not to ruin a classic movie for you but if Clarence, the guardian angel in "It's a Wonderful Life," had told George Bailey that Mr. Potter took the money from Uncle Billy wouldn't that have been a little easier than the "you haven't been born" hooey. He saw it happen from the stadium seating up in Heaven, just drop a dime on Potter and have Bert the Cop haul his bony pre-Monty Burns butt into the back room for a severe thrashing.

Speaking of "It's a Wonderful Life," is there any doubt that George and Violet Bick were swapping fluids the four years that Mary was away at college?

It jumps out at you like the first sighting of a Jackson Pollack painting as all confusion but Chris Chandler did throw for over 400 yards Week 15.

It may have happened in only one league in America but some lucky schmoo had both Chandler and Shawn Bryson in their fantasy playoff lineup.

Big mistake of the weekend. The Texas Rangers sign Chan Ho Park who has had serious problems outside pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium and moves him to hitter-friendly Ballpark at Arlington.

The Chargers are now 0-8 since the Buffalo win, with a game to go wouldn't it make sense to see if Drew Brees can play the game.

I guess we can assume that Randy Moss took this week off. Think he or one of his representatives could print out a work itinerary, it certainly would make life easier for those in the fantasy portion of football.

If you can't stop Stacy Mack or Elvis Joseph running the football, it is going to be a long end of the season.

If the Giants make the playoffs, there should be an investigation.

For a team that was within a game of the playoffs, were the Seahawks ever really considered in the hunt?

How well is Ty Detmer doing for the Lions? Haven't heard much since the Lions traded for him.

We think the Steelers didn't play down to the Lions like so many others. That was a full bore ass kicking by a good team to a bad team.

How many fantasy owners will run back out and grab David Sloan? He has incited three runs, this being the third, and as many dumps after people wait two weeks for something to happen. At the end of the year, he will grade out much higher than he deserves.

We have said this all season but it became apparent Sunday, for even the most ardent Saints fan, that Aaron Brooks is killing the team.

He's okay for fantasy players though, if they don't care about completion percentage or subtract for interceptions.

Has anyone noticed that since Albert Connell was suspended the Saints are 0-2? May not mean anything but it looks like the Saints miss his presence.

The whole season rides on the ability of Tony Banks to play in the red zone. Was there a scarier scenario for the Redskins than that?

The safety at the end of the Redskins/Bears game forced millions of dollars change hands.

Goodbye again Redskins.

Can't say the Bears hadn't been warning teams that Brian Urlacher was going to get the rock.

If there were an Exhibit A on how a good team plays down to a bad team look at the St. Louis/Carolina game. Some Panther fans will remark how the team played the Rams tough. That is a bigger tall tale than old Saint Nick.

Marshall Faulk has almost 450 total yards against the Panthers this year and we think he should send them a Thank-you note.

The words Jon Kitna three interceptions are as familiar to football readers as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" to readers of Dickens.

The Ravens win looks a lot better than it actually was as they gave up 124 rushing yards to Corey Dillon and the Bengals lost because of - see above.

With his 128 rushing yards, Emmitt Smith is in position to go back over 1,000 yards for the season. Does it really matter and will they still run him out there to take Payton's record next season instead of trying to work younger backs into the mix? The answers are no and yes.

If you are the Arizona Cardinals - now there is a scary thought - and have Thomas Jones a first-round pick a year ago and Michael Pittman a free agent at the end of the season to pick from as starting running backs and the season is already in the toilet, whom do you choose? Well, if you are the Arizona Cardinals you choose Pittman.

That is right, 20 people in line at "Hot Dog on a Stick." Amazing.

To me one of the great mysteries of the last few football seasons is why the Cowboys stopped throwing the ball to Emmitt Smith. He used to be able to catch and run with the pig but now he is a bystander.

If you had told me that Jamel White would have 216 total yards, I would've bet the Browns score more than seven points.

The strangest stat of the year may be that Bret Favre threw 18 completions with three scores and no receiver had more than 29 receiving yards.

Some Christmas specials cross decades easier than others, the Grinch or even Charlie Brown haven't lost much over the years. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, however, with its Taliban-like depiction of women and a white supremacist posing as Santa should be retrofitted for a more open-minded society or canned. I'm surprised Santa doesn't have the elves burning a cross in front of Rudolph's cave.

Moreover, what is the Island of Misfit Toys, some leper colony?

Hangover's Top-10

1. St. Louis Rams
   
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
   
3. San Francisco 49ers
   
4. Green Bay Packers
   
5. Chicago Bears
   
6. New England Patriots
   
7. Oakland Raiders
   
8. Baltimore Ravens
   
9. Philadelphia Eagles
   
10. New York Jets
    

:: comments to mark bond