To get a feel for courage, you first need perspective

Christmas message  Email pal Al George works in the flight control tower at the Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan. Televised NFL games help keep him in touch with home, but the Virginia Beach resident expresses amusement that football players are praised for their "courage" in overcoming injuries, "when daily here we see Medevac choppers bringing in guys hurt in firefights, like a scene out of 'M*A*S*H,' except this isn't scripted. We get to see a different slant on courage." He concludes, "Perspective is a good thing." Amen to that.

Attention paid  If Kris Humphries hoped to raise his profile with what turned out to be a 72-day, televised marriage to Kim Kardashian, it looks like it's worked. The Nets forward was booed - mercilessly, is how the stories characterize it - every time he touched the ball during an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.

Mania  Rumor has it that "Saturday Night Live" wants Tim Tebow as its host as soon as the Broncos season is over. Would the producers consider bringing back the Church Lady for the occasion?

Holiday schedule  The Packers will be the first NFL team to play on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Numbers game  At this point in the NFL season, what with all the injuries and reports of concussions, does the 18-game schedule proposed by commissioner Roger Goodell seem like a good idea? The answer is no.

Hairy situation  As the ODU men's basketball team struggled to beat VMI and raise its record to 6-6, I overheard a couple of fans at the Constant Center suggest what Blaine Taylor needed to do to turn around the season - grow back his mustache.

Futurewatch  Of course Kobe Bryant will play on Christmas with damaged ligaments in his shooting wrist. He's the Ben Roethlisberger of basketball. Or maybe it's the other way around.

Dubious achievement  When UCLA meets Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl next Saturday, the 6-7 Bruins could become the first bowl team to lose eight games. If that's not enough incentive to watch, I don't know what is.

Closure  At 52, former Redskins lineman Joe Jacoby recently earned his degree from the University of Louisville. The Hogs always had a knack for finishing things.

Stat stuff  Reputations being what they are, Tony Romo draws a lot of attention when the Cowboys lose, not as much when he lights it up with 18 TD passes and only two interceptions in the last seven games.

To the wire  What's with the Ravens, who have beaten the Steelers twice and knocked off the 49ers, but have losses to the Titans, Jaguars, Seahawks and Chargers? To secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and avoid opening on the road, Baltimore most likely will need to win its last two games. But with their poor record away from home, a Ravens loss at Cincinnati the final week wouldn't surprise anybody.

Watch out  The 49ers have the rugged look of a team you can envision grinding its way to the Super Bowl against the odds. And if Jim Harbaugh isn't the runaway choice for Coach of the Year, there should be an investigation.

Idle thought  A strong finish by Rex Grossman shouldn't fuel the illusion that the Redskins don't badly need to draft a quarterback.

Dominating  One reason the NFL is so popular is it generates interest at both the top and bottom of the food chain. There's just as much chatter about the race to the cellar - for the chance to draft Andrew Luck - as there is about playoff scenarios.

'Tis the season  When the year's big sports stories are recalled, one of the most poignant is likely to be lost in the shuffle. In February, Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter donated a kidney to outfielder Kevin Jordan, a freshman who had yet to step onto the field for his college team. Now that's a gift that keeps on giving.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com

Twitter @BobMolinaro