Fuzzy math: 8-8 doesn't add up to a home playoff game

Unbalanced: If the NFL really wants to make the regular season matter, it wouldn't allow an 8-8 division winner to enjoy home-field advantage in the playoffs against a 12-4 wildcard. A dozen wins in a tough division should earn the Steelers more than a trip to Denver, which broke even in one of the weakest divisions. The NFL could change this if it wanted. 

Futurewatch The Steelers are expected to beat Denver on Sunday, but recent events make that a shakier prediction than it should be. Pittsburgh is without injured running back Rashard Mendenhall and scored only 16 points in the two games Ben Roethlisberger played on a bad ankle. An assortment of other injuries also plagues the team. That's the NFL - it's a game of attrition.

Quick hit Anybody can ridicule the ACC's football pretensions after the bowl season. Really perceptive observers start in September.

Hoops du jour As it begins its ACC schedule today at home against Miami, Tony Bennett's Virginia team is 13-1, though relatively untested. Don't be surprised if the improved Cavaliers climb the conference ladder. Opportunity awaits. Depth of talent in the ACC is down again. Boy, am I getting tired of writing that every year.

Top down Now that the Cowboys' season is over, we're spared those camera shots of Jerry Jones trying not to get caught picking his nose. TV overdoes it, of course, but, in a way, constant images of Jones suffering through Cowboys losses are appropriate. The team's problems start with him.

Bombs away Isn't everybody thinking the same thing about the Saints-Lions playoff game? If Packers backup Matt Flynn can pass for 480 yards and six touchdowns against Detroit, what sort of fresh hell does Drew Brees have in store for the Lions secondary?

Hardware It's a little silly that NFL experts are attempting to split the difference by picking Aaron Rodgers as MVP and naming Brees the Offensive Player of the Year. But, then, as you get older - I'm talking about me - individual awards start to look a lot less important.

Update Former ODU big man and fledgling pro Frank Hassell has caught on with the Canton (Ohio) Charge of the NBA Developmental League after being waived by the San Antonio Spurs.

A good run After 16 seasons and 1,030 games in the NBA, the playing career of former Maryland and Maury High star Joe Smith ended after he went unclaimed as a free agent.

Add Joe In his two years at Maryland, Smith made an immediate and lasting impact among fans throughout the state. In 1995, invited to ceremonies in Baltimore as Cal Ripken Jr. tied and surpassed Lou Gehrig's Iron Man record, Joe joined a guest list that included Joe DiMaggio and Bill Clinton. When Smith was introduced to the crowd, he received a louder ovation than anyone but Ripken.

Reality check When an NFL team struggles, everybody's solution is, "Go out and get a better quarterback." As if franchise passers grow on trees. It's the same with head coaches. People act as if they're easily replaceable. But if it were that simple to upgrade those positions, everybody would be doing it.

Add coaches The Eagles would only have made matters worse for themselves by throwing Andy Reid out of the nest. Often the best move is to make no move. Did Reid have a bad season? Yes. Are his NFC opponents happy to see him still in place? No.

Too cautious I don't know what Stanford coach David Shaw was thinking on his team's final fourth-quarter possession in the Fiesta Bowl when he kept the ball on the ground and played for a field goal from a redshirt freshman instead of letting Andrew Luck air it out against an Oklahoma State defense that couldn't stop him. It was the last time Shaw would coach Luck. You would think he'd want to use his star's full repertoire.

Stop the rot Lost in the debate over whether the Colts will draft Luck and trade Peyton Manning or if both quarterbacks can coexist is that Indy has started a process of decay and perhaps, with the firing of Bill Polian, instability. This isn't the franchise Manning took to the Super Bowl two years ago. Regardless of who's their QB, the Colts need rebuilding.