The Post Mortem

Have you ever had a party where you knew you had to invite somebody you didn�t like? So what do you do? You invite that person at the last minute, when they couldn't possibly be there in time.

That is what the NFL did to Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who was the first alternative to be called after Jacksonville's Raashean Mathis went down with an injury on Friday night.

Of course, the NFL smartly waited until after the last flight to Hawaii left California before calling. You could imagine that call.

"Hey us, Naomi, err, Nanana, err, hey guy, guess what? You're totally on the Pro Bowl roster right now. Yeah, I know the game starts in like six hours, but do you think you can find a flight out here in time? No? Bummer, man. Maybe next year."

Hey, you can't blame the NFL for wanting to keep the riff-raff out of its end-of-the-season celebration.

• Tiki Barber threw an interception and rushed for just 4 yards on seven carries, but scored the game's first touchdown. He got a standing ovation from the crowd and his fellow players when a video tribute to his career was shown on the scoreboard with 1:58 to play. Oh good Lord, did Otis Anderson get this kind of send off for the Giants? And he won a (expletive) Super Bowl. And what is with Barber attempting a pass? You know he likely begged the coaches to do this so he could prove to the world that he is just as good as LaDainian Tomlinson.

• Nate Kaeding finally made a game-winning kick. Too bad it was in the Pro Bowl and not a Chargers playoff game. But hey, at least he is going in the right direction. Gomer, the Pro Bowl's all-time leading passer, used the exhibition to hone his skills to eventually win a Super Bowl.

• Speaking of Gomer, Phil Mickelson won some golf tournament this week because Tiger Woods was not playing. Why does that sound familiar?

• Drew Brees injured his arm in a meaningless game for the second consecutive year. With the way he came back from his injury this year, that might not be such a bad course of action for Brees.

• If the Celtics are going to continue to lose at their current clip, it might be worth getting back into the NBA. Dancing Celtic girls, Red Auerbach dead, and 18-game losing streak, karma is a female dog, eh? Maybe you shouldn't have sold your soul.

AND FINALLY

Poor Duke, losers of four consecutive games, could they really be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament? Yeah, right. Duke could lose the remainder of their games (and a game at Boston College is looming) and they would still get in. And that�s a shame. Teams that finish with a conference record below the .500 mark should not be in the NCAA tournament (unless of course they win the conference tournament). March Madness needs more teams from mid-major conferences, rather than teams like Duke who are rather pedestrian when the time keepers aren�t cheating for them. Teams such as San Diego State, BYU or New Mexico State would make the tournament a lot more interesting than just the same-old, same-old from tired programs like Duke.

Of course, with all of the losing going on, look for Coach Krymngrfgjkliuski to get another one of those mystery back problems again. Funny, his back only seems to flair up during losing seasons.