THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE NFL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL TUNNEL

As the football season winds down, even as the NFL playoffs kick off, I'm forced to consider what lies beyond February 7 and the end of the Super Bowl. Apparently, there are other sports to consider, ones that I've chosen to ignore while watching 10 - 15 college games a week and five or six NFL games on top of that. Add two or three radio shows a week, a couple of blog posts and a full time job, and well, it's easy to see why the NBA, college basketball, the NHL and Major League Baseball are forced to take a back seat. But now, we're down to a single college football game and eleven NFL clashes left until the clock strikes twelve and I'm turned into a football Cinderella, exchanging my gridiron laden commentary for more pedestrian, at least in my opinion, prose.

Sure, we can talk about how the Philadelphia 76ers are an embarrassment to not just the NBA, but to all of professional sports. Or maybe a discussion of Kobe Bryant's final season is in order, and along with it speculation about his place in NBA history. And what about the start the Warriors have had to the season and whether a record 73 wins are possible for a jump-shooting, tenacious team that won it all last year? Meanwhile, the King somehow flies under the NBA radar, quietly guiding a finally healthy Cavalier squad to the third best record in the league, despite routinely resting Lebron and Kevin Love, still trying to get in game shape after surgery prompted by a shoulder injury in the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. Let's not forget the Spurs, just a year and a half removed from a title, with the ageless Tim Duncan keeping them within reach of Golden State.

Or what about the glut of college basketball action, much of it meaningless in the face of the monster that the NCAA tournament has become? Do regular season games really matter? Can the 68th seed in in March Madness really compete for the title? And how much has the one and done era hurt all levels of the game, from the NBA, to college and all the way down to the high school junior varsity programs.

Then there is speculation surrounding the health of Tiger Woods, and whether we'll ever see him play, much less win, again. At almost 40 years old, can he recover once again from injuries to regain the form that made him the most dominant player in golf history? Can the budding rivalry of a new big three between Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day stand the test of time, or will it fizzle out as the big money and intense attention diminish their desire and drive? We can speculate about whether Dustin Johnson will ever be able to hold onto the lead in a major championship and finally get that monkey off his back. Or now that Jordan Spieth has emerged as the next big thing, is Jack Nicklaus' major title total of 18 in jeopardy of being eclipsed, now that Tiger is apparently out of the running?

Don't look now, but the team leading in points in the NHL right now is the Washington Capitals, never Stanley Cup champions with only one Finals appearance in their history. Can Alex Ovechkin finally lead them to that promised land, or will some multiple overtime loss again derail the dreams of a long-suffering franchise and fan base?

After two consecutive World Series appearances, the most recent resulting in a championship, is this the start of a Kansas City Royal dynasty, led by a crop of young, talented players developed in a first rate farm system? Or will injuries and big contracts blunt the promise of greater things to come?

Well, come to think of it, maybe February 8 won't be such a bad day after all!

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords. The third installment, "Offsetting Penalties" is due out in January.