I haven't seen any of the five movies in the running tonight for "Best Picture" at the Oscars -- and I don't feel like I'm missing anything, either. I'd rather watch "Hoosiers" or "Titans" or "Caddyshack" for the umpteenth time. I'd even rather watch "Court of Dreams," and it's not even a real movie. We made up a scene about the Keene State's men's basketball team going to the NCAA Division III championship game. Check it out in "SportsTown," our every-Friday, no-holds-barred, information- and numbers-packed romp through the Monadnock sports scene. It's also online, just a few clicks from here. the cool thing about "Court of Dreams" is you can create your own ending and post it right here. Hey, whatever you come up with, it's sure to be a better ending than "Frost/Nixon." 

No one did it better than Brett Favre, and we're not just talking about the touchdown passes or yards or wins or Super Bowls or Wrangler commercials. We're talking about playing the game, playing with a passion rarely seen in this day of pampered and sheltered million-dollar athletes. What, 291 straight starts? That's ridiculous. Best QB ever? Don't know, and don't care. Best football player to ever play the QB spot? No question. Here's hoping No. 4 enjoys retirement as much as we enjoyed watching him play football.

This year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl will be a little sweeter for Keene High football fans.

Blackbird seniors Ray Boulay and Jermaine McDay will play for the New Hampshire team against Vermont in this year's game, the 56th installment . Last season, Boulay and McDay helped lead the Blackbirds to their first playoff appearance since 2004.

They were chosen from a pool of over 100 players from the Granite State. The team will meet March 1 in Lebanon to set early game plans and get acquainted with New Hampshire Coach Greg Husband of Franklin High. Formal practices begin July 22 at Kimball Union Academy in Meriden.

This year's Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl will be played in Windsor, Vt., as renovations will be on going at Dartmouth College's Memorial Stadium, the game's usual venue. It will be only the second time the game is played in the Green Mountain State.

-- Jon Pelland

Word on the street is that Manny Ramirez - the one-time loveable former Red Sox star - turned down a one-year, $25 million contract from the Dodgers.  It would have made him the second-highest paid player in baseball and the highest-paid outfielder in baseball history.

So Manny tanked during his final days in Boston solely for the fact that he wouldn't be saddled with a two-year, $40 million club option.  Thanks, Manny.  Now that the market has crashed, wouldn't it make a whole lot of sense to play for ONE year at $25 million and be a free agent again next offseason?  It seems to me that he's holding out for less money and ruining his reputation at the same time.  But I guess that's just Manny being Manny.

In other, better news, Monadnock Regional High boys' basketball standout Nicco DeMasco is just 19 points away from the 1,000-point plateau that every high school player strives for.  The Huskies host Fall Mountain Regional tonight in Swanzey Center.  It should be a great atmosphere as DeMasco, a senior, chips away.  Talk about being a great time to be a MRHS fan - last season, two players reach the 1,000-point mark for their careers and the Huskies capture their first-ever Class I state title.  This season, another player is closing in on the milestone and the surprising Huskies are 8-3, good for fifth in the standings.

- GL

Monadnock Regional High has hired Linwood Patnode to be its new football coach, principal Brian Pickering and assistant principal Tom Stewart said earlier this morning.

Patnode was officially hired Friday after a nine-person search committee interviewed three candidates. The school officially announced the decision today.

The 1975 Monadnock graduate replaces Keith Wood, who coached the Huskies for three seasons before resigning in December. Wood coached the team to a 6-24 record.

Patnode has been a defensive assistant on the staff of Keene Coach John Luopa the past four seasons. Patnode helped guide the Blackbirds to their first playoff appearance since 2004 this past season.

Last night's Super Bowl lived up the hype - it definitely ranks as one of the best in recent memory, if not ever.  But there is something that began gnawing at me near the end of the game, and it hasn't stopped.

I'm having an impossible time trying to comprehend why Kurt Warner's "fumble" wasn't reviewed.  It's the Super Bowl!  How can a call that may cost a team the title not be reviewed.  It appeared to me, along with everybody else that was watching the game in Lab 'n Lager, that his arm was clearly loaded and he was coming forward with the football.  You factor in the penalty at the end of the play, and the Cardinals suddenly have the ball on the Pittsburgh 35-yard line with one, maybe two, chances to win the game.  With receivers like Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, who knows what could have happened.

I was disappointed in the fact that Al Michaels and John Madden only briefly discussed that it may have been an incomplete pass and not a fumble - but I think they were more surprised that the refs didn't review the call, and were unprepared to discuss it.  But during the post-game show, my real anger came out.  NBC puts seemingly 20 "analysts" at a desk to analyze the game, and not one of them had the backbone to even question the call on the field.  Weak.

Yes, it was an incredible game.  I found myself rooting hard for the underdog Cardinals, as expected.  And I was very disappointed with the final 20 seconds.  Do you agree or disagree, fellow sports fans?

- GL

Finally, game day. The big game day. I turn to ESPN this morning for what I figure is going to be some talk about secondary matchups, blitzes, kicking games, you remember, football. Instead, it's Hannah Storm interviewing Faith Hill, who is going to sing "God Bless America" before the game. She's actually asked to compare this assignment with singing the national anthem before the 2000 Super Bowl. Puh-lease. First of all, ESPN is analyzing the pregame entertainment. We're not even "talkin' about practice" anymore. And second, if any country music star should be getting some love on ESPN it should be Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, who had a country hit with Bon Jovi, who owns an arena football league team. ... Please, could we just have a kickoff??????