O.J. Simpson Finally Paroled. Was Jay Z Right?

     If sufficient remorse was the primary determinant when working on a parole board, you would likely need a lie detector to deal with the magnificent actors of the world. Are we to assume that Bernie Madoff, at 229 years old or so, won't be able to show sorrow for the billions of dollars he schemed away from so many? Even if he does, is there a way to truly trust that a criminal will never do another crime other than helpful determinants like old age and past history relative to the crime you are seeking parole from? Did the guidelines for parole sheet get tossed out in Nevada or what?

     Watching OJ Simpson begrudgingly attempt to show contrition for something he has no remorse for was rather difficult today. Listening to all of the pundits who only wanted to stick it to the black man because they couldn't stick it to him before was quite a bit more difficult.

     Don't get me wrong. I am as much convinced that he was involved with killing someone as I was when he got acquitted by virtue of good lawyering and bad policing.  The disconnect between those who wanted him to pay for the murder and those who wanted him to be proven guilty of the crime is still as vast a divide as it ever was.  There simply is no way to express to someone who has never been racially disenfranchised what it means to beat the system that treats you that way.

     Trump, and a bunch of trigger happy cops, have flipped the US to the tender side of our underbelly, and thankfully, many people who were previously disconnected to the plight of being on the wrong side of our scorching hot melting pot are now graphically becoming aware of the depth of anger that fuels those with disdain for diversity. Never again will WE question the depth of our racial hatred, the unspoken divide that still lives on in all of US or how that divide disproportionately impacts brown skinned folks in America.

Despite a defiant posture and a lack of preparation,
The Juice Is Loose....again.

     Witnessing OJ finally get paroled after almost 9 years of jail time for a strong-armed robbery of his own shit was noteworthy, especially with the struggle that the parole board seemed to have with their decision to release him. They fought against the watchful eyes of an unforgiving nation, their own understanding of justice and a horrible presentation from OJ in order to do what they know was the right thing to do years ago.

     OJ served time for being an asshole with a sharply defiant tongue, and for being a black man acquitted of killing his wife- a white woman. Yes, OJ did time in part for just marrying a white woman, an element that probably set him free when his attorney, Johnnie Cochran, used the racial history of Mark Furhman to taint the potential actions and motives of Furhman as a way of setting OJ free. It was way too easy for a nation formed and fashioned by race to accept Furhman's displaced anger towards a likely murderer, confirmed to like white women.

     Watching so many legal pundits today, with undeclared contempt for OJ the man- contempt that supersedes their love for the rule of law and justice in sentencing- was disheartening. Not because it shows that even lawyers allow their emotions to override their view of justice, but because it accentuates how vitally important it is to get proper representation if you have any illusion of achieving justice in America. And how justice really has little to do with who wins or loses a court case in America if we can not easily determine proper sentencing or whether or not you've served enough time for a crime.

     I am glad it is all over because watching America truly display itself, AGAIN, is emotionally draining. OJ served enough time for robbery and deserved to be set free today. Whether or not OJ commits another crime is not really a concern to me. As long as I think about all the black men that should have never been locked up in the first place, I feel a little less anger for guys that stayed a bit too long.
        OJ is not one of the truly unlucky even if he needed a reminder by Jay'Z, the powers that be and a few extra years in prison that he is still nigga.

Are Black Men Becoming An Endangered Species?

I don't really believe you can use the words, "no offense" without definitely offending someone so I won't offend anyone with that time-honored prequalified cop-out. I will simply say that some deaths are harder to take than others. With so much death and dying in life, we all have to come to terms with it on some level or another. But certain moments and certain people die, and it shocks you to the core.

My friends and family have endured real heartbreak from recent deaths among the category of Americans that could be pushing into the endangered species realm if something doesn't give real soon. I say that somewhat in jest because I don't really believe in an endangered race of humans because the human spirit is naturally imbued with survival level toughness. In other words, all men are made to be as tough as their environment demands, even if they must be melted and tempered like iron to reveal their rigidity.

The famous, 300 years old "Hanging Tree" of Savannah, GA is an
historic landmark from our past. But what memory does it honor?
Isn't this just a different kind of Confederate flag?  

All that being said, I am certain to my core that black men are targeted to a level equal to our immense power. While those words may sound sorrow filled, I am equally certain that we used to be targeted many levels beyond our power to address it. As a matter of physics, a greater opposing force was always needed to thwart the kind of power black men can generate. With the added force of a black woman behind him, black men have survived. One even rose to become president to the chagrin of a lot of people that questioned a black man's ability to do something so immense.

You see, once upon a time ago, it only required probable cause to snuff out the life of a black man, assuming that you consider fear as a probable cause. In essence, nothing has really changed much when it comes to losing our black men. Either we die from the fear of someone else, or we die (literally and figuratively) while running from the power that we possess because making great choices with so much power in our hands can be scary to the point of deadly.

I often say it, but it bears repeating. As a father of 5 daughters (no boys), I am fairly certain that God was giving me the desires of my desperately fearful heart, that couldn't imagine how ugly America would become for my young black son/s while thinking about how tough it had been for me and countless other black men before me.

The damaging impact of the destructive forces against black men can be hard to quantify when reasonable attempts to shine a light on the real face of Alt-Right exceptionalism get criticized as giving the assholes a platform. I disagree with that notion and totally support Megan Kelly's attempt to stick a microphone in the face of the people that made Trump possible, and a mirror to the face of US all.

Name it what you want. Alt-right'ism descends from the same people who killed black men via public display methodology to invoke power through fear. Alt-right'ers are also the descendants of the same people who knew they had to react drastically to squelch the powerful spirit of a black man- a spirit that rarely loses its will and never stops searching for a way. Even our futile attempts to refine and define this mythical concept called Black America feeds into the two separate America's that the Alt-rigt'ers covet so much.

In the first Black Baptist Church in America, you won't easily find their entry points to the Underground Railroad,
because they are built into the balcony stairs. Are the drive and creativity
it takes to be black in America both a curse and a blessing?   

An important and influential plaque that was always displayed
prominently in the home of my youth.

I support Megan Kelly and every real conversation meant to uncover racial hatred, while I moan and mourn for those who foolishly think genocide of Muslims, blacks, Jews or of any idea are even possible. Ideas are like words.  They must die a natural and unforced death if they are to ever die at all.

Evil forces could have already done away with mankind if we weren't so full of ideas for surviving and thriving on a hostile planet. Ideas are the fuel that powers this planet, and as the former president, Barack Obama often said, you have to counter extreme ideas with better ones. And, there is simply no way to change the minds of extremists who subvert black power without first figuring out who they are.

I have an extreme, somewhat ironic idea. Maybe black men are not being killed in massive unexplained numbers, but we are actually being revealed through massive spiritual purifying- somewhat like gold. For, it is from the salt of many tears that the thirst of hope is quenched. With that thought in mind, I encourage my black brethren (and those who love us) to take upon the challenge of our pain with the surety of its purpose. In other words, don't run from the cause of our pain, but instead, let us all run towards it and stomp it out.

Broncos Must Answer, "What's In A Name?"

The name Dak sounds a lot like Pax. Is there a chance that the Broncos accidentally chose the wrong dude just because the names were sort of similar?  Could John Elway comfortably believe that Siemian or Lynch can take over a  job with two Hall of Fame shadows cast all over it? Doesn't Father John always have faith that the right quarterback- young, old or somewhere in between- is always the right answer to victory, or has he been transformed by our Hall of Fame defense? Will the new coach be encouraged to take a chance on a no-name upstart in Trevor Siemian, or roll the dice on the name, Paxton Lynch, who was recognizable enough to warrant a first-round draft selection?

All of that has something to do with the questions that the Denver Broncos must answer as they ready themselves to make the best use of 10 draft selections. Mostly, the names that wear the jerseys- or the ones that select them for that matter- are part of an ever moving turnstile of people. Sooner or later, we will tire of Elway and we will hope that the organization is ready to find the next best name to replace him when that day comes along. His name and every name will always be insignificant compared to the name that's is emblazoned on the front of the jersey.

WHO ARE THE DENVER BRONCOS?!!

What perpetually haunts the Broncos, and every team working to fix the flaws that kept them from winning it all last year, is the reality that every single team in the NFL runs some variation of the EXACT SAME PLAYS, they just disguise the formation and name them something different so as to confuse the opposing defense each week.

In other words, unless you confuse, confound and overcome the opposing defense in an NFL game, defense still reigns supreme.  The defense has reigned supreme since the day the game was created, and few teams without Tom Brady and/or some semblance of a defense have ever finished the season as the one on top. In fact, most teams will always be known for one side of the ball or the other, and usually, it is the team that makes the last defensive stop that will win the Superbowl.

When Manning first arrived in Denver, a team with a defense good enough to win a playoff game with Tim Tebow at the helm was suddenly scapegoated into being the problem as Manning lit up the skies trying to win it all from the wrong side of the ball. Not only did it not work, eventually the Broncos went back towards fortifying that Tebow flattering defense and climbed to the top of the mountain while simultaneously exhibiting some of the ugliest offense in team history.

There!! McCaffrey in a Broncos uniform.
Now get the heck over it because he'll
be gone Broncos fans.

As it stands, we are who the stats say we are, and a defensive juggernaut is not something to be taken for granted. Tonight, (The NFL draft starts on Thursday 4/27, with the Browns officially going on the clock at 8 p.m. ET.)  the Broncos must decide if they will continue to win the game of football with a once and a lifetime defense, or by creating this elusive illusion of balance that never materializes into a crown with those teams that score the ball in a fast a furious way.

You simply can't keep a good defense good without keeping them rested as well. That calls for ball control, wise play calling and a willingness to punt the ball away instead of taking needless chances that result in turnovers, field-position and points for the other team.

As much as each of us Broncos fans would love to see Christian McCaffrey in a Denver Broncos uniform, he is a luxury pick that would ignore the needs at linebacker- needs that were exposed by Kyle Shanahan and the Atlanta Falcons and later exploited by every team that followed. Selecting McCaffrey potentially neglects the struggles of the offensive line as well, but I'm not sure I would reach into the first round to try and fix that flaw.

From my perspective, the issue at linebacker is real while the issues from the O-line are a little tainted by a few seasons of unspectacular play at quarterback caused by the desperate desire to be spectacular at quarterback as a compliment to our dominating on defense.  In other words, the Broncos have pressed way too hard to not be normal on offense while missing the value of normal as it relates to ball control, Time Of Possession and the freshness of our Pro Bowl laden defense. If the Broncos had always shown a stronger commitment towards using the run game, they would already be well advanced at recognizing and beating teams that load up the box to stop the run.

Flashy or Gritty?

As it stands, we have two receivers fighting to be the leader of a team that doesn't really have one right now. Their mere ability to vie for team leadership speaks to the black hole at quarterback and the unwillingness to unequivocally hand that duty over to Von Miller, Aqib Talib and the defense. Any aggressive move to get McCaffrey (or an offensive lineman for that matter) is a sign that says the Broncos are hoping to increase point production and not simply lengthen TOP, Time Of Possession while minimizing turnovers, aka., normal offense.

Critics of the team fail to see that this current offensive line came one game and two inexperienced quarterbacks away from returning to the playoffs last year. Not that the team looked to be a threat even if they had made it in, but the defense is and always will be something that gives Denver a chance to win every game. Unless of course, we fail to draft quality players to compete against the current Pro Bowl players who eventually become too pricey to keep around.

If Denver drafts McCaffrey, he instantly becomes the luxury item that might get overly used simply to justify the reach they must make to draft him. McCaffrey would be marked by other teams as a result of the Broncos desire to justify their selection of him, and he will be instantly forced into a position of pressure not really fair to someone who's father did so much while wearing Orange and Blue.

While I am not that worried about Christian's ability to live up to the hype of his promise, I am concerned about unreasonable draft behavior and that the Broncos and fans might be abandoning the reason for our recent championship for the sake of one player, a player who would never be so desperately desired by Denver fans if his last name were Edwards or Jones.

Nearly every reason that folks in Denver want "The Name" McCaffrey in a Broncos uniform again is selfish and self-serving to the point of concern for me. Whether we look for "some more juice" to our offense as new head coach, Vance Joseph, promised, or we trust the juice we already have (C.J. Anderson and those receivers) to play in a juicier manner, this team needs to understand its identity, and ours is defense. Chasing for the juice has a real potential of getting messy quick.

Don't Blame LeBron or LaVar. Blame Yourself

Is LaVar Ball a fool for branding his kids,
or would he be a fool not too/

That's all I can stand. I can't stand no more. I am tired to my core of people hating on a 15 year old basketball player for scoring 92 points in a California high school game, as if any scrubs can make a team anywhere in Cali.  I am tired to my core of those who are mad about AAU players and parents and coaches, as though all of you basketball purists actually travel to summer tournaments or determine who gets to college or watch the game outside of the month of March.

Sure, basketball is watered down from back in the day when we played the game all day every day, weather permitting. If you think things are watered down because players don't stay in college long enough to learn the game, you are probably right about that too.  Basketball, in its current form, is a watered down sport in which supreme knowledge of the game has given way to supreme athletic ability and shooting talent. There are a handful of parents and hoop mentors that force kids to perfect their games. The rest of America's basketball playing kids are playing video games a little too much during the summertime, creating a widening gap between the Ball'ers and the gamers who hoop during the school season only.

All of that simply is what it is, but none of that has anything to do with Sebastian Telfair, or Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner, or even Grant Hill who also once carried the burden of being "next in line". I could be weary from the endless comparisons made between LeBron and Jordan, but LeBron is just the current one, and the one with the best chance of living up to the hype. What makes me tired the most is each and every one of you, who has been searching for the next Michael Jordan starting several years before Jordan hung it up. It was back then when LeBron was first placed under the heat of expectation, and you all ridiculed that kid for being too cocky, even though he actually passed the ball more than he shot at the time, and the name James actually begged to be preceded with the word King. Now, you deride him for calling himself King and not shooting the ball more like Jordan did.

Did he really believe himself of biblical proportions when LeBron pegged himself King James, or was it just a cool nickname from a young boy named James with cameras in his face all the time?  At this point in his career, he's come way too close to living up to the expectations that were piled on him,  with the obvious hope of forcing him to fail.

People are generally too uncomfortable with their own success- or lack thereof- to assume the next person will live up to their promise. Consequently, it's much easier to predict doom and then root for yourself to be right, then to think that anyone will ever be the next Michael Jordan, and wait for them to prove you right.

I don't blame LaVar Ball for exploiting the potential of his very talented sons,  nor do I blame him for the hunger of a very ravenous NBA fan base who all hope to witness greatness, just so long as it's not greater than Jordan.

The inescapable truth is that all of this- the scrutiny and the skepticism- is about Jordan, a man that many of you didn't even like that much when he first retired. Today, we refuse to even dream of crowning another NBA GOAT as he is the last true king. Maybe it is because NO ONE before Jordan realized that you could make so much money from a shoe contract, so, being next up means a lot more than it used to? The window for making money in sports has forced the hand of every great player and their family. Either you embrace the shine and learn to earn it, or it will go away of its own devices.

In the end, we simply can't help but scrutinize and be skeptical towards the next great young player who we hope isn't quite as good as Jordan was. The way I see it, Lavar's kids are simply next in line.

Denying Donald's Dumbness Questions Intelligence

Donald J. Trump might actually want to follow the lead of his three previous presidential predecessors who all managed to achieve two terms of leadership over America and the free world with minimal changes over those 32 years in leadership of the intelligence community.

WE all understand the current skepticism in the two-party system and the lack of congressional leadership that made way for the dissolving of the faith from the American electorate, ie., the reason why we've got Trump. WE even understand this war with the media even if we can't see a positive outcome for anyone waging war against the fourth estate.

Where I am personally struggling is understanding how you impune an entire community of intelligence that has been trusted by 32 years worth of presidents, evidenced by minor changes in leadership over the years preceding Trump.

Every professional within the community of gathering intelligence has a duty to the other intelligence entities, and to the president that they serve, to do what it takes to keep Americans safe. The notion that any one of them would intentionally act in a way to harm Americans is absurd.


Speaking of intent, our press is an intentional aspect of the intelligence community, one with a great deal of intelligence gathering ability of their own. Rich and powerful media outlets can hire whoever they need to hire to get to the bottom of a Watergate, Bridgegate or whatever scandal we add the word "Gate" to next.

If no one objects, I'm pegging this one DummyGate while we watch Trump attempt to impune everyone he might need to keep America safe and also get elected to another term, something that won't happen if he doesn't truly keep us safe. Inciting radical recruiting efforts while publicly taunting those same radicals to see if they can beat your public declared travel ban will not keep us safe. The problem with DummyGate is that Donald is likely just the fortunate beneficiary of a whole lot of people who would rather play dumb than accept some of the signs of the walls surrounding Trumpland crumbling like Jericho.

Trump can try to create excessive doubt of the intelligence community just as he can try to win the presidency while not revealing his taxes. While one- if not both- has already worked for him, neither effort will stop people who make connections professionally from connecting the dots on both of these questionable behaviors. What Dumb Donald and his Trumpians don't quite understand is that hiding the truth is sort of unreasonable if the truth you are hiding is not a real or significant impediment to your goals.

Which is why I remain fairly certain that Trump had no real plan of winning the presidency, making the shock of his victory as equally impactful to the Donald as it was for each of US. If you don't expect you can win the presidency while revealing your taxes, you certainly question winning re-election with them. If this steady march towards uncovering those taxes, be that by Trump himself or congressional subpoena (whichever comes first), Trump needs to work on a really cool explanation for what the intelligence community is about to uncover in those taxes before they uncover it. Otherwise, he had better demean and impune American intelligence gatherers in advance just to diminish the value of what they could eventually reveal.

And there you have it folks. At this current pace of growing distance and discord between Trumpians, intelligence, and the media, Trump remains on a collision course with professional bloodhounds. From my perspective, why Trump would want to test the ability of bloodhounds chasing the scent of a trail speaks to the enormity of what they could someday find.  Nothing even close to equivalent to a pussy grabbing admissions on tape would be worth this war he's waging.

All of this ultimately leaves me to look at every so-called republican that doesn't have the courage to at least talk like John McCain or Lindsey Graham. Either you could care less what happens to the republican party after Dumb Donald quits this game and goes back to his business hustle, or you question that trickle-down identity that few republicans stand by very much anymore.

If those bad guys can get in despite current vetting measures,
nothing in your recent measure would stop them either.

In one minute, Trump claims that you can't announce a travel ban or all the bad guys would rush in during the week prior to the start date, and in the next, Trump announces the date of the new ban in the hopes of not causing such erratic travel disruptions around the world as he did with his last spontaneous combustion.

Forget the fact that his new order is just like the last in that it can only work to disrupt a bunch of people needlessly while never achieving the goal it purports to accomplish.  People don't tell you if they intend to harm you if they know you'll stop them, and the years it currently takes to properly vet bad immigrants is already enough time to uncover their intentions.

The current radicalization of immigrants who live in America is happening while in America and to the children of immigrants, not the parents who bring them or give birth to them on our soil like the Tsarnaev brothers (Boston bombers). Sometimes radicalization happens via online websites, while other times it is via other radicalized people already radicalized and living in America.  

Trump just can't understand that he looks stupid while trying to impune the intelligence community while leaking information (some involving him) that they share in confidence. In doing so, Trump is behaving like that sibling in your family who doesn't want to admit to breaking the rule of eating in his room so he hides the leftover food under the bed until it starts to smell revealing the missing dishes, broken rules and an inability to navigate something so trivial. Forget that WE somehow elected that sibling into office. In one way it's just his turn finally.  In another way perhaps, it's his punishment for being such a rule breaking prick all of his life.

Quite frankly, the only thing worse than our dumb, stinky-food hiding, rule breaking sibling are those who support him, turn a blind eye to him or keep pretending that his room doesn't smell so bad.

Mudiay For Carmelo Makes Lots Of Sense Actually

The Denver Nuggets are barely on the edge of deserving a post about their current fortunes, but fortunately, the West is back-sliding enough for the Nuggets to have a legitimate shot at....at...

Does Emmanual Mudiaye have a little too much
Evan Fournier in his game?

The truth is that the Nuggets have a legitimate shot at being a first round bucket of barbecue chicken wings for some top seed in the West. Unless Gallo becomes someone he's never been in his career, Nikola Jokic won't quite be ready to carry a team past the best in the West. He would need someone with enough experience and skill to demand the double like he does and, still score in moments that matter.

To get out of the first round, Jokic would need Carmelo Anthony or someone like that to pass to when teams send the double at him because they'll soon have no choice. They really don't have much of a choice right now, yet many teams hesitate to double Jokic, at their own peril.

Did somebody say barbecue chicken?

The Denver Nuggets are currently seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoff race because Portland can't defend and nobody is doubling Jokic nearly enough. If this trend continues, the Nuggets could actually move up to 7th seed, but they'd still be barbecue chicken to the hungry team they would face in the first round.

Without a serious star that is seriously available for trade, the Nuggets are fighting to be bounced once again; bounced like they used to be back when George Karl was at the helm.  That's not all bad and certainly not different than what George Karl apologists talk about when they complain about the rebuild of the Nuggets that has yet to yield what we gave up with Karl.

This year appears to be the year that we return to the days of Karl, but I'm not so certain that settling for what Karl could do is the way we need to be thinking right now.  Again, not because getting in isn't respectable enough, but because Emmanuel Mudiay no longer makes sense in Denver almost as much as Melo no longer makes sense in New York.

Both teams need to consider what their teams are clamoring for and look to make the proper fix. Mudiay would be the perfect playmaker for the Knicks future star and current go-to-guy Kristaps Porzingis. Melo isn't the kind of distributor that the Knicks need right now, and Mudiay isn't the kinda scorer that can keep Jamal Murray at bay.  He's not even outplaying Jameer Nelson anymore, so the reasonableness of letting him go and making room for Murray and Malik Beasley to play more makes a whole lot of sense.

Mudiay, however, is not a piece of scrap metal and he's got a huge upside, so the Nuggets need to offer him as a straight up trade or a trade with enough add-ons to make the money right, but not as a blockbuster trade like Melo was when we let him go.  NBA insiders realize that Phil Jackson is on the verge of losing his own job if he can't get the chemistry right in New York, so the trade rumors are not leaking out on accident. Jackson is likely blowing up phones to try and find a team willing to bite on his offering. Whether the Nuggets and Melo pursue such a touchy trade could be a hurdle, but if Denver is not at least considering the top trade options, then they are not serious about finally getting over the top.

Melo is the top trade option and would have a career resurgence returning to Denver with the freedom to get open and hit jumpers while bringing some of that Olympic level leadership to bear. He'd have to humble himself quite a bit to come back to the team that drafted him out of college, but so would all the fans who wrote him off when he left us the first time.

Keeping Gallo and making him spell Melo is also a move that makes a lot of sense. Neither of these players seems to have exactly what it takes to make other players better on the floor, but Jokic makes that necessity a moot point now.  He is the difference maker and the reason Melo and Gallo would never have to fight for a shot again if we made that trade. Such freedom on the offensive end would actually uncover a Melo that can and does play defense, just not as easily when asked to score 40. Keep in mind that Melo is still the best player in the league covering LeBron James, although Draymond Green is a close second.

The current ridicule Melo is getting from New York fans could be the exact kind of humbling humiliation that gives Denver a chance, but will we have enough of an interest to get in the Melo chase? This fan is dreaming of the day Melo returns to Denver and finishes what he started. He, and we deserve that kind of story. And dreams really do come true. Ask Cleveland.

If Not New England, Who Is America's Team?

Who is America's Team? Is Brady competing for that title too?

Save for the championship conclusion, the replacing of Trevor Siemian for Peyton Manning created the same mediocre output that nearly mirrored our year of watching a less than healthy starter squeak his way into the playoffs, before finding a way to win it all. Hindsight seems to blame the same coach that it credited just one year prior. Given the drain and strain to repeat after winning, both theories are likely true.

Had the Broncos made it into the playoffs this year, I'm certain no one was interested in trying to take them out, especially Tom Brady who couldn't do it last season with Rob Gronkowski in the fold, so I doubt that he would have unseated the reigning champions of the NFL without Gronkowski. Of course, those comments are driven by my desire to at least lightly cook the crow I've had to eat from those Cowboys and Raiders fans who weren't too happy with the results of last season and tried to use this season's shortfall as a means of getting back at proud Broncos fans like me. Sadly, they both may have joined New England in the role of capable rivals to Denver, the NFL's reigning champs for at least a few more hours.

In the end, my feud with fans of Oakland and Dallas was fulfilled when they ended up playing exactly one more game than we did, quickly joining us at the fishing hole just as I predicted. Admittedly, I had as much chance of being right about the very capable Cowboys as they did about us when they swore we couldn't win Superbowl 50.

The injury to starting quarterback Derrick Carr prior to the end of the season virtually set the Raiders fate in stone.  For Dallas, however, the obstacle was that flaming hot Aaron Rodgers who'll probably be named this season's MVP and the reason why so many expect Atlanta to beat Brady too, considering how they thoroughly dismantled Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers team.

It's not as if Dallas didn't put up a championship fight against Rodgers, and it's not as if I'm discounting either of Denver's revived rivals- our division rival or that team who hates us for the audacity to be loved by America too. The future is bright for both Dallas and the Raiders, regardless of what city the latter ends up representing next year. In fact, their futures are so bright that any continued success in Denver bodes well for the NFL and a return of ready-made rivalries between two of Denver's more hated NFL opponents. If Brady finally gets old, these talented teams should replace him nicely.

Smart NFL fans recognized immediately that Denver and Dallas would undoubtedly meet up in the regular season next year, and somehow, New England would mysteriously remain on the schedule just as they do every year. The Raiders are a "two games per year' division foe that will get better, but never will they clamor to be called America's team while enjoying their image as the NFL rebels. Every other team in consideration for the title of America's team represent teams that we love or teams that we seriously love to hate.

If we're to be perfectly honest, New England is America's team because an equal measure of love and hate is what determines these things, and the Cowboys have underachieved for a bit too long to be hated much anymore. We mostly can't stand their loud mouthed fans. The Broncos might be a few Tom Brady trophies away from being even more beloved and thus hated more, although last years somewhat fortunate Superbowl victory is probably why Dallas fans and fans of other legendary teams started driving the Denver hate wagon. But it's cool so long as there remain competitive reasons for these teams to continue to rival one another.

Reasons such as Dallas experiencing a lasting resurgence while Denver rides the talent of that defense to the limit of its championship potential.  Or reasons such as Denver loading up on coaches like a team preparing for another run. Or how about reasons like Pat Bowlen being clearly alive and kicking and not dead and gone. Under the leadership of Bowlen, the Broncos have always been willing to do whatever it takes to win including a consideration of every capable quarterback including Romo- who would be another pretty good reason for building a rivalry between Dallas and Denver

Despite the playoff miss, Denver remains center stage in the lead up to the Superbowl because they continue to do what Bowlen has done for many years at the helm of the Broncos- spend the money and take care of people. Ironically, Jerry Jones and Pat Bowlen were recently engaged in a fan-created Hall of Fame war because these great owners are known to put their money where their mouth is.  Alzheimer's may have silenced Bowlen's voice, but his championship spirit is alive and evident.

Tony Romo leaving Dallas is not really much of a story at all because it's essentially a foregone conclusion. Rumors of Tony Romo to a championship organization like Denver is as intriguing now as it was when the whispers of it began months ago. It's in tune with the talent of the current team and with the decision to let Manning lead Denver to the last title. Nothing about this team says scrap it and take the chance on grooming a youngster.  Everything says Romo could probably achieve what Siemian or Lynch most likely cannot.

Our apologies to the last teams standing, but for whatever reason, the exploits of Denver (and Dallas now that they are winning again) dominate the NFL media coverage. If Bowlen was expected to die soon and not just stricken with an illness that has removed him from the public sphere, maybe the league would have considered selecting him to the HOF in front of Jerry Jones. The fact that these owners have been inducted in the proper order that they deserve to go in could be a sign that Bowlen isn't nearly as close to gone as we think even though he's mostly forgotten. These men and their championship teams will continue to mirror each other in certain ways because greatness has a familiar face to it.

It wasn't just Dak Prescott and Paxton Lynch that each of these teams coveted.  Take note of all the other players that each team has chased or shared, and then realize that Mark "butt fumble" Sanchez would have probably won that extra game Denver needed to make the playoffs this year. If there was any case to be made for the necessity of Sanchez this season, there is certainly one to be made for Tony Romo with Denver next year.

The signs are clear that Bowlen's Broncos are upset with this season's result and are girding up for another title. Elway and Kubiak rolled the dice on the health and skill of Siemian- and the hopeful progression of his backup- and they came up with craps, albeit by one game.  Yet, that one game remains the obvious reason why a better backup would have helped.

This defense and this team believe in Seimian, but it deserves the best quarterback available as a more durable starter or as a capable backup to deal with the high probability of a slow-footed Siemian, and glass jaw Romo getting injured in the NFL.  I'm not saying that it's time to scrap the Paxton Lynch plan or demote Siemian without merit. I'm saying Lynch is not good enough to put the heat on Siemian yet, and every position needs pressure from the backup. Competition at every position is how great teams stay great and overcome injuries in a sport that promises them. Romo may not remain healthy enough to be the starter, but if acquired by Denver, he too would have a quarterback capable of forcing him to play at his best in Siemian.

While the dream of a Denver versus Dallas Superbowl with Romo behind center is enticing for sure, the financials of a Romo deal are the main reason why it might not happen. But Romo has expressed an interest in Denver, and for every financial hurdle or legend named Brady, the Broncos have had one simplified answer.

Pat Bowlen.

In his tenure as owner of the Broncos (Pat's not dead), removing hurdles has been his forte. As long as he remains alive, Elway understands that he had better do his very best Bowlen impersonation. So far, he's doing pretty good.

Tom Brady is on the verge of solidifying his NFL legacy in which, win or lose, he will go down as one of the best to ever lace them up.  During his reign of excellence, Brady has often faced off with Denver, but Bowlen's Broncos remain the only team in the entire league that Brady has a losing record against, including an AFC championship game loss last season. As pundits look back on this season, they see Denver's D was likely the only thing that could have derailed Brady and the Patriots.

Atlanta's abuse of MVP worthy Rodgers has loads of people leaning towards the Falcons in this game, but most of those people are Brady haters like me and wouldn't pick Brady even if he had this year's Cleveland Browns as an alternate Superbowl opponent. Like it or not, Brady is the cream of the NFL crop, and Denver, Dallas, and every other history-rich team needs Brady to quit playing at such a high level so we can all come out from the shadows he casts.

I'm excited about the Superbowl even though it means the end of my team's reign as champion and a pretty good chance that Brady could solidify his place on NFL's Mount Rushmore. The tears in Denver's "No-Repeat" beer were shed on the last day of the season. Besides, my Broncos killed the Raiders in that game, so those tears tasted kinda salty sweet anyway.

When it comes to forecasting this game, Brady has to hurry up and win because, as long as his nemesis Pat Bowlen is still alive, so are the championship intentions that he inspires. That HOF owner, Jerry Jones, seems intent on shining up his star too, so the biggest risk to the Atlanta Falcons is not only Brady, it is his dwindling time and his recognizing the rise of other legendary organizations with serious championship motivations.

Ironically, Atlanta's offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan- son of legendary Broncos coach Mike Shanahan-  has brought glimpses of the Broncos way all the way to Atlanta and is threatening to unleash piles of it all over Brady and the Patriots. Will Shanahan and the Broncos influence prove to be Brady's kryptonite or will Superman finally find an antidote solidifying New England's grip on the title of America's team? That question is the reason we all will watch tomorrow.

Lady Gaga and the commercials should be pretty good, just in case the game is not.