I hate the holidays.

Yeah, I said it. You think it too, don’t you? Most of us don’t have the balls to say it out loud. Thanksgiving ends, you’re stuffed full of turkey and all that football-soaked tryptophan-induced bliss goes straight to horror, knowing the next day you get to climb the rickety ladder into the attic and carry heavy boxes down it risking paralysis or death so your house can look like Santa had explosive festive diarrhea all over it. If OSHA had any jurisdiction over your home, that operation would have been fined and shut down long ago.

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Bowl season totals can be one of the most profitable bets of the college football season. Generally speaking, the over/under number is set by taking the average offensive and defensive output for each team. If the two teams score 22.8 and 31.6 points per game, respectively, while allowing 17.6 and 29.5 points per game, respectively, the total will be somewhere in the ballpark of 50-51 points.

However, these numbers have to be taken in context during bowl season. A team that struggled in conference play against quality SEC defenses may now be playing a bad Big Ten defense or a marginal ACC defense. A SEC team that averages 21.8 points per game could be playing a slower, less talented Big Ten defense. That should increase their scoring output, possibly causing the total to be lower than it should be. Similarly, a team averaging 35.2 points per game might be playing the best defense they’ve seen all season and that will slow down their offense.

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Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of Gary Bettman as Commissioner of the National Hockey League. Bettman has had a lot of ups, a lot of downs, has been praised and vilified, perhaps more than any commissioner in professional sports, during those 20 years. Twenty years that include three lockouts, a labor stoppage with referees, and the proliferation of hockey to non-traditional U.S. markets like Phoenix, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Nashville, Atlanta, and Columbus. Bettman is not responsible for everything that has happened during his tenure, both the good and the bad, but right now, all he is known for is the lockout that threatens the entire 2012-13 season.

Earlier this week, the league announced the cancellation of games through December 30. The next round of cancellations could very well include the rest of the schedule. Negotiations, even those held with a federal mediator, seem to be at a standstill. Talks continue, possibly as a token gesture to fans, because the two sides still appear to be very far apart.

Commissioners in every sport are booed relentlessly whenever the fans are given the opportunity to voice their opinions. Bettman is no different. His reputation will probably be irreparably broken by this lockout, as two good Olympic tournaments and growing distaste for the NBA was taking the NHL to new heights. Rule changes that benefitted the fans, including the institution of shootouts, a tougher stance on obstruction penalties, and other measures to enhance goal scoring, now seem like a distant memory with NHL arenas dark into the holidays.

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Romeo Crennel comes back to Cleveland this weekend.

I’m really conflicted about this. From everything I hear, Romeo is a genuinely nice guy, the kind of guy you want to succeed. Given the horrible personal tragedy the man personally witnessed last week, you can’t help but feel bad for him. Misery seems to find Romeo, and he seems to be the classic embodiment of the “nice guys finish last” adage.

On the other hand, how good is it not to see him on our sidelines anymore? He led an era of pathetic floundering, where the on-field product was like Boones Farm in a league of first growth Bordeaux wines. There was never any hope, never any competence, never any progress under him, so we’re happy to be rid of the man. Now he’s back bringing his Mad Dog 20/20 to the other sideline.

So do we love the big lug, or loathe the blockhead?

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