Ice Ice Baby

Ah, nothing like a good coating of ice that feels a little like broken glass. The kids are out of school and the day is filled with the lovely sounds of screams and wails of children diving into what they think is snow. Oh, well, it's a day off from school, and that's really all that matters. I know my little boy is happy.

This is what Broadway in Columbus looks like near my apartment. When we used to get ice storms back home in Oglethorpe, we'd meet behind the Lutheran Church and play tackle football. Few things are more beautiful than a blood-stained field of once pristine ice and snow.

3-D battle for No. 1

Here's a novel way to watch the BCS National Championship game between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida on Jan. 8.

Carmike Cinemas will be showing the game in many of its digital-capable theaters live in 3-D. I didn't even know you could show any live events in 3-D. In Georgia, Carmike will be showing it at theaters in Savannah, Conyers and at Columbus' Carmike 15. You can also catch it in Fernandina Beach, Fla., Bradenton, Fla., and Mobile, Ala., among other places nationwide.

I, however, think they need to show the game in 4-D, you know, like they have in some theme parks where the seats move and other things make it seem even more real than 3-D.

They could spray water at you when the Gators' defense knocks the sweat off Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford and they could shake your seat when Florida quarterback Tim Tebow barrels his way through the line of scrimmage. And since the game is in Miami, they could make the theater a little warmer and more muggy than usual.

TitleTown, USA

If you watch ESPN's SportsCenter at 6 p.m. tonight, you'll see Valdosta being handed the title of TitleTown, USA. Having lived there for a couple years in the early ’90s, I can vouch for the championship atmosphere of the town. With Wild Adventures and family still there, including a second cousin who is a senior quarterback for the Valdosta High Wildcats, the winningest high school football team in the nation, I still get there fairly often.

Though I worked for an incredibly stingy newspaper company at the time, I enjoyed living there, and if I could have survived economically, I would have stayed. They sold all their U.S. papers after I left, but the top-tier newspaper companies surprisingly let the Valdosta Daily Times slip through their fingers. It's a great town and, yet, every time I go back I'm stunned by how nice everyone is there from the strangers on the street to all the waitresses with the sugary-sweet Southern drawls.

And if you've never been to a Valdosta High School or Lowndes High football game, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Congrats to all those folks in my old stomping grounds.

For sale: 8-year-old Auburn fan

My 8-year-old son, Saylor, came home from summer day care today with "AU" painted on both sides of his face ... or as I deem it, child abuse. No child should be branded with such a blasphemous combination of letters and those ugly AU colors. Why couldn't they put something classy on his face like a big red or black "G"?

Saylor cares about sports about as much as I care about "American Idol" and reality TV. Yet, he's an Auburn fan, which is my family's greatest shame. Actually, I think he's just an Auburn fan because he knows I'm a Georgia fan, and he loves to be aggravating. He's good at it, too. During football season, he'll run around the house shouting, "Auburn rules, Dawgs drool!"

Must be genetic. When I was a kid, my best friend Shane and I were big Dallas Cowboys fans and my dad would cheer on the hated Washington Redskins just to make us angry. My family has quite the legacy of being aggravating.

Brett Fav-ruh

From the Associated Press:

Finally, David Witthoft shunned his Brett Favre jersey for the first time in 1,581 days. The 12-year-old Ridgefield, Conn., boy wore the No. 4 jersey every day since receiving it as a gift for Christmas in 2003. Witthoft first gained national attention three years ago, and attended his first Packers game in December. He’s also planning to attend the Sept. 8 game when the Packers retire Favre’s No. 4. His mother, Carolyn, had washed the jersey every other day and mended it when needed.

I know exactly how David feels. I've been wearing my Luke Skywalker underwear every day since 1981. Getting a little tight on my light saber, though.

AP Photo by Jim Matthews