Everyone knows that professional football is a brutal sport, but it seems that this year there have been even more injuries than we’re used to seeing around the league. Or maybe the numbers are the same, and I’m just noticing them more because they’re affecting my fantasy team now!

For example, how many top running backs have been placed on Injured Reserve, meaning they’ll be out for the rest of the year? There was Cadillac Williams from the Bucs early in the season, and then Sammy Morris (New England), Ronnie Brown (Miami), and DeShawn Wynn (Green Bay) in recent weeks. And that doesn’t even count guys like Frank Gore or Laurence Maroney, who have missed starts because of injuries.

Things have been even worse for starting quarterbacks around the league, as many of them continue to take unbelievable hits week in and week out. Several are out for the year on IR, including Matt Leinart, Trent Green, Jake Delhomme, and Chris Simms. Plus, today I heard that both Tavaris Jackson and Jay Cutler left their games due to injuries, while Matt Schaub missed a start because of a lingering problem.

I’m not even going to take a look at the other side of the ball, where defensive specialists have been dropping all season long. But suffice it to say that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some of them are shopping around for a good term life insurance quote just to be on the safe side!

The Bears have been decimated by the injury bug this year, so I know how frustrating this kind of thing can be for an organization. Hopefully, some of these teams will get their key guys back before the playoffs start.

Well, it was a closer game than the New England Patriots have seen all year long, but the end result was the same: another “W” to keep their unbeaten streak alive and run their season record up to 9-0. Today’s 24-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts silenced the few remaining critics who said the Pats haven’t played any good teams this year and showed that they can indeed hang with the NFL’s elite.

Tom Brady overcame two interceptions (which equaled his total coming into the game) to lead the Patriots to two fourth quarter TDs and rally the team back from a 10-point deficit. He finished the day with 255 yards passing, 3 touchdowns, and the two picks.

Meanwhile, Peyton Manning had a relatively quiet day, throwing for just 225 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. But he also coughed up the football late in the fourth quarter, which turned out to be a costly mistake because it led to the Patriots winning drive.

Even though I’m disappointed that the Pats won, I was happy to see them brought back to reality a bit. They trailed for most of the game, which hasn’t happened all season. They barely touched the football in the first half, causing Tom Brady to have to throw on the sidelines and jump around to stay loose. And the QB knelt down at the end of the fourth to run the clock out instead of taking shots at the end zone to run up the score. The Pats haven’t had to do those things with any other opponents, so give the Colts credit for that.

Oh, well — it’s not like I actually had anything riding on this game. I even had the NE defense for fantasy football, and they scored more points for me than I was expecting!

Several months ago, I told you that my brother was thinking about going back to school to complete his Bachelor’s degree. He’s in his mid-thirties and is tired of going nowhere in his career and settling for less money than his co-workers just because he doesn’t have that “piece of paper.”

I recently talked to him about this topic the last time I saw him, and was surprised to hear that he’s actually following through on his goals. He hasn’t actually signed up for any classes yet, but he is busy researching a bunch of different schools to see which one can best meet his needs. I heard that one of the finalists is capella university, a place that I recommended to him.

Capella University is a fully online university that offers Bachelor’s, graduate, and even postgraduate degree programs in a variety of fields. It’s fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, and caters to more than 20,000 students worldwide. The best part of enrolling at Capella University is the fact that my brother would be able to keep working full-time while he earns his degree. That’s probably his number one consideration these days, so that’s why Capella is on his list of finalists.

Anyway, I hope my brother gets things together in time to enroll for next semester. After all, the sooner he gets started, the sooner he’ll be able to earn his degree and move forward in his career!

The Bears have their bye today, so I pretty much have the whole morning and early afternoon free. I’ve got a bunch of errands to run, but I want to be back in time to watch the Patriots and Colts battle it out at the RCA Dome. I’m definitely rooting for Indy to win today because as I posted earlier in the week, I’m getting tired of seeing the Pats run up the score on every team they play.

Regardless, it should be an awesome game. Even if the Pats win, I doubt they’ll do it by the same margin they’ve been putting up on everyone else in the league.

Go Colts!!