Wow, I wish the Super Bowl would just get here already so we can put an end to all of these journalistic fluff pieces about the players and focus on the game. It seems that everywhere I turn, I run into Tom Brady’s grinning mug — and it’s getting pretty annoying.

Turn on the TV to SportsCenter…. Brady this, and Brady that.

Flip over to 60 Minutes… for an in-depth interview showing how hard Brady has had to work to get where he is today.

Pick up People magazine… for paparazzi shots of Brady out at NYC clubs with Giselle Bundchen.

Head over to TMZ.com… and see that now-famous paparazzi footage of Brady hobbling around in a soft cast.

Tom Brady used to be my favorite NFL player (his was the first replica jersey that I ever bought), but now I’m just totally sick of him. There is still such a thing as celebrity overexposure, ya know. For the first time in years, I’m looking forward to the NFL offseason so the sports pages will be filled with something other than stories about what a perfect life Tom Brady has.

Ugh. I wish the media would give it a rest until after the game.

Yesterday was Media Day for the Patriots and Giants, the annual circus where players and coaches alike usually end up answering dumb questions posed by journalists from around the world. Case in point: a female “reporter” from Spanish-language station TV Azteca wore a wedding gown to the event and proposed marriage to several players, including NE quarterback Tom Brady.

Yeah, thanks a lot. I’m sure that will help average fans take female sportswriters and analysts more seriously. Why was that person even allowed anywhere near the podiums when event staffers saw what she was wearing?

Anyway, Matt Mosley and Mike Sando of the ESPN Hashmarks blog helped cover the event, and posted tons of entries about the various goings on. If you want to read through it, go here and then scroll down and click page 4 at the bottom to start at the beginning of the coverage. (Remember, these are blog posts, so the most recent stuff is at the top.)

That photo of the TV Azteca journalist was originally posted on the Hashmarks blog, but I don’t know which one of the guys snapped it.

I just read about a small Japanese company that offers its workers “heartache leave” to help them get over relationships gone awry.

According to this Reuters article, the founder of Hime & Company, a cosmetics marketing firm based in Tokyo, thinks that heartache leave is important because it gives workers a chance to deal with their grief and then return to the job completely “refreshed”.

CEO Miki Hiradate was quoted as saying,

Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick.

The number of heartache leave days allowed per worker varies depending on age, with younger women getting one day per year and older women getting 2-3 days off per year. The rationale behind this is simple, according to Hiradate:

Women in their 20s can find their next love quickly, but it’s tougher for women in their 30s, and their break-ups tend to be more serious.

I actually think that’s a pretty cool idea. God knows I could have used heartache leave when I was in my late teens/early twenties…. it would have been much better than showing up to work with red, puffy eyes and having everyone stare and ask questions all day!!

I was going through my son’s backpack today, when I found a memo from his preschool. Apparently, there’s a new little girl in his class who has cerebral palsy, so the teachers are going to give a talk about the whole “differently abled” concept on Wednesday. Parents are invited to attend as well, which is why the notice was sent home this weekend.

I think my son is a little young to really understand what’s going on here, so I’m planning on going in case he has any additional questions to ask. In the meantime, I better do some reading on CP to make sure I’m at least somewhat prepared to discuss the basics with my child.

I used to be a huge fan of AMA Supercross, but in recent years, the sport has become supremely boring to me. I think it’s because there always seems to be one rider who dominates each year and runs away with practically every race, making the sport similar to golf or tennis in that respect.

When was the last time someone other than Tiger Woods did anything noteworthy on the PGA Tour? When was the last time someone other than Federer or Nadal put up good results throughout an entire season (rather than just a single tournament). It gets boring seeing the same people win all the time.

In Supercross, this has been going on for years. First, there was Jeremy McGrath, who notched 72 career SX wins and seven 250cc titles. Then along came Ricky Carmichael, who won every MX championship series he ever raced in, and captured 5 Supercross titles to boot.

And now we have James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, etc. It seems that there will always be that one guy who wins everything in sight. Like I said, it’s boring!

So I guess it’s no surprise that I haven’t been paying much attention to the 2008 Supercross series, which has already been going on for a month. I’ve been glancing at the race results every Sunday morning, but haven’t bothered with the live webcasts or TV broadcasts so far.

The only noteworthy bit of info to come out of the series (at least IMO) is that James Stewart decided to have knee surgery rather than battle for the championship. That leaves the door wide open for Chad Reed to score his second SX title, and is eerily similar to the way Reed won in 2004 when Carmichael opted for surgery during the Supercross series.

Anyway, in case you’re interested, Reed is leading the Supercross class with 97 points (3 wins in the first 4 rounds), with Kevin Windham in second (78 points), and Tim Ferry in third (57).

In the Lites West Class, Ryan Dungey is on top with 86 points (2 wins in four rounds), Dan Reardon is in second (67) and Jason Lawrence is in third (63).

Villopoto doesn’t start his assault on the East series until February 23 in Atlanta, GA.

(Photo from supercrossonline.com)

Even though we’re on the national Do Not Call Registry, we still get sales pitches from time to time. For instance, just this morning someone called in wanting to know if we’d like to subscribe to a TV-related trade journal named Screen Digest or something (I wasn’t paying too much attention).

First of all, I want to know how we would even come up as candidates for such a thing. Neither of us have ever worked in any kind of TV field, and we’ve never subscribed to a trade journal of any sort. Plus, we never enter any of those contests at the mall where you can win a car, cruise, or TV because we know that those names go on marketing lists.

Second, I’d like to know who thinks reading about high-definition televisions, cable service providers, or HDMI switches makes for a compelling leisure time activity? No, thanks — I have much more interesting things to do!

Anyway, I wish these marketing calls would stop, especially when the people are pedaling products I’d never use in a million years.

Seven years ago today, Jerry and I said “I do” at a small oceanside chapel in Honolulu. A lot has happened in those seven years — most of it good. In fact, I would go so far as to list my marriage as the most stable part of my life right now. No matter what happens with jobs, friends, and all of the other external stuff, I know I can always count on my husband for support.

We don’t really do big celebrations, so we’re just planning on going to Outback for dinner tonight. After that, we’ll either catch a movie at the theater (Jerry wants to see Rambo) or rent a couple of DVDs and relax at home.

Either way, it should be a fun evening!