This is the greatest moment I have ever felt as a Boston sports fan. This is the first time that I have ever been knowledgeable enough of, and clued in to, a local team winning a major championship and it is about time.

When the Celtics were great in the 1980s, I was too young to know what was going on. The Celtics won the 1986 NBA Championship, but I was only five at the time. I had no appreciation for the greatness that Boston sports fans were privileged enough to watch season in and season out. Now I have an idea of what that is like.

This Patriots team has surpassed expectations all year long. I went to the Pats' first preseason game this year and, at that point, there was nothing that would have pointed to the Pats making an extended playoff run, never mind a Super Bowl win for the franchise. Throughout the season this Patriots club became a team and that is ultimately why they won the Super Bowl.

It wasn't a small collection of star players that propelled the Pats to victory, it was the little guys. Sure, All-Pros like Ty Law and Troy Brown played huge roles, but the contributions of Otis Smith, Mike Vrabel and Adam Vinatieri were just as important, if not more so.

I wonder how, if in any way, this win will change my own perspective on sports. Being a Boston fan has always been something of a curse. The teams are just good enough to get your hopes up and then squash them at some point in the season. The Red Sox are the prime example of this, but it encompasses all of Boston sports. Fans are always cynical because there have been so many improbable occurrences in the past that broke their hearts. They are reluctant to get emotionally involved with a team because they fear the worst. Bucky Dent-whose middle name has been legally changed to fuckin' by most New Englanders-and Bill Buckner are only the tip of the iceberg when Boston fans begin to tally up their heartbreaks, but finally one went our way.

This Patriots team has been referred to as a "Team of Destiny," but that is truly an unfair characterization. Yes, the Patriots have had an inordinate amount of luck play into their season, but what good team doesn't get a number of good breaks? Referring to the Pats as a "Team of Destiny" takes away from what they accomplished and it downplays the achievements of the players. While the team isn't as talented as the Rams-or at least as fast, because that seems to be what many people consider talented in this day and age-they beat them on the field and the Pats are all professionals. It was brought about by their own work and talent.

Why did the NHL play the All-Star Game?

With a full 82-game season and the Olympics this year, NHL players are already enduring a high level of stress. What is the point in playing what has become a meaningless exhibition game when the Olympics come in less than two weeks? We as fans will see much more excitement and good play from the Olympics than we could ever expect from the All-Star game so, really, there is no point in playing the All-Star game this year. All the game does is subject the players to the risk of an injury and tire them further from the additional travel and preparation that it requires.

Additionally, the NHL is also blundered by placing the All-Star game on Super Bowl weekend. Trying to face off against the Super Bowl would be ludicrous, so at least the NHL didn't try that. But the NHL doesn't have the firepower to even cut through the Super Bowl hype and, subsequently, it didn't receive good ratings at all. If the NHL had set the date of this game to coincide with the midway point of the season, then I could understand why the game was played this weekend, but they didn't. The NHL season is nearly two-thirds over, so that argument is thrown out the door already.

The NHL has a great product to showcase, but unfortunately they haven't been able to get this great product out to the general public.

Football draftee troubles with the NCAA

The NCAA has some stupid rules, but its handling of football draftees may be the worst. Recently, Tennessee receiver Donte Stallworth declared for the NFL draft, but before the deadline for declaring, he decided that he wanted to return to school. He hadn't signed with an agent and any expenses of his that had been paid for by outsiders were reimbursed out of his own pocket. But the NCAA, in a ridiculous ruling, decided that Stallworth could not return to college football because he had declared for the draft.

While the NCAA has every right to dictate how they want to regulate their games, I can't see why this rule makes any sense. First off, the rule isn't consistent within all sports. In basketball, a player can declare for the draft, get drafted by a team and then return to college and retain his eligibility. As long as he doesn't formalize an agreement with an agent, the player retains all of his eligibility. Baseball is in a similar situation because players can be drafted after high school, so the NCAA allows players that were drafted to play in college. Why does the mandate differ between sports?

The NCAA seems hell-bent on regulating every aspect of sports and, oftentimes, it hurts those that it is supposed to help. The NCAA should act as a governing body that preserves the integrity of amateur athletics and protects the players that play in its' programs. With idiotic eligibility rules, the NCAA does neither.

Contracting issues lead to lame ducks

This is really just an aside, but how can the courts legally force a sports franchise to continue playing, even when they wish to fold? I clearly don't know what legal statutes make this possible, but I would assume from a common sense standpoint that a private company could fold at any point in time.

Of course this is all in reference to the Minnesota Twins being told that they must play the next season in Minnesota and essentially stopping Major League Baseball (MLB) from contracting. MLB made a major mistake when they tried to go through with contraction before they were sure that they could get it done and now it is coming back to haunt them.

With spring training about to start in two weeks, we are facing entering the season with two teams effectively lame ducks. Montreal has been overlooked in this debate, because the franchise has very few fans and no one north of the border has been willing to support the team. The Twins are a different story. Coming off of one of their best years since their World Series win in 1991, the Twins were a minor surprise to be contracted. But the fact remains that the Twins have been unable to build a new stadium in Minnesota and owner Carl Pohlad has grown tired of owning a team.

Baseball faces a problem entering the season and it is likely to go unresolved. The Twins and the Expos will just be contracted after the season and we will likely go through more of the same drama next offseason.