With the superbowl over, I always look forward to March Madness and College Basketball to fill in the gap for me in terms of sports. That is, until the hockey and basketball playoffs start.

Halfway through the NHL season, the Flyers are a hard team to read. Inconsistent with a sad power play and a hot and cold offense.

The 76ers are just as bad. With little offense, paltry defense and little soul, this team seems destined to fold in the first round of the playoffs.

What sports are you watching now? What do you think our chances are?

I'm following both the Flyers and Sixers, but it's tough to get too into the teams until the play-offs. If it were iffy that either wouldn't make the play-offs, it might be different, but it's pretty likely both are in, so that takes away from some of the drama.

I haven't been yet this season, but I'm going to some Kixx games. They're almost always entertaining. Just have some patience with the large number of kids running around, not really watching the game.

Thankfully the Charge start up on April 4th, which I can't wait for. I'm not sure which genius made it that they don't have a home game until May 3rd, though.

Your comments lead to the obvious question: Are the basketball and hockey seasons too long?

I would say, "YES"!

The problem is that individual games have little meaning until the last week or so of the season. This shows in the lulls that teams hit throughout the seasons. It also shows in the lower attendance and ratings that games receive during the middle of the season.

What do you think?

Absolutely, they're too long. Baseball is even worse.

Why do people get so worked up over every single football game? Because there's only 16 of them in the regular season. Every game is very important and you can't afford to make very many mistakes.

There's probably a large number of factors there's not as much interest and excitement in the other sports' regular seasons.

It's expensive, for starters. I know Eagles season tickets can't be inexpensive and they're probably on par, if not higher, than season tickets for the other three major teams. Where it gets expensive, in my mind, is all of the extra costs.

Parking, concessions in the Vet/LFF/FU Center, souvenirs, etc.

If you only have to pay for those things 8-10 times a season, it's not as expensive as if you did it 41 or even 81 times.

So, less people get season tickets for the other sports. That doesn't mean they aren't interested in attending games. It does take away some of the motivation. If the tickets are already paid for, you're more likely to attend the game.

If you're a casual fan, you might go, but you might not. If the weather calls for possible rain, you might put off going this time around. If you've had a rough week at work, you might rather just watch the game at home than deal with traffic, parking and crowds. In your head, you might say to yourself, "Hey, it's a long season. I'll just catch the next game."

Those are just the two main examples I have in my head.

I've actually watched more college hoops than pros. The pros are a bunch of prima-donna's. These guys complain and fight so much it is ridiculous. I feel like humility is tossed way out of the door once many of these boys go from NCAA to nba, that is why NCAA is so much more fun to watch.

I agree with you Wil! I watch college basketball games more often than I watch NBA games for the same reasons. Unfortunately the NCAA is beginning to show signs of the same gredd and ego creeping in. When you see High School seniors with new Hummers....something is dreadfully wrong.

GO SYRACUSE!

What about Villanova?

They're still recovering from getting smoked by St. Joe's the other day.

Regarding young Mr. James, he's an extreme case. Personally, I don't care anymore. It might be tough for me to care even when he plays his first NBA game unless he's in a Sixers jersey. The hype surrounding him is unreal and arguably unearned.

Jordan probably said it best when asked yesterday. He said James will be an average player when he first enters the NBA. He may become the greatest of all time, but it won't happen the first year.

Okay, now for a tangent question. Would you trade anyone on the Sixers, including AI, to get James?

Personally, I don't know. On one hand, I'm frustrated by how the Sixers don't seem to be moving forward the last couple seasons. It's not a completely radical idea to blow up the team and start from scratch.

On the other hand, I love AI. I love how he plays as hard as he can, every game. I love how he plays hurt, which, sadly, is becoming rare in today's players.

I suppose it's a question for the off-season, if the Sixers get dumped in the first or second round again.

AI has a great deal of heart, but he will never take us all the way. He doesn't have the committment to work out and practice and keep himself healthy enough to go all the way. I think we will have to start over in a year or two after Larry Brown retires or leaves.