Wastin' time

Ten free minutes for me, 10 free throwaway lines for you . . .

1) He put on a one-man show for the ages Wednesday night, but to these semi-trained eyes, Vince Young is Daunte (Boat Drinks) Culpepper with slightly better footwork and a considerably weaker arm.

2) And Matt Leinart is the lefty version of Chad Pennington, as Jets fans will likely find out firsthand.

3) Hey, now that's the Pete Carroll I came to know and loathe during his time in New England - blinking obliviously, exuding panic, completely overwhelmed by the moment as his talented but undisciplined team lets victory slip from its grasp.

4) And just wait 'til they ban B-12: The vocal Get Manny Gone brigade won't tell you this, but production-wise, Miguel Tejada, suspiciously enough, is coming off his worst season since 1999.

5) J.T. Snow, still Keith Hernandez-like with the glove at age 37, will be a useful complement to Kevin Youkilis at first base - think of him as Doug Mientkiewicz with fewer vowels and no starter collection of World Series memorabilia.

6) I can't imagine Bill Belichick has anything more compelling in his vast collection of football books than the masterpiece David Halberstam wrote about him.

7) He's an engaging guy and was a hell of a clever player back in the day, so we feel obligated to put this as nicely as possible: Until the brutally incompetent Isiah Thomas makes his inevitable return to an NBA bench, Doc Rivers has to be considered the most "strategically challenged" coach in the NBA.

8) Underestimate the Jaguars at your own risk - their skull-cracking defense and grind-it-out offense is strikingly reminiscent of the Titans team that gave the Patriots all they could handle in the divisional round two years ago.

9) Will someone please tell us once and for all if/when Theo's coming back?

10) As for today's Completely Random Baseball Card:



Well, someone has to start at shortstop Opening Day.