Sunday morning homily XIX

Not that I'm a cowboy or anything, but I've heard that it's best, once you've been bucked off the horse, to jump right back into the saddle. I suppose, then, that's why I allowed myself to get talked into hounding the Florida Panthers yesterday.

After putting in a longer-than-normal day at the paper, I was fully content to just attend the game. Thanks to my wife, though, who brought along my pre-packed hounding bag, and her observation that we had the time and the access, it was nice to ease back into the routine.

But rather than run around like a madman, trying to score another 30-40 autographs in an hour, I adopted more of a consultant's role, helping Colin score a pretty sweet autograph from one of his favorite players. I did, however, embark on a new project.

I suppose, too, that seeing some of my hounding buddies helped, even despite some gentle ribbing over my absences last week for the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. Half the fun of hounding, I believe, is the camaraderie -- busted chops and all.

As I've said before, I'm going to take a more measured approach to hounding through the end of this season. Rather than hounding for the sake of hounding, any trip I'll take will have a defined purpose. In most cases, it'll be to add players to the collection or to work on a project piece.

After all, quality is better than quantity.

Helping grow the game

Though I've watched the Washington Capitals play numerous times, I'm really looking forward to the team's game against the Lightning on Feb. 16.

Sure, there's the chance that scoring machine Alex Ovechkin could light his 50th lamp of the season. My anticipation, however, goes beyond that. My big thrill of the day will be taking a buddy to his first-ever NHL game.

In a way, I believe every hockey fan has an obligation to spread the word of our sport. This is my little contribution.

My Super Bowl XLII prediction

As much as I love to see underdogs pull off upsets, common sense tells me that the New York Giants won't be able to spoil the New England Patriots' season of perfection.

Here's my best guess: Patriots 37, Giants 17.

Addendum: At least I had the Giants' points correct.