He may be the league's MVP.

Starting with that dramatic Monday night in October at Tampa and continuing through this past Sunday at Houston, he has proven he can rally a team and pull out miraculous last-minute victories.

But despite all that – not to mention the Indianapolis Colts' sterling 12-4 record – the real season begins now for Peyton Manning.

Lose on wild-card weekend to Denver and all the goodwill is gone, all the old criticism is back.

In six seasons Manning has yet to lead the Colts to a playoff victory in three attempts. Last year the Jets pounded them in the first round 41-0, prompting the Colts' idiot, if now amazingly accurate, kicker Mike Vanderjagt to question Manning's leadership ability.

Which is why on the individual level, no one has more to gain or lose in these playoffs than Manning, an unquestionably great player who still has all these questions following him around.

"Facts are facts," Manning said back in the preseason. "We haven't advanced in the playoffs.

Pete Rose dominated the feedback this week. Despite reports that fan support of Rose has dropped, I estimate that 80 percent of the more than 1,000 emails I received on the subject supported him. Obviously it is not scientific, but I'm not sure any opinion polls are.

We have a new feedback page that asks for your hometown, which is good. But unless you live in a major city, please add a state. Chicago or Los Angeles we can figure out. Jonesville, Springfield or Hopedale, we don't know.

My comments, as always, appear in italics. Now on to the People's Voice . . .

PETE ROSE (Jan. 8: Why Rose sounds like a Hall of Famer")

At last, a tell-it-like-it-is commentary on the Pete Rose farce. The holier-than-thou so-called purists find it convenient to overlook the sins of many while upholding the "integrity of baseball." Pete has paid the price for his stupid, greedy acts and now he should be recognized for his accomplishments on the field.

Nick Rayes
Phoenix, Ariz.

Sorry Dan, can't agree with

Bill Parcells took his Gatorade shower and then added nary a smile to the celebration. What else did you expect? There is a game next week in New Orleans, and practice looms.

"They will enjoy this moment until [Monday] at 1 p.m.," Parcells said of his players. And they'd better be on time.

But around Dallas the party should begin. Get out those dusty tequila bottles. The Cowboys are 10-5 and headed to the playoffs.

The Cowboys are back.

Nobody could ask for more because no one ever could have asked for this much. On Sunday the Cowboys finished something few thought they had even started back in August; they beat the Giants 19-3 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Don't let this moment pass without pause. Don't let Parcells push the accomplishment aside. Take a second to consider how far this team has come.

Oh, everyone knew the Tuna would win in Dallas. But no one thought he'd take a team that had won five games in each of the last three seasons and do this much,

'Twas the week before Christmas, and Alex Rodriguez provided a holiday fable chock-full of life messages.

Like: Be careful what you wish for.

Or: Money can't buy happiness.

Rodriguez wanted the Boston Red Sox and the Red Sox wanted Rodriguez, a perfect marriage between the game's best player and its most desperate and determined franchise.

It looked like a done deal, but that's nothing new for Sox. In one more Curse of the Bambino moment, barring a miracle, A-Rod just rolled through Boston GM Theo Epstein's legs.

Rodriguez could have helped save the Sox from an 86th year of World Series futility and pushed them, at last, past the dreaded New York Yankees.

Boston could have saved Rodriguez from becoming Ernie Banks, a player of incredible skill who languished in the game's netherworld. But now he is destined to never again play a meaningful game. Those drama-filled October nights where legends are made are for anyone else.

The plot twist was an old one, a $252 million deal with the

The BCS mail-o-meter is well over 2,300 and still spinning. So we will re-address the issue here, although we are putting an end to emails concerning who should play in the Sugar Bowl. I think we can all agree to disagree. Below is reaction to the reaction. We also have a few other issues to deal with.

As always, keep incoming letters brief and to the point. Include your name and town. And thank you so much for all of them. I even appreciate the hate mail.

Now on to the People's Voice ...

CINCINNATI BENGALS ("Sea change in Cincinnati")

As a lifelong Cincinnati Bengals fan and soldier I have to say that Sunday 14 December 2003 was a great day. Not only did the US Army capture Saddam Hussein but the Bengals guaranteed a non-losing season for the first time in 13 years.

It is great to read the articles that everyone is writing about the team. I agree with the majority of people in that Marvin Lewis is the person largely responsible for the resurgence in the franchise. I also believe it is

College football's bowl season kicked off this week, starting a two-and-a-half-week, 28-game smorgasbord of football, fun and comical corporate tie-ins.

Our favorite this year is the Mazda Tangerine Bowl because when we think fresh citrus, we think Japanese cars.

But as much entertainment as all those high-profile events will deliver, none compare to the delightfully intriguing game that may be the best game of the postseason.

The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

There isn't much hype surrounding the bowl named after the late, great coach because it doubles as the Division III national championship game and thus isn't considered "big time" enough for most.

But what's your definition of big time?

Try matching Saturday's clash in Salem, Va., for compelling storylines – drama, history, competitiveness, offensive firepower and tradition. Only the Rose and Sugar bowls, which determine this year's Division I-A national championship(s), perhaps can compare.

On one side we have Mount Union College of

CINCINNATI – As snowflakes and playoff dreams danced in the air, the best story of the NFL season continued, improbably, to play out here by the Ohio River.

The Cincinnati Bengals aren't the league's best team, and in the end they may not even make the playoffs. But you couldn't tell that to any of the 64,666 rejoicing fans of this rejuvenated franchise as the seconds wound down on Sunday's 41-38 victory over San Francisco at Paul Brown Stadium.

When your team hasn't posted a winning record in 13 seasons, just playing meaningful games in mid-December is something to celebrate. So while the Bengals themselves may remain focused on the push for the postseason, Bengal Mania rages throughout this city.

With the win the long lowly Bungles are 8-6, tied for the AFC North lead and heading to St. Louis for their biggest game since, what, the 1980s?

"It's two weeks before Christmas and we are not thinking about Christmas," lineman Willie Anderson says.

For a franchise that averaged a meager 3.8

DETROIT – When the Kentucky Wildcats took the court (or 50 yard line) and looked up to what Gerald Fitch described as "a whole lot of ants on the watermelon," they were supposed to panic right down their leg, weren't they?

The "watermelon" was the NFL's Ford Field, the ants numbered a world record for basketball (78,129) and the opponent was Michigan State, here in the State of Michigan's largest city. Intimidation should have been worth a dozen to the Spartans.

Instead, the Wildcats shot 60 percent en route to a 79-74 victory. Where'd the nerves go?

"We go through a lot of pressure situations being at Kentucky," said Fitch, who led all scorers with 25. "I don't think anything can affect us."

Kentucky remains Kentucky, the Big Blue standard for college basketball because it keeps doing things like this.

Saturday it was crashing MSU's Motown party, staring down a near six-figure crowd and calmly positioning itself for the top of the national polls with a 5-0 record.

This was great