We wanted to know the craziest things you'd done for tickets ... and once again, you guys came through with flying colors.

Again, we start with the honorable mentions ...

Michael G. was using the computer in his boss's office to try to buy tickets for the Music City Miracle game. The boss caught him and ordered him to leave, but then his boss left the room first. Michael G. locked the door behind him, went back to the computer, and bought two tickets for $36. His boss, meanwhile, called the police, had Michael G. thrown into the street, and fired him.

Matthew W. was one of five people who wanted one playoff ticket in the possession of a friend. To determine who get the ticket, the friend staged a Beer Olympics. Near the end of the competition, Matthew W. raised a near-empty keg above his head and jumped off of a two-story porch. He crashed landed, the keg landed on him, he rolled down a hill, broke his arm, cracked his head open, and then had the keg roll into his head. He used his

Although I guess if you're Junior Seau, the difference doesn't matter when you're lying on your back on the Foxboro turf after a guy came out of the stands and mauled you.

I was probably going to let this particular story pass -- man runs on field, tackles Junior Seau, gets arrested -- until this bit of information surfaced today: The guy (pictured to the right, getting pasted in the face with a snowball) claims he wasn't trying to tackle Junior Seau, but was instead trying to hug Junior Seau. From The Sun Chronicle:

... Kobus, an Iraq war National Guard veteran from Attleboro, is "a big Junior Seau fan, and wanted to give him a hug," his attorney, John Gaffney Jr. of Dedham, said Monday.
"It was an impulsive thing. He just stepped onto the field," Gaffney said. "I think he expected he would be removed from the game, but not arrested."
Instead, police arrested Kobus and charged him with trespassing and assault and battery in the incident, which happened during the fourth quarter of

There's a movement out there to try to get Mike Ditka in the Illinois governor's office in place of current enterprising governor Rod Blagojevich.

Ditka's qualifications, of course, are many. He's got a career record of 121-95 as a head coach in the NFL. He seems like a fair-minded guy. He was strongly considered as a candidate to run against Barack Obama for a U.S. Senate seat in 2004. He's got a fantastic mustache. From what I can tell, he's fluent in two languages, English and Emmitt. And if it came to it, he could probably afford to buy the spot. I heard that happens sometimes in Illinois.

The website, dagoverner.com, has this message:

We da people of Illinois are sick and tired of scumbag politicians who think dat it's their job to lie, cheat and steal. No more! We deserve somebody in charge who we can trust. Somebody who we can depend on. Somebody who we know understands the difference between right and wrong and won't be afraid to kick corruption in the ass harder than da '85

Pro Football Talk has been reporting it for a couple of days, and the AP's gotten on the bandwagon today: It seems that Cleveland Browns defensive end Shaun Smith punched teammate Brady Quinn's face in a weight room altercation.

Tight end Darnell Dinkins backed up the story during a radio interview, saying that Smith left some kind of a mark on Quinn's grill.

Skip Bayless is not going to like this. Unless he's into that rugged, weathered look, in which case the affection might only grow. And that's fine. I think the relationship Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mark Wahlberg had in Boogie Nights was beautiful, and if Skip's admiration for Brady could blossom into something like that, well, there can never be too much love in the world.

No one seems to have any details about what started the fight, and Romeo Crennel wouldn't say anything about it. He didn't deny it, though.

“I never talk about family business,” Crennel said. “I haven’t talked about family business since I’ve been here. So

Thanks to Rob Parker and his rude question about his daughter, public sympathy for Lions head coach Rod Marinelli is at an all-time high. And I hope he doesn't mind me saying so, but now -- the beginning of the firing season -- isn't a bad time for it.

At the time, Marinelli brushed off Parker's insensitive question about his daughter's choice of husband, and Parker apparently took that as some kind of indication that Marinelli's got some great respect for him.

Shockingly, that's not the case, and as it turns out, the guy who was insulted does not have a case of the warm fuzzies for the guy who insulted him. Marinelli told the media yesterday that the question did get his ire up, and yesterday, outside the confines of a post-game press conference, Rod got a little more rowdy about Mr. Parker's inquiry.

“Anytime you attack my daughter, I’ve got a problem with that …” Marinelli said. “It was premeditated. I think there’s something wrong with that.”

Did it cross the line?

“Big time,”

In: Dolphins, Chargers, Bears, Cowboys
Out: Jets, Broncos, Vikings, Buccaneers

AFC First-Round Byes:
Tennessee Titans
Pittsburgh Steelers

Other AFC Divisional Winners:
Miami Dolphins
San Diego Chargers

AFC Wild Cards:
Indianapolis Colts
Baltimore Ravens

NFC First-Round Byes:
New York Giants
Carolina Panthers

Other NFC Divisional Winners:
Chicago Bears
Arizona Cardinals

NFC Wild Cards:
Dallas Cowboys
Atlanta Falcons

Notes:

• Ironically, in Week 17, the closest possible time to the playoffs, is when the premature playoff picture becomes its most useless. There are no long-term projections involved. It's paint-by-number. It's really just a prediction of the Week 17 games, and here's what I think is going to happen. You can generate your own playoff picture right here.

• In the AFC East, I say New England beats Buffalo early, but still gets locked out of the playoffs when the Dolphins beat the Jets later. It'd be a bit of a shame that New England doesn't make the playoffs with 11 wins, but it does

As a general principle, I do not believe in having two favorite teams, or having a "second favorite" team. It's part of my own personal worldview. Yours may differ.

But this Sunday, when the 49ers put on their throwbacks for their season finale against the Redskins, I might feel differently. Because not only will the throwback decor adorn the heads, torsos, and legs of the 49ers ... they're also going throwback with their upper lips.

They're all growing mustaches for the game.

It's the most beautiful damn thing I've ever heard. From SFGate.com:

"Most of us have been working on our mustaches," said Hill, who led the 49ers on two touchdown drives in the final seven minutes to beat the Rams. "I started four weeks ago. How bad is that?"

Hill said his offensive linemen instigated the 'staches in honor of their predecessors with an eye toward the throwback game in the finale.

"Every single day that we walk through here, you just can't help but admire John Ayers' mustache. It's awesome,"

Tonight, it's the Packers and the Bears in the last Monday Nighter of the season. The Bears are playing for a division title, and the Packers are playing for no reason other than the amusement of Tony Kornheiser.

It's our last Monday Night Live Blog of the year. I feel festive, yet somber. Please do join us with your questions and comments. One sweet last time.