Roger Goodell is 48 years old. I'd say a reasonable guess is that he'll retain the commissionership for 20 years. That's the minimum amount of time it will be before we have a halftime act that's somewhat relevant to the current popular music scene.

Janet Jackson ruined it for everyone. One little nipple, and we're destined for at least a couple decades of aging rockers who couldn't do anything controversial unless they mistimed a Cialis dose before the game.

Don't get me wrong, I like Tom Petty. There was nothing wrong with Tom Petty. It's just that he was Tom Petty. A very old, haggard-looking version of Tom Petty. Did anything pull you out of your chair? Anything make you applaud? Anything even make you smile?

Didn't think so. But as long as it didn't expose you or your children to any part of the human anatomy, the NFL's OK with it.

Not coincidentally, the NFL's also currently in negotiations with Tears for Fears, Foreigner, Kenny Loggins, and Tom Cochrane for next year's halftime show.

As for the football, I'd call the first half "uneventful," so long as we can all agree that "uneventful" does not mean "boring." It's just been your average football game: some mistakes, some exciting plays, some good drives, some not-so-good drives. Pretty standard fare, really. Which is good news for the Giants.

And in case you missed Fox's four-hour pregame show, Paula Abdul gave a live performance of her new single. It's not my style of music ... kind of electronic-y sounding, standard pop material. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll probably dig it.

I can tell you this, though ... Paula Abdul is just as qualified to star in some of my more amorous fantasies in 2008 as she was in 1987.

Related: Super Bowl XLII