Just Thinking XX Doug Coutts, Fantasy Football Senior Staff Writer Dec 24, 2003 | More

Wow, 20 thinking columns, thanks for reading. What began a while ago as something to add a little humor to the site, continues as something people actually seem to look forward to...? And thanks for all the emails with suggestions for material that I've used, let's keep it going!!!

Many emails came in regarding goal posts and field goals. Yes, I swear I was going to mention about the poles being too short before Adam Vinatieri's kick in the snow went directly over it against Miami in week 14. Apparently NFL rules state that when the ball goes over the bar it is to be considered a good kick. In any case, of all the suggestions that came to me, the best one was from Sam in my office:

"You know, in order to get rid of this controversy over field goals going over the bar, why don't they add a top crossbar so that all kicks have to go in between a square? This would eliminate decisions about a ball going over the pole, and in addition, it would add some spice to extra points. When you see an extra point, the kicker boots it straight in the air, nearly everytime it is well above where the bars end. Adding a top crossbar would force them to kick it lower, which would increase the chance of it being blocked." Interesting. If someone could drop this on Mr. Tagiabue's desk, it'd be appreciated!

The phrase "Wedding of the Decade" did not pop into my head, referring to the Ryan and Trista made for television event. Poor Ryan, he is in for a tremendous beating on a daily basis, she will rule him with an iron fist. So much pink and so little of anything else. Not that I would know first hand or anything.

Do any other Red Sox fans out there get a bad feeling from possibly trading away Nomar and Manny for A-Rod? Just doesn't feel right.

Mine can't be the only dog that gets extremely confused when setting up a Christmas tree in the house. Nice branches to chew, a warm place to take a leak...must be close to doggie heaven.

Speaking of which...don't you just hate when you're over that relative's house where the toilet just doesn't work? You know, you lift the seat and it's somehow angled in such a way that it doesn't stay up on its own, leaving you with not enough hands to hold it up and aim at the same time. This coupled with the fact that the door really doesn't close and if it does it doesn't have a lock on it creates quite a quandry.

Is anyone else out there disturbed by the Coinstar commercial? I'm wondering why the tooth fairy needs the Coinstar machine, shouldn't she be LEAVING money instead of TAKING change?

Does this happen to anyone else? You are driving to work in the morning, you leave at a little different time than usual, and you are unlucky enough to get behind a school bus....can someone explain to me why it literally stops at every kid's driveway? And for those stops that aren't for one kid at the end of a driveway, the stop entails kids piling out of a bunch of cars that are waiting. What ever happened to walking and waiting outside? What about bringing a nerf football and tossing it around while waiting? Does this stuff not happen anymore? I'm not that old, when did things change for the worst?

If you are lucky enough to live near a Firefly's Restaurant, you NEED to try this place out. Fantabulous! Nothing defines a rib joint like a pulled pork sandwich.

Umm, I'll have what Joe Namath is having, please!

Speaking of which, I'm not sure why people are surprised at what happened. If you've ever been to a football game, 90% of the people in attendance are blotto, so why shouldn't someone like Joe Namath be different. Besides, no doubt he's drinking for free, I'm not sure I'd even be able to stand if that were me!

If you haven't heard the radio call that is going around of John Carney missing that extra point last week, another "must hear". I'll paraphrase here <in blood curdling voice>: "NooOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOHHHHHH! HE MISSED IT!"