Desperate Indignation

The Monday Night Football Skit between TO and former Knots Landing babe Nicollette Sheridan has forced FCC Chairman Michael Powell to put down the candy bars and baby oil to interject his righteous take on the Desperate Housewives spoof.

"It would seem to me that while we get a lot of broadcasting companies complaining about indecency enforcement, they seem to be continuing to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gains and the free advertising it provides," Powell said during an interview on CNBC.

"But I think it's very disappointing. I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud," Powell added.

Rice takes Offense to State

Longtime Cleveland Browns fan Condoleezza Rice set aside her dreams of being named NFL commissioner to accept President Bush's nomination as the next Secretary of State. Pat McManamon from clevelandbrowns.com caught up with the Princess Warrior and got her viewpoint on a number of football topics.

"When I was born my dad was a football coach," said Rice, who is 49. "He was a high school athletic director and assistant football coach. I was supposed to be his All-America linebacker, and I was an only child."

"He taught me about football instead. The team we got most often in Birmingham, Ala., was Cleveland. It was the days of Jim Brown and Paul Brown and I just became a died-in-the-wool Cleveland Browns fan."

Rice grew up in the days when the Browns were among the most popular and successful teams in the league. As a result, their games were shown all over the country especially in a place like Birmingham where there was no team.

That made Rice a Browns fan.

Rice admired Paul Brown, "I thought he was a real important figure; I liked watching him in his hat and suit on the sidelines", but her favorite player was quarterback Frank Ryan. Why?

"He had a PhD in mathematics for one thing, which I thought was incredible," Rice said. "But I'll also never forget the 64 Championship Game where really the Browns were, I think, overmatched by the Colts.

"But Ryan had one of those great, not flashy games. What I'd call a kind of Tom Brady game."

Her philosophy on offense has a sound basis.

"I'm actually a big fan of the running game, truth be known," she said. "I don't think there's anything like an offensive line dominating a defense down the field. I think that's more demoralizing than if you're throwing the ball."

Quarterbacking with Dignity

In the same to town that he set the NFL record for pass attempts(70) and completions(45) 10 years ago this weekend, Buffalo Bills QB Drew Bledsoe may be seeing the curtain pulled.

Ron Borges starts the obituary for the former Patriots signal caller.

The end came, for all intents and purposes, at 11:20 last night.

It was at that moment, in another losing effort against the Patriots, that Drew Bledsoe was yanked from the game in favor of rookie J.P. Losman, who is still recovering from a broken leg. Bills coach Mike Mularkey's decision to risk his still-healing No. 1 pick in a game the Bills already were trailing, 29-6, made clear how far Bledsoe has tumbled from the days when he ruled the same piece of real estate where his career crumbled last night.

Drew looked to be turning back the clock by reviving the "Bledsoe to Brown" combo last night. Rich Thompson has the story.

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and wide receiver Troy Brown were once a formidable passing combination with the Patriots. With starting cornerbacks Tyrone Poole, Ty Law and Asante Samuel out with injuries, Brown was pressed into service as a nickel cornerback for the second week in a row. After years of catching passes from Bledsoe, Brown was charged with defending against the Bills quarterback.

Brown was lined up in the slot opposite the Bills' best receiver, Eric Moulds, on first-and-10 from the Buffalo 38 with 14:05 to play in the fourth quarter. He dropped back in coverage, slipped in front of Moulds and made the first interception of his 13-year NFL career.

Bledsoe's on-field decline also cost the QB some dough in the real estate market when unloading his home to Red Sox hero Curt Schilling who made an appearance on crutches Sunday Night at Gillette Stadium. Forbes has the details on the Bledsoe loss.

Schilling will soon be living in Bledsoe's old house in Medfield, Mass., about 20 miles away from Fenway Park. Schilling bought the mansion for less than the asking price, according to the AP report. The house was originally listed at $9 million, but the price was cut to $6.5 million. The estate has 20 rooms, sits on 26 acres, and includes a home theater, a wine cellar, spa, exercise and billiard rooms, and a mahogany bar which opens onto a pool area with a waterfall.