The congregation of sports fans.

9:00 am: Of course this time may vary depending on the extracurricular activities conducted the night before. To answer the question of when a sports fan's day typically starts I'll use my common response from any high school test where I didn't have a clue: Answers May Vary. Sunday of course is a day to bask in the morning newspaper. Could they possibly make Sunday newspapers any bigger? I swear my newspaper delivery guy wears a weightlifting belt just to make the rounds.

10:00 am: Turn on the computer to check out the multitude of pools and fantasy leagues I'm in. The biggest challenge is of course trying to remember which logins match up with which passwords for each pool. Speaking of challenges, when a ball is fumbled and is under review in the NFL, have you ever heard the announcer say: "They're going to need to find strong evidence to overturn that call and the video replay should be the biggest evidence of the right call." Of course the video is the best evidence! What do you expect, Matlock or Colombo to walk on the field and provide a motive?

10:30 am: Send out some trade proposals to my pool counterparts. Of course starting with a low offer to begin with. No one ever accepts a trade proposal on the first try anyway so why not test someone's limit. Accepting a trade offer on a first attempt is as rare as a healthy Steve McNair.

11:00 am: Tune into the NFL preview shows and be armed with the remote ready to turn down the hue button on any suit that Deion Sanders or Michael Irvin chooses to wear. Is there a worse pre-game team than the CBS crew of Sanders, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino and Jim Nantz? Watching them is like being relegated to Detroit Lions regional coverage each week. Just my opinion but I was much happier watching Buffalo Bills regional coverage. I'm sure all two remaining Detroit Lions fans will disagree with me.

12:00 pm: Venture out to make my weekly football picks. It may seem strange but I will not buy my tickets from a place where I lost from last week. Hey, the players have their own superstitions. Is there a more frenzied and anxious time than trying to get your bets in just before the one o'clock deadline? It's a scene that is worse than any road rage, especially if someone is having their pile of Saturday lottery tickets checked at the same time. Lottery gamblers and sports gamblers don't mix in these types of situations; it's like a dome game for Brett Favre or for that matter ANY type of game for Kordell Stewart.

1:00 pm: If you bet on the games surely you have to watch the outcome of your bets. I read an article a couple of weeks ago in Sports Illustrated about the guys in Vegas who decide on the betting line for all games. One question: Are these guys allowed to bet on the games? Can you imagine how popular these guys are on Sunday with their friends? "Seriously man, you're the one that set the line at 6.5. What's your gut feeling? Is there anything you can let me in on?"

4:00 pm: Meet up with all the boys for our weekly road hockey game. Or is it street hockey? Or ground hockey? Or ball hockey? Man, I think someone needs to sort this out the same way that "Internet Speak" needs to be sorted out. LOL means laughing out loud. Okay I get that, but anything above that I have no idea what people are saying to me. Prior to the game I pester the same guys who I emailed earlier about the trade offer. They're starting to weaken. The game is fun and as always full of tons of trash talk. Of course no game is complete without the requisite crotch shot. Someone always takes one in the 5 hole. It's like splitting aces, it's a given.

6:30 pm: Go out for dinner with my girlfriend Lisa. Of course upon arrival to the restaurant I make sure to stake out the direction of the TVs and sit on the appropriate side of the table to watch the end of the 4:00 game. Blow off the fact that you're secretly watching the game by occasionally looking all around the restaurant and saying that you're simply trying to soak up the atmosphere of the place.

8:00 pm: Go back to my girlfriend's house after dinner and proceed to turn on the TV and catch the full wrap-up of the day's action. I've already watched the earlier games yet I still want to catch the highlights. I can't explain why I need to see the highlights when Lisa asks me but I'll watch them now and watch them again probably later tonight. Lesson to women: Guys can never get enough of sports highlights. That's the reason stations play them on an endless loop.

9:30 pm: Check the email one last time just to find out I've pulled off another blockbuster steal of a trade. Ahh, the art of negotiation.

That in a nutshell is a typical Sunday and if you're lucky you'll come away a few bucks richer if your bets pan out. Always a terrific way to kick off the start of another workweek.