Not sure if you heard, but college football's version of the Savior got his brains scrambled a couple of weeks back.  In an unrelated story, the world is going to end if he doesn't play today against LSU.  Guess the Mayans predicted his birth about three years too late.

Oh, and did you know Brett Favre played against the Packers last Monday night?

I love ESPN.  Because I like to sleep with background noise, I usually turn on SportsCenter every night before I go to bed.  As a result, I gain sick amounts of sports knowledge apparently through osmosis (although, I don't seem to remember all of it, but I retain the key points).

So thank goodness the "worldwide leader" has dedicated a crew of no less than 10 reporters, medical experts and analysts to keep us up-to-date on the minute-by-minute details of the brain bruise suffered by the player who Tom Brenneman once boasted, "If you are fortunate enough to spend five or even 20 minutes with Tim Tebow, your life will be better for it."

Look, I get it. The kid is incredibly talented.  Maybe the greatest "leader" in college football history. Not the greatest quarterback, but who else had a plaque on the stadium concourse BEFORE they graduated?  That said, do we really need 24-7 news coverage of this issue?  I could see a daily update (Sam Bradford sprained his shoulder in Oklahoma's season opener, yet -- at least after the first week following the injury -- we didn't have hourly updates and quotes from Bob Stoops shoved down our throats.)

There are times when electronic media and the day-long news cycle are useful.  Then there are times like this, when they frankly run amok with the mundane.

Oh, and by the way, I'd wager there are more than 300 college football players in this country dealing with some form of concussion (and another 50 or so in the NFL).  Where are our hourly updates of their status?

While I'm on my rant, did you know Brett Favre played against his former team last Monday night?

Me neither.

Thankfully, I tune into ESPN, and they were kind enough to inform me of the minute-by-minute updates of Favre's state of mind heading into a Monday Night Football game against a team he led to a Lombardi Trophy and played for for 16 years.  (If you weren't watching, you probably didn't know, so I thought I'd point it out).

Since the SportsCenters run consecutively in the middle of the night (and since I wake up about 5 a.m.) I was so ... what's the word ... annoyed by this that I kept a stopwatch on the 5 a.m. Sportscenter that Tuesday morning.  An hour-long broadcast, 37 minutes and 30 seconds of which consisted of coverage of Favre's first game against his former team.  When is it too much?  I mean, really.  It wasn't enough during the game to have three men (two analysts and a play-by-play) perform virtual fellatio on the ol' gunslinger?  I can even handle the postgame on-field interview (by the way, I loved the photog in the background sporting the green and yellow Oregon hat; we're EVERYWHERE) but damn near 20 minutes of genuflection to his Favreness hosted by Stuart Scott, more with an in-studio crew, and even more by the main anchors???

(As I write this, during a game-break in the Auburn-Arkansas game, we were promised another Tebow update during the halftime report; CAN'T WAIT FOR HALFTIME!!!  What I wanna know now is which direction He (notice the capital H, as He is Risen, and He is a gator) will part his hair or, even more importantly ... ah heck, nothing else is more important than that.

To quote Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy, "It makes me wanna puke."

Tell the story, then move on.  The more time they spend breaking down every molecule of these rather mundane topics, the more time they miss covering other stories.  If this is the "Worldwide Leader in Sports", maybe open the spectrum beyond these two men.

(It's halftime, FINALLY, and I get my Tebow update from Florida head coach Urban Meyer: "He's still asleep right now."  Wow, that's riveting stuff.  Please give me more. Is he dreaming? What is he dreaming about?  No, not that ... he's a virgin, remember?  Even that admission drew extensive coverage.  Remember?)

(Oh, and did you know that some evil, underhanded SEC coach didn't vote Tebow as the preseason all-conference quarterback?  OH THE HUMANITY!!!  Turns out it was the old ball coach Steve Spurrier, who voted for Mississippi's Jevan Snead.  As ridiculous as the omission was, Snead looks slightly better than the Raiders' JaMarcus Russell.  Good call, OBC.)

(Wait, someone told me yesterday that a player from Oregon put a Boise State player's lights out after their game Sept. 3.  Suspended for the season. Oregon kid, Blount I think, suspended for the season ... hadn't heard anything about this.  Said the Boise State kid, Hout I think was the name, looked like Glass Joe from the old "Punchout" game.  But I've not heard anything about this.  I guess there's video?  I'd be very interested to see the link.  News to me.)

This is almost as bad as the prelude to Pittsburgh's Super Bowl win over Seattle at Ford Field in Detroit... by the way, did you then-Steelers running back Jerome Bettis is from Detroit?  I didn't.  Thank you, ESPN.