8. I think I read something in the paper that lands in my driveway last week that I've just got to respond to. I want to start by saying I have the utmost respect for Bill Rhoden, a columnist for the New York Times. Good guy, good writer, honest and forthright. But he wrote something about Texas quarterback Vince Young, with a few tributaries about black quarterbacks, that I found odd.

"I've already heard some talk about what a great running back Young would make,'' Rhoden wrote.

I haven't. What scout in his right mind would look at a lithe 6-5 (yes, he is 230, but he looks more like a wide receiver than a running back) kid and say, "Let's make him a running back?'' Maybe some idiot talk-show host would say that, but not a scout. Well, I'll tell you what kind of scout would say that: an unemployed one.

"I know it's 2005, and quarterbacks in the mold of Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair and [Michael] Vick have helped create a new breed of quarterback,'' Rhoden wrote. "But the NFL's 'switch-'em-if-they're-too-athletic' mentality still percolates just below the surface among many coaches and general managers, and probably owners, too.''

I'll give you two examples of "switch-'em-if-they're-too-athletic'' in the last four or five years. One: Matt Jones. Quarterback from Arkansas. Drafted in the first round by Jacksonville last year. Switched to wide receiver. He's white. His quarterback, Byron Leftwich, is black. The coach, Jack Del Rio, is white. With Leftwich hurt, the backup, David Garrard, took over. He's black too.

Leftwich joked with me a few weeks ago when I said, "How about the NFL today? The black quarterback coming out of college stays the quarterback. The white quarterback coming out of college gets switched to receiver.''

Said Leftwich: "You know the world is changing when the slow black quarterback stays the quarterback and the fast white quarterback gets switched. With Matt, it's fun to teach him what I know. He's a good learner.''

Black guy as tutor. White guy as student. While I'm talking Jacksonville, did you know the Jaguars are an all-black-quarterback team? Leftwich, Garrard and Quinn Gray. Does anyone write about it, talk about it?

Two: UCLA quarterback Drew Bennett, signed by Tennessee as an undrafted free-agent, gets switched to receiver. White. His quarterback, McNair, as you know, is black. The coach, Jeff Fisher, is white. My point: The evidence, these days, is overwhelming. Good black and white collegiate quarterbacks whose skills will translate to the NFL are not asked to switch anymore. Good black and white collegiate quarterbacks whose arms are a little shy for the NFL game are asked to switch. But not because they're black. And no coach in his right mind would ask Vince Young to switch.

9. I think all you Jets fans who were dying to see Reggie Bush in green next year will swoon when I tell you that Herman Edwards told me last week: "If he was sitting there when we picked, would we take him? It would be hard not to.'' Alas, beating the Raiders made that point moot.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Yanks play 11 of the first 13 on the road.

b. When will someone realize Isiah Thomas actually doesn't know what he's doing? I mean, what positive non-playing thing has this man ever, ever done in pro basketball?

c. Coffeenerdness: Having a cup of 572 Blend from the Upper Montclair (N.J.) Starbucks (their home-made blend) is like having a cup of espresso. Talk about a four-hour buzz. What's in that? Adrenaline beans?

d. ESPN, you can pound me over the head as hard as you want. You can't make me an NBA fan.

e. Forgot to mention last week that I caught Sidney Crosby, stud rookie of the Penguins, last week at the Igloo. And I came away thinking: Wow. What a player. Skates so fast, so low to the ice, with such incredible moves in tight spaces. Such a shame the Penguins fill that place and apparently they're losing so much money. That's a fun night out.

f. Re House: Cynthia Nixon, the former Sex and the City lawyer, is the most believable character-actor sicko I've seen in a while. What a terrific performance as an attention-starved career hypochondriac. If that show were any better, it would cost $9.50 a night and be on the big screen.

g. Memo to Heineken executives: At first, I was bitter that you put that new bottle out, the one with the non-paper label, because I had the nervous habit of letting the condensation get to the label then peeling it off in an anal fashion. But it's growing on me. It's a sharp-looking label.

h. I simply must get a life.

i. Skating With Celebrities. Are you kidding me, FOX? You guys are truly out of your skulls.

j. John Spencer, one of the great actors of The West Wing, died of a heart attack Friday. Is there any doubt he could have been a real chief of staff?

k. Good luck, Johnny Damon, wherever you land. As hard as you play, you deserve whatever you can get out there.

l. How lucky is Mike Lupica, getting to eat the Christmas meal with The Contessa, Ina Garten, on her Food Network holiday special? OK, I admit I'm not a Contessan, but my my wife is, and I caught Lupica sampling Garten's fare the other day. For a skinny guy, he sure eats well.

m. Since I won't be coming to you again until the day after Christmas, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, everyone. Be peaceful.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Don't Mean Al Michaels

Big night in Baltimore! Mary Beth King's 20th birthday will be spent at Ravens-Packers. Poor kid. I think I'm getting her into football.

You mean you actually want to know who's going to win? Can't help you there.

Give me the Pack, 20-9.