5. I think I got goose bumps reading McGuire's next paragraph: "I wake up every morning knowing that I have to be 'The Calm.' My guys can't see me rattled or nervous. The guys do a hell of a job keeping our route clear of IEDs and bombs or anything else that might appear. The place that we live in is very small and gunfire is constantly heard, along with sirens warning us of incoming mortars, which happen about twice a day. I figure if it happens it happens. I try not to think about it and focus on just getting the hell out of here and back to my family and friends....

"Did I tell you that Leonard Little's brother is over here too? I did route clearance with him up in Baghdad, so he was able to give me a little inside scoop on the Rams also. Small world, huh? Me a Rams fan and I got to do patrols and the guy I am with is his relative? He was a platoon sergeant also. Fantasy football draft is not too far along. I can't wait.''

See? There is a real purpose for fantasy football after all. If McGuire's smart, he won't ask me for advice. I'm the guy who told everyone to draft Danny Wuerffel a few years ago.

6. I think we need to remember one thing, in retrospect, about the Ben Roethlisberger story as it fades away and the Pittsburgh QB rehabs in peace and quiet: He's a kid. A good kid. He made a mistake. The New York Times had a very interesting op-ed piece on Sunday about the story, headlined, "The Superstar Athlete is Paid to Take Risks, Right?'' For those of you who say Roethlisberger absolutely should not ride a motorcycle until he's out of football, I say: You can't put a 24-year-old kid in a hermetically sealed bubble and say, "No risks until you're 39.'' That's silly. Now, if he does ride, and he ever rides without a helmet, I don't call that silly. I call that stupid ... and irresponsible.

7. I think Jim Otto should settle down. LeCharles Bentley tried to get the NFL to allow him to wear Otto's old number (00), in what Bentley said was a tribute to Otto's greatness. Otto told the Contra Costa Times: "To let him wear my number, that I built into a legacy ... all it takes is one ounce of coke up his nose and that legacy is gone. I don't know who he is. I played 15 years with the Raiders. He's played what, three or four years in New Orleans? What kind of a legacy would he give double zero? I don't think he should wear it, and I don't think anyone in the NFL should wear it.'' Sheesh. Hey, Jim: Bentley was doing this AS A TRIBUTE TO YOU.

8. I think there was a great story by Peter Schmuck in Sunday's Baltimore Sun about Ravens president Dick Cass donating a kidney to an old law school friend. Imagine the kind of person who would donate one of his organs to someone who is not a blood relative. Wow. That is impressive.

9. I think the Colts are trying to shoehorn all their great players under the cap, and it can't come too soon. In an offseason in which they've lost two important defensive cogs in free agency -- defensive tackle Larry Tripplett and linebacker David Thornton -- they also quietly signed defensive end Robert Mathis through 2011. That's important, because Dwight Freeney isn't Dwight Freeney without Mathis.

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

a. I don't know Bruce Arena, but he seems like a non-communicative dork to me.

b. Coffeenerdness: Standing in line at the Upper Montclair (N.J.) Starbucks the other morning, and the guy behind me says, without even saying excuse me, "How you could pick the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl is beyond me.'' Nothing like talk radio coming to a line at Starbucks at 7:20 a.m., among all the commuters.

c. House has been startlingly good. I'm just catching up on the ones I missed.

d. This is my last column until July 24. I'm going on vacation starting Thursday, assuming I can get a few things done for the magazine's football preview issue. Not going anywhere far, really. Will see the Red Sox a couple of times, will see Springsteen, will see the family in Pittsburgh and will coach the Montclair Bears 10-and-under girls travel softball team. The Bears rule, by the way. We're off to a 4-2 start, 2-0 in our North Jersey league. If you can find the Mount Hebron Field in Upper Montclair at 6 p.m. on June 21, 28, or July 5, 17, 18 or 20, you might enjoy a nice little twilight ballgame.

e. One last thing before I go: You've been a great audience for the last 48 weeks. When I come back, it'll be on the day I leave on my training camp trip. I'm aiming to hit 22 teams in about 33 days this year. First stop: Bethlehem, Pa., for Eagles camp. Lots going on there. Anyway, have a good start to your summer, and check back July 24.

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