Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

Peter King shows off the first prize in a trivia contest, as the NFL/media contingent entertains the U.S. troops at Manas Air Base. USO Photo by Michael Clifton

Friday morning, Kandahar Airbase:

In the D-Fac (the base's dining facility), I make myself a double cappuccino at the real, live espresso machine. It's actually very good. Also that morning, I walk up to the takeout window at Tim Horton's, straining to order over the noise from a fighter plane taking off maybe 400 yards behind me.

"LARGE COFFEE WITH CREAM, PLEASE,'' I yell.

Espresso and Canada's finest in a war zone. That's what I call a 21st Century conflict.

Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think this final Afghan scene tells you everything you need to know about how the Favre retirement was felt over here: On Saturday afternoon, I'm walking on Disney Drive at Bagram, the camp's main street, when I pass a sergeant who gives me a double-take. He takes two steps past me and says, "Peter King! My God, what are you doing here!''

"I'm on a USO trip to a few bases over here with some NFL players,'' I said. "Where you from?''

"Ben Peterson, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin,'' he said, extending his hand.

"Wow,'' I said. "Packer fan?''

"Huge,'' he said.

"Where were you when you heard about Favre?''

"On my base in Qatar,'' he said. "I was listening to Armed Forces Radio on my headphones, and the news was on, and they announced it, and I said, 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' People came running in to see what was wrong.''

By then a few of his buddies had happened by on Disney Drive. "Yeah,'' said Staff Sgt. Peter Dahlstrom, of Columbus, Ohio. "[John] Madden and him each have a huge man-crush on Favre.''

2. I think I must be missing something on Cleo Lemon. Of course, all of these free-agent contracts are a little ridiculous, but the Lemon one strikes me as odd for a guy who, barring a stunning development, will be strictly a backup in Jacksonville. The Jags paid Lemon a 2008 roster bonus of $2.95 million (which he'll certainly earn), with salaries over three years of $605,000, $1.695 million and $2.4 million, along with $750,000 in likely-to-be-earned incentives. Three and a half million this year for Cleo Lemon? Wow. Even with a $116 million cap, that one's a stunner to me.

3. I think, Bears fans, if you're hoping Brandon Lloyd is going to replace Bernard Berrian, you're going to be disappointed. The best thing you can hope for is a decent fourth receiver. Lloyd ruined his reputation with the Redskins, and he'll have to work hard to get it back.

4. I think the Panthers won't move Julius Peppers. Funny thing happened here the other day. Tommie Harris was online at one of the camps, and looked up at me and said, "Hey, you hear about Peppers? Panthers traded him to Minnesota.'' I looked stunned. Then he said: "For Adrian Peterson.'' Hardee-har-har, Mr. Droll.

5. I think Shaun Alexander might be wise to look at the want-ads. I knew this as free-agency dawned -- he was no lock to return for the 2008 season in Seattle. And now that T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones have signed with Seattle within days of each other for a combined cap cost of about $5 million a year, and Maurice Morris is an inexpensive third-down back, Alexander will likely be a traveling man. That's what happens when you don't run hard.

6. I think, speaking of running backs, it was interesting to hear fans in the last few days ask the three players questions, which they did much better than I. They got some good answers out of them, like the question about who's the best running back they face right now. "Adrian Peterson,'' said Castillo and Rucker.

7. I think, still, that the top of the draft looks like Chris Long to Miami, Glenn Dorsey or Jake Long to St. Louis and Matt Ryan to Atlanta.

8. I think Trent Green makes the most sense in St. Louis, unless the Giants or Packers jump into the fray quickly.

9. I think that although the Tom Coughlin extension has been a foregone conclusion since the day New York beat Tampa Bay in a wild-card game, it's good to see stick-to-itiveness rewarded -- and it's good to see that a changed Coughlin could recapture the respect of his team and win big. The Giants were fair to Coughlin, at $5.25 million annually, plus bonuses based on playoff performance.

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

a. I never felt endangered one time in our seven days overseas, except for the time we flew in a Blackhawk helicopter over a semi-rural mountain town 20 miles from the Pakistan border. Aside from that, you get a sense of ease when the security is as excellent as it is -- the soldiers and officers who watched over us were friendly and accommodating but you always knew how serious they were in protecting us.

b. While waiting for the flight out of Bagram on Sunday night, we watched the worst movie of all time. Death Sentence, with mindless killing until everyone in the world was dead. You're better than that, Kevin Bacon. I think.

c. Coffeenerdness: This is the all-time King foolishness. At the Starbucks in Istanbul, of course I had to have a latte, not knowing if I'd be in the position to have a triple grande hazelnut latte again for a few days. Uh-oh. "Ten euros,'' the woman at the register said. "Wow,'' I said, and I forked over the equivalent of $15. What a fool I am.

d. Mike Rucker has a future in some job like Military Liaison to the NFL. "My life has been changed by this trip,'' he said when the visit ended with our flight out of Bagram.

e. I still find it hard to believe I just spent a week in the middle of a war zone. They don't sell tickets for the experience of a lifetime, but if you can do it somehow, I'd highly recommend it.