Just My Type

VV: Oh, no, I have some things that are fun. I have a pool table, which is fun. I'm not very good at it, but I have it there. I have a foosball table. That's nice to play. I have a screening room to watch the sports in a way that's way bigger than necessary.

DP: How big is the flat screen?

VV: It's unmeasurable. It's not a flat screen, it's like a projector. It's not an IMAX. It's like a mini-MAX.

DP: Which would you rather see happen: The new movie is a blockbuster or the Bears win the Super Bowl?

VV: I think the Bears in the Super Bowl. And I'd like to win it this time.

• High Praise

When Emmitt Smith and I discussed Hall of Fame running backs, he said it was hard to compare backs from different eras. "The game itself has changed and evolved," he said. But he wasn't afraid to make one comparison across generations. I asked him about Alabama's Mark Ingram, and Smith gave him the highest compliment he could: "When I look at him and I watch him read the cut-in lines and make those cuts, I can see a little bit of myself."

• Tearing Up

Ray Rice came up short against the Steelers, but few players give more of themselves to the game than the Ravens' running back. Rice told me he often cries before games—"tears of joy and tears of motivation, that I only want more out of life." It's nice to see a pregame ritual that actually involves humility and perspective, two traits that haven't been on display much this season.

• Line of the week