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You may have noticed the change in my profile icon from a Bengals logo to a close-up of a bottle of Negra Modelo. No, I'm not an alcoholic, but I just wanted to give free publicity to a good beer that I think more people should try.

I also wanted to get rid of the Bengals logo after a fairly disappointing season. Sure, given the heartbreaking losses of the final two weeks and the overall talent on the team, they should have made the playoffs. But I'm actually kind of glad the season's over -- the up and down roller coaster ride of the past five months was beginning to get old. If there's a benefit to be had from this past season, it's that I will be spending a lot less time listening to sports prognosticators on ESPN and the like. I probably should have realized this earlier, but these guys don't have any more clue on what's going to happen than anyone else. Their predictions on the Bengals this season is a classic case in point: their initial doubt was silenced by a hot start; they jumped on the bandwagon and the Bengals proceeded to lose 5 out of six; then everyone counted them out and they won 4 in a row; finally after they were a lock for a playoff berth, the Bengals collapsed and find themselves golfing during the NFL's first playoff weekend. Absurd.