Pencils and scorecards ready?

I am, among other things, a lifelong Cubs fan. I mean REALLY lifelong-- I was almost born at home because when my mother went into labor, she refused to leave for the hospital until the game on TV was over. It's in my DNA. The official harbinger of spring has nothing to do with a timid rodent. Rather, it is when those fateful words are uttered: "Pitchers and Catchers Report." This is the world as it should be.

One of my buddies does not see it this way. For reasons unknown and unfathomable, Rev. Ref+ is a rabid football fan. Well, nice for him. Don't get me wrong-- football is okay, I guess. At least it serves to fill the gap between the World Series and Spring Training.

As you might imagine, the Ref and I have this ongoing argument discussion about the virtues of our favorite sports. For example, the Ref seems to find the untimed nature of baseball unsettling. He complains that it's too slow, that you spend three hours playing a game that only has 15-20 minutes of actual playing time. I have maintained that he has no room to talk, that football is just as bad-- actually worse, because that silly clock they pretend to use, lies.

And now I have proof:

According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

Want some more good news? Spring is less than a month away!