I’m sitting in Terminal 5 at LAX, waiting for a 4:30 flight to Phoenix. I’ll be there the next few days for a partnership meeting with our software vendor. It’s one of those shake-a-lot-of-hands-and-get-nothing-done sort of events, but you gotta do it. I’ll actually be in Mesa, at the eastern end of the Valley of the Sun. High point of the trip should be tramping around Mill Ave with all the Arizona State coeds. That’s where the Gin Blossoms – my favorite band of all time – got their start, and there’s supposed to be an amazing music scene there still. I’ll let you know!

Embattled Orange County Sherriff Mike Carona resigned today, bringing to an end one phase of his effort to fight federal corruption charges. Carona, who last week returned from a self-emposed 60 day leave of absense, is calling his action a “retirement”, an convenient way to avoid having to admit he was run out of office. Also, in a decided change from his normal policies, Carona announced his “retirement” via a notice on the OCSD website, rather than stand in front of the bank of microphones with which he has become so intimately familiar over the years.

“Although this is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, my family, my staff and my lawyers all believe that this is the right time to take my retirement,” Carona said. “This action will permit me to focus on vindicating my name and refuting the false charges which have been made against me and my wife.”

Hmm … he apparently forgot his mistress is also charged …

By stepping down now, Carona avoid the inevitably ugly fight that he would have faced from those who would strip him of his office. He also can now accept the pro bono legal services offered by lawyers Brian Sun and John Cline, whose previous clients include Oliver North and Scooter Libby. His current lawyer tried to spin the announcement, saying that he had gotten so used to having Carona accessable on a daily basis during the LOA that he urged him to exercise his retirement option for the benefit of the defense effort.

All politicians feel some power, no matter the office. How you choose to use – or abuse – that power is what separates the good from the bad. It’s sad to see what greedy little pigs some politicians can become once they get a little too comfortable in their office. If Carona is guilty of the charges being brought, let’s hope a message can be sent loud and clear to those who would choose to abuse our trust for personal gain – it will catch up with you, and you will be brought down.

Maybe he can share a cell with Duke Cunningham …

As Chris Berman would say, “that’s why they play the games” …

- The NFL’s Divisional Playoffs had the appropriate star cachet, as the leagues top 4 quarterbacks all had a chance to lead their teams to the next round. Two did – but two didn’t, and those two will be talked about all off season. Brett Favre and Tom Brady got the job done, leading their teams to easy victories. The Packers’ win over the Seahawks looked like an old NFL Classics flick, as Favre got hotter as the snow got deeper. Nothing says cold like seeing snow build up on the bill of a ballcap on the head of a coach. Brady, meanwhile, disassembled a Jaquar team that many thought were likely to pull the upset. The game was never as close as the score would indicate, and the legend continues.

- And then came Sunday. If you told me there would be a Manning playing quarterback next weekend, I wouldn’t be surprised – until you told me it was the Giants’ Eli and not the Colts’ Peyton. Playing with a homefield advantage they’d fought hard to earn, and with the knowledge that a loss could well mark the end of Coach Tony Dungy’s career, the Colts played … flat. It wasn’t a terrible performance, just not a winning one. They let the Chargers stay close early, and failed to put distance between them even after key offensive tools (QB Rivers and RB Tomlinson) were knocked out of the game. Frankly, letting a backup QB beat you is just embarassing. Everyone likes to compare Peyton Manning and Tom Brady because they are so similar statistically. But Brady has that “it” that winning QBs all possess – that sense that he is a winner. Bradshaw had it, Montana had it, Favre has it, and Romo may. But Peyton does not. Look for wholesale changes to this team in the offseason/

- Everyone talked about what a statistical longshot it is for a team to beat the same opponent three times in a season, and the Cowboys had already laid two losses on the Giants coming into Sunday’s matchup. The Giants are a good team, but with the Jeckyl-and-Hyde performances of QB Eli Manning, you just don’t know what’ll happen. In the end, though, it was less about offense than defense – good by the Giants and bad by the Cowboys. Tony Romo did throw a pick to end the game, but at least it wasn’t a signature loser moment like last year’s muffed kick hold. The Cowboys are a good team, but need to figure out how to take it to the next level. Romo, meanwhile, will continue to get BBQ’d over his bye-week trip to Mexico with Chestica Simpson. It’s not why they lost, but shows the difference between today’s players and yesterdays. When Terry Bradshaw talked about how he would never do such a thing during the season, bit was because he saw playing football as a career. Romo and his ilk just see it as a job – and a stepping stone to the next thing in their lives.

- Just a month until baseball starts spring training!