Iwas the kid who fought my brothers for the sports page every morning. I usually won. By the time I was 12, I had called SportsTalk radio to offer my opinions on the coming draft. Sunday nights were spent writing to Denver Broncos’ head coach John Ralston to challenge him on his play-calling.

“Give up the Pony Express backfield,” I wrote week after week. Ralston was too nice a guy to do anything other than write me back: “Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Sincerely, John Ralston.”

He was a disciple of Dale Carnegie, who was all about winning friends and influencing people, so of course, he would be nice to a young teen who didn’t yet realize how insufferable she was.

My attitude toward football, though, began changing after the tragedy of Junior Seau. Seau was a Hall of Fame lineback

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