Will this be Peyton Manning's new office? Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

As if we didn’t already have enough conspiracy theories swirling around Peyton Manning, now Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News posits that Number 18 may be headed to the broadcast booth.  In fact, Raissman thinks that ESPN had Manning in mind recently when they fired Ron Jaworski from the “Monday Night Football” crew and left the show in the hands of Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico.

Personally, I doubt that The Network dropped Jaws with the hope that Manning would make his way from Jim Irsay’s stable of  Colts, fall all the way through agency, and land out of work, looking for a gig.   And then decide to head to the booth.  I don’t buy it, but I guess nothing would really surprise me with the Manning saga at this point.   I’m still waiting to wake up from this NFL nightmare and see Peyton lead the Colts to victory over the Houston Texans in the 2011 season opener.

Lucille Ball and 'I Love Lucy' helped pave the way for the success of 'Monday Night Football.'

Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday would have been today, and the Internet is chock full of enough Lucy stories to satisfy even the most ardent fan of the zany red-head.   It’s hard remember the impact that she had on American society from our vantage point here in 2011, but Lucy truly was a pioneer of television, and her “I Love Lucy” was the original must-see TV show.   If you were alive and conscious during the 1950s, you knew where you’d be on Monday nights at 9 PM:  in front of a television set watching “I Love Lucy.”

And tell me, football fans, where will you be on Monday nights at 9 PM this fall?    I’d be willing to bet that most of us will be in front of  a TV set watching “Monday Night Football.”    It’s probably not a coincidence that our weekly football masterpiece occupies the same time slot that Lucy brought to prominence 60 years ago.   When Monday night rolls around, we’ve been through a full day of work, the weekend is four long days off and we need something to salve our wounds.    Once upon a time, it was the laugh track of “I Love Lucy” that did the trick.  Now, it’s smash-mouth football.

Happy birthday, Lucy!   Modern America, and football fans, owe you more than we probably know.

Session might be making plays in Jacksonville next year

Seems like every year in free agency the Colts will lose some top linebacker talent to a division rival or someone with a big checkbook. This year, it looks like Clint Session is on the radar of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are looking to fill the void of departing linebacker Justin Durant, according to ESPN.

Last year for the Colts, Session missed 11 games after injuring his elbow in a Monday Night Football game against the Texans, where he finished the game with 8 tackles, one sack and one pass defended. That would be the last game Session played in 2010; he had 38 tackles on the season. The Colts would be losing their starting weak-side linebacker if Session left, and wouldn’t have a ready replacement for  him, since his backup last year, Tyjuan Hagler, is a free agent as well.

David Thornton, Cato June, Marcus Washington and Mike Peterson are just a few of the former Colts linebackers who have left in free agency in the past. Session may be going the way of Peterson who left to the Jaguars after the 2002 season. Session would join former Buffalo Bill Paul Posluzny in Jacksonville, who came to an agreement with the Jags earlier this week.