- Interesting interview in the Globe this weekend with Trot Nixon. Trot says he is learning to play first base to enhance his marketability in the free agent market. He also says that he had back surgery and is feeling much better than he did last season. The Sox are looking for a lefthanded hitting first baseman/outfielder who can spell Youk so he doesn't get as worn down in the second half of the season. Could the original Dirt Dog return to Boston? I'd love to see him back, although I'm not sure he has much left. Might be worth a Spring Training invite, if nothing else.

- We took a little trip down to Rhode Island to check out the Roger Williams Botannical Garden R. is doing a school project on carnivorous plants (Venus Fly Traps and the like) and the New England Carnivorous Plant Society (I had no idea there was such a thing) maintains an exhibit there. We got some great pictures, but the garden itself is very nice. It's in a big greenhouse and we ended up spending an hour looking around at the plants. It was really enjoyable being surrounded by green growing things on a cold winter day.

- Here's a funny story. My cousin and his son are Giants fans (they live in New York, so it's OK.) Early in the season, when the Giants were 0-2, my cousin's son asked him if he would take him to to Super Bowl if the Giants made it. My cousin, figuring it would never happen, said he would.

So, they are headed to Arizona. A shame they are going all that way to see their team lose.

- For all the talk of NFL parity, nearly half of the teams haven't won Super Bowls. Out of the 41 games before this weekend the winners have been:

Cowboys, Steelers, 49ers (5 each)
Patriots, Packers, Redskins, Raiders (3 each)
Colts, Broncos, Giants, Dolphins (2 each)
Jets, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Ravens, Rams, Bears (1 each)

So, 15 out of 32 teams have never won the big game.

In contrast, over the same number of World Series, 19 teams have won:

Yankees (6)
A's (4)
Orioles, Cardinals, Reds (3 each)
Tigers, Mets, Pirates, Dodgers, Twins, Blue Jays Marlins, Red Sox (2 each)
Phillies, Royals, Braves, Diamondbacks, Angels, White Sox (1 each)

Only 11 teams haven't won the World Series over the past 42 years. And one of those is the Cubs.