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First up, is some excellent news for those of you who are truly addicted to football. The NFL is developing its own channel with a launch date of November 4. Oh boy, wives and girlfriends think their men watch too much football now, wait until there is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week channel devoted to their favorite sport!

If you have DirecTV, you will automatically be plugged in while us cable types will have to see what deal emerges: "The NFL Network has one deal with DirecTV, giving it access to 11.4 million subscribers, with cable deals to be negotiated." If ESPN, FOX, and the other all sports networks are too diluted for you, the NFL Network should feed your addiction. There won't be any midnight Billiards Championships or Olympic Dance competitions on this channel, just football all the time. Isn't America great?

Speaking of TV, changes continue at Monday Night Football. No, John Madden isn't headed to a NFL-sponsored nursing home. Instead, Melissa Stark has been replaced by Lisa Guerrero. In my experience, Melissa was an acquired taste -- people either seemed to like her or hate her. I happened to think she was cute. (And don't tell me you didn't have a conversation with your buddies about her when the games got slow. If there is a female sideline reporter, eventually you can count on the "cute or not" conversation cropping up. I know I had this conversation on a couple of occasions with both guys and girls.)

Lisa is certainly qualified, having done sports journalism on both coasts, including anchor duty for FOX Sports. Melissa Stark is expecting her first child September 2 that resulted in her departure from MNF. She is headed to NBC as a national correspondent for the Today Show and to help cover the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

While we are on the subject of MNF, let's talk schedule. What are some intriguing matchups on Monday Nights? There are at least a couple that should be interesting enough to overcome John Madden's incomprehensible mumblings. Here are my favorites:

* September 8: Tampa Bay at Philadelphia. This has been a real battle lately with tough defense leading to close, but important games. Last year, the Bucs finally got past Philly and they ended up winning the Super Bowl. With a healthy Donovan McNabb and the sting of that loss still fresh in their mouth, the Eagles will be looking for revenge. Tampa Bay will be looking to prove that their title run was not a fluke and that Coach Chucky is poised to make another run. Like I said this should be a good one.

* September 22: Oakland at Denver. This is always an important divisional battle, but this year there are some intriguing story lines. Both teams have QBs with something to prove. The Raiders' Rich Gannon is looking to put his Super Bowl performance far behind him and show that he truly is a superstar QB. Jake Plummer needs to show the Broncos fans that Coach Shanahan knew what he was doing when he let Brian Griese go and brought in the Snake. (Ironically, the most famous QB with the nickname "The Snake" played for the the Raiders.) Should be worth watching.

* September 29: Green Bay at Chicago. The Packers meet the Bears in newly-revamped Soldier Field, how could you not like this game? This is one of the great rivalries even when the teams are less than stellar. With Bears back in the Windy City after a year in Champaign, the fans should be stoked. Perhaps we will see the emergence of Kordell Stewart or maybe Brett Farve will show the world that he still has it. I plan on tuning in.

* November 17: Pittsburgh at San Francisco. This should be a test to see how well these two teams are playing. If things go well, this could be a matchup between two Super Bowl contenders (in fact, it was my Super Bowl prediction last year). If things go bad, it could lose its luster a bit. Once again, however, we have two QBs with something to prove. Tommy Maddox is looking to cement his place as the Steelers QB and prove that his re-emergence last season wasn't a one-season wonder. Jeff Garcia is looking to return as one of the premiere QBs in the NFL after slipping a little last year.

Will things be different without Steve Mariucci? Unless the Steelers secondary tightens up, Garcia should have every opportunity for a good game. The same goes for Maddox, though, as his receiving core and the 49ers suspect defense should give him the chance to score. This could be more of a shootout than a nail-bitter.

* December 15: Philadelphia at Miami. This is another game that could be huge if both teams play up to their potential. If both teams are playoff contenders, this game is big. Will the loss of some key defensive players leave Philadelphia vulnerable to Ricky Williams? Who will be the starting QB for Miami? Can Jay Fiedler stay healthy all season? Can Donovan McNabb score on the beefed-up Dolphin defense with its tenacious secondary and 2002 sack-leader Jason Taylor? This should be a test for both teams.

With games like these, perhaps MNF can get some decent ratings this year. If ratings continue to tumble with quality games, the network might have to think about another revamp.

Speaking of revamps, there a number of teams who are trying desperately to get back on the winning tack. Here a couple of teams I will be watching:

* Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals have been bad for so long that they are like a bad car accident where you watch out of morbid fascination. This year one has new reasons to watch. They have a new coach in Marvin Lewis who promises to bring a winning attitude to this perennial loser. But can he turn the team around without a change in management?

The Bengals got the top-draft pick, Carson Palmer, but insist Jon Kitna is the starter. They lost star linebacker Takeo Spikes, but kept RB Corey Dillon. If Lewis can improve the Bengals to seven or eight wins, that would be impressive given the schedule (they play the tough AFC West and NFC West teams). I will be watching to see if Lewis can change the culture in "Bungle" land.

* Detroit Lions. Speaking of teams in a tailspin desperately trying to pull out, the Detroit Lions have been pathetic the last couple of years. Just like Lewis, new head coach Steve Mariucci has the daunting task of trying to resurrect a team that seems lifeless and accustomed to losing.

Mariucci has his young QB, Joey Harrington, already ensconced as a starter, but he does have a rookie he hopes will make a big impact in first-round and No. 2 overall draft-pick Charles Rodgers. The Lions are hoping that this homegrown WR (Rodgers played at Michigan State) with a lot of potential will soon be playing catch with Harrington and helping to win games.

Given the difficulty of making an impact as a rookie and Rodgers' lack of maturity, it wouldn't hurt if his fellow receivers Bill Schroeder and Az-Zahir Hakim started playing up to their salaries. Given all the chaos surrounding the signing of Mariucci and the lack of consistency over the last few years, it is also hard to believe the Lions will jump from last to first, but they should win more than last season's total of three games.

If the Bengals and Lions are looking to get out of the basement, who is looking to take the next step to the Super Bowl? Here are a couple of teams I will keep my eye on:

* Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay, I would be watching the Steelers anyway as they are my favorite team, but they do really fit this category. They have been a solid team for some time, but have lately been unable to win the big game and get to the Super Bowl. Last year, it was the heartbreaking loss to the Titans in overtime. The year before that, it was the disappointing loss to the eventual Super Bowl winning New England Patriots.

Used to be the Steelers would win by playing tenacious defense and running the ball. Kordell Stewart, or whoever was at QB, was focused on just not losing the game. The played a lot of close games, but they were perennial division winners and playoff contenders. Tommy Maddox changed all that last year. Well, that and a porous secondary and a banged-up Jerome Bettis.

Last year, the Steelers won games by scoring points. Tommy Maddox used Plaxico Burress, Hines Ward, and Antwaan Randal El in every possible way to move the ball and score points, including a miraculous comeback playoff win over Cleveland. Unfortunately, their secondary made any lead seem small. Not only did they start the season off with three embarrassing losses, they struggled to close out key games all year (heck, they even managed to tie the Atlanta Falcons after holding a big lead late in the game). A few more wins would have meant homefield advantage instead of a road trip to Tennessee.

The question this year is can they tighten up the defense and keep the offense rolling. The offense seems poised to return to form. Jerome Bettis is healthy (supposedly) and Maddox and his receivers all return; and they added a quality receiving tight end in Jay Riemersma. Plus, kicker Jeff Reed seems to be able to actual make field goals at Heinz Field.

On defense, you have to wonder. The Steelers let safety Lee Flowers go and only picked up first-round draft pick Troy Polamalu. Troy is a solid pick, but he is unlikely to radically improve the secondary immediately. I sure hope the coaches have a plan to stop the porous play. Can the Steelers score their way to a Super Bowl? I don't know, but it should be fun to watch.

* New York Jets. The Jets were won of the most exciting teams to watch down the stretch last year. They started out 1-4 and ended up 9-7. Chad Pennington came in a ran the offense to perfection, ending the season with a startling 104.2 QB rating. He was helped by the breakout of Laveranues Coles who racked up over 1,200 yards in catches. Even injured Curtis Martin broke the 1,000-yard mark. It just seemed like things were clicking for the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets last year.

Unfortunately, their winning-streak means a tough schedule this year. Their division is one of the toughest in the league, so they will have to play well to make the playoffs. The question is can Pennington start from where he left off last season without Coles who went to the Redskins? Can Curtis Conway pick up the slack? Special teams spark Chad Morton won't be there to bail them out this year. Herman Edwards and Pennington have their work cut out for them, but it should be exciting to watch.

Well, kids, that is what I have been thinking about as the interminable offseason slowly ticks by. Don't worry, though -- soon, the smell of grass and the sounds of pads and whistles will fill the air again. It won't be too long and we will be watching meaningless preseason games and thinking about that beautiful thing called opening day. Just be patient.

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