I enjoyed the Pro Bowl, and I'm sure the fans did as well. It was announced as a sellout - 50,410 in the house. Hard to believe, there were many pockets of empty seats.
The game was entertaining with the exception of the first quarter.
The last four Pro Bowls have been decided by an average of 5.8 points. The players seem to want to make it exciting at the end, which is appreciated.

The Ohana Day Festival was held at Aloha Stadium today. If I were a student, I'd rather be in school. Watching players half-step through practice (as they have all week) in the hot sun isn't my idea of fun. I went to most of the practices this year and I was really bored. I'm glad I knew a few media guys who also attended. KHNL's Reid Shimizu is one of the few guys who knows more about pro wrestling than I do, which is pretty scary. If the kids were expecting to get a close look at the players and maybe even get an autograph, forget it. Most guys left the stadium as quickly as they could.

Autograph seekers who sell their stuff on e-bay really bother me. There are some "professionals," who shove kids out of the way to get within signing range. Then they run back to a buddy, who hands them another jersey or helmet and they shove past the kids again. I have never seen this, but I've been told they do exist. Shame on you!

For those of you who were wondering, recording artist Cheyenne will perform at halftime. I have no idea who she is so I probably won't be paying attention. I used to following the music scene but that was back in the 80s/early 90s.

If there is anyone who attended, tell us how the Waikiki Block Party went.

The Pro Bowl has been sold out all 28 years it's been held at 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
The NFL's season-ending All-Star game generates millions of the dollars for the state.
But here's a negative statistic: 15 players dropped out of this year's game, citing injury. Wink! Wink!
Don't get me wrong, I know most of the guys are actually injured. After all, it's a long, punishing season for all the players, even for those who didn't appear in the playoffs.
But some of the game's star power has been lost with guys like Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz, a Saint Louis School alum, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, and New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey pulling out.
The game gained something though when electrifying Tennessee quarterback Vince Young was named to replace San Diego's Philip Rivers (no offense to Phil).
Being named to the Pro Bowl is enough for the players. Playing and risking injury is another thing.
Most of the guys on Saturday will avoid head-on collisions and other unneccessary risks.
The fans know it's an exhibition and they can claim they saw so-and-so play 20 or 30 years from now. So, in the end, it's all good.

The media was eagerly awaiting Peyton Manning's appearance at Pro Bowl practice this morning at the Ihilani Resort.
To be honest, I thought he'd withdraw because the Colts' season just ended last Sunday in Miami. Besides, many of the league's stars have been pulling out, citing injury.
But Manning is a special individual. Someone told me he comes here every year because he feels he owes something to the league.
I think that's pretty admirable. If only others could follow suit. I'm sure many Pro Bowl fans feels the same way.
As for interviewing Manning, it took a while because ESPN interviewed him for a half hour after practice. I thought they were asking him lame questions just to annoy the rest of us.
He finally finished and the media gathered around him. He stood there for another half hour and answered each question as best he could. And he displayed modesty and a sense of humor as well. No wonder he took so long with ESPN.
Anyway, I wish there were more Peyton Mannings to go around. It would make our job easier. Young athletes please take notice.

Apparently everything's cool between San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson and coach Bill Belichick, Tomlinson was upset with the New England Patriots' celebration after a 24-21 playoff victory Jan. 14.

Tomlinson had to be restrained after seeing some Patriots players — especially cornerback Ellis Hobbs — imitating the dance of Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman while on the Chargers' logo.

Tomlinson was quoted as saying: "They showed no class and maybe that comes from the head coach."

Belichick is the Patriots coach who also happens to be the coach of the AFC squad this week.

But the so-called feud no longer exists.

"Out here I kind of get to talk to him, so it's different. You get to understand the man," Tomlinson said.

He added: "It was really good. I was real happy with our talk."

Belichick said: "We've talked and I have all the respect in the world for LaDainian as a player as a person. It's fun to be out here working with those guys, not only LaDainian, but all those other guys from the Chargers. Hopefully, we can put it together and play well on Saturday."

Tomlinson said his criticism of Belichick was in the "heat of the moment," and his beef was against the Patriots players, not their coach.

"I told him that obviously I said some things that maybe I shouldn't have said and adding him ... it was between, really, the players," Tomlinson said.

With that being said, he's still not happy with Hobbs, who was one of the more demonstrative dancers.

"I still think Hobbs was wrong, but when I sit back and think about it, I don't think Bill had any control over the way his players act," Tomlinson said. "He can tell them all day long, 'Guys, act like we've been there,' like Marty (Schottenheimer, the San Diego coach) tells us, but in return guys will do whatever they want to do."

• • •

All the local media wanted to interview Dallas Cowboys punter Mat McBriar, a University of Hawai'i alum.

McBriar said he plans to golf, go to Sandy's and catch up with friends while here.

It will hopefully be Peyton Manning's turn to be mobbed Wednesday morning. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback is expected to get in by then.

The local and national media will be waiting for him.