Wednesday, December 24 – 11:45 A.M. (CT)

-I hope you're all enjoying the holidays. I slept in this morning after staying up late to wrap gifts and I still have more to go. I propose that we all switch from wrapping paper to paper bags from now on to help everyone save a few bucks in these tough economic times. Of course, this recommendation stems from the fact that I am to wrapping what Randy Savage is to rapping. It's not pretty, folks.

-I caught Mickey Rourke's appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last night. My apologies for using the name of Dave's old NBC show in past commentary. Old habits die hard. Anyway, Letterman was a fan of the movie and praised Rourke's performance. Rourke told a fun story about director Darren Aronofsky telling him that he ruined his career, yet he wanted him for the movie even though he couldn't pay him.

Rourke also discussed his training regimen and his wrestling training. He was also quick to point out that the blood in the clip of the film they showed was real blood. I was actually disappointed by the clip the selected because it showed Rourke hitting a move off the top rope and nothing else. I'm sure some people would be surprised by Rourke performing the stunt, but it didn't really provide a feel for the movie.

Overall, though, Rourke promoted the film well, and Letterman was respectful of the subject matter. I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot of Rourke as the movie opens in theaters across the country. By the way, I got a kick out of Letterman asking Paul Schaffer if he knows who determines the markets where the movies play that are released in selected cities. "Burt Reynolds," Letterman quipped.

By the way, the scattered release of the movie is ridiculous. It's been out in some cities for weeks, and it won't open in other markets until mid-January. I'm sure it's not the first movie with such a release schedule, but I can't imagine that all the confusion over the release dates is helping the movie. Oh, and I was also surprised that Rourke spent so much time talking about director Darren Aronofsky, but I don't believe he mentioned Marisa Tomei. Strange.

-Congrats to Dot Net reader Jagger Kaye on another successful holiday benefit show. This is the ninth year that Jagger has produced an event that benefits children living with HIV, and gathered toys for the less fortunate. You can check out photos from the event that took place on Dec. 15 in New York City by visiting AVeryJaggeredXmas.com.

-I am looking forward to Sunday's Vikings vs. Giants game even though I fear that my squad will break my heart again and fail to qualify for the postseason. I won't blame the Giants if they play their starters (although I don't think I'd take the risk of playing Eli Manning when Jared Allen is on the field), but I won't feel bad about getting in the playoffs if the G-Men rest their starters.

After all, the Cowboys didn't do the Purple any favors last year by resting their starters in Week 17, and I recall the Broncos played their second-teamers against the Packers a few years ago when the Vikings needed a Packer loss to make the postseason. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see my team earn it by beating the real Giants (like they did on the road last season), but I'll take a playoff berth either way.

-Happy holidays to everyone. I hope you all get away from the computer over the next couple days and spend some time with family and friends. I know what a rat race the holidays can be, but the payoff is always worth it. Thanks for your continued support of Dot Net. Be safe.

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