I have watched football games, football reruns and football highlights for more than 30 years. Now a new study at the University of Chicago, finds that people who watch sports may experience an increase in brain function. If this is true, then my husband must be a genius.

Researchers found that being an athlete or merely a fan improves language skills when it comes to discussing their sport because parts of the brain usually involved in playing sports are instead used to understand sport language, Reportedly this changes neural networks in the brain enhancing brain function. The study concludes that the brain may be more flexible in adulthood than previously thought.

Actually, the results are not really all that surprising. Any activity that makes you use your brain can improve function and memory. The Alzheimers Association recommends regular brain exercises such as crossword puzzles to maintain healthy brain cells. It also recommends regular social interaction as recent research demonstrates a lower risk of Alzheimers among people who live with other family members.

Cameron Hughes is an inspiration to underemployed young men everywhere. He's one of those guys who just did what he loved and the money followed. Cameron Hughes found a way to get paid to be the obnoxious, high-spirited guy at the ballpark.

Portfolio Magazine just profiled Hughes, who has somehow parlayed his merry sports antics into cash--and lots of it. Teams like the L.A. Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays pay him about $2,000 a game to go in and whoop the crowd up. Hughes started as a fan and was a mascot in college. He was spotted at a game, got an agent, then word spread in the sports world.

For the teams, this all smacks of desperation--both in having to hire a fan and in outsourcing the job to a guy from Los Angeles. It's like having a professional mourner at a funeral or paying an escort to go with you to your high school reunion. I don't think we'll ever hear of the Chicago Cubs having to hire a super fan like Hughes to sit in the bleachers.

Couldn't the teams find any local yahoo talent? Did the Yankees have to pay Ari Ramirez, the original cow bell man? Are they paying Frying Pan Man now? (I doubt it or he wouldn't be trying to sell a $25 books of Yankees poetry, stories and pictures.) Are the Mets forking over anything to their current Cow-Bell Man, Eddie Boison? I also have to wonder if giving out $2,000 worth of beer would create as much cheer. Maybe some entrepreneurial kids should start getting themselves noticed at sleepy ballparks this summer and see if they end up with a job.

It's every player's dream: to hand-pick their next coach. Ask certain big-name free agents why they moved from the Patriots to the Jets, then quit Gang Green for the Cowboys. They'll chant in unison, "I wanted to play for Bill (Parcells) again."

Now that Brett Favre has called it quits, he's in prime position to do that very same thing: get choosy about his coach.

Huh? Favre's next coach? This guy know something ESPN doesn't?

If you've been thinking about going to the Super Bowl, chances are you've also been contemplating selling a kidney to make it happen. Before you climb into the ice bath and sharpen the scalpel, you might want to take a peek at Yoonew. The brainchild of a pair of Princeton engineers, Yoonew is an online futures exchange for premium ticket futures. Not only can it procure your coveted championship sports tickets, it can even help you get them for less than face value. Here's how it works:

1. Convinced that your team is going to go to the Super Bowl (or the Playoffs, or the World Series, or whatever), and desperate to see the boys in action, you go to the Yoonew website. Yoonew evaluates your team's chances of going to the big game. Based on their calculations, they offer a ticket future for the game. The price they charge is based on the probability that you will get the ticket. Thus, if your team has a minimal chance of going to the game, the ticket will be very, very cheap. If your team is likely to go, then the ticket will be more expensive.

2. Over the course of the season, your ticket value fluctuates, based on your team's changing fortunes. You can track the value of the ticket on the Yoonew site. Incidentally, this also gives you a pretty good indicator of how your team is doing.