Time for more New Year?s Rob-solutions

Broken any resolutions yet?

Yes, it?s early in 2007. But five days is still plenty of time for you fine, intelligent readers out there to have made, and broken, a few promises you made in the early hours of the new year.

As for this friendly neighborhood sports columnist, I?ve used the opening days of ?07 to take a look back at the previous year?s resolutions, to see how I held up over the past 12 months.

Overall, I?ve got to admit I didn?t do so well.

First and foremost, I didn?t drop the ?friendly neighborhood? thing. But, the way I look at it, some readers actually live on the dead-end road upon which I reside, so I?m in their neighborhood. And unless you?ve left me a nasty anonymous phone message or grabbed me and sworn at me after a game recently, I?m usually pretty friendly. So the description rings true, sort of.

I also resolved last year to stop talking to football coaches via cell phone during games, noting that Jim Mora of the Falcons was fined $25,000 for that offense late in 2005.

Well, he stopped using his phone on the sidelines, and he was fired. I continued using mine, and I still have a job ? at least as of this writing. So that one worked out for the best. Besides, I don?t think text messages really count, do they?

Here?s one that was broken virtually before it was made. I made a vow last year to no longer bad-mouth Coffee County, Overton or Cookeville High Schools. But let?s be honest. Coffee County brought it on themselves, when they cried about that 2-point conversion play against Warren County Middle. I left Overton pretty much alone, mainly by not making the trip to their tournament, and Cookeville is just ? well, they?re just Cookeville. You?ve got to take a shot at them when you get the chance. So one out of three isn?t bad, is it?

If you?ll recall, I also resolved to learn the guitar during 2006. Well, unless someone can tell me a song that involves only the E and A chords, I broke that promise, too. But I?m working on it.

And if you know that E-A song, make sure and realize that before I can play it, it has to be a tune that switches from one chord… to the next… very… very… slowly.

Finally, my last 2006 resolution was to make fun of as many athletes and coaches who deserved it as possible. I think I lived up to that one, with a few possible exceptions. But with only 52 columns, you can?t hit everybody.

But it?s a new year, and as such, here are a few new resolutions I?m sure I?ll be able to live up to.

? I resolve to tune in to exactly as many NBA games in 2007 as I did in 2006. That would be zero.

? I resolve to wear two pairs of socks to every Pioneer football game played after Oct. 1, and two jackets to every mud race held after Oct. 10.

? I resolve that if I kill a deer, I will put my own photo in the sports section ? as well as a photo showing whatever damage was inflicted on my truck.

? And finally, I resolve to write 51 more columns this year, unless I?m sick… or on vacation… or beaten senseless by some outraged reader… or fired by some outraged editor. I would?ve added ?or unless I can?t come up with a topic,? but we all know that?s never stopped me before.