Michele Tafoya Seems To Be Staring At Whatever Al Michaels Finds So Funny

Your morning roundup for Sept. 9, the day we didn't realize we were on the air. Photo courtesy Getty Images, via Homer Bush. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors.

What we watched: Football's return is terrific for many reasons, the best of which might be the opportunities it affords to talk shit with a friend who roots for a hated rival. The correct way to do this, of course, is without shouting or violence or anything approaching seriousness, since it's just football, after all.

I'm a Steelers fan (hold your fire), and last night I found myself in the company of a Ravens fan who is headed to Baltimore for this weekend's game. Our mutual enthusiasm for Sunday, already on-high because of the prospect of having these two teams open the season against one another, was perhaps made that much stronger because it had once been so threatened by the uncertainties of the lockout.

But beyond that, there was just something enjoyable about getting to parry over Ray Lewis' and Ben Roethlisberger's past off-the-field activities, about recalling the occasional blowouts of games past, about the very real disdain the players on both teams have for one another, about the Steelers' frequent successes against Baltimore in the playoffs (zing!).

We root for our teams for a variety of reasons. My favorite might be because of the stories I can remember. And while it's one thing to share such stories with your own kind, it's quite another to get to do so with the follower of such a bitter rival. Hurry, Sunday.

• As part of our ongoing NFL Week festivities, guest writer Kevin Collier had a little fun with NFL players on twitter. Look for that later this morning.

• The end of the week means there's another edition of Drunken Hookup Failure, and that will be coming your way this afternoon.

It's Friday. That is all.

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