February was named for the Roman god Februus, the god of purification and it is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 28 days in regular years. In leap years February has 29 days. Three times in history a February 30 did occur.

Thirty days! Who wants a February of 30 days?  Can we shorten it to like 10? February hands down is the worst month of the year!

Think about it.

Didn’t take long did it? You agree with me, right?

Is there even a close second? February brings the official end to the football season. Some of us even like to think that the Pro Bowl counts. We just want to hang on. Hang on to something -- hang on to football. Please don’t go away!

Yet it does and we are stuck with February.

March Madness is right around the corner as is Spring and with Spring there’s baseball. Ah, never mind. With Spring there is the thaw and then the bloom and then longer days and then Summer. After Summer there’s the Fall and we all know what that means -- ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!

Which brings me to this thought -- why not start the NFL season in October? By pushing the season back another month, the NFL could play right on through February and into March which would bring us right to the doorstep of March Madness. It might even help the northern cities in their quest to host a Super Bowl. This could make February more tolerable. I might even feel more Valentiny. C’mon honey, let’s celebrate Valentine’s Day at The Vault.

Love is in the air!

Boy do I love football and the NFL!

But I’m stuck in February. And what’s up with the 29 days every 4 years? Can’t they make it shorter? Maybe the IRS can change the filing date to February 29? That way we only have to file every 4 years? Boy that refund check could be a doozy. Oh but wait, if you had to pay that could be, um, not good. THAT February would really suck!

Yet here we are and it’s February and I'm singing, "It’s the most …miserable time of the year.”

February should be called Speculary for the Roman god Speculuus, the god of speculation. Everyone has begun to speculate what the Ravens need in order to improve in 2006. Everyone knows the Ravens need help at offensive line. Most believe they need help on the defensive line and in the secondary too.  Hey did I mention quarterback?

Speculation and opinions about the Ravens are abundant as the free agency period beginning March 3 approaches, particularly after a disappointing season in which the Ravens were clearly underachievers. Ever take a gander at those various Ravens message boards? If opinions could fly those boards would be O’Hare International.
 
It’s interesting how the respective pecking orders of message boards like Ravens Insider and Extreme Ravens are established. You see with each topic or thread as they are called, members can post their thoughts and each of their posts are counted. And the posters for the most part are faceless. With a few exceptions, they hide behind their screen names or handles and cloak themselves in a veil of anonymity.

These message boards can be entertaining and at times even enlightening.  But if you engage and participate, be prepared to support your claims or arguments because the combative types will circle in on you like a buzzard on road kill.  They will happily dissect you like a Biology 101 lab rat.  Just ask anyone that believes Ray Lewis wants out of Baltimore.  They and all the media outlets that are speculating the same are labeled as "pathetic" or "dispicable" or "ridiculous" or even worse, "tabloid reporters" should you dare to disagree with the majority about the iconic Lewis.

For the most part though, the regulars on the boards seem to be a great group of people who represent a microcosm of the most diehard Ravens fans on the planet. There’s Joeshmoe, Crowdog89, Vmax, Cravnravn, Superboller1, and many, many others who frequent “the board” oftentimes offering well articulated and researched insight.

But then there is banal blathering too which really rears its ugly head this time of year -- a time when rumors, innuendos, lies, smack talk, truths and half-truths buzz around the message boards like flies on...well, you know.

February... it can't end soon enough.  Even the Winter Olympics don't help much. But there is the promise of Spring and the countdown to March Madness and the opening of the NFL free agent season to look forward to.

But until then, what about Ray Lewis and Boller for Culpepper and E.J. Henderson?

Look out, here they come!