Where there’s wool, there’s a way

Every Super Bowl has one.

An over-hyped halftime show, sure, but also a player who teeters between goofy and disturbing.

It’s tradition, much like that eight-hour pregame show.

Grey Ruegamer, offensive lineman for the New York Giants, fills the role this year. And, much like oddsmakers are predicting for the game, it appears to be a blowout.

Ruegamer claims his life experiences include castrating lambs . . . with his teeth.

“It’s the way the Basques do it,” he said in the East Valley (Ariz.) Tribune.

Ruegamer said he helped handle the chore on a Las Vegas ranch owned by a family friend who is Basque.

“I was hesitant,” Ruegamer told the Tribune, laughing. “But it is what it is. She needed help. There was beer. Good times. It was worth it.”

You can bet there was no silence from those lambs.

Grey area

From the “Ya think?” file: Giants center and captain Shaun O’Hara offered this flashing-red-light assessment of his teammate.

“Grey is not somebody you want to mess with,” O’Hara said in the Tribune. “He keeps all of his toenail clippings and callus shavings all season long in a cup, and if anybody wrongs him and he deems it necessary, he will dump that cup in a personal belonging of theirs. He’s known for that.”

Trivia time

Who is the only artist to perform the national anthem at two Super Bowls?

Party favors

The annual breakdown of Super Bowl viewers by the Nielsen Co. tosses out this little bit of information:

“New York viewers purchase above-average amounts of beer, health bars, tequila, Scotch, and jarred nuts than the average viewer.

“Boston viewers purchase above-average amounts of pretzels, health bars, beer, trail mix and tortilla chips.”

Translation: The Super Bowl parties are a little wilder in New York.

Out of the doghouse

The most expensive doggy treat ever? Avondale, Ariz., resident Chris Gallagher has a contender for the title.

A courier slipped a packet containing Gallagher’s Super Bowl tickets under the door last Wednesday. Unfortunately, Buddy, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever, was the only one home and he went to town on the tickets as if Michael Vick’s photo were on them.

The face value of the tickets was $900. Ah, but puppy love appears to be priceless.

“He’s a troublemaker,” Gallagher told the Arizona Republic. “But he looks at you with those big eyes and you can’t be mad for long.”

Besides, before you could say “my dog ate my Super Bowl tickets,” Gallagher received assurances that the tickets can be replaced.

Political football

The House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday honoring West Virginia’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma. It was introduced by Alan B. Mollohan, a 13-term congressman from -- where else? -- West Virginia.

In it, there are nine “whereas” clauses, though only one that even hints at the head coach who recruited and trained the team: “. . . Whereas then-Assistant Coach Bill Stewart demonstrated true leadership and coaching skill by filling an unexpected coaching void, instilling confidence in his team and leading them to victory, thereby earning the admiration and gratitude of his fellow West Virginians . . .”

Safe to say coach Rich Rodriguez’s pre-bowl departure for Michigan still isn’t considered almost heaven in West Virginia.

Trivia answer

Billy Joel, in 1989 and 2007.

Ah, but good news for the New England Patriots. Jordin Sparks will do the anthem Sunday. The Patriots are 2-0 with women performing the anthem (Beyonce, 2004; Mariah Carey, 2002), 1-0 with choirs (military, 2005) and 0-2 with men (Luther Vandross, 1997; Wynton Marsalis, 1986).

And finally

“It just seems like we really shoot ourselves in the foot sometimes,” Indiana Pacers forward Mike Dunleavy said after the Miami Heat ended its 15-game losing streak by beating the Pacers on Saturday.

Talk to dad, Mike, talk to dad.

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