The Time Approaches

Yes, it does. In a shade over two weeks, Rogers Hornsby is freed from his lonely window vigil, as are the rest of us who follow humanity's highest sporting achievement. Pitchers and catchers report for spring training Feb. 13 and 14.

In the meantime, here's an article about how the stadium for next week's Super Bowl is so energy-efficient that it will offset 100 percent of the energy used to heat it. Scientists were unable to determine whether apathy generated by this year's contest between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles had any effect on that energy use figure. Not because the amount was small, of course, but because they could not determine if the immense amount of apathy surrounding the game added to the overall energy use by requiring more energy to counter it or if it subtracted from the energy use by being basically negative.