Some people might try to tell you this column is almost entirely about football.

And they'd be right. At least most of the time.

But, like everyone, even Cup Check is forced to look elsewhere for its entertainment (and fodder) once the NFL shuts it down for the season. After the Super Bowl, the yearly dark spell known as "the offseason" commences. Aside from the draft and free agency, little of significance happens in the NFL during this time (except for, maybe, a Cedric Benson bar fight and a handful of incidents involving players "making it rain" at strip clubs before violence inevitably erupts).

It's scary shit.

The offseason, I mean.

Even scarier when you consider we're only five weeks away from it.

Scarier still when you consider one of those five weeks features just the Pro Bowl - a bizarre spectacle even less like watching real football than watching the Alamo Bowl was. (CALLING IT: David Garrard will end up quarterbacking one of this year's Pro Bowl squads by the time it's said and done.)

Yes, the end is nigh. We should all brace ourselves for impact.

That said, one of my resolutions for 2012 is to be less of a Debbie Downer. I'm trying to look on the brighter side of our bleak existence, even when it comes to matters of sport.

Therefore I've created a list of five things that are actually good about football season coming to a close.

1. I'm sick of the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling."  Like, really fucking sick of it. Like, kind of want to stab Fergie in the larynx every time I hear it sick of it. When I'm not watching football on TV every Sunday it will mean the number of times I'm exposed to "I Gotta Feeling" will go down dramatically. At least one-thousand fold. Those who produce football telecasts seem to be enamored with this godforsaken tune. Please, for the love of all that's good and decent, make it stop in 2012.

2. No football means less cheese dip. Less cheese dip means less ass fat. Less ass fat means a healthier me in 2012. Will any of this beyond the no football part come to fruition? Almost certainly not. But it's fun to have hope.

3. No football means less Tebow, right? It has to, right? Right?

4. The end of the football season means my cable bill will finally go down. FUN FACT: The Driscolls budget more each month of the football season for DirecTV's Sunday NFL Ticket than they do to feed and clothe their children. Don't you dare judge us.

5. Finally, the best news of all: The most hopeful and inspiring thing about the end of the football season is it means we're that much closer to NEXT football season. And as sports fans in Seattle can attest to, NEXT season is usually much easier to stomach than the current one.

BOX SCORES

Following Monday's NHL Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, Rangers coach John Tortorella let his emotions get the best of him, lashing out at the game's officiating and specifically the performance of referees during the third period. Tortorella, quoted by multiple news outlets, called the officiating "disgusting," and sarcastically questioned whether the referees had conspired in an attempt to send the contest into overtime. By Wednesday, however, Tortorella had apologized, classifying his remarks on the integrity of the referees as "tongue-in-cheek," according to ESPN New York. "I tainted the Winter Classic with my mouth and I shouldn't have," Tortorella was quoted as saying. Cue the Michael Scott-style, "That's what she said." ... Former Yankees, Dodgers, Cardinals, Mets and Braves manager Joe Torre announced his resignation this week from a position with Major League Baseball as vice president for baseball operations - a job he took last February working with on-field discipline and umpiring, among other duties, according to ESPN. Torre, who turns 72 in July, says he's leaving the position he held for less than a year to pursue ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a group of investors led by Los Angeles real estate developer Rick Caruso - once again proving how fucking sweet it is to be a rich-ass old guy. ... Tennis star Serena Williams told TennisNow.com this week that although her livelihood and lifestyle depend on the sport, she no longer has a passion for it. "I mean, I don't love tennis today, but I'm here, and I can't live without it ... so I'm still here and I don't want to go anywhere any time soon," TennisNow.com quoted Williams as saying following a first-round win at the Brisbane International tennis tournament. It's not shocking to hear Williams has no plans to leave the sport that supports her, considering Forbes Magazine ranked her as the eighth highest paid female athlete in the world, noting that Williams' $33 million in career prize money is more than any other female athlete in the history of the universe - once again proving it's also pretty sweet to be a rich-ass female tennis star. However, Williams did injure her ankle during second-round victory at the Brisbane International, shortly after making the comments. No word yet on whether she'll withdraw from the tournament. But considering how much she cares about tennis ... oh, never mind.