Hey, have you heard about The Bus?

The groundhog took a peek out of his hole this past week and, as usual, made a prediction.

Unfortunately, it looks like we're in for another six weeks of pregame Super Bowl hype.

Or has it been six weeks already?

Ugh. Is there anyone else who wishes they'd P-L-E-A-S-E stop the presses and pre-everything and just start the pigskin game? To answer the MNF song, YES, we are ready for some football, have been for a fortnight (that's how the Rolling Stones say "a long time ago"). All the hubbub before Super Sunday is kinda like Christmas music. Sure, it's fun to hear "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" the first half-dozen times or so, but by Dec. 1 you start wishing for the rosy light bulb in his nostrils to burn out.

Anyway, here are some reasons why we better hope Punxsutawney Phil's purported gloomy forecast isn't true and that Super Bowl XL really will be played today:

I. NFL officials are considering calling it Super Bowl Quadruple X to honor the size of Joey Porter's large yapper. (Hmmm . . . or was it for the number of X's on the tag on Jerome Bettis' jersey?)

Whatever. The Big Game needs to kick off before the Steelers' outspoken defensive stud ends up on the injured reserve list with a strained tongue muscle.

II. Speaking of The Bus, did you know the lovable Steelers running back is returning home to play what might be the final and biggest football game of his illustrious career?

Of course you did. The only ones who haven't heard that a time or 2 million apparently have been living in a hole, though obviously not the same Pennsylvania bunker as the Punxster. The rodent reportedly came out Thursday wearing a Ben Roethlisberger jersey and waving a Terrible Towel. He also asked the media to find another news angle.

III. In other breaking Super Bowl news out of Motown, reporters somehow stumbled on to a touchy-feely story certain to tug at the heartstrings of the American public: Turns out (grab a tissue), lovable Steelers running back Jerome Bettis is returning home to play what might be the final and biggest game of his illustrious career. Who knew?

IV. In other, other XL news out of the Motor City, the first (and only) verbal salvo by the Seahawks so happened to center around, you guessed it, the lovable Steelers running back who is (repeat after me) "blah, blah, blah."