A BIAS ABOUT NEUTRALITY.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

Now that we're done watching everyone in Detroit and St. Louis huff and puff on their hands between every pitch, wear ski masks under their parkas and crunch away on their frozen hot-dog-on-a-stick, what's so wrong with tossing around the idea of having baseball determine its annual champion at a neutral site -- one where the temperatures don't dip below the Fox TV ratings, the jets' flyby isn't necessary to defrost the foul poles and neither the pitchers nor the beer venders need pine tar relief to get a grip?

'Cause, just thinking out loud, a venue like Dodger Stadium or Angel Stadium, which sit vacant under bright sunny skies far too often this time of year, wouldn't be such a terrible TV soundstage for the annual October MLB production, would it?

The Angels really didn't need a sparkplug like David Eckstein, did they?

Does all this mean the city of Detroit and its nervous inhabitants will be spared for another season?

How could the spineless National League West champion San Diego Padres have botched it by allowing Bruce Bochy to just walk into the dugout of a division rival?

And the Dodgers think they've legitimately strengthen their position by hiring a trainer named Conte who worked in the Bay Area?

If this new starting gig with the Dallas Cowboys doesn't work out, does Tony Romo open up a chain of rib joints? And if Romo isn't the guy, T.O. already has a fall-back plan with Drew Henson, right? Vinny Testaverde? Quincy Carter? Clint Stoerner? Gary Hogeboom?

Is a dazed and confused Ben Roethlisberger out of his mind to try to play Sunday? Or is the very slight risk of getting sacked by the Oakland Raiders' defense worth taking?

Would everyone quit calling Tiki Barber a quitter?

No Kobe for the opener? Like it'll matter?

The Buffalo Sabres?

Do the organizers of the L.A. Marathon now think it'd be funny to put a slip-n-slide at the finish line after seeing all the coverage that the Chicago Marathon got for its ``America's Funniest Video'' finish?

Would David Stern have made ``Pistol'' Pete Maravich leave his nickname at home?

Will Charlie Weis eventually have to eat his words -- with plenty of cabbage roll and corned beef -- if he continues his beef with BCS voters about getting his Fighting Irish into the top eight?

What would turn the stomachs of the UCLA football team more these days, one more viewing of the last minute from that Notre Dame game, or an extended viewing of the new Screech sex video circulating about the Internet?

What Cardinal sin did Matt Leinart commit by skipping out on practice this week just so he could make sure he's going to need some extra cash for a long-term child-support payment plan?

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