I don't know about you, but I need a break from lockout and labor.

With the news that Bob Sanders is going to sign a one -year deal with the San Diego Chargers, it got me thinking about the Colts who have moved on to other teams and have, or have not found success.

The list of players who have left is long and distinguished (I won't finish the joke) and some have been let go at the right time while other ties may have been cut too early.  We know that it is impossible for a team to keep all the players to which we, as fans, become attached.  I know I have my favorite Colts that have moved on.

Brandon Stokley created my one of my favorite Colts memories.  The Call that Bob Lamey made as Stokley hauled in the 49th TD pass during the 2004 season is something that still rings in my brain from time to time.  Great video of all 49 TDs from that year.

Also on that list for me is Hunter "The Punter" Smith.  He was one of my Favorite Colts just because I got to meet him a couple of times and heard his band (Connersvine) play a bunch of times.  Plus, how can you NOT love a punter that runs down the "Uncatchable" Dieon Sanders!

Both of those players have moved on to other teams, but had a limited amount of success (granted Hunter did throw a TD 2 years ago).  We are sad to see them go, but kinda feel okay because they didn't come back to kill us. Others players on this list for me include Tony Siragusa, Marshall Faulk, Darrell Reid, Marcus Pollard and Ken Dilger. All of them were missed, but either didn't produce much after their trade or didn't take it out on the Colts as much as some other guys.

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If you haven't been following Matt and Collin at the Combine, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!  Great access that fans like us don't normally get.  Join the open thread and keep an eye on some future Colts!

With everything kicking in this week, it got me thinking about past Combines and how they went for Colts greats.  While it may not relate directly to the combine, it might also be a good time to revisit some great draft debates.  I think back expressly on Manning v. Leaf and James v. Williams.  We'll jump into some of this after the jump.

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Gus Johnson (along with Joe Buck) is an incredibly annoying TV announcer.

While Buck exudes a 'douchebag' quality about him, with his smirky tone and 'I'm so much smarter than you it's stupid' way he talks about football, Gus Johnson is just plain annoying; toddler vomiting in your face annoying.

One of the key tenants to any TV broadcaster is that he, at the very least, fake his partiality towards a team or player. 'Homer' broadcasters will turn off hardcore fans faster than a BP commercial stressing how hard they've worked to clean up the biggest environmental disaster in American history (a commercial many of us saw while watching CBS' games on Sunday).

Gus Johnson defines the homer announcer, and it grates on the nerves like Robert Shaw's nails down a chalkboard.

Thankfully, it seems I'm not alone in finding Johnson's broadcasting idiocy irritating. Peter King made note of it in his Monday Morning QB article.

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After having surgery yesterday to repair his torn biceps, Bob Sanders will remain on the active roster until he can return to the field, or until he is deemed unable to return this season.  The move is reminiscent of what the team did last year with both Anthony Gonzalez and Adam Vinatieri, so fans will likely worry that the roster spot is being "wasted."  They will also be frustrated - especially as we get closer to the stated 10-12 week mark - if they continue to hear that Bob is "week to week" or there is no update at all. 

But the reality is that there are no young, healthy Pro Bowler-caliber safeties sitting around at home waiting for a phone call.  Also, the NFL's version of the DL can be useful in this situation - there are always 8 players listed as inactive for each game.  Bobzilla will simply occupy one of those 8 spots every week for the next 10-12 weeks, if his past recovery history can reliably inform this situation.

I am personally thrilled that the team is giving Bob this opportunity, and not just for the potential that he can return near the end of the season when the team may be in a playoff push.

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I'm usually pretty even-handed in presenting my position on nearly every topic.  Not today.  After today's loss, plenty of people have issued cautions against turning Chicken Little: "It's only one game," "At least it happened now and not Week 14," "All these problems are fixable," and my personal favorite, "Don't worry - many Super Bowl winners, including the Colts, have dropped their first game."  My response to that?  A big SCREW THAT!

The first game of the season is INDEED important.  A game against a division rival is ABSOLUTELY a must-win.  While we patted the proverbial heads of Texans fans as they called this game their "Super Bowl," most Colts fans trusted that the preseason didn't matter, that "The Sheriff" would march into town and grab the win, that the offense and defense would somehow come together and prove overwhelming for the Texans.  Well that didn't happen and the Colts now sit at the bottom of the division, looking up.  Think about that for a second.

I am well aware that there are 15 more games to play, and that "anything can happen," but I'm not going to justify my way out of why I think this game was so important.  More after the jump...

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I don't usually get caught up in all the typical nonsense that surrounds these 9/11 tributes that are done every year. However, this year, because of certain circumstances and controversies that have unnecessarily overshadowed the day, and because 9/11 falls on a pretty loaded sports Saturday this year, I'll simply say this:

As someone who witnessed the second plane explode out of the back of Tower Two from 6th Avenue and 18th Street in New York; as someone who had to fight through mobs of people covered in white ash; as someone who smelled smoke from the burning towers in his apartment for over a week; as someone who remembers the day after the attacks, walking through Manhattan and watching bicyclists riding through the eerily deserted streets wearing gas masks to protect them from the asbestos in the air, it is my personal feeling that the best tribute anyone can give is not raising a flag on 9/11 day. It's not singing the National Anthem louder, or tying ribbons to your mailbox. It certainly is not burning books, changing the logos on your football helmets, or having a long moment of silence.

The best tribute one can give is to, quite simply, not be afraid.

Enjoy your sports Saturday, and Go Colts!

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Tonight we chat preseason, the final 53-man roster, players we like, and the launch of SB Nation Indiana. No guests tonight, but I'll be taking callers, if you want to chat. Click the Blog Talk Radio link for more info.

While I am getting Tweets and email from people attending the final night scrimmage for the Colts 2010 training camp, I kind of wanted to highlight this little feel good story of the day.

As some of you might know, former-Colts punt returner and corner T.J. Rushing has been out of work since the Colts did not pick up his tender in March. He made the news a few weeks later when he offered to wash dishes at a restaurant in exchange for a free meal. This wasn't done because Rushing was broke or anything that desperate (the dishwasher up and quit on the job, and T.J. stepped in and offered to help the restaurant), but some suggested it was a sign of hard times for T.J.

Well, today, T.J. Tweeted that he was signed by the Lions. Almost immediately after it happened, you started seeing current Colts players like Pat McAfee Tweeting back their congratulations. We saw the same type of support for Raheem Brock last week. When he signed with the Titans after several months of nothing, you had people like Robert Mathis, the before-mentioned T.J. Rushing, and Ervin Baldwin sending him Tweets of encouragement. Ervin's Tweet was especially telling:

congrats big homie learn a lot from you

It's just kind of neat to see former Colts looking out for each other. It's also nice to see a good guy like T.J. get another opportunity. I hope it works out for him in Detroit.