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You know, it figures that this would be the year that I give up my Bengals season tickets. I suffered through three years of horrid football and decided that I was not going to renew my tickets for financial reasons or as a protest against the team's (mis)management in the past 19 years.

That said, one reason that did not attribute to my giving up the tickets was the NFL's new tailgating rules. In an article Darren Rovell put on Twitter this morning (featured in USAToday), a New York Jets fan says that the tailgating rules (that limit tailgating to 3.5 hours before kickoff) may be the "final nail" that forces him to give up his season tickets. The new tailgating rules are supposed to help "crack down on drunken and disruptive fans" by limiting the time fans can tailgate.

Although I have a couple of different topics concerning the life of someone who travels frequently for work that I wanted to write about this week, my mind and heart are filled with thoughts and concerns for a good friend and his new baby girl. I've been waiting for weeks to get a status on his new baby girl, and this morning I heard that since her birth Monday night, she's been in the intensive care unit. As soon as I read the update, my heart began to ache, and my eyes started to tear. Now, I'm not the most sensitive person in the world, but the thought of my friend's baby girl struggling for her life just rips me apart.

Throughout our travels, we get the opportunity to meet more people than imaginable. Some people we would love to call a friend and see every day, and some we hope to never see again! Years ago (not that many years), it was easy to travel, work with customers or vendors, and bid farewell, never to see them again. However, in the days of LinkedIn and Facebook, the ability to maintain contact with a one-time introduction becomes as easy as catching up on the day's news.

We've all done it. Waking up before the crack of dawn, at a time when, not long since, we would be just leaving the clubs and bars. Jump into a hot or cold shower (or alternate) to try to wash the sleep out of our eyes. Walking outside, we take a quick glance at the stars that we so rarely get to see, before we take a seat inside the car, and start wondering how we'll make it back to the driveway that night. Day trips certainly are not fun, but they have seemed to become a necessity for improving productivity ... or have they?

Prepping for a day trip isn't unlike any other trip. Confirm the itinerary, check-in online, review tasks and meetings planned for the day, etc. After spending a full day at work, we go home, visit the family, and perform our typical nightly routine, If we're lucky, we get to sleep slightly sooner than usual, but nothing seems to help with that early wake up call.

You all know that I love to cover the business of sports, so I was particularly interested when stories about Mangini and Quinn crossed my Twitter feed.

Here is the situation: the Cleveland Browns have benched quarterback Derek Anderson in favor of Brady Quinn for the Browns' upcoming Monday Night tilt against the Baltimore Ravens. Thing is, this is the second quarterback benching new head coach Eric Mangini has made -- he benched Quinn in week three in favor of Anderson. I am not going to discuss the merit of either of the starting quarterbacks (as neither has done well), but I want to take a look at the idea that Brady Quinn may have been benched in week three so the Browns wouldn't have to pay the escalators built in to Quinn's contract.

I promised myself that I wasn't going to give Nike (NKE) the publicity that it wants with its new rivalry uniforms. You see, the company has decided that 10 colleges will wear specially designed uniforms for their big rivalry games this year, assigning the slogan "Prepare for Combat" to the program.

For example, The Ohio State University will wear "retro-inspired" uniforms when it takes the field against that team from up north (Michigan). I was worried when I heard that Nike was designing this uniform; Ohio State doesn't do alternate uniforms -- they never have. Honestly, it isn't all that bad; the jersey leaves a little to be desired, but perhaps that is just me.

An interesting situation developed this week in Florida, where Heir Jordan (Michael's son Marcus) cost the University of Central Florida (UCF) its $3 million sponsorship with Adidas. Marcus felt it necessary to wear Nike (NYSE: NKE) basketball shoes, since they were his father's Nike Air Jordans.

Jordan took to the court in an all-white pair of Nike Air Jordans, which differed from the school's normal black-and-white Adidas basketball shoes. Jordan wore ankle braces with the Adidas logo displayed, but this was a cursory move made to placate Adidas. In fact, the move may have been made so he could say that he was wearing Adidas, just not the shoes. Quite honestly, there is a little soap opera surrounding the situation, so let's take a deeper look.

Very interesting story/rant over on WalletPop.com about the latest in a line of DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) ads -- this one featuring Chris Farley. Jami Bernard, the rant's author, is upset that David Spade is using a famous clip from his and Farley's hit comedy Tommy Boy to advertise the satellite-television provider. Bernard argues that Farley would not have liked to be remembered for a minor fat joke.

How was that assumption exactly made? Farley made fun of his size. He made his money by being an oversized, clumsy, fish-out-of-water comedian, so how can we determine that a "minor fat joke" (which some may argue is the funniest part of a very funny movie) is how he would or would not like to be remembered?

Living in Cincinnati, I became well-acquainted with a saying that is sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the time." The point is that I am used to being a bit behind on all of the goings on in the world -- Cincinnati is just a bit set in its ways. That said, there is something that even Cincinnati beat the Brits to -- the Snuggie. Apparently, America's latest craze has finally moved its way across the pond and is now ready to warm Brits looking to snuggle down with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea.

To Mike Vick or not to Mike Vick, that is the question, and the controversy that is surrounding athletic apparel giant Nike (NYSE: NKE).

Actually it isn't too much of a question, mainly because the company that once used Vick as a celebrity endorser dumped him and his products once he was arrested and charged with running a dog-fighting ring. Vick has spent his time in prison and has since been signed as a back-up quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Well, earlier this week Mike Principe (one of Vick's agents) announced that Vick had recently inked a deal with Nike. This announcement caused quite a bit of Internet backlash toward the Swoosh, but there were many that thought the deal was "bogus." (That quote is from a tweet by CNBC's Darren Rovell.)

So, you think you had a rough year? Check out what happened to Warren Buffett, who is ranked the second-richest man in America despite a drop of $10 billion in his personal wealth during the past year. The culprit for Buffet's loss is the 20% decline in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) stock during the past 12 months.

As noted, the Oracle of Omaha maintained his second-place ranking on the list of the richest Americans. The first-place finisher is Bill Gates, who the article notes is "Buffett's friend and bridge partner." What a game of bridge that must be (I am not familiar with the game, but if there is betting involved I don't want to be sitting at that table). Gates maintained his top spot although he lost $7 billion.

I didn't want to do it, I didn't want to cover the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium. Mainly because anyone that watches any of the sports channels or any of the NBC network has seen plenty of Jerry Jones and the Palace in Dallas (as some call it).

This $1.15 billion (yes, with a B) stadium is the definition of opulence, as it boasts a high-end steakhouse, tex-mex food, and something called a Cowboyrito. If you are thirsty, you can drop 12 bucks on a Patron margarita in the club lounge, or you could try a frozen Cowboyrita for 14 bucks (Cowboyrita? Seriously?).

I found it very interesting reading the Bloomberg article covering the stadium, especially when they estimated that it will cost $200 per person to go to a game. Yes, that is an average and it takes the high-end tickets into account, but I would be interested to see how much it costs for other teams. We the fans can't afford to go to these palaces and enjoy a game thanks to the ticket prices. I would love to see a game in Dallas Stadium, the new Yankee Stadium, or Citi Field in New York -- but I have a mortgage to pay.

So, anyone catch the premier of The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights (TUF) on Wednesday? It appears that many people did, as it is one of the topics creating some buzz in the internet world thereafter. I saw some of the highlights, as I wasn't home when the show was on, and one word describes what I saw: brutal. Let me address that in a minute, I want to first address the big news of the night -- Kimbo is back.

Yes, Dana White (UFC president and promoter extraordinaire) finally convinced internet fighting sensation (and former EliteXC fighter) Kimbo Slice that he would have to work his way into the UFC by competing in TUF. After Wednesday's episode, it sure seems that Slice is going to have to work for his spot in UFC. White has not assembled the group of tomato cans that Kimbo was going to face in EliteXC before his loss and the company's demise. Kimbo is going to have to fight against experienced fighters who actually have ground games (gasp!).