I'm biased, but I think he is really good. One day we were talking after a game and I mentioned the word "momentum," and he quickly said "I don't believe in it."

What? How can you not believe in momentum? It's all the coaches and players talk about. Getting the momentum, losing the momentum, getting the momentum back. He looked me right in the eye again and said, "It's fool's gold."

Well, I looked him right back in the eye and told him, "You're crazy! I don't care how many years you played in the NFL (13), how many years you've been a broadcaster (18) or how many Emmys you've been nominated for (two), but that's the most idiotic thing I've ever heard."

Come on, now. How can a player and broadcaster not believe in momentum? It's all any broadcaster talks about! He simply looked at me and said, "The Drive. I don't believe in momentum because of The Drive."

During the 1986 season, Danielson was the backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns . He was on the sidelines at Cleveland Municipal Stadium when John Elway, immediately following the Browns scoring a TD to take the lead, took the Denver Broncos 98 yards during the final five minutes of the game to tie the game.

Denver won in overtime to go the Super Bowl. Cleveland and Danielson never made it to the Super Bowl (the Browns still have not made it). Danielson said to me, "We had the best homefield advantage, the No. 1 defense in the league, we had just scored the touchdown to take the lead and against all of that, we lost."

He just shakes his head when people bring up momentum. He believes you just go play. One side may be doing better than the other for a while, but all that means is the other team needs to go make a play. I have watched sports the last few years taking notes as to whether "momentum" really exists.

* Game 4, NBA Finals - The Lakers, after winning Game 3, lead the Celtics by 22 early in the second quarter at home. And lose.

* Game 5, ALCS - The Rays had won three straight games and lead the Red Sox 7-0 in the seventh inning. And lose.

Last month the Dallas Cowboys kicked a 52-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force overtime against Arizona. They win the coin toss. The Cardinals are exhausted and emotionally spent. Fox's Troy Aikman declares "Dallas has all the momentum." The Cardinals win three plays later.

But the topper may have been earlier this month: Cincinnati at West Virginia. Cincy leads 20-9 with fewer than 30 seconds to play. West Virginia scores a touchdown to make it 20-15. They go for two and make it, 20-17. They then try and recover an onside kick with 18 seconds to play. Without any timeouts, they complete two passes to set up a 52-yard field goal. It's good. Tie game, 20-20. We go to overtime.

Talk about momentum! If ever a team had the "momentum," it was West Virginia.

Final: Cincinnati 26, West Virginia 23.

Maybe Danielson is right. Maybe "momentum" is something that coaches have bought into a long time ago and passed on to the players. Then those coaches and players become broadcasters and they pass it along to the fans.

Maybe "momentum" is like UFOs. Most people believe in the existence of UFOs, yet we really don't have any proof they exist.

Is Gary Danielson the sportscasting equivalent of the mad scientist? Have the rest of us just been brainwashed?

At first, I thought he was a fool. Now, he's convinced me that momentum is a crutch that everyone leans on. Take a few weeks, watch and decide for yourself.

* n n

The last two wins for the FGCU women's basketball team have been against South Florida and Florida. That's a second-year Division I program in the Atlantic Sun beating teams from the Big East and the SEC. This just in ... Karl Smesko can coach.

Memo to FGCU president Dr. Wilson Bradshaw: While you are finding $4 million for settlements and buyouts, find some more money and pay Smesko now. A big program is going to come calling soon.

It's important to note that in the last 12 months FGCU has won conference titles in volleyball twice, baseball and softball. All four of these teams would've earned NCAA tournament bids if the school was eligible; they're not because schools that move up from Division II to D-I must sit out two to four years. The women's basketball team made the WNIT last year.

The school and program have earned a lot of negative headlines off the court in the last 12 months. On the court, they are building something special.

E-mail David at sportsgoober@hotmail.com