NFL schedule is out -- time to start planning

Because I am the consummate sports nut, especially an NFL nut, this is kind of a holy day for me. Maybe it is for others too. I'll play it safe and speak only for myself, though.

At 2 p.m. EST, the NFL Network and NFL.com simultaneously released the officially 2008 NFL schedule, and at about 2:01 p.m. my mind was racing with thoughts about which games I not only would look forward to watching, but also which games I might be attending. I enjoy checking out new stadiums, picking out intriguing matchups, preferably teams I have never seen live. Last year I had the pleasure of seeing Brett Favre play for the first time, combining that with my first trip to Arrowhead Stadium.

This year my top target destination is Dallas. After all, 2008 is the final year for Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys have called home since 1971. The Cowboys play in the NFC East, so right there that's three excellent home matchups. They also play Seattle on Thanksgiving and my hometown Ravens in the regular-season finale on a Saturday night in late December.

For most fans, the more casual ones, this is simply a day to peek ahead and seem who their teams play and when. Travel plans are still on hold for several months; rather, it's a day of speculation and anticipation. And in some cases, major questions.

My top question is, in a league that prides itself on parity, why do the Patriots have the league's easiest schedule? Why do the Chargers, who admittedly will be doing their fair share of traveling this year, have the second-easiest schedule? By New England's good graces, of which this decade they seem to have many, they get to face the pathetic NFC West and almost equally-inept AFC West. Their first four games are against teams that won a combined 13 games last year. Yikes.

At any rate, this April day represents the turning of the page from 2007 to 2008. The NFL Draft in two weeks will help culminate that process. But now that we know who plays who and when, it's time to start pondering -- and in my case, maybe even start planning.