NASCAR racing ain’t what it used to be. This isn’t about whether that’s good or bad. It’s simply the way it is, the evolution of the sport.

After peaking in popularity nearly 10 years ago, NASCAR struggled to maintain its vast fan following. TV ratings are down. There are empty seats at races, including the Daytona 500 – which used to be one of the toughest tickets in all of sports.

There are obvious reasons for the decline. It is difficult to continue the kind of boom NASCAR enjoyed during the 1990s. There’s no doubt that the death of racing icon Dale Earnhardt chased away some fans.

What is clear is that as the sport grew richer and more expensive (i.e. more corporate) and the drivers became more sophisticated, some of the original grassroots followers felt betrayed and stayed away from the tracks and, eventually, quit watching TV.

Count me among those who went from avid NASCAR fan to casual observer. I won’t be at this Sunday’s Daytona 500, an event I’ve attended at least 20 times. In fact, I won’t even being watching it on TV. I’ll be cruising in the Caribbean.

What first turned me off NASCAR was the team concept. I’m not naïve. I know back in the “good old days” Richard Petty had plenty of “friends” on the track. Petty Enterprises was well known for helping the independent teams with equipment and, in turn, they repaid Petty on the track, often getting in the way of Petty’s chief rivals.

But when the top owners started fielding two or more cars and those cars worked in concert, it bothered me. A lot. I’ll always remember the year when Bill Elliott, long passed his prime, appeared destined to win the Daytona 500. Elliott was battling with three cars all owned by Rick Hendricks. Near the end, Elliott’s draft partner backed off and Jeff Gordon’s was pushed to victory lane by a teammate.

I was furious.

Teammates became blockers on the track. It simply isn’t my idea of what racing should be. Again, I’m not talking right or wrong. Just different – and I don’t like it.

It also bothers me that, with few exceptions, today’s drivers don’t know how to turn a wrench. They’re drivers, period. The greats of my era – Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarbourgh and Dale Sr. to name a few – would pull onto pit road and tell their crew chiefs specifically what was wrong. They could have gone under the hood and fixed the problem themselves. Sometimes they did. They spent their weeks working on the car, not appearing at sponsor functions.

I liked that; I respected that.

And then there is the corporate thing that has impacted all of our major spectator sports. The rabid fan has been pushed to the “upper deck” to make move in the prime seats for corporate fan, who spends more time socializing and entertaining clients than watching the race.

It’s just the way it is. NASCAR has every right to do it its way. It turned a regional sport into a major attraction. I get that, but I also have every right not to care nearly as much as I once did.

I have absolutely no problem with anyone who aspires to such a high standard.

But when it comes to athletics compromise isn’t a dirty word. As Lou Holtz – or was it Bobby Bowden? –once said, “If good character won national championships, Army and Navy would hoist the trophy every year.”

I’m not suggesting Smith ignore character when signing free agents or drafting college players, but a dose of reality needs to be factored in the equation. I’d argue that any group of young men between the ages of 21 and 30 who have pockets full of money, plenty of free time and women seeking their attention will have more than its share of character issues.

Sadly, when it comes to playing in the NFL, talent is more important than helping little old ladies cross the street. Forty-yard dash times rank above visiting school children. Strength and quickness take precedent over being nice to fans and media.

Many of those who support Smith’s stance appreciate how his players represent our city. I’m all for that although I’ve always been confused by those who think a Jaguar player who misbehaves makes our city look bad.

Pro athletes don’t represent our city, or any city for the matter. They simply play for a team that is located where we live. The Cincinnati Bengals have a history of players getting into trouble with the law. Not once have I ever thought PacMan Jones’ antics, for example, meant Cincinnati was a bad place to live or the folks who lived there were a bunch of thugs.

I consider it a bonus when a city is identified with an athlete such as Peyton Manning or Tim Duncan.

All things equal, I much prefer it when athletes are both talented and good citizens. And, yes, there are plenty of them. The Jaguars have more than their share: Maurice Jones-Drew, Brad Meester, Montel Owens quickly come to mind.

And, in fairness to Smith, he knows this as well as anyone. He may not be as smart as he thinks he is, but he’s no dummy.

What’s my point? Simply this: With free agency about to start and the draft not that far off, I want Smith to find some wide receivers – and maybe a cornerback, a defensive end and an offensive tackle — who can play at a high level and not be all that concerned if they’ve been known to party too hard or tend to act like jerks on occasion.

Given a choice, I don’t want to take any of these players to meet my grandsons; I want them, for starters, to beat the hell out of the other teams in the AFC South.

What choice do they really have?

Imagine a rival school making a four-year commitment and your school not. Who do you think will have the advantage in recruiting?

It is, of course, the right thing to do, but you can be certain the coaches don’t like it even though you’ll seldom, if ever, hear them complain publicly.

Coaches like the current one-year scholarship for obvious if not honorable reasons. As it stands now it is a one-way street that favors the coaches. If an athlete is unhappy, he or she can transfer, but they must sit out one year. The coaches can correct their “mistakes” after one year by simply not renewing the scholarship. It is one of college athletics’ dirty little secrets about how many scholarship athletes are run off for not being as talented as they were evaluated or because of a change in coaches.

Major college football coaches will whine publicly about how four-year commitments can impact their 85-scholarship limit. They’ll tell you it puts them at a disadvantage if that number includes a handful of athletes who simply don’t measure up. Indeed, the coaches like a system where they aren’t punished for their mistakes. My advice is the coaches should be held accountable if they recruit athletes who prove to lack the talent, the motivation or the discipline to be all they can be. And schools should be accountable even if they change coaches.

It always has amazed me how coaches are convinced they need 85 players to be able to have a successful program. Think about it: 85 players means being four deep at nearly every position. Teams are more than four deep when you include “preferred walk-ons”.

Yes, I know injuries take a toll, but 85 is still a big number.

The best argument for 85 scholarships is it provides for young people with a free education, but we all know far too many of the football scholarships go to young men who have little interest in reading, writing and arithmetic.

I like winning. I love winning. I’m all for keeping score. I don’t believe everyone deserves a trophy for just participating.

But there is a limit to obsessing on winning and it seems most of us have gone way over the line. And I’m not just talking about the fans. Sure, winning the championship is the ultimate goal, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is a loser.

I bring this up because of something I read this weekend. Vito Stellino covers the NFL and the Jaguars for the Times-Union. He is a well respected reporter, and deservedly so. I’ve known him for years and appreciate his work.

In his Sunday “NFL Confidential” column Stellino wrote, in part, about New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick. Stellino is critical of Belichick, saying the days of one man serving as GM and coach as Belichick does are out of style. He points out the facts the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowel in seven years, twice losing in the big game.

Among his observations he wrote, “And now the team has slowly declined with Belichick calling all of the shots. All of those players except Brady are gone and he hasn’t done a good job of replacing them.

“He gathers a lot of draft picks and makes a lot of trades, but he doesn’t draft enough impact players.”

He also questions Belichick’s staff, pointing out such mistakes as the Pats having 12 players on the field and, as a result, losing a fumble recovery against the Giants in this year’s Super Bowl.

Stellino, of course, is not alone is criticizing the Patriots.

But have the Patriots really fallen that far? Have they fallen at all?

They have a 29-7 record for the last two seasons. That’s 29-7! No other NFL team comes close to matching that two-year record.

They’ve lost twice to the Giants in the Super Bowl. Four years ago New England lost a perfect season because of the greatest/luckiest catch in Super Bowl history. That’s the David Tyree catch that led to New York’s 17-14 victory. This year they lost 21-17 because Eli Manning made one of the greatest throws in Super Bowl history.

Indeed, Belichick and the Patriots deserve a Jethro Gibbs-type slap on the back of the head for their failure to hold fourth quarter leads against the Giants. Maybe they aren’t as awesome as they were during a run when they won three Super Bowls in four years (’01, ’02, ’04).

For the record, I’m no fan of Belichick the man, but to consider Belichick’s way as out of style – to say the Patriots have drafted poorly – to say they’ve done a poor job in free agency – to suggest they’ve failed to “reload” their roster since their Super Bowl-winning seasons – well, every team should wish for such failure.

Not even the greatest winners win all of the time, but that certainly doesn’t make them losers.

Was Wilt Chamberlain better than Bill Russell? Was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a better center than either one of them? Is Michael Jordan the greatest ever? Where do Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Julius Erving, Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson and Shaq O’Neal fit in? Do current players Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Tim Duncan belong in the debate?

Perhaps the most difficult part of the debate is trying to judge players from different eras. Would Wilt dominate today like he did in the 1960s? Would LeBron be even more incredible if he was playing against 1970s competition?

Of course we’ll never know, and that’s part of the fun.

Here are the five players I’d select as my team:

Chamberlain would be my center. Russell and Abdul-Jabbar won more titles, but no one dominated like Wilt. At 7-2, he was not just tall but a great athlete. The rules were changed because of him.

James and Bird are my forwards. LeBron is a freak athletically and he’s still improving. He may not be all that likeable, but this isn’t a personality contest. Bird wasn’t close as an athlete, but no one ever had more or better basketball skills than he had. Leaving off Pettit, Baylor, and Erving makes me question my own judgment.

Picking the guards is the most difficult. How can you leave off Jordan, perhaps the greatest of all-time? I can’t. My second guard is the Big O, Oscar Robertson. He averaged a triple-double ONE season! How would he do today? Don’t know, but he was the greatest of his era. Sure, I apologize to Magic, West, Kobe and even Bob Cousy, but, like I said, this isn’t an easy task.

Damn, I didn’t even mention Hakeem Olajuwon or Steve Nash or Karl Malone or John Stockton or Walt Frazier or . . . well, you understand the problem.

Not me. I love football season but I’m ready for a break. Like mama used to say, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Besides, I love some of the other seasons, too.

April, in fact, is my favorite sports month. It starts off with the NCAA Final Four. Then there’s the start of the Major League Baseball season and the Masters. The NFL draft is an added bonus.

I love February. There’s the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500. College basketball’s regular- season is in the stretch run. National signing day and pitchers and catchers reporting are bonuses. March ranks high on my list because of the NCAA basketball tournament (March Madness) and MLB’s spring training. June is a wonderful sports month because of the U.S. Open golf championship and the NBA Final – and, yeah, I do enjoy Wimbledon.

Worst month? Easily July. The British Open is the highlight and it’s played in the middle of the night.

Here’s my ranking of the sports months with their highlights:

1. April — (see above)

2. January — The NFL playoffs and the college football BCS games.

3. October – The World Series; NFL season starts taking shape; the colleges are in their conference schedules; NASCAR’s Chase.

4. March – (see above).

5. February – (see above)

6. November – College football rivalries; the NFL; NASCAR’s Chase.

7. December – NFL teams fighting to make playoffs; college conference championship games.

8. September – The start of the football season; MLB battle to make the playoffs.

9. June — (see above)

10. August – The PGA Championship; the PGA Tour “postseason”; football preseason practice.

11. May – The Players; NBA playoffs.

12. July — Go on vacation.

Actor Adam Sandler was at an Indianapolis restaurant and surrounded by fans when Tim Tebow walked in. Within a matter of seconds Sandler was alone and Tebow was mobbed. Squeals could be heard. Camera phones were clicking so the moment would be saved.

Joe Montana, considered by many as the greatest quarterback of all-time and the owner of four Super Bowl rings, was making the rounds on Radio Row, pitching his cause and reliving his Super Bowl experiences, when Tim Tebow walked in. Within a matter of seconds Montana was being ignored as all of the attention turned to Tebow. Montana, in fact, was pushed and shoved as people tried to get closer to Tebow.

Tim Tebow is the NFL’s biggest celebrity. Hands down. End of argument. No debate.

The mystery for many is why? He’s accomplished very little as a professional athlete. He’s a reserved young man with a bit of an awe-shucks personalty.

I think I know the answer.

Tim Tebow is who and what we want in our professional athletes and other heroes. I think that’s true even for those of us who say we don’t have a problem with our look-at-me jock heroes beating their chests, fist pumping, dancing, clad in designer clothes and expensive jewelry, squiring beautiful women and surrounded by yes-men and other hangers-on.

The more humble, the meeker and the more plain-Joe he comes across, the more we love him and the more in awe of him we are.

He has that rare charisma that appeals to men and women, young and old, all races, rich and poor, athletes and fans.

The real beauty and attraction of Tim Tebow is he’s one of the few of us who doesn’t seem to understand what all of the hullabaloo is about.

Who’s not impressed with Tim Tebow?

Tim Tebow, that’s who, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Throughout the afternoon: “Enuf, enuf of the talk. Kick off the damn ball . . .”

On the Patriots’ first offensive play which resulted in a safety for the Giants: “Horrible call. You can’t call intentional grounding on a ball thrown down the middle of the field . . .”

At various times during the game:

“As usual, teams get conservative on offense in Super Bowls. This won’t be a shootout as many thought . . .”

“Where’s Gronk? His ankle injury has taken him out of Pats’ plan. That’s gonna bite ‘em . . .”

“Somebody tell Belichick game is indoors and he doesn’t need his hoodie . . .”

“Will Gabbert ever be able to make that throw? . . .

“Eli is elite and Brady is as good as ever . . .”

“Watching Giants tells me the regular season means one thing: Getting in playoffs, period. Record doesn’t matter . . .”

“Giants getting lucky. Fumbles bouncing their way . . .”

Halftime: “Madonna? You kiddin’ me? Where’s the bathroom? . . .”

On Manning’s pass to Mario Manningham on winning drive: “Good catch, but a great, great, great, great throw . . .”

On Ahmad Bradshaw scoring the winning TD instead of taking a knee at the 1: “Selfish or dumb or both . . .”

On Wes Welker not making catch late in game: “Woulda been great catch. Blame Brady for throwing behind wide open Wes . . .”

“Great drama, great game . . .”

“Analysts who question future of Pats, Brady, Belichick sound stupid. Team went 15-4 and came within inches of winning SB . . .”

“I’m happy for Coughlin, Good man, outstanding coach . . .

“I wish Giants would quit saying this win is for the fans. Of course that bull—-! . . .”

“Great year for NFL. Maybe there should be a lockout every year . . .”

Uncle Dave wants to help make you the smartest person at your Super Bowl party.

While all of your friends – particularly THAT guy who thinks he knows everything there is to know about football – are talking about Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin, about Tom Brady and Eli Manning, about Jean Pierre-Paul and Vince Wilfork, about Wes Welker and Victor Cruz, about Rob Gronkowski’s injured left ankle and about the Giants’ pass rush, I’m going to give you some info that very well could make you look like a genius. Well, at least like a really in-the-know guy.

Super Bowl history is filled with unlikely heroes and goats. Is there a bigger unlikely hero than Giants wide receiver David Tyree, who made the circus catch in Super Bowl XLII (42 for those of you not up on your Roman numerals) that doomed the Patriots to defeat?

Take notes and remember these names.

Zack DeOssie is a fourth year pro out of Brown who is the Giants’ long snapper. His Patriots’ counterpart is Danny Aiken, a rookie out of Virginia.

Looking for an unlikely wide receiver hero? Remember the names of the Giants’ Ramses Barden, a third-year pro out of Cal Poly/SLO, and rookie Jerrel Jernigan out of Troy. For New England, Tiquan Underwood – yeah the former Jaguar – only caught three balls this season, but the third-year pro out of Rutgers is a burner and could be used to stretch the field. Can’t you see Belichick putting in a special play for his fastest wideout?

The Patriots’ Antwaun Molden out of Eastern Kentucky is a veteran cornerback who’s been buried on the depth chart. Wouldn’t it make a wonderful story for Patriots’ fans if he’s forced into action and picks off a couple of Eli throws?

The Giants’ backup tight end, Bear Pascoe, could be an unlikely hero with a name no one would forget. The Fresno State alum did catch 12 passes during the regular season.

Who returns kicks for the Giants? That’d be Will Blackmon, a Boston College alumnus.

What if Eli goes down with an injury? His backup is veteran David Carr, a former No. 1 overall draft pick out of Fresno State who’s considered one of the biggest draft busts. He didn’t throw a pass this season.

You just never know who will rise to the occasion and fall on his face under the brightest of spotlights in sports. At least you are now armed some info that will impress even Mr. Smarty Pants.

Shahid Khan likes to make a splash. He’s made no secret of that since taking over as the owner of the Jaguars. Have you seen his $113 million yacht parked downtown?

In the splash department what would create a bigger wave than signing quarterback Peyton Manning as soon as he hits the free agent market, perhaps as soon as next week?

But that’s not all. I think Khan should go for a package deal, signing both Manning and veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who’s been one of Peyton’s favorite targets for nearly a decade.

The Colts, of course, have to release both Manning and Wayne, but that seems to be a formality. Can either really fit in the Colts’ rebuilding plans? Manning’s health issue also has to be resolved.

Obviously it is a long shot to sign either or both, but why not give it a shot? Offer them one-year deals loaded with incentives and options. I’m not suggesting giving them blanks checks, but make the offers generous.

Critics will line up and sarcastically ask, “Why would Manning or Wayne want to play in Jacksonville?”

My reply: Why not?

If Manning and Wayne can still play at or near the level they have throughout their careers, the Jaguars could be a serious Super Bowl contender. The Jaguars have a playoff-caliber defense. They have the NFL’s leading rusher in Maurice Jones-Drew. They have excellent special teams led by placekicker Josh Scobee. What they lacked last season was a passing game – both at quarterback and wide receiver.

Imagine Manning quarterbacking against defenses that have to play both the run and the pass? MJD led the league in rushing while facing defenses with eight men, sometimes nine, playing near the line of scrimmage.

This isn’t about getting rid of quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Everyone I know agrees he was thrown into the starting job too soon. The jury right now is divided about his future: franchise QB or bust? Why not let Gabbert sit, watch and learn from one of the best?

Nor does this mean the Jaguars shouldn’t pursue other and younger wide receivers in free agency. And they should still hope Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon is available with the seventh overall draft pick.

Signing Manning and Wayne would be the ultimate quick fix. The Jaguars have plenty of money under the salary cap they must spend. Quick turnarounds are common in the NFL. And, like I said, the Jaguars already have a lot of winning pieces in place.

The odds are against the Jaguars pulling this off. I understand that. But it definitely won’t happen unless Khan gives it a shot. He wants to make a big splash. Simply making an effort to sign them will excite many fans. If he pulls it off, it will be a tidal wave of excitement hitting our city.