I always enjoyed playing with toy guns as a young kid; running around and taking out imaginary Commies in my small backyard in Jersey with a plastic AK-47 bought from Toys R Us was part of my childhood fun.

I have written before about, when I was younger, spending a copious amount of time collecting and trading baseball, football, basketball and hockey cards. I cannot even begin to fathom the exorbitant money I spent on those special pieces of cardboard.

The NFL draft is this weekend, and all 32 teams are furiously sifting through their notes and games tapes while reviewing their extensive, detailed draft boards.

Football always has been been my favorite sport. There is simply nothing like it.

Quarterbacks displaying poise in the pocket and connecting with swift-footed receivers on deep passes. Elusive running backs carving apart defenses with their fancy footwork. Offensive linemen utilizing their brute strength and power, driving defenders into the ground.

The NFL scouting combine recently concluded, and the hometown Atlanta Falcons got to learn a lot about prospects they might consider drafting in April.

Everybody seemingly has at least one item that brings back fond memories of their childhood. It may be an old toy, a movie or a book.

I love sports, especially football, but I have many other interests, one of which is music.

My days would be bland without music, the soundtrack of my life.

Kids usually have the most inquisitive minds, something that was recently brought to my attention once again.

The Fayette County School System hosted a two-day career fair for all the county’s eight-graders last week at the Heritage Christian Church in Peachtree City. It gave the students the opportunity to meet various professionals from a wide array of careers, including journalism.

The mother of all sporting events, the Super Bowl, is only two days away. Some pundits say the undefeated New England Patriots will win in a blowout; others feel the New York Giants will stun the Patriots.

May, you might have seen me at a local high school sporting event jotting down notes, snapping pictures and shooting video.

There is nothing like the NFL playoffs. The first two rounds have been exciting, with the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers pulling off big upsets, defeating the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts, respectively, and the undefeated New England Patriots’ march to the Super Bowl.

The divisional round of the playoffs will be played this weekend, and eight teams are vying to inch closer to the Super Bowl. I had an OK week with my first-round picks, going .500. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, .500 won’t cut it this week, especially since die-hard NFL fans throughout the country are impatiently waiting to read my wisdom (just kidding). Here are my predictions:

And now the fun begins for NFL fans.

The first round of the NFL playoffs starts tomorrow and Sunday, with four games scheduled: Washington at Seattle, Jacksonville at Pittsburgh, New York Giants at Tampa Bay and Tennessee at San Diego.

The regular season in the NFL is set to conclude, and that means all the teams staying home for the playoffs are already looking ahead to the NFL draft.

Christmas always has been my favorite holiday. The food, fun and time spent with my beloved family are the top three reasons I cherish Christmas.

Yet again, the Atlanta Falcons are looking for a new head coach.

And it comes as no surprise.

It perplexes me that Falcons owner Arthur Blank and general manager Rich McKay put their complete faith in Bobby Petrino, a man who has a history of not being forthright with those who have hired him.

Fantasy football is a national — and even international — phenomenon, a game that has an enormous following that has enveloped football and non-football fans alike.

There have been many great dancers in the history of music — Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Usher and Justin Timberlake, among others. It’s time to add another name to the list of distinguished dancers, Our Lady of Mercy principal Danny Dorsel.

Aside from Christmas, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. There is nothing like sharing a large feast with my immediate, loving family and watching football all day.

My mother always tells people that I was born with a baseball glove, hockey stick and basketball in my hands and a football helmet on my head. (It must have been a difficult birth.)

Most people I meet figure I read about sports quite often. Yes, that’s true. I spend an inordinate amount of time on the Internet reading about sports, especially the NFL. I thought I would share with you my favorite sports websites.

The baseball playoffs start tomorrow, and there appears to be no favorite to win it all. Football season, both pro and college, is in full swing. My question today is, which sport are you more apt to watch right now, baseball or football?

There were many exciting football games this past weekend, including Georgia's win on the road against Alabama, Florida holding on for a win over Mississippi and Fayette County beating Woodward Academy to remain the only undefeated team in the county, among others.

We're approaching another action-packed weekend of football, and there already have been many teams that have fallen below expectations: Auburn and Michigan in college, just to name two, and the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams, New York Jets and New York Giants, to name four.

There are some big football games being played this weekend. Tonight, the Whitewater-Fayette County and Starr's Mill-Creekside games will draw the most local interest. Tomorrow, Florida-Tennessee, Georgia Tech-Boston College and USC-Nebraska all should be interesting. Then Sunday, two of the best teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers, face each other in what should be the most exciting game of the weekend.

Wow! Last night featured two exciting football games: the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Both games came down to the wire, with Cincy and San Francisco pulling out victories.

The second week of college football season is this week, and the NFL season officially started last night. There are plenty of viewing options this weekend. What games will you be watching?

The Citizen's weekly football picks will be coming out online later this week, but we don't want to leave you, the readers, out. Anybody up for making football picks?

College football seasons starts tonight with LSU playing Mississippi State. Saturday is a big day for college football, featuring Georgia-Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech-Notre Dame and Tennessee-California, among other games.

The high school football regular season begins Friday, and every team in the area except for two will be playing. (The Starr's Mill-Cherokee and Fayette County-Mt. Zion games will be played on Saturday.)