With the Patriots kicking off their 2004 season and the Red Sox in the heat of a pennant race, this is a very exciting time for Boston sports fans. But there are still some humorous things going on in the Boston sports scene. It would be too easy, and boring, to comment about the wonderful things going on in Boston right now or my expectation of the Red Sox's once-and-for-all triumph over the Yankees. Instead, I am going to pay attention to the funnier and more interesting aspects of Boston sports at the moment. Here is my top-ten list:

No. 10: Has anyone noticed that the Red Sox clubhouse looks like a barber shop with hundreds of different hair styles, ranging from Trot Nixon's Mohawk to Bronson Arroyo's newly designed braids?

And of course there's Johnny Damon's all-too-famous caveman look that has been the subject of jokes in New England households, offices and dorms for the past six months.

It is no wonder that the Sox clubhouse is being labeled "Boston's hair club for men."

No. 9: The "Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning" match-up for the NFL season-opener last Thursday at Gillette Stadium was hyped more than an Ali vs. Frasier bout. It's certainly an intriguing match-up, but one quarterback has never even made it to a Super Bowl, while the other has played just three full years in the NFL.

No. 8: Is it me, or did the first game of the NFL season get more hype than the same teams facing off in last season's AFC Championship game?

No. 7: Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and Sox Manager Terry Francona are now the biggest icons in New England since Paul Revere and Sam Adams.

It's funny how things work out, because around the Fourth of July, Francona was about as welcome in Boston as Michael Moore would be at a Bush family dinner.

No. 6: Can anyone explain the Celtics' trade scenario involving Gary Payton, Marcus Banks Chucky Atkins, Chris Mihm and the protected first-round pick? Does anyone seem to care?

No. 5: When one sits in the right field bleachers at Fenway Park and Damon and Gabe Kapler are playing right and center field respectively, fans are painfully reminded of that all-too-famous year, 1918.

No. 4: With the exception of third baseman Bill Mueller, the Red Sox infield went from the combination of Nomar Garciaparra, Todd Walker and Kevin Millar to the trio of Orlando Cabrera, Mark Bellhorn and Doug Mientkiewicz, and is somehow more productive.

No. 3: As great as Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek's second half has been, he is not on pace to get more than 80 runs batted in and 25 home runs.

Yet there is still buzz around the Hub that he deserves consideration for the American League MVP. David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez aside, wouldn't the seasons of players such as Gary Sheffield and Vladimir Guerrero make them more legitimate candidates for most valuable player? After all, Major League Baseball begins its season in April, not July.

No. 2: The last thing in the world Curt Schilling and the Red Sox needed was to be on the cover of the Sept. 13 issue of Sports Illustrated. Let's take a quick trip down memory lane. In March 2001, Nomar posed on the magazine's cover and nearly missed the entire 2001 season with a wrist injury. It's not funny at all that Schilling is on the cover, but it is something that needs to be mentioned.

No. 1: The Red Sox may or may not be the best team in baseball this season, but they do have the most enthusiastic and creative salutes to one another.

Ranging from Ramirez pointing two fingers at someone for making a nice play to his rather complicated hand shake with Cabrera, this team knows how to celebrate.

As I wrote earlier, there's no reason to mention about how great things are going for Boston sports right now, nor is there really any room for criticism.

Instead, these are just a few things to look back and laugh about come October, just in case there's any disappointment in Red Sox Nation.