Let's take a quick trip back 20 years.
The 1987 NFL season was highlighted by the debut of ESPN's Sunday Night Football, a player's strike that cut the season short a week and included three games played with replacement players, and an MVP season for Denver's John Elway.
Unfortunately for Elway, though, he was upstaged in the Super Bowl by Doug Williams, who threw five touchdowns in the second quarter as the Redskins routed the Broncos 42-10.
It was a great moment for Williams, who played for many years with a woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise. Even as Williams flourished in that 1987 season in Washington, the Bucs still weren't very competitive, posting a 4-11 record. But Tampa Bay left that season on a positive note -- they had pushed their No. 1 overall draft pick into the starting quarterback role for six games and he held his own with an otherwise overmatched club, throwing five touchdown passes and running for another in his rookie campaign.
Two decades later -- Vinny Testaverde is still wearing an NFL uniform. Carolina signed Testaverde to come out of retirement for part of the season (although I don't think he pulled in quite as much as Roger Clemens), and with starting signalcaller Jake Delhomme out for the year and backup David Carr also banged up -- there's a good chance Testaverde, who will be 44 next month, will be under center on Sunday when the Panthers play at Arizona.
Testaverde has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 20 of his NFL seasons, a league record. And apparently Carolina is counting on him to extend that streak.
I don't wanna say this guy is old, but his Heisman Trophy is legally old enough to drink. He won the award in the same year (1986) that one member of his current wide receiving corps -- Dwayne Jarrett -- was born. In fact, he's been playing in the league for eight years longer than his team has been in existence. The Panthers will mark the seventh different NFL uniform for the ageless one.
How long will this last? Who knows. Clemens was hurt more than once in his half-season with the Yankees, and he hasn't been sacked 408 times in his career.
One thing is for certain: He'll be easy to root for, but on an underachieving Carolina club, he could be painful to watch.
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The celebrity picks:
Lance Burton, Monte Carlo headliner
(9-5-1)
Packers -3 vs. Redskins
Titans +2 1/2 at Buccaneers
Falcons +3 1/2 vs. Giants
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Anthony Crivello, star of "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular"
(6-7-2)
Jaguars -6 1/2 vs. Texans
Browns -5 vs. Dolphins
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
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Danny Gans, Mirage headliner
(7-6-2)
Eagles -3 at Jets
Falcons +3 1/2 vs. Giants
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
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Oscar Goodman, mayor of Las Vegas
(10-4-1)
Giants -3 1/2 at Falcons
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
Cardinals -4 vs. Panthers
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Hans Klok, Planet Hollywood headliner
(8-6-1)
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
Jets +3 vs. Eagles
Raiders +10 at Chargers
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Wayne Newton, "Mr. Las Vegas"
(3-9-3)
Chargers -10 vs. Raiders
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
Redskins +3 at Packers
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Penn & Teller, Rio headliners
(10-5)
Patriots -4 1/2 at Cowboys
Giants -3 1/2 at Falcons
Eagles -3 at Jets
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Rita Rudner, Harrah's headliner
(10-4-1)
Giants -3 1/2 at Falcons
Giants-Falcons under 43
Raiders-Chargers under 44