February's latter fortnight has long been viewed as a fallow period for the American sports fan. The Super Bowl is over - in New England, talk has turned from Belichick and Brady to blizzards. Basketball is in its doldrums, as the NBA recovers from its All-Star Weekend hangover and college basketball is weeks away from March Madness. Baseball umpires are still a few weeks from bellowing, "Play ball!" in early March, and even then only for spring training games.