Imagine replaying the Super Bowl -- that's what Aussie footballers are doing

Can you imagine the Super Bowl ending in a tie, and having both teams replay the entire game a week later?

That's what's happening Down Under in the Australian Rules Football Grand Final, where last week's match between Collingwood and St. Kilda ended in a tie. League rules require not overtime but a completely brand new match. Players on both sides were in disbelief after last week's game, and while the prospect of a "replay" is hard for them to swallow, for viewers it makes for great theater.

Americans can watch the second title match on ESPN Friday night, with coverage starting on ESPN Classic at 9 p.m. Pacific and following in progress on ESPN2 at 10 p.m.

If you're not familiar with "footy," you're missing out on an exciting sport that mixes American football, rugby, soccer and hockey (here's a good primer and the video above shows a wide range of highlights from over the years, including some mad leaps, painful collisions and long-distance goals.

The athletes must have equal parts endurance, toughness and smarts. Refs call only brief stoppages of play with longer breaks between quarters, so the 18 players on each team covering a field roughly 2.5 times the size of an American football field must be in fantastic shape. And because there's lots of often violent contact, this is not a sport for sissies, where refs toss penalty flags right and left for the slightest infractions.

Give "footy" a try. And if you like it, be sure to toss ESPN a line and tell them you want more.

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"Rules of Deception"

Just finished Christopher Reich's "Rules of Deception" after weeks of snacking a few short chapters at a time.

That's not to say this isn't a page turner; it's just that finding time for books is a challenge these days. So I force myself to find 10-15 minutes of escape. I had no clue who Reich was until I stumbled across some "Rules of Deception" on some "best thrillers ever written" list.

"Rules of Deception" has a lot of things going for it:

• Tons of plot twists. I can't remember a thriller with so many surprising switchbacks.
• The chapters are short but stuffed with excitement, so it's easy for busy people to pick up at a moment's notice.
• Reich manages to find new turf to explore in a spy thriller genre that's been mined to death.
• The Kindle version is only $6.29.

If you're a fan of classic stuff like Forsythe and Ludlum, you'll find Reich right at home.