Pundits have criticized the NFL for playing a regular-season pro football game to London this week. After seeing what a shambles the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins made of things Sunday, it's pretty clear whatever that was at Wembley Stadium, it wasn't a pro football game.

In fact, is there any way the Department of Homeland Security can just conveniently lose the Dolphins' passports and keep them from returning?

I suppose it's OK to send a winless team overseas, but I think there should be a requirement of at least one win in order to come back.

Instead of "Win or go home," this should be "Win or don't come back."

Apparently the NFL's sense of goodwill only goes so far. OK, London, you want a pro football game? We'll throw you this one. But don't you touch our Patriots and Colts. That's next week and we're keeping that one all to ourselves.

The hype can finally begin for the clash of the titans: the New England Patriots playing at Indianapolis against the Colts, the first time two undefeated teams with as many as seven wins each have played each other in the NFL.

CBS is televising it and the network's analysts wasted no time Sunday in weighing in on the enormity, the hugeness, the Don King-like colossalosity of this game.

Shannon Sharpe called it, "Two heavyweights knocking heads, just like we wanted. They both held serve. We have the matchup of the century."

Of course, the century is just seven years old, so maybe Shannon's hedging his bets a little bit there. And wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago we had the last matchup of the century, when the Patriots played the Dallas Cowboys?

CBS' Boomer Esiason said, "They (the Patriots) are unstoppable. This is the best offense the NFL has ever seen."

Certainly the Washington Redskins saw enough of it Sunday, losing 52-7. Deep inside Washington territory and leading 38-0, New England went for it on fourth down. Quarterback Tom Brady converted it and later scored on a keeper.

The Patriots don't just prove their point; they drive it senseless into the ground.

New England opened as a 3-point favorite and quickly moved to 5. But NBC's Cris Collinsworth said Sunday that's lowballing the Patriots.

"I think the Colts are going to be big underdogs at home," said Collinsworth. "If I were going to pick the Colts you'd have to give me a touchdown for me to even think about it and I still think I'd take the Patriots.

" A few weeks ago I made the statement This was the best team I've ever seen ever.' I stand by that statement."

Wow. The best ever ever? Now that's hype.

Maybe the best we've ever seen ever.

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Now a few moanings and groanings about the week just past:

• Well, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series — BUT WAIT! ALEX RODRIGUEZ HAS OPTED OUT OF HIS CONTRACT! NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!

Leave it to A-Rod, and even more so his evil weasel agent Scott Boras (that's what it says on his business card: "Scott Boras, Evil Weasel Agent"), to completely upstage the final game of the World Series on Sunday night by announcing that Rodriguez will leave the Yankees and become a free agent.

What was perfect were the rumors that perhaps the Red Sox would sign him. Sure, Boston, that'll work out great. Remember the last time you signed a Boras client who opted out of his deal? Fellow by the name of J.D. Drew?

• The Red Sox's sweep of the Colorado Rockies was complete, concise and clinical. In other words, very Patriots-like.

I'm beginning to think we should just stop having the World Series. The losing team has won just one game in the last four years. On top of that, the American League has won the World Series seven out of the last 10 years. As a National League fan, I'm once again heading into the winter gnashing my teeth.

• The Rockies' rollicking ride into the World Series was a lot of fun. Their 21-1 string was incredible, but reality hit hard. It was difficult to see how a team like that was going to experience anything but a Boston Massacre.

But Colorado's "Rocktober" is something its fans and the whole state will cherish for a long time. A National League championship still means something. I think.

• What, you thought USC would never have to settle for something like the Holiday or Sun bowl again?

True, the Trojans should never have lost to Stanford, but it's never easy to win at Oregon and the Ducks are the real deal. Considering the uncertainty USC has had at quarterback, it's not real surprising things have turned out the way they have.

So listen, Trojans. San Diego and El Paso love their bowl games and treat their teams like royalty. Things could be worse. You could have lost to Washington State. And Notre Dame. And Utah.

• Monday night's NFL game was all set to start at 5 p.m. instead of 5:30 in order to get a head start on Game 5 of the World Series. But then the Series ended in a sweep and ESPN said, "Never mind," and went back to 5:30. How annoying for the two teams and the fans in Denver who had tickets.

• It wasn't exactly like the Saints returning to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, but the Chargers playing in San Diego on Sunday had to provide a feeling of normalcy after a very trying week.

• The Lakers' season begins today and the Kobe Bryant silliness is just as rampant now as it was in June. Will the Lakers ever be about basketball again?

— Jim Carlisle is a staff writer for The Star. E-mail address: jcarlisle@VenturaCountyStar.com. In addition to his Tuesday columns, he also covers TV-Radio sports on Fridays. For more, please visit his blog at jimcarlislesports.blogspot.com.