As much of a football fan as I am, even I can't get myself interested to watch the Pro Bowl. After all of the usual talk about the lack of relevance for the game, I think it's time we try to focus on...

MAKING IT BETTER: The Pro Bowl

1. Import some CFL rules. If we're not going to have defense in the Pro Bowl, why not give the offense a chance to put up Arena-style scores? Unlimited motion would open up new possibilities for creative play calling, three downs to make a first would put more pressure on the offense to make yardage, and putting the defensive line a yard off the ball would help to open up the running game. Some would call it a travesty, but I would be happy if the Pro Bowl final score rivaled the NBA All Star Game final score.

2. Replace the game with skills competitions. About the only thing propping up all star games are skills competitions. Of the "Big 4" North American sports leagues, only the NFL doesn't have a skills competition. So let's add one, and instead of having it prop up an actual game, make the competition the actual focus of the weekend, allowing players to showcase what they do best.

Revive the Quarterback Challenge that used to be held in the off season. Have running backs and wideouts run an obstacle-type course to score a touchdown. Rig up a dummy for a hardest tackle contest. Have an open Punt, Pass and Kick competition. There are a number of options, and they'd all be more fun than watching guys go through the motions like they do in the actual game.

3. Combine it with other, non-football sports. I actually had this idea when reading Joe Posnanski's blog post about the game. He led off by talking about ABC's Wide World of Sports, and it got me to thinking that I'd watch the game if, say, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson had a best of five log rolling competition between the first and second periods. Or if you had a 10 lap ice motorcycle race at halftime involving all of the offensive linemen. Not sure where we'd get all that ice in Honolulu, but maybe rapid melting would only add to the fun.

4. Drop the conference split and embrace fantasy. It's rare to say that the NHL has trumped other leagues in something other than commissioner idiocy, but they nailed it when they allowed Nicklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal, the team captains, to have a fantasy draft to select teams.

This has obvious applications to the NFL, where fantasy interest is huge. Rather than use players, the two coaches could get together and draft their teams. They could even bring in fantasy experts as draft coaches. Make it even more fun by holding an auction draft so you have the subplots about players who feel snubbed because they were bought for $2. Then allow the coaches to trade players - even during the game.

5. Move the game to the third week in February. After two weeks of nothing but the drone of NBA, NHL and college hoops regular seasons, a football game, any football game, would be a welcome diversion. Moving it this late gives Super Bowl players a chance to play, allows injured players some more time to heal, and generally adds to whatever potential hype the league can muster for this thing.