The sport of politics. The politics of sport.

Listening to the “John Riggins Show” on ESPN Radio, you can take it from the experts — ex-NFL players — that the Pro Bowl is becoming more and more of a snoozefest. Especially this year.

Former Washington Redskins Hall of Fame running back and Pro Bowler Riggins hosts the show, which today (like most sports-talk programs) continued to keep tabs on the unfolding non-drama that is the search for the next Redskins coach.

With the end of father figure Joe Gibbs’ disappointing tenure, the ‘Skins top picks for coach have all begged off the opportunity to work UNDER Dan Snyder, who for some misguided reason decided to put offensive and defensive coordinators in place, rather than letting whoever ultimately decides to walk into that situation to pick his people himself. SOMEONE has control issues.

Anyway, with the predictable post-season letdown — especially with the high-flying New England Patriots cut down to size in the Super Bowl — it’s hard to find much of a reason to watch the Pro Bowl, not that many of us usually do.

If we listen to Riggins, the whole Pro Bowl concept has run its course and needs to be reinvented. With no blitzing, no ability for players to go in motion, and a host of other rules that equate to an emasculated version of the game, “it’s not even football,” Riggins said. Hard to disagree.

The biggest “story” in Hawaii seems to be speculation about Chad Johnson’s future with the Cincinnati Bengals; and the biggest “glam draw” is Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens.

The remaining 2008 Pro Bowlers from the original Patriots cast are offensive linemen, not likely to generate much excitement — especially since they had trouble protecting their quarterback, Tom Brady, from the New York Giants’ rushing defense during the Super Bowl.

I think a lot more people wanted the Patriots to secure their historical 19-0 record than some realize, and a lot of those folks were looking forward to seeing Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss at the Pro Bowl. The dynamic duo, along with wideout Wes Welker – who many of us who have picked for MVP if the Pats had won the Big Game – helped the NFL make a lot of money this season.

For Pro Bowl organizers, the absence of the AFC team’s three biggest draws — Brady, Moss and San Diego Charger running back Ladainian Tomlinson (Welker was not included on the roster) – along with that of NFC star QB Brett Favre means a colossally bad return on investment.