04:22 PM EST on Friday, December 26, 2003

Do you get the impression that Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey's taste in decorating is closer to Snoopy's than Martha Stewart's after Laffey welcomed a flock of pink flamingos to a City Hall holiday display?

I suspect that Stewart would have intervened for taste reasons alone if the ACLU, complaining about the religious symbols also displayed on government property, hadn't stepped in for constitutional reasons.

Of course, it was inevitable that two of Rhode Island's toughest pit bulls -- Laffey and Rhode Island ACLU executive director Steven Brown -- would square off sooner or later.

Laffey's never-back-down nature raises this question: If Cranston were to follow Pawtucket's lead and ban pit bulls, would Laffey be banned from his own city?

The Laffey question aside, the Pawtucket pit bull ban raises some interesting possibilities. The law bans new pit bulls as of Jan. 1 and places restrictions on the city's existing pit bulls. It requires pit bull owners to license their dogs and have the license number tattooed on the dog's inner lip.

Doesn't that also put some severe restrictions on the careers of Rhode Island's tattoo artists? How does one make a living after his fingers have been bitten off?

I'm guessing that most of the Red Sox fans who still think Alex Rodriguez is coming to Boston also believe in Santa Claus.

Don't worry, Sox fans, A-Rod will be here before the Easter Bunny arrives.

And the Tooth Fairy will put a World Series ring under your pillow next fall.

Joe Namath, the former star quarterback for the New York Jets, is still throwing passes at age 60.

Now serving as a goodwill ambassador for his former team, Namath went overboard Saturday when he twice told ESPN reporter Suzy Kolber that he wanted to kiss her -- on live TV.

Namath's attempts may have been errant, but they were still better than some of the passes thrown that night by Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who was intercepted five times by the New England Patriots.

Namath acknowledged that he was drinking before the game, that he was "full of some Christmas cheer, certainly too much," according to USA Today.

Broadway Joe likes to party? Maybe that explains some of the fur coats and other wild outfits Namath wore during his playing days.

I'm thinking Joe deserves a little slack (which doesn't mean we can't make fun of him). After all, what guy hasn't made a fool of himself in front of a woman by the time he's 21, never mind 60? Fortunately, the rest of us usually aren't also being watched by millions of other people.

Apparently, Kolber agrees. She later accepted an apology from Namath and was quoted saying she'd put the incident behind them. The problem is that Kolber's grace in letting Namath off the hook probably makes Namath really, really want to give her a kiss.

Company Christmas parties were apparently pretty dull for America's workers this year.

Newspapers were full of stories about the perils of company parties for both companies and their employees. Some stories quoted "experts" advising companies not to have parties or to host only alcohol-free parties. Others advised employees not to drink so they wouldn't risk getting drunk and saying or doing something stupid.

But what fun is the company party if at least one person doesn't get out of control and act like Broadway Joe?