The 2011 NFL Pro Bowl kicks off live from Hawaii today at 4pm pacific on FOX. The 49ers are represented by defensive end Justin Smith who is making his first career start in the Pro Bowl. Smith will be on what appears to be a 4-3 defensive line also featuring Julius Peppers and Jonathan Abraham on the outside and Smith and Jay Ratliff on the inside. Smith can play all over the line but is primarily a defensive end. It's nice that they worked him on to the roster in some fashion given his excellent play. Patrick Willis was also selected for the Pro Bowl but injuries are keeping him off the field today.

The NFL has received some huge ratings numbers this season and I'm kind of curious if it will carry over to the Pro Bowl. Most of the free world doesn't really pay much attention to the Pro Bowl, so I'm not holding my breath. I'd like to actually see a comparison of the NHL's ratings on Versus as compared to the NFL's on FOX. Network TV will generally beat cable, but I'd like to see how big the difference is for today. The NHL All Star Game is one of the more entertaining All Star Games because of the high scoring and quality of play. I'd say the NHL and NBA All Star Games are at the top for me, MLB's game is next and the Pro Bowl comes in last. I wish it was more fun to watch but it's just not easy to enjoy like the midseason games the other sports use.

Given all that, I'd say just feel free to use this as an open thread for discussing whatever you want. Wanna talk about your plays for February? Wanna talk about what you're having for dinner tonight? Want to discuss the latest movie you saw? Go to town. For my own random conversation starter, I actually saw Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time last night. I went to an 11:55pm showing at Clay Theater on Fillmore here in San Francisco. Talk about an interesting experience....