I was listening to Westwood One’s radio coverage of the Super Bowl with Boomer Esiason doing the color analysis. Nick Collins intercepted a pass from Ben Roethlisberger and returned it for a touchdown, which prompted Boomer to describe Collins’s role on the play as “playing a deep center field . . . like Bernie Williams.”

Like Bernie Williams? The former Yankees outfielder who retired in 2006?

Not Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner who would play center for the current Yankees. Or Milwaukee Brewers center fielders Carlos Gomez or Mike Cameron or Marquis Grissom or Scott Podsednik or Hall of Famer Robin Yount or Gorman Thomas. Or Andrew McCutchen or Andy Van Slyke or a Pirates outfielder past or present. Or even Josh Hamilton or another outfielder from the Texas Rangers who play in the same city that the Super Bowl was played in.

Nope, Boomer went for the timely, relevant Bernie Williams.

One more thing, on a more serious note… I’ve often heard a safety playing deep in the middle of the field described by commentators as playing “center field.” Is there no football term to describe this? Football has a complete language around it, but for a deep safety they go to a baseball term?