Aaron Buerge canoodles with Helene Eksterowicz, the Lou Piniella of "The Bachelor" contestants.

What does now-ex-"Bachelor" Aaron's choice of Helene over Brooke (predicted here) mean as a sports analogy? It's drafting someone who can help you today, rather than betting on potential to be fulfilled. It's promoting the understated, longtime assistant, instead of finding a high-profile, less-successful outsider to coach your team. It's saying "no" to a lifetime in "The Alabama Room," and "yes" to rooting for Rutgers. 'Bama's bowl-ineligible anyway....

Hey, both women are hotties, but here's to Aaron picking a little more substance to go with the style, and to picking the better match for himself, rather than being blinded by blondeness.

Now that everyone's faith in a typical guy's judgment has been buoyed, we can all begin our eager anticipation for January's "Bachelorette" spin-off, starring Trista, runner-up of "Bachelor I" and friend of Page 2. Prediction: She (and the show) will be the first nationwide sensation of '03. For what's hot and what's passé this week, check out the list below:

What's Hot, What's Not this week
Category	Hot	Not
Your "gut" about the weekend's big college football game	Michigan (duh!)	Ohio State (get real)
Credibility to criticize Hootie	LPGA commish Ty Votaw	NY Times editorial board
Hypocrisy	Celebrating "The Stanford Band" anniversary	Chiding fans for rushing the field
Spurrier's QB carousel	Danny Wuerffel	Shane Matthews
Jinx	Soup endorsement	Magazine cover
Heisman bandwagon	Kliff Kingsbury	Ken Dorsey
Iverson	Unstoppable on-court	Feeling secure off-court
Bulls trade rumor	Jamal Crawford for Mike Dunleavy	Jay Williams for Mike Dunleavy
Big East bandwagon	Pittsburgh	Virginia Tech
Exotic Expos home base	Puerto Rico	Boston
Hubie Brown's impact	Losses, but they're close!	Wins, any wins
Cowboys go-to guy	Troy Hambrick	Emmitt Smith
Has Cubs' attention	Jim Thome	Dusty Baker
Arturo Gatti's boxing nightmare	Tyson comeback steals his PR	Upcoming rematch with Micky Ward
Business niche	Replacement goalposts	Out-of-season surfing gear
Lucky guy	Larry Walker	Matt Williams
Conventional wisdom on Shaq	Returning this week? Yeah, right	Back in the lineup soon!
Not just college-hoops hype	North Carolina's freshmen	Xavier's lofty ranking
If Marc Bulger wasn't injured ...	Mike Martz is an idiot	Commend Mike Martz for his loyalty
NBA surprise	Really big men (Bradley, Yao)	New Orleans already bored
U.S. Olympic hoops hopeful	Stackhouse (who really wants to play)	Shaq (who really doesn't)
Weekend flick	"Die Another Day"	"Friday After Next." Ruining a great legacy. (The classic, first "Friday.")

Dan Shanoff is a columnist for Page 2. His "What's Hot, What's Not" trend-spotting list appears Thursdays. Got inside scoop on an up-and-coming trend? Want to declare something passé? Send this glimpse of your hipness to hotnotlist@yahoo.com.