(CNN) -- Football season is officially over. All 726 collegiate Bowl Games are in the books. The ink is dry on National Signing Day. And after a safety and ensuing punt officially closed the lights on the NFL season, sports lovers are left to ponder one extremely heavy-hearted question: "Now what?" With all due respect to the boys of summer, pigskin has shoved its way ahead of all other sports, using two heavily gloved hands to grab hold of the mantle as America's Pastime. But simply because football has taken a knee for a few months, that doesn't mean the average fan needs to go into hibernation. Here now, seven suitable substitutes to keep us all warm during the winter.
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Football season is over, but CNN's Jason Kurtz has your guide to reasonable substitutes
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Hockey's back after a 113-day lockout that cost the NHL 625 games and over half a season
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As for college basketball, Kurtz says to "expect the hardwood to heat up significantly"
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Michael Jordan will turn 50 on February 17 during the NBA's 62nd All-Star Weekend
After long labor standoff, @placeholder players finally back on ice