Friday: Some thoughts on the Super Bowl, etc.
SUPER BOWL RAMBLINGS: The past week has been a wonderful example of what happens when the hype goes wrong.
The days leading up to the Super Bowl typically serve as a celebration of America’s favorite game. Everyone’s profiled in the media, from stars to scrubs to their extended families. Old heroes reminisce on radio row. Each angle of the game is dissected.
The oft-mocked routine can get tedious, but at least it’s comfortable. We all understand that it’s just what our country does.
The past seven days have been different, though. Consider the cannonade of negative stories the NFL has faced during the leadup to the big game:
-On Sunday, they played a Pro Bowl before the backdrop of the possibility that it could be the last one ever staged, given the sorry effort players expend in the showcase.
-With Junior Seau’s suicide still lingering in the news, the President of the United States questioned whether he would let his son (if he had one) play football given the inherent dangers.
-Media day was dominated by Ray Lewis – supposedly the darling of this game as he prepares for retirement after 17 seasons – denying a Sports Illustrated report that he used products that included banned performance enhancers. Good-bye, “red-dog blitz.” Hello, “deer-antler spray.”
-Commissioner Roger Goodell has been persona non grata in the host city of New Orleans, where residents still stew over his handling of the Saints’ bounty scandal.
-Midweek, 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver inexplicably went on the radio and unleashed a diatribe about the potential of homosexuals in the league (though he apologized yesterday).
Wow. Given all this, are you ready for some football?
I am. And the reason I am is simple: Of all the Super Bowl traditions that have changed, the best has been the quality of the games themselves.
Think about it. From 1980-97, a whopping 15 of the 18 Super Bowls were decided by double digits. Outcomes were decided by halftime. Scores such as 52-17 and 42-10 became expected.
Does anybody expect that Sunday night? Probably not, given that four of the past five Super Bowls have been decided by six points or fewer. The Vegas spread is San Francisco by 3.5, and to lay those points, you have to believe that a rookie quarterback is going to have a big night.
At long last, the game itself becomes the story. I’ll take the Ravens and the points, counting on another close one. Who do you like?
JUST MISSED: Phil Mickelson nearly becomes the sixth player to shoot 59 in an official PGA Tour event, as his final putt in the first round of the Phoenix Open lips out. You can see video of the putt here.
DEFYING THE ODDS: As Berman notes in his story today, Erick Green has continued to shine against the top three scoring defenses in the ACC. “I thought going to Virginia Tech, he would have a very nice career. But he’s developed into the leading scorer in the country. That’s a whole ‘nother level,” says Miami coach Jim Larranaga, who recruited Green while he was at George Mason. “When everybody’s attention is on you, you’re going to get every defender’s best effort. You’re getting every team’s best defender on the perimeter. It is very, very hard to continue to produce the way he has. It’s a remarkable accomplishment.
YOUNG AND EAGER: Andy has a nice blog post on new Tech receivers coach Aaron Moorehead, who, at 32, is the youngest member of the staff.
SAD NEWS: Snowmobile rider Caleb Moore, 25, dies from injuries sustained in a Jan. 24 crash in Aspen, marking the first death in the 18-year history of the X Games. I watched quite a few of those events while I was laid up; so many of them are terrifying.
THE SKINNY ON GUNS: With the gun control debate dominating the news, outdoors writer Mark Taylor offers a primer on firearms.
NICE ON ICE: San Jose beats Edmonton 3-2 in a shootout to improve to 7-0 and remain the only undefeated team in the NHL. The Caps, meanwhile, continue to struggle out of the gates, squandering a third period lead to fall at Toronto 3-2. Washington drops to 1-5-1 and is in last place in the Southeast.
OTHER STUFF: Packers receiver Donald Driver announces his retirement…Saint Louis upsets No. 9 Butler…Tomorrow’s hoops slates includes Hokies at UNC (noon, WDBJ), Duke at Florida State (2 p.m., ESPN) and Michigan at Indiana (9 p.m., ESPN).
IDENTIFY THE MOVIE
“I’ve got to concentrate…concentrate… concentrate… I’ve got to concentrate… concentrate… concentrate… Hello?… hello… hello… Echo… echo… echo… Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon… Manny Mota… Mota… Mota…”
February 1, 2013 - 8:06 AM
I expect the Super Bowl to be a slobber knocker and will be vastly disappointed if it turns into a rout. The Harbaughs brothers are going to have that “awkward moments” at Thanksgiving table when one of them win and the other gets the “LOOOOOOOOSER” jab for a year.
The deer-antler spray is just comical. I guess the saying “There’s a sucker born every minute” rings true after reading that SI article on the salesman who has been sued numerous of times and has been linked to giving Alabama those sprays (which makes perfect sense to me, given that the SEC is known as a cheating conference and low academic standards except at Vanderbilt, and I am sure that will change in time with the rise of Franklin).
I enjoyed the Nicky Satan jab from Franklin, so why does a coach feel the need to mumble an apology? Come on, that is what makes storylines so juicy, instead folks are so terrified of pissing off The Man that they will grovel at his feet and worship the sorched earth Saban walks on. After all, he is the next adopted son of Satan, next to coach K of Puke.
And Ron, I just dropped a big #rolltide in the toilet and had to light a match to kill the odor.
Should be a good game but I’ll take the Ravens and the points. One thing I’m not looking forward to is the continued talk about the Hairball brothers. We get it they are brothers and they look alike. Move on and play the game.
Movie is Airplane. One of the greatest movies of all time!
What, AMc, no reference to the Super Bowl commercials? I don’t expect a high scoring game from the Ravens, it might be possible from the 49ers. I’ll hope for a Ravens win.
Mickelson actually had a 58 in his grasp. He had an 18′ putt on his 17th hole that was dead center and stopped 2″, yes, one revolution short of dropping. The lip out at 9, his 18th hole, was more dramatic but the hole before was just as close. It was such a ‘Phil Day’, both for the highs and the wrenching, oh so close, shortfall.
Oh yeah, the commercials? Clydesdales rule, baby…
http://www.mlive.com/tv/index.ssf/2013/01/super_bowl_2013_commercials_bu.html
Phil would have been the sixth ot shoot 59. Geiberger, Beck, Duval, Guydois(check spelling), Appleby
Ravens by 10. Hope they get someone to sing that knows how to sing the national anthem. I’ll take a nap during the halftime show.
Thanks, joe. Fixed now. Not sure why I typed fifth initially.
CR–What’s the over-under on people getting hit in the groin in the Super Bowl commercials? Seems we’ve had a real run of slapstick attempts in the recent ads. Unfortunate. Beer companies usually come through, though.
Airplane it is. Nicely done.
O.G. was right, Airplane is an all-timer. Hate to be picky but the movie was incorrect. Borbon and Mota never played on the same team together. Mota did make the All-star team in ’73 but Pedro never was an all-star. Still a great movie though.
Even though I’m an O’s fan, don’t like the Ravens. Ray Lewis is a big reason why.
San Francisco = 28…………..Baltimore = 17
The 49′ers defense is better than most think and the Ravens won’t be able to contain San Fran’s QB -Colin Kaepernick
The game should be close. I’ll go with the Ravens and not just because I’m watching the game with a bunch of Ravens fans. Despite all the hype about Kaepernick. I don’t see a rookie QB winning the Super Bowl.
Airplane is a Top 10 all time commedy. “I pick a helluva day to quit smoking.” “Excuse me stewardess, I speak jive.”
Jay, if the Ravens defense gets a couple of licks on Kaepernick comparable to what they did against the Patriots, I’d say he’ll stay in that pocket and be contained just fine. The Ravens play one nasty brand of defense. If I was a betting man I’d have to take the Ravens and the points, though I really don’t like them much, or for that matter don’t like the 49ers much either. I’ll tune in because it’s the Super Bowl and usually the commercials are just as entertaining as the game, some years they’ve been the best part of the show.
Aaron, I watched a few minutes of the X-Games myself last weekend and caught some of the snow mobile competition, I think it was called freestyle racing…two machines racing against each other and at the same time doing tricks during the race. The whole time I was thinking where do these guys get the nerve to even attempt those kind of manuevers? Scary damn stuff and now we have an unfortunate example of just how dangerous it really is.
Lefty shoots a freaking 59 and everybody acts like he choked or something. To shoot that kind of number is amazing, the fact that he’s only the sixth guy to do it in all the PGA rounds ever played attests to that. On my best day on the course I’d have to quit on about the 10th hole to even come close to that.
My bad, Phil NEARLY shoots 59….what a loser!
I’m sure he was pretty content with 60 though.
The Ravens remind me of last year’s Giants who peaked at exactly the right time. But I think both these teams are better than last year’s and I give the 49ers a 3 point edge.
It seems every super bowl has a hype angle to it and when the Ravens won I was afraid it was all going to be about Lewis’ last game. So I don’t mind that it was replaced by the Harbaugh brother thing, which I think is very unique. Saw a special on them and their father. Interesting family, very intense, Jim much more so than John.
The comparative stats of Kaepernick and Smith are very interesting. Through the end of the last regular season game they had both attempted the exact same number of passes and Kaepernick finished with a 98.3 passer rating and Smith a rating of 104.1. Of course the K man is freakishly fast for a big guy and had 413 rushing yds. to Smith’s 132. Also, the K man’s postseason passer rating is over 105. It’s interesting to note that with the exception of one year, Smith’s passer rating has improved each of his eight years. I understand he’ll likely go to the Chiefs who need him very badly.
X Games are the scariest thing in sports to me. Last year Sarah Burke killed herself in a halfpipe practice leading up to them, then the snowmobile accident this year. I can’t imagine how ESPN isn’t opening themselves up to huge liability here, if the NFL is somehow liable for head injuries
#10/11 Hd, I’ve not seen or heard anyone calling Phil a loser for lipping out a putt on the 18th hole. I have seen hundreds of golf fans saying they wished he holed it. If anyone took the time to watch the video of both of his last two holes, they be shaking their heads at how Phil was justthisclose to setting or tying the all time record on tour. That is what everyone is discussing, how close he came. Phil expressed disappointment at not breaking 60 in his post-round press conference, and readily discussed how much he wanted to break 60. Watch the clips, then you’ll see…
From watching the highlights it seemed Phil was really dialed in. Often in these very low rounds it’s because the putter gets hot and the guy’s draining them fro 30 to 50 ft. Yesterday his irons were dead on. Much has been made of Phil’s putting woes though it seems to me his approach shots of late have been off, and that really is the hallmark of his game. These low rounds are rarely followed by another so I’m fully expecting a more routine score from him today.
“I picked a helluva day to quit sniffing glue. “.
By coincidence, the only part of the X-Games that I saw was the actual run which ended in Moore’s mishap–rerun many many times. When he got up and was led off, I mistakenly figured they had determined the extent of his injuries. Very sad occurrence, and I also wonder about ESPN’s culpability. They used all of yesterday’s OTL show to discuss it. Don’t know if that type of event is just too dangerous for a corporate entity like ESPN to offer in its owned competition.
Hoping for a Niners win, and I think the spread is about right. Have seen a LOT of national media picking Ravens, though. SI the leading one there.
Aaron remember you are supposed to blame making a mistake on the bog-number of 59ers-on your surgery. Glad Phil got a little of Ray Lewis` air time yesterday. A real family guy. Well, I guess Ray is too-4 or 5 of them to be almost exact. Airplane is funny but I have to go with Planes, Trains and Automobiles as my favorite comedy movie. “Gee, I never saw anybody picked up by their cohonnies before.” Perch-from yesterday-I am sure a lot of us liked Seth especially the students to whom he gave a chalk talk before every game. Getting the students involved again plus no hint of NCAA violations or riding around with a cheerleader on a motorcycle should have at leas gotten him a well done or thank you. May be wrong but I heard nothing.I`m all for JJ but I think Weaver has wrecked the program for a while.
How can anyone comment on Phil other than to say “Wow”. A saturday bowler dreams of 300 and it is possible and does happen. A saturday golfer can dream of 80 and be pleased with 90. I have no idea what a pro’s lifetime best ever might be. 60 is incomprehensible, even if he played the easiest course in town with pals.
It would be really cool if someone, anyone, could actually provide PROOF that Ray Lewis has become an all around good guy. Considering his past I consider celebrating him to be the KNOWING equivalent of celebrating Te’o's girlfriend.
I have never really understood extreme sports. It is easy enough to mess yourself up playing regular sports. I saw a guy break his neck, literally, doing flips off the snowboard jump at Copper Mountain about a decade ago. Not a pleasant memory. I laugh about some of my own sports accidents (I got knocked off a cliff by a runaway skiier in Switzerland once – a great story when my kids and friend who saw it tell the tale) but luckily escaped injury – even when I should not have. I fully expect one of those highflying snowboarders to get killed on worldwide tv sometime. I think they are even crazier than the downhill racers or bobsledders.
I like excitement in my life but …..
I see the current gun debate as misguided from all sides. To me, what is at issue is the failure of our health system to handle the disturbed person. I can tell you from first hand knowledge that you can’t legally force someone you care about to get help after they are 18 and prqctically probably not after 14 or 15. I totally sympathize and empathize with parents who don’t know where to turn. It isn’t because they don’t know or don’t try.
The Caps are who? Hockey? What the heck is that?
I am rooting for the Ravens because John needs something to lord over Jim.
To celebrate Phil’s low score doesn’t mean that we can’t be exactly what he was – frustrated he didn’t drop that last putt. I know it’s difficult for some to comprehend, that everything isn’t only one layer deep, or one emotion. I saw many marvel at his accomplishment as I did, and I saw many who understand the game also wish his last putt would have dropped in so that he could have achieved something even more remarkable. It seems we’re supposed to pretend we didn’t wish that for him? Odd…
Context can be provided, as I said, by seeing just how close he was to the all time record. Anybody think Kobe Bryant could score 98 points in an NBA game and be a little disappointed he missed four 3 pt shots and five FT’s? Doesn’t mean he’s not happy, just means he knows he left some chips on the table. Phil knows a difference of an inch or two, twice, would have given him what he chased.
http://www.golfchannel.com/news/jason-sobel/mickelsons-almost-59-phoenix-open/
CR, good points on Phil’s 60. Two strokes from being in a category all by his lonesome. To a left handed hacker like me who will never break 80 in his life, that 60 is still very impressive.
#20 Hd, most ‘regular’ golfers can’t even imagine just how far the leap is to achieve the PGA level. I’ve talked to guys who were negative handicap amateurs, and they’ve spoken wide eyed about the challenge of trying to compete with the PGA guys.
Phil had two putts that were less than 2″ from dropping. Not short putts, LONG putts. He came so close. If he had missed those on the first two holes, few would mention them. Instead, he missed them on the last two holes. Everybody got to take the ride, and to see how close it became. It was a roller coaster. The ‘AWWW’ from the crowd was reflective of my original post. He came SOOOCLOSE.
Phil’s an unbelievably talented golfer. He can do things no other golfer tries. He succeeds because of that, and sometimes fails because of that. Witness Winged Foot US Open. Phil’s honest admission to his choices that day? – ‘I am such an idiot…’ Then think about his shot at the Masters, what, two years ago? Whenever it was he punched through the pines to the green? Both of those are so… ‘Phil’.
Forrest Gump could have been talking about Phil when he was eating his box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. You get a wondrous display, or are left wishing he was justalittlebitmoresuccessful. Sometimes on the same day.
What is the deal with Dan Marino fathering a love child? This was in the news yesterday and then all of a sudden it disappeared from the major news sites. Is this because of the conflict that would result with him being in the CBS news broadcast of the super bowl? It seems to be just as worthy a news story as the Culliver guy bashing the gays.
Oh the envy. As far as the Super Bowl goes, don’t care for either one of them, but I’ll go with the 49 bunch. Can’t take that Lewis. Makes me sick to look at the name.
And . . . Roll Tide!
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And Ron, I just dropped a big #rolltide in the toilet and had to light a match to kill the odor.
Comment by Trevor — February 1, 2013 @ 8:36 am
#23 thats class man
I LOVE watching Erick Green play. So smooth. He has just got to be an NBA first rounder. Wish we had more help for him.
#24 Zman, re: the needed assistance for Green – glad you now agree with what I said back before the season began. At that time, it made you angry because you thought I was being negative. It’s nice that you now understand my point made in the fall. There’s hope for you yet…
You ARE negative. Eddie can play as can Raines. We just can’t hit an open shot.
REALLY NEGATIVE.
Carolina has to go cold again.
Brown is having just a terrible game. He is better than that. At least I thought so. Barksdale’s out there to push people around.
At least he made 2 pressure FTs
Way too much standing around from about the 14th to 6th minute. Now who plays for the Bark?
Someone stop Brown before he shoots again!
OT. Oh my heart. Noe depth is really a problem.
Slippin’ away………. gloom
#26, Zman, you’re regressing. When I say that Eddie, Raines & Brown need to vastly improve their numbers to help Green – that doesn’t equate to me saying they can’t play, as you still wrongly assume. It means they need to play better consistently or else the Hokies will be a one man team. Like we see. Keep studying, keep reading what Johnson says, maybe you’ll get it some day.
We’re just now into the tough part of the schedule. Remember me repeating this fall – It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon? Think about it, maybe you’ll begin to understand. Hopefully we can improve in the remainder of the season, because we’re going to need to do so. Next game is Thursday…
49ers by 14, they are too strong and balanced for Baltimore to contain them. Flacco will have to play a nearly perfect game and it won’t come together for him tomorrow. Also,Kapernick can throw the football well and that will be the other difference in the game. 28-14
Just got back from the game. Why on earth when your playing with the last shot do you not drive to the lane?? Terrible time to try a fade away jumper.
#34 – CR. You are not getting my Bud Lite. Stop trying to make me an ally. Its more fun to ardently disagree. Besides, you are a glass never near full enough type of guy.