Phil Sheridan's Latest Column Is Slightly Mis-Informed

There are some people that absolutely despite Phil Sheridan.  Personally, I think there are worse columnists in the Philadelphia sports media than him (*cough*cough*Jack McCaffery *cough*cough*), but the column he wrote after the Eagles loss to the Cardinals is by far and away one of the most ridiculous pieces of writing I have ever written.  Not that I am intentionally getting away from directly talking about the Eagles, okay, never mind, I am, I am intentionally getting away from directly talking about the Eagles second real all-round poor performance of the season, but as poor as the Eagles were today, this column from Phil Sheridan is worse.  After the jump, a FJM style breakdown (Sheridan's words in italics).

NFL Week 10 Live Blog

Week 10 already?  Wow.  Season flies when your team struggles.  Or something.

NFL Week 10 Schedule

So I guess I should have gotten this up before Thursday Night Football started, eh? (games I get are in bold; all times ET)

Thursday Night Football

Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers  8:20 (NFL Network - Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games

CBS games

Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Houston Texans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers  1:00 (CBS  - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)
Tennessee Titans vs. Carolina Panthers  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)
Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (CBS - Spero Dedes and Steve Beuerlein)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Seattle Seahawks  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

Fox early games

New Orleans Saints vs. Atlanta Falcons  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Darly Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
St. Louis Rams vs. Cleveland Browns  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SA: Laura Okmin)

Sunday Night Football

New England Patriots vs. New York Jets  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

NFC West: As Awful As Advertised

Here are some random facts and figures delineating how bad the NFC West is.

Of the 28 NFL teams outside the NFC West, 20 of them would be in 1st place if they played in the NFC West.

Net point differential (i.e. points scored - points against)
Rams: -18.
Seahawks: -66
49ers: -38
Cardinals: -125

The Arizona Cardinals are -125 in net points, and yet they are only 2 games out of 1st! The Carolina Panthers are -136 in net points, a league-wide laughing stock, and are all intents and purposes, are dead and buried for the year. Not to mention disgraced. Yet the Cardinals are 2 games out of 1st place.

No team has a winning record on the road. Hell, the best team in this department is the Rams and their road record is 2-4. That's only 33%. The Rams are alone in 1st in this department in the NFC West.

The Rams and Seahawks are tied for 1st place in the NFC West. They are each 5-6.

The teams each team in the NFC West has defeated and lost to this season.

St. Louis Rams
Wins: Redskins (5-6), Seahawks (5-6), Chargers (6-5), Panthers (1-10), Broncos (3-8)
Losses: Cardinals (3-8), Raiders (5-6), Lions (2-9), Buccaneers (7-4), 49ers (4-7), Falcons (9-2)
Teams beaten currently with a winning record: 1

Seattle Seahawks
Wins: 49ers (4-7), Chargers (6-5), Bears (8-3), Cardinals (3-8), Cardinals (3-8)
Losses: Broncos (3-8), Rams (5-6), Raiders (5-6), Giants (7-4), Saints (8-3), Chiefs (7-4)
Teams beaten currently with a winning record: 2

San Francisco 49ers
Wins: Raiders (5-6), Broncos (3-8), Rams (5-6), Cardinals (3-8)
Losses: Seahawks (5-6), Saints (8-3), Chiefs (7-4), Falcons (9-2), Eagles (7-4), Panthers (1-10), Buccaneers (7-4)
Teams beaten currently with a winning record: 0

Arizona Cardinals
Wins: Rams (5-6), Raiders (5-6), Saints (8-3)
Losses: Falcons (9-2), Chargers (6-5), Seahawks (5-6), Buccaneers (7-4), Vikings (4-7), Seahawks (5-6), Chiefs (7-4), 49ers (4-7).
Teams beaten currently with a winning record: 1

For comparison's sake, the Eagles have beaten 4 teams currently with a winning record (Jaguars, Falcons, Colts, Giants). In short, number of teams the Eagles have beaten with a winning record = the number of teams the entire NFC West has beaten with a winning record. Kind of pathetic on the part of the NFC West, eh? In order to make things fair, if the eventual NFC West "champion" loses by less than 30 in the wildcard round, it should really count as a win for said team.

I'd write more things about this terrible division, but alas, my stomach is really cramping. Excuse me while I go to the bathroom and drop an NFC West.

Eagles Turn A Scrapheap Linebacker Into A Starting Offensive Guard

I'm beginning to really like Howie Roseman. This is his 1st year as Eagles GM but he certainly knows what he is doing. At the very least, he is one bad ass wheeler and dealer. A couple of months ago, Howie Roseman dealt useless scrapheap linebacker Joe Mays to the Denver Broncos for RB J.J. Arrington with the condition that should Arrington be cut this season, the Broncos would compensate the Eagles with a 6th round draft pick. Earlier today, the Eagles cut J.J. Arrington. The Eagles then turned to the Cardinals, waved a 6th round draft pick in their face, and the Cardinals responded by giving us offensive guard Reggie Wells, who has been a solid offensive line starter for the Arizona Cardinals for the past 7 seasons but lost a starting job this pre-season to Alan Faneca.

The 6th round draft picks cancel each other out, J.J. Arrington was not good enough to make the team, and you are left with the Eagles swapping an at-best back-up linebacker for a starting offensive guard, something that the Eagles bloody well needed. All in all a very good trade for the Eagles. The only question now is what will become of the guy who was originally penciled in at that position, Stacy Andrews? Per Adam Schefter, Andrews is on the chopping block. And with the way Roseman has been dealing these past few months, I fully expect the Eagles to trade Stacy Andrews to the Jets for Darrelle Revis.*

*Slight hyperbole

NFL Playoffs Day 3 Live Blog

No trolling will be tolerated! I don't care if you are CC, someone who likes to taunt us for doing "play by play" or if you have complaints that you have a tiny thingy and want us to make it bigger. If you troll, THE BANHAMMER WILL BE DROPPED!

Now then, here's today's schedule.

#4 Arizona Cardinals @ #1 New Orleans Saints 4:30 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)

#6 Baltimore Ravens @ #1 Indianapolis Colts 8:15 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)

Defense Wins The Highest Scoring NFL Playoff Game In History

It truly is only fitting that defense would triumph in a game that ended up being the highest scoring game in the history of the NFL postseason.



What a finish to an incredibly exciting game. And yes, it really does figure that the game that is the highest scoring game in playoff history ends in a defensive play. Simply an amazing game (after 3 dubs, only one of which brought me joy, thank you Ravens) and while I'm sure it hurts to be a Packers fan, they have nothing to be ashamed of with that performance. They may no longer have Favre, but that franchise is in good hands with Aaron Rodgers and he is only going to get better in the coming years.

And if Packer fans are upset about some of the missed calls in that game (helmet-to-helmet on Rodgers the play before the game winning INT ruled a fumble for some bizarre reason as that ball never touched the ground and Rodgers arm was going forward), then I'm sure you will take great pleasure in this.



LOL! That's too funny!

Congrats again to the Cardinals on a well-deserved victory. They will be heading to New Orleans to take on the Saints in what could possibly be a game that once again breaks the record for highest scoring game in postseason history.

NFL Playoffs Day 2 Live Blog

Live blog over here. Here is your schedule for the day with broadcast information.

#6 Baltimore Ravens @ #3 New England Patriots 1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
#5 Green Bay Packers @ #4 Arizona Cardinals 4:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

Wildcard Preview Podcast

I have taken the liberties of setting up a podcast that went much longer than I thought it would previewing this weekend's wildcard games as well as a look ahead to who I think has the best chance of making the Super Bowl. There are some sound difficulties and odd sounds in parts so please just bare with them and don't get too frightened. My family was sleeping as I did this so even though I am alone with in my room with my door closed, sound waves carry in this house so I ended up whispering a bit and thus at times it is difficult to discern what I am saying.

Enjoy it anyway! And given the surprisingly strong built-in microphone in my computer and the fact that after all these years I have finally gotten a 21st century cell phone, maybe next time I can call some of you and get your thoughts via phone. It would work. After all, I'm pretty sure every twitch I had in the past 20 minutes got picked up.

So sit back, relax, bare through the random sounds, especially at the beginning when it sounds like I'm drowning in a toilet, and enjoy JFein's exclusive wildcard preview podcast!

Episode 4

JFein's Wildcard Preview Podcast

E.J. Henderson May Not Be Human

You can never fully trust the word of a doctor commenting on the injury of someone that he has never seen or evaluated, but if what Dr. David Thorson says is true, then we may be seeing E.J. Henderson back by training camp. No, that's not in a wheelchair maybe walking and saying hi to his old teammates back, I'm talking about putting on pads and helmet and actually hitting people back. Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

"Assuming everything is as it should be, my guess is he'll be participating in training camp," said David Thorson, a physician who works with the St. Paul Saints, Twin Cities Marathon and the U.S. ski team. "The bone heals fast, and he's a healthy guy."

Thorson said the femur — the longest and strongest bone in the body — should heal in six to eight weeks and that Henderson could resume running in eight to 12 weeks.

Athletes, though, typically need about nine months to fully recover from the fractured femur.

"There's a physical recovery and a psychological recovery," Thorson said. "Sometimes, the psychological takes longer."

Thorson said he has worked with six professional athletes — most of them skiers — who suffered fractured femurs and all of them returned to competition the next season. Thorson noted that skiers put much more stress on the leg than a football player because of the centrifugal force.

"Every athlete I've had was competing at a high level after (successful surgery) and competing at a high level a year later," Thorson said. " "They're not 100 percent back, but they're back doing what they need to do."

Thorson watched the Vikings' 30-17 loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals and saw Henderson's injury.


Like many fans and teammates, Thorson was horrified by the unnatural bend of Henderson's left leg.

"I said this isn't good the way the knee went," Thorson said.

But after learning that Henderson had a fractured femur, Thorson said the player should feel fortunate that he didn't suffer a serious knee injury.

"In some respects, this may be better news than other injuries," Thorson said. "(Major knee injuries) can be more difficult to recover from."

Okay, that is disgusting on so many levels. And here I was thinking he would be lucky if he could ever walk right again.

While it is certainly good for the Vikings that Henderson will be back by training camp, him being done for the year certainly puts them in a bit of a bind defensively as Jared Allen cannot be playing 12 positions at once and the Williams can't be on the field for more than half the game. Yes, they really do spend 30 minutes of game time devouring cheeseburgers. That secondary is susceptible to the passing attack if Kurt Warner showed us anything at all on Sunday and the Vikings would be in big time trouble if they have to go against the Saints in the playoffs. Message to Andy Reid: just because a team is susceptible to the pass does not mean you can throw it on literally every play of the game!!! If you try to do that Andrew Walter Reid, Pat Williams will be picking off 30-yard deep balls in no time.

But going back to E.J. Henderson, if you have been living under a rock and have not seen this video yet, I would advise you to see it just so that you can appreciate how amazing it is that this guy can be back by training camp. Then again, if you are at all squeamish to odd contortions of the human leg, I would advise you to not to watch it and just take my word that this would be an incredible recovery.

2009 NFL Preview: Arizona Cardinals

By 49er16:

We have seven previews left before the start of the season. And frankly, I'm tired of doing these. So the NFC West and AFC West will get a little short change. But who really cares? There are only about three teams out west that will be a damn this season, so let's get this thing going.

More of the same: Even though the Cardinals reached the Super Bowl last season and there is a renewed interest in the team, the owner is still a complete idiot. Bill Bidwell didn't want to give Kurt Warner a raise, so Warner went to the 49ers for a deal. The thing is though, Warner didn't want to leave. He wants to play for Arizona, but because Bidwell is so cheap he almost chased away his franchise quarterback.

And like what happens always to Bidwell, the move blew up in his face. Warner talked with the 49ers thus driving up his price. So Bidwell had to give more money to Warner to get him resigned. The more that changes, the more that stays the same.

A running game?: Any team with Kurt Warner doesn't need to run the ball, but it would be nice. And that is exactly what Arizona thought when they used this year's first round draft choice to take running back Chris Wells. Wells and Tim Hightower are expected to run the ball more this season to take pressure off of the passing game.

The Line: The offensive line was the big reason why Arizona had the year they had. They are unheralded but efficient enough to give Warner enough time to make his throws. They allowed the 2nd fewest sacks per game in the league behind Tennessee. Levi Brown has improved in his three seasons in the league and Mike Gandy gives the line the veteran presence they need.

Departures: Like every Super Bowl team, there was a lot of departures in Arizona. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley accepted the Kansas City job. Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast followed Haley to Kansas City. Arizona will miss Haley's play calling and intensity on the sidelines. Also veteran defensive lineman Antonio Smith also left. His departure will hurt this team more than Haley's.

Smith anchored the defensive line that was vastly improved last season. Smith was a disruptive force on the line and was one of the locker room leaders. Smith will be the most missed in Arizona.

Schedule: Arizona isn't helped out by an early bye week. Arizona will play San Francisco, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis before their bye week. Most teams prefer their bye in the middle of the season. And early bye though hurts a team. If a team needs to rest and recover from early season injuries, but have already had their bye week, that doesn't help. Other than that though, Arizona's schedule is pretty soft. Their toughest road game is at New York against the Giants and at Tennessee. The rest of their toughest opponents have to travel to the desert.

Video: This is still an amazing play from an amazing Super Bowl.



Prediction: 8-8, 2nd NFC West. This is still the Seahawks division. And with Seattle recovering from last year's injuries and an improved receiving corps, it will once again become their division. Warner is just too inconsistent. He has a great year then he has a bad year. Plus loses on the defense will hurt this team in the long run.

The People At EA Sports Are Extra Mean This Year

The official announcement of the new Madden cover came along and it turns out that EA is changing things up a bit this year. There will not be a person on the Madden cover this year. Wait......what??? Well the reason being is for the first time ever, there will be 2 people on the Madden video game cover! And the poor, unfortunate jinxed souls are And those 2 people are.........(drumrolll).........Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald!



Congrats to Troy and Larry and I wish you both a quick and speedy recovery on your future torn ACLs!

Polamalu, Fitzgerald to share Madden cover (Russakoff Rules)

THE EAGLES HAVE ACTUALLY DONE IT!!!!

YES!!!! I begged and pleaded for them to do so but I never thought the day would actually come! At the price of a 1st and 3rd round draft pick, the Eagles have traded for Anquan Boldin! Let me repeat that, ANQUAN BOLDIN IS NOW AN EAGLE! Via CSN Philly.

Talks were numerous over the off-season, but Anquan Boldin, the disgruntled Arizona Cardinal wide receiver, has been traded to the Eagles for the 21st pick in this year's draft and an additional 3rd round pick.

Boldin, in his 6 seasons as a Cardinal, has a total of 502 receptions for 6,496 yards and a total of 40 touchdowns.

"I am really excited to be an Eagle", said Boldin this morning. "I look forward to working with Coach Reid and the Eagles organization and I hope that I can help bring a Super Bowl trophy to this city."

Let me just say it one more time, ANQUAN BOLDIN IS AN EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!! The Eagles have made numerous questionnable moves this offseason but this is by a mile one of the best moves they have made in recent memory. McNabb wanted a playmaker and he has one now. And with the albeit now somewhat faded prospect of the Eagles drafting Anquan's brother, D.J. Boldin in the draft, the possibilites are endless if they do. What was always considered a weakness of the Eagles has just become a major strength for them.

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eagles trade for Anquan Boldin (CSN Philly)

Update: I urge you all to click on the links. You'll find that they have some really interesting info on the trade. And even though they both say CSN Philly, they are 2 different articles! The one up top is the story which has really good information throughout, and the one on the bottom is a really good column on the trade.

Well, Tuesday Has Come And Gone

And Anquan Boldin is still without a contract. So if he's a man of his word, you know what that means, don't you. Anquan is going to demand a trade. That's what he said a few days ago on a radio show, now let's see if he follows through on his word. And if he does so, then the question becomes will the Eagles finally give their starting quarterback what he has always needed and deserved?

It may be February, but we've got some big time drama in Eagles country this week.

The Eagles Are The Frontrunners To Get The Unavailable Anquan Boldin

I'm seriously beginning to think that this saga won't go away until Anquan Boldin is either a). traded or b). the tradeline in October comes and goes. The good news, Philly fans (and Cardinal-haters): The Eagles are the frontrunners to trade for Anquan Boldin! The bad news: Anquan Boldin is not going to be traded. So, if Boldin is not available, what on earth makes the Eagles the frontrunners? Wouldn't the Cardinals then be the frontrunners to keep him. Sigh...here's the article from ALL THINGS PHILLY SPORTS.

Two reports have come out in recent days regarding Anquan Boldin and the Eagles continuing search for a top wide receiver. The reports aren't earth-shattering, it's the typical information and misinformation we have been hearing all along.

The first report is encouraging to Birds fans. According to John Clayton of ESPN, the Eagles are the frontrunners to acquire Anquan Boldin with the Giants the next team in line. Clayton believes it would take a 1st and 3rd rounder to get Boldin, certainly a reasonable price for the Eagles since they have that extra first round pick to dangle.

The second report is not as promising. According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Cardinals have no interest in trading Boldin. Boldin is under contract for 2 more years so Arizona doesn't feel any pressure to move him right now. Despite his requests for a trade, the Cards want to hold on to the disgruntled receiver, much like the Bengals held onto to Chad Johnson despite his many trade demands. Boldin may just have to wait it out and play for his measly 2.75 million next season. He won't have any leverage to leave town unless he holds out during training camp.

Does your head hurt yet? I guess it's pretty straight-forward what's going on here, but all of the reports that are flying out on this story are enough to make you stop and think, "what the hell is really going on here?"

There's certainly no lack of trying on the Eagles' part to get that big name receiver. Last off-season, they waved more money in front of Randy Moss than he ended up signing for with New England and the Eagles continously waved Lito Sheppard in front of the Cardinals in hopes of trading for Larry Fitzgerald. That, was, of course, when Lito was still considered to be a potential starting cornerback.

Now what's really interesting here is what would happen should the Eagles trade for Anquan Boldin. The Eagles have 2 1st round picks this year, surely they would have to give up one of them (and most likely as the article above mentioned, a later draft pick), which puts them in a tough bind. The Eagles have two pressing needs in the early part of the draft and that's running back and offensive tackle. The question becomes which pick would they give up? Personally, I'd rather them lose their 28th pick because I think they need to get Beanie Wells. There is a better chance, in my view, at least, of drafting a future Pro Bowl offensive lineman in the later stages of the draft than a running back. But we all know Andy Reid. He goes after those linemen early in the draft as if they were a Philly cheesesteak. We'll see what happens, but if the Eagles trade for Anquan Boldin (which would be great, no doubt about that), the odds that Beanie Wells becomes an Eagle decrease dramatically to slim to none, and I'm pretty sure slim just left town.

Friday Fun With The Arizona Cardinals

It seems as if the Cardinals are dominating the NFL headlines this Friday, even though the Super Bowl is over. I was initially going to post these as two separate items, but seeing as they are closely related, I'll condense them to one post. First off, we've got Kurt Warner talking trash to the Steelers, 5 days after the Super Bowl. From Yahoo.com.

""I think dynasty is such a hard word in this day and age because when you think of dynasty, you think of dominance over everybody else," Warner said. "Maybe dynasty in games won or titles won, but I think there's just great parity around this league."

As an example of the balance in the NFL today, Warner pointed to the start of the playoffs where he said no one had any idea who would be in the Super Bowl.

And many, if not everyone outside of Arizona, counted the Cardinals out.

"Yeah, they separated themselves and won the games and won the championship, but I look at dynasty different now," Warner said. "I don't know if there are any dynasties, or I think it's hard to come by.

"I think if they're going to be one, they're going to have to dominate a little bit more over the next couple years. But you can't take anything away from what they've done over the course of the last few and how well they played."

Sounds a bit like sour grapes for me. While they don't always win, the Steelers are almost always perennial contenders in the AFC and they are always in that playoff and AFC Championship picture. Do remember, this is a team that once made the playoffs with Tommy Maddox at quarterback. And while they don't have the most overall championships of any NFL team dating back to the pre-Super Bowl era (Green Bay Packers - 9), they still have had three coaches since 1969, and all three of them have won a Super Bowl.

And now for the more impactful news out of Arizona. It appears that offensive coordinator Tood Haley will not be returning to the desert next year. Instead, he has found a new home and a new job. May I introduce to you the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs! According to the sources at FoxSports.com

The Kansas City Chiefs' long road to finding a head coach has just about come to a close.

The Chiefs offered the position to Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley and he has accepted, FOXSports.com has learned. They are now trying to work out terms of a contract agreement.

Haley interviewed for the position earlier this week and a Cardinals player at the Pro Bowl told FOXSports.com Haley was scheduled to arrive in Honolulu for the Pro Bowl Thursday as a guest of Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald, but canceled at the last moment because of the Kansas City job.

That's definitley a huge blow to the Cardinals. He seemed like he was loved (in a non-creepy way, of course) by everyone in the locker room and the Cardinal offense will definitley miss his leadership. Best of luck to him in his new home, Kansas City, and he may need that luck as well. Todd Haley, meet your starting quarterback, Tyler Thigpen!

Unless AA has something up, I'll be live-blogging the Pro Bowl on Sunday. And yes, I know it's the Pro Bowl and few people care, but whenever Andy Reid is coaching a Pro Bowl, it's always guaranteed to be entertaining and worth the watch, even for non-Eagle fans. Reid is 1-2 in the Pro Bowl, with the one win coming in his latest attempt in 2004, where the NFC was down 25 and came back to win by a score of 55-52.

Warner hesitates to call Steelers a dynasty (Yahoo!)
Sources: Cards assistant tabbed to coach Chiefs (Fox Sports)

One For The (Other) Thumb

Well then, that was a fun little Super Bowl, wasn't it?

For what many people were saying would be a boring snoozefest, it turned out to be one of the most exhillerating finishes in Super Bowl history, all being capped off with one of, if not the greatest touchdown catch in Super Bowl history. Oh, and if I were a Cardinals fan I'd be a wee bit miffed at Terry McAulay. But first, courtesy of Awful Announcing and SSReporters here are a compilation of videos from the Super Bowl.

Tribute to the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 and the National Anthem (Awful Announcing)


James Harrison 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. (SSReporters)


Larry Fitzgerald's go-ahead touchdown catch (SSReporters)


Larry Fitzgerald's go-ahead touchdown catch with a special 30-seconds of porn interrupting! (Awful Announcing)


The Exciting Conclusion of Super Bowl XLIII including the Holmes TD catch and ensuing controversial finish (Awful Announcing)


What a game and a finish. But I must say, I just do not get how that last play is not reviewed. And yes I know that Al Michaels and ESPN said that the play was "reviewed", but hardly a minute of real time elapsed from the time of the Warner fumble to Big Ben taking a knee. There is no way they could have reviewed it that quick. And even if they did, how could looking at that play take a minute? It's at worst inconclusive and at best an incomplete pass. I tend to side with the latter. Having watched it several times, unless I'm seeing something that no one else is, I see Warner's arm moving forward with full possession of the ball. Plus keep in mind the physics of the play. Woodley came from the side and hit the front of the ball. How then, does the ball end up 5-yards down the field? The only logical explanation is that the ball had some forward momentum created by Warner's arm and shoulder beginning to move forward. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but something about that last play just does not sit-well with me. Now with 5-seconds left, a 50-yard hail mary is a very unlikely play, but with Warner's arm and Fitzgerald's height advantage over the Steelers secondary, with the perfect throw, you never know what kind of magic we could have seen. But alas, we'll never know.

Congrats to the Steelers for winning a fantastic Super Bowl. It was definitley a very entertaining game, and for me, a very scary game, because with less than 4-minutes left, the score was Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 16, the same score that I had predicted in my preview 24-hours before the game. Santonio Holmes' touchdown catch will be replayed over and over for years to come, much like the Tyree catch last year. Hopefully next year's game is just as exciting. Actually forget about excitement, I just hope the Eagles are in it (and win it)!

Update: Tomorrow I'll have a Keith Olbermann-esque special comment on the officating of this game. There's just no way that game should have ended like that.

Your Exclusive Super Bowl XLIII Preview

What: Super Bowl XLIII
Who: The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals
Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
When: Kickoff is at 6:28
What Channel: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, John Madden, Andrea Kremer, Alex Flanagan
Announcers Talkng Point of the Game: The Arizona Flippin' Cardinals are in the Super Bowl???
Weather Forecast: 62 Degrees, Partly Cloudy

Analysis: Well then, if you said at the beginning of the season that the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers would play each other in the Super Bowl you would have been labeled stockraving mad. Hell, if on New Years day you said that the Cardinals and the Steelers would be in the Super Bowl, you would have been called certifiably insane. But alas, that's what we got. It's the Cardinals and the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII!

Larry Fitzgerald has been on fire this post-season. He has set the record for most receiving yards in a post-season. He has made sensational play after sensational play just ripping through anything the opposing team's defense has thrown at them. So the question becomes, can the Pittsburgh defense contain Fitzgerald? If the answer is yes, the Steelers should have no problem winning this game, but containing Warner-to-Fitzgerald is so much easier said than done. Then again, if there's one defense in the NFL that is capable of such a feat, it's the #1 ranked defense in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The success of the Steelers' offense comes with the running game. Ben Roethlisberger is an efficient quarterback, if he is not passing it all the time. Which is why the Steelers cannot fall behind early in this one. The Cardinal defense has been picking balls off left and right this post-season, and if it becomes obvious passing situations, the Steelers will be in trouble.

Prediction: It should be a very entertaining game, to say the least. And one in which, quite frankly, I'm not quite sure what to expect. It's not like last year's Super Bowl where it had all the appeal the network would want to the causal fan. But to someone like me who is a diehard NFL fan, it presents an interesting matchup with a guaranteed historic outcome. Either Kurt Warner will be the first quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with 2 different teams or the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the first team in NFL history to win 6 Super Bowls. As much respect as I have for the Cardinals and the fact that I've picked against them 3 times and have been wrong all 3 times, I have to go with the latter of the historic events occuring. Pittsburgh 20, Arizona 16

NBC's Cast of Characters Tomorrow From Start To Finish

Believe it or not, we are only 1 day away from the showdown in Tampa.

And now let me introduce you to the cast that will be talking about all of this. Ladies and gentlemen, those that will be supplying us with over 9-hours of Super Bowl coverage on NBC.....

Bob Costas (Studio Host)
Al Michaels (Game Play-by-Play)
John Madden (Game Analyst)
Andrea Kremer (Sideline Repoter)
Alex Flanagan (Sideline Reporter)
Keith Olbermann (Studio co-host)
Dan Patrick (Studio co-host)
Cris Collinsworth (Studio co-host/studio analyst)
Tiki Barber (Studio Analyst)
Jerome Bettis (Studio Analyst)
Matt Millen (Guest Studio Analyst)
Mike Holmgren (Guest Studio Analyst)
Tony Dungy (Guest Studio Analyst)
Rodney Harrison (Guest Studio Analyst)
Peter King (Reporter)
Bob Neumeier (Reporter)
Tom Colicchio (Chef)
Jim Cantore (Weatherman)
Maria Bartiroma (Financial Update perosn)**
Matt Lauer (Today Show Host* - Conducting Live Interview with President Obama)
Al Roker (Today Show - Hosting Pregame coverage from the NBC Super Suite)
Meredith Viera (Today Show)
Ann Curry (Today Show)

And unless I develop different plans, I plan watching NBC's coverage from 9 AM to end of post-game coverage. Should be a fun day!

*He's the host of the Today Show but I can't find anything that says he will actually be hosting the Today show special.
**What a CNBC business news anchor with no sports experience is doing in a Super Bowl pre-game show is beyond me.

Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick discuss the Super Bowl Pre-Game Roster (MSNBC)
Super Bowl XLIII Viewing Guide (Awful Announcing)

The Gloves Have Officially Come Off Between the Cardinals and the Steelers

If there's one thing that offends a Pittsburgh Steeler fan, it's the other team desecrating the Terrible Towel. So naturally, if you're the Cardinals, you'd stay away from it? I mean, if you're the Cardinals and you're the underdog, you don't want to get the other team and their fan base angry at you, do you? Well, apparently the mayor of Phoenix and the Cardinal mascot know nothing of this. I, now present to you, the turning point of Super Bowl XLIII


Gotta love that little "look at the Tennessee Titans" at the end. Can't you tell this is a video from Pittsburgh's local NBC affiliate?

And while it all seemed to be in good fun and no disrespect was intended, don't be surprised if the Steelers somehow try to use this as motivation.