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Tales From The London Sports World

(The author of the post just returned home after spending 2 whole nights in London.)

It does not need to be said but football (or as we dumb Americans call it, soccer) is the most popular sport in London. Rugby is also quite popular in the area, though nothing comes close to football. Though I spent the majority of time in London in the Boroughs of Westminster and London (yes, London has boroughs like NYC and yes, one of London's Boroughs is named London; as one can imagine, it is in the center of the city), where no football team is directly based, which made things quite interesting when shopping in souvenir stores because not one team's materials dominated the area. I obviously did not go into every souvenir/sports store in London, but those that I did go in did not seem to favor any one team over the other. The four teams most prominent were the EPL's 4 biggest teams: Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Arsenal. For some reason though, of those 4, I saw the least Liverpool items. Maybe it is because their English accents are ridiculously hard to understand. Or because no one outside their own fanbase likes them.

Regardless, I managed to pick up a Frank Lampard Chelsea jersey (I am wearing it now) for a very cheap price. Before the Philadelphia Union, I was never really into club soccer that much, just the international tournaments. Philadelphia had no team. I did not have any connection with any team at all. It was just something that I could not get into. But now I have found myself being drawn to club teams. Maybe it is just that it is coming off the World Cup. Maybe it is that I have been to several European cities now and am getting a better feel for the leagues over there. Maybe it is starting with the Union that now that I have one, I am finding more and more. Whatever the reason may be, at this point, my three favorite clubs are: Philadelphia Union, FC Barcelona, and Chelsea.

Aspeaking of FC Barcelona, I saw something in London that I never thought I would ever see in London: a Lionel Messi FC Barcelona jersey. Funny thing, though, there was something even stranger for London right next that: a Lionel Messi Argentina jersey. Yes, this is London, England I am talking about.

I was hoping to watch an EPL game while I was over there, but BBC was not showing any games when I was watching TV and for some reason the hotel TV could not pick up a signal from Sky Sports on Sunday.

Enough about soccer and onto a sport that I always wanted to know more about, but never saw an actual game of it until my time in London: cricket. Having been to Europe several times, I can safely say that baseball is not popular at all there. That being said, cricket is a pretty big sport overseas that shares some similarities with baseball. There are different forms of cricket and while the 5 day matches would be a little too much for me, a recently new brand of cricket caught my attention: Twenty20 cricket. One night when there was nothing going on, myself and My Brother The Vikings Fan were channel surfing and saw a cricket match on Sky Sports. Seeing as cricket is a sport that I wanted to know more about, I wanted to watch more of it. As things turned out, it was the championship match of the Friends Provident t20 Cricket league between Somerset and Hampshire. I only later found out that this is a cricket league in its first year, but the match was thoroughly intriguing for me with an incredibly wild finish.



I can't say for sure how popular this form of cricket is or how diehard cricket fans feel about cricket games lasting only 3 hours and 30 minutes (the approximate length of a twenty20 cricket match), but the match I saw was thoroughly entertaining. Also helping was the incredible closeness of the match and the wild finish.

Something that I was very curious about heading into London was the popularity of the now annual NFL game played at Wembley Stadium. Over here, I think it is seen as more of a pain in the neck than anything else, especially for the teams and the fans of those teams playing in that game. Over in London, it is actually a pretty big deal and is fairly popular among the London faithful. No one is ever going to mistake London for Green Bay, but the NFL's marketing attempts do seem to be working. The couple of people that I talked to about this do care when the NFL makes their yearly trip to London. It garners attention, it garners media, it garners publicity, etc. People in the USA may not like or care about the NFL's game in London, but Roger Goddell's attempt to gain international attention for the NFL seem to be working.

I was hoping to see a rugby match. Never got a chance. I was also hoping to drive past Stamford Bridge or Wembley Stadium. Never got there (though unbeknownst to me at the time, I did spend some time in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea which borders the Borough Hammersmith and Fulham; the site of Stamford Bridge).

Tim Tebow Officially Becomes Friar Tuck

As a kid I loved Robin Hood. I used to watch the animated movie "Robin Hood" all the time. If you remember any of the "Robin Hood" movies or folklore you will remember Friar Tuck. Friar Tuck is a man of the cloth who is one of Robin Hood's Merry Men. If you remember all of this, then you certainly will remember Friar Tuck's haircut. The good friar was bald on top with a rim of hair going around his head.

I bring this up because of what happened to Tim Tebow over the weekend. Tebow, who is wildly known as a religious man, was given a Friar Tuck haircut as a part of rookie hazing.

Tebow claims his teammates gave him a "Statue of Liberty" haircut. Whatever he wants to call it, I like it. I like it because it wasn't above him to be ridiculed with a haircut. His teammates wanted to haze him and he let them. Dez Bryant could take a lesson from Tebow.

(I'm Keith from Keith's Sports Journal. You can also follow me at KSJ49 on Twitter.)

20 Years Ago, Did Anyone Ever Think The Saints Would Get This Record?

Hard to believe that this record would ever come from the New Orleans Saints, but the Saints' offense and defense were not the only ones that showed up last night. It's all the citizens of New Orleans setting a record last night. Highest local rating for any football team for any game. Ever. Including the Super Bowl. From the New Orleans Saints website

In a just released study by the National Football League braodcasting department, New Orleans averaged an astounding 66.7 HH rating, 84 HH share (in other words--84% of those people with TVs IN USE in New Orleans were tuned into the Saints-Patriots game).

With 423,000 homes tuning into last night's 38-17 Saints win over the New England Patriots, the game set a new record for the market, surpassing week 8’s ESPN MNF game versus the Falcons.

JP Kirby tweeted the tidbit that that is the highest rating for any local market for any game ever. Simply incredible and it's certainly good to see the city of New Orleans rally around their Saints like that. How fun would it be to see a Colts-Saints 18-0 vs. 18-0 Super Bowl in Miami, of all places? Hey, with those schedules, it is certainly possible. And while it may seem like a boring playoffs with unbeaten teams winning out, just think of the drama and intensity when one of those teams get in a close game as we come down the stretch especially if that game is in the playoffs.

Week 12 Live Blog

is over at Keith's Sports Journal today. I'm still not sure of what my plans are for the morning and how I'm watching/listening to the game, but I will join you once I get in. Whenever that may be.

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

Here We Go Again

(Guest posted by 49ers16 from Keith's Sports Journal)

Oh crap, here we go again. Brett Favre is on an airplane headed to Minnesota. He's expected to sign a contract with the Vikings and begin practice by this afternoon. Of course this is Brett Favre and he could do a million things from now till the end of the day. Good luck Minnesota. We've seen this guy's act before. And good luck Brett, your going to need it for that Monday Night game in Green Bay.

Report: Favre is expected to sign with Vikings today (PFT)

Adventures in Bad Announcing, One From the Early 1980's

(Guest posted by James Craven from The O Files)

Long before there was Awful Announcing, there was "you had to be there to hear it."

On Sunday (7/26), the Phillies played the St. Louis Cardinals, winning 9-2. Jay Randolph announced the game on KSDK-TV back to St. Louis. Yes, the same KSDK that pre-empts NHL hockey games to do these Cardinals telecasts, thus pissing off those at 30 Rock. This is also done by WKYC-TV for Cleveland Indians games, but this week, that was avoided due to the fact they were in Seattle. That had become a running gag amongst us at AA and on live blogs about "Oh, they're pre-empted in St. Louis and Cleveland." But I digress.

Randolph had one memorable gaffe as a play-by-play man for NBC Sports, and it came in Philadelphia during a 1981 game against the Baltimore Colts. If you were born sometime after 1984, Bob Irsay screwed the Charm City by taking the franchise in the middle of the night to Indianapolis via Mayflower moving vans. Mikie McCormick, who was the Eagles coach before Dick vermeil took over, returned that afternoon at Veterans Stadium, and as the Iggles rang up another touchdown, Tony Franklin drilled the extra point, and Randolph intoned "It's G-O-D, Good!"

We've heard of the Second Coming, but at a football game?

Blame Peyton Manning and Chad Pennington

(Guest posted by James Craven of The O Files)

So, why are wondering that the Phillies and the Marlins are playing a four-game series that begins tonight (7/16) instad of a three game series tomorrow (7/17)? Simple, squatters' rights.

Let me explain. Last September when the baseball schedules came out, the Phillies and the Marlins were slated to have four off days following the All-Star Break. There were three games to have been played on September 21, 22 and 23 in Dolphin/Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins/Dolphin/LandShark Stadium/Park/Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Fast forward to April, and the release of the 2009 NFL Schedule. September 21: Indianapolis Colts at Maimi Dolphins. Ruh-roh. The Dolphins own the stadum, and forced the Marlins to move that game to tonight, citing eniment domain (they own the stadium). The Marlins for the moment are renters until 2012 when their new park opens at Little Havana on the site of the old Orange Bowl Stadium, and change their name to the Miami Marlins.

There's your answer.

NFL To Feature "Legacy Games" This Coming Season

IF there's one thing that has got me excited this year other than the high chances for another solid season from my Eagles is the fact that as has been well-documented in the past, it is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the NFL's once-biggest rival, the American Football League. And as we all know, after the initial Super Bowls, the NFL and the AFL merged together to form the modern-day NFL. To commemorate such, the former AFL teams that are in some way, shape, or form still in existence today, will be wearing their old jersies that they had in the 1960s for a game or 2 this coming season. Well, in a little new wrinkle that I am already really excited about, this will be done in what will be known as "legacy games", most of which will pit 2 former AFL teams against each other. So in other words, with both teams wearing alternate jersies, it will literally be like watching an AFL game from the 1960s! Talk about cool! And this all kicks off with the Hall of Fame Game on August 9. Here's your Legacy Game schedule (with added former team name, if such applies, in parenthesees).

August 9 (Hall of Fame Game): Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers)
September 14 (MNF): Buffalo Bills @ New England Patriots (Boston Patriots)
September 14 (MNF): San Diego Chargers @ Oakland Raiders
September 27: Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers) @ New York Jets (Titans of New York)
October 11: Dallas Cowboys @ Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans)
October 11: New England Patriots (Boston Patriots) @ Miami Dolphins
October 18: Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers) @ New England Patriots
October 19 (MNF): Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers
October 25: San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans)
October 25: New York Jets (Titans of New York) @ Oakland Raiders
November 1: Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets (Titans of New York)
November 15: Buffalo Bills @ Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers)
November 15: Kansas City Chiefs (Dallas Texans) @ Oakland Raiders
November 26 (Thanksgiving): Oakland Raiders @ Dallas Cowboys
November 29: Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
December 6 (SNF): New England Patriots (Boston Patriots) @ Miami Dolphins

Assuming this was planned in advance, this certainly does explain some of the rather odd choices of nationally televised games this year (i.e. the 2nd week 1 MNF game and the Cowboys Thanksgiving game). I love seeing teams wear old throwbacks (unless, of course, that team is the Eagles and they are looking like Team Sweden), so this should be a look of a lot of fun to look at, make jokes about, and enjoy!

NFL announces 2009 AFL Legacy Games (NFL.com)

2009 NFL Draft Day 2 Live Blog

Warning: No trolling will be allowed! I'm looking at you Nathan Brice and "Tyler" (a.k.a. the ubiquitous sports reporter who will surely be in Raido City Music Hall tomorrow).

As long as you're not a troll, feel free to leave comments and join in the fun!

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 Jets WIll Not Tolerate Their Anti-Semetic Schedule

I'm not sure if I have ever seen or heard anything like this before. The New York Jets are not exactly happy with their schedule this year. Why, you ask? Because of it's difficulty? No. Because they know they are the worst team in their division? No. It's because the NFL has scheduled them for 2 home games on 2 consecutive Jewish holidays! Seriously. Via the AP.

The New York Jets, upset about being scheduled for home games on consecutive Sundays in direct conflict with Jewish holidays, sent NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a letter Thursday asking that one of the game times be changed.

The Jets' home opener is Week 2 against New England at 1 p.m. on Sept. 20, which falls during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. New York then plays Tennessee at 4:15 p.m. the following Sunday, with Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, beginning at sundown.

In the letter to Goodell, owner Woody Johnson suggested the game against the Titans be changed to a 1 p.m. start to give Jewish fans time to arrive home before sundown.

"I am extremely disappointed with the league's decision to schedule us to play at home on consecutive Sundays that are in direct conflict with the Jewish High Holy Days," Johnson wrote. "There has long been an understanding that neither the Jets nor the Giants fans should have to bear completely the brunt of this issue since we are in the largest Jewish market in the country."

So an exception should be made to the New York Jets because New York has the largest Jewish community? Um, sorry, not buying it. And what about all the other cities in the U.S. with large Jewish communities, because they are not the largest they should not have home games on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? And all those times that the NFL scheduled games on Christmas, did all of the Catholics cry heresy and threaten to ex-communicate every Catholic who went to those games instead of spending time with their families? And you can't forget about all of the Muslims in the United States. Should special exceptions be made to the cities in the U.S. with a large Muslim population during the month of Ramadan? (and yes, Ramadan, for those who don't know, does fall in the middle of the NFL season).

And yes, I know we've gone past that stage in the church (or so we think so), but the point is still there that why on earth should a special exception be made for the Jets when it does not happen for other teams and other religions? If you're that upset about the schedule, don't go to the game! But somehow, I think in the end, a Jets football game will override a religious ceremony for the day.....assuming that the Jets don't enter that weak without a win, which is a possibility given this team this year. Then people may stay home for Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

And don't get mad religious fanatics out there who are reading this. I hate all religious institutions equally, as you can probably tell from reading this. ;-)

Update: It appears that the Jets got their wish. The Yom Kippur game has been moved from 4:15 to 1:00.

The 2009 NFL Schedule in Primetime

Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM on NBC, unless otherwise noted). (asterisk next to those that could be flexed)
Week 1 (Opening Thursday): Titans vs. Steelers, 8:30
Week 1: Bears vs. Packers
Week 2: New York Giants vs. Cowboys
Week 3: Colts vs. Cardinals
Week 4: Chargers vs. Steelers
Week 5: Colts vs. Titans
Week 6: Bears vs. Falcons
Week 7: Cardinals vs. Giants
Week 8: No game
Week 9: Cowboys vs. Eagles
Week 10: Patriots vs. Colts
*Week 11: Eagles vs. Bears
*Week 12: Steelers vs. Ravens
*Week 13: Patriots vs. Dolphins
*Week 14: Eagles vs. Giants
*Week 15: Vikings vs. Panthers
*Week 16: Cowboys vs. Redskins
*Week 17: TBD

Monday Night Football (8:30 on ESPN unless otherwise noted
Week 1 (doubleheader part 1): Bills vs. Patriots, 7:00
Week 1 (doubleheader part 2): Chargers vs. Raiders, 10:15
Week 2: Colts vs. Dolphins
Week 3: Panthers vs. Cowboys
Week 4: Packers vs. Vikings
Week 5: Jets vs. Dolphins
Week 6: Broncos vs. Chargers
Week 7: Eagles vs. Redskins
Week 8: Falcons vs. Saints
Week 9: Steelers vs. Broncos
Week 10: Ravens vs. Browns
Week 11: Titans vs. Texans
Week 12: Patriots vs. Saints
Week 13: Ravens vs. Packers
Week 14: Cardinals vs. 49ers
Week 15: Giants vs. Redskins
Week 16: Vikings vs. Bears
Week 17: No game

Thursday Night Football (8:20 on NFL Network unless other specified)
Weeks 1-9: No game
Week 10: Bears vs. 49ers
Week 11: Dolphins vs. Panthers
Week 12: Giants vs. Broncos
Week 13: Jets vs. Bills
Week 14: Steelers vs. Browns
Week 15: Colts vs. Jaguars
Week 15 (Saturday Night Special): Cowboys vs. Saints
Week 16: Chargers vs. Titans
Week 17: No game

And per usual, SNF > MNF > ThNF, although I must say that this looks like the strongest year of MNF on ESPN to date, but of course, you really can't tell right now, but the matchups are certainly eye-appealing thus far. Pats-Saints, Jets-Fins, Cowboys-Panthers, Cardinals-49ers (oh wait, scratch that last one, although it has become an MNF staple and the game last year was thrilling).

Oh, and Bears-Falcons, NBC? I can pretty much guarantee you that that is going to rival for lowest rated SNF on NBC game to date.

Primetime schedule (NFL.com)

Eagles Schedule Released

We've known since the end of the regular season the 16 teams that the Eagles were playing, but here is the exact schedule with dates and times included. And much to my disappointment, the Eagles don't get the Broncos until Week 16. And it's a 1:00 CBS game. Damn, that would have made for great primetime fun early in the year. (all times PM eastern)

Week 1: 9/13/09, Eagles @ Carolina, 1:00 Fox
Week 2: 9/20/09, Saints @ Eagles, 1:00 Fox
Week 3: 9/27/09, Chiefs @ Eagles, 1:00 CBS
Week 4: Bye
Week 5: 10/11/09, Buccaneers @ Eagles, 1:00 Fox
Week 6: 10/18/09, Eagles @ Raiders, 4:05 Fox
Week 7: 10/26/09, Eagles @ Redskins, 8:30 ESPN
Week 8: 11/1/09, Giants @ Eagles, 4:15 Fox
Week 9: 11/8/09, Cowboys @ Eagles, 8:20 NBC
Week 10: 11/15/09, Eagles @ Chargers, 4:15 Fox
Week 11: 11/22/09, Eagles @ Bears, 8:20 NBC
Week 12: 11/29/09, Redskins @ Eagles, 1:00 Fox
Week 13: 12/6/09, Eagles @ Falcons, 1:00 Fox
Week 14: 12/13/09, Eagles @ Giants, 8:20 NBC
Week 15: 12/20/09, 49ers @ Eagles, 1:00 Fox
Week 16: 12/27/09, Broncos @ Eagles, 1:00 CBS
Week 17: 1/3/10, Eagles @ Cowboys, 1:00 Fox

The schedule makers are really tiring out on ideas for Eagles on SNF and MNF games. For the 2nd year in a row the Eagles play the Bears on SNF and for the third year in a row the Eagles get the Giants on SNF and the Cowboys are an SNF game as well. And the Eagles are once again playing the Redskins on ESPN something that seems to happen pretty much every year. Last year was an odd anamoly to say the least in regards to an Eagles-Skins game not getting a slot on The Leader.

Seeing as the teams were already known, there really is not much else I can say about this other than this is going under the Eagles pre-season schedule on the sidebar. It is impossible to assess the difficultiness or easiness of this schedule at this time of the year, and whomever tries to is merely using a ploy for ratings (I'm looking at you ESPN and NFL-N). I mean we have not even had the Draft yet for goodness sakes! The only other note that I can come up with this schedule is that I don't like that Week 4 bye. I'd much prefer it to be around that mid-point of the season but I'm sure that that is something that the Eagles could frankly careless about at this time. I'll have a post up shortly for the SNF, MNF, and NFL-N games and that too will end up on the sidebar.

Links to individual schedule of all 32 teams (NFL.com)

The NFL Pre-Season Schedule Has Been Released

One of my favorite parts about this time of year (other than the Men's Final Four and readling all 464 of Mel Kiper's mock drafts) is the releasing of the NFL schedules, and this year's pre-season is actually chock-full of epic match-ups that most would die for. Assuming the starters played the whole game that is. I have listed below the Eagles schedule, but in case you are curious about your team or what not, I have provided at the bottom of the page the link to the entire pre-season schedule (which includes a separate section for national TV games in case you did not see them over at AA yet). So here you go. The Eagles 2009 pre-season schedule! (all times eastern)

Week 1: August 13: New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles 7:30 (ETN)
Week 2: August 20: Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts 8:00 (Fox)
Week 3: August 27: Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles 7:00 (ETN)
Week 4: September 3: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Jets 7:00 (ETN)

It's nice to see the Eagles are going to get some stiff competition in the pre-season, especially in the first couple of weeks. Generally the Eagles schedule teams such as the Ravens and the Bengals so this is a nice change of pace. And keeping with tradition, the Eagles and the Jets are playing each other the last week of the pre-season, which in case you're not an Eagles or Jets fan, is pretty much a tradition for these two teams. Every year you can write it in. Pre-season week 4: Eagles vs. Jets.

2009 NFL Pre-Season Schedule (NFL.com)

Update: A belated congratulations to me! It took me over 12 hours, but I just now realized that this was my 200th blog post! It won't be long until my numbers reach AA levels......

Jim Nantz For President!

Okay, so he's not running for President yet, as I was perusing the506 last night looking for the announcer schedules, the link to the confirmed schedule for the Sweet Sixteen led to a USA Today column by Michael Hiestand and that column was not just on the announcers and th Sweet 16. Apparently our friend, Jim Nantz, has some political aspirations! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jim Nantz for public office! Hello, friends!

CBS' Jim Nantz, in an interview with CBS' WANE affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., suggests he eventually might run for public office. "Someday if I could run for mayor of my little town or city councilman or state congressman or U.S. congressman … I think that would be really neat. I really do."

I can see the campaign slogan now: "Hello, friend! Vote for Nantz!"

In all seriousness, though, I am starting to come around a bit to Jim Nantz. First of all, there is little doubt in my mind that he is nothing but a stand up, classy guy and I have always recognized and acknowleged that about him. My gripe about Nantz is that he is, in my opinion, rather monotonous and drag some of the excitement out of the game. I don't expect every announcer to be like Gus Johnson, but sometimes I just feel like the enthusiasm is not there for him. Maybe it's the analysts that have been dragging him down. I mean, for goodness sakes, the guy has been stuck with Phil Simms and Billy Packer for numerous years (I don't watch golf so I can't comment on his work there), but now that he has been parntered with Clark Kellogg, he has been coming out of his shell a bit, seemingly. I will say (and I will have a whole announcing review later for the first round later on today) that this is the most I think I have ever enjoyed listening to Jim Nantz.

Back to politics though, I wonder what ideology Jim Nantz is...

The Case Of The Missing Football Players

You would think that 6 inches of snow last night would really do a lot to brighten up the mood around things, but alas that has not happened. Not the least of which is a story emerging out of the NFL of the three missing people off the coast of Florida, two of whom are NFL players. Here's the latest scoop from NFL.com

The Coast Guard found a person clinging to an overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday, but couldn't immediately confirm whether it is the same boat that went missing with two NFL players aboard over the weekend.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that the Coast Guard did find the missing boat and that former University of South Florida player Nick Schuyler is the survivor.

Corey Smith, a free-agent defensive end who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and Marquis Cooper, an Oakland Raiders linebacker, as well as Schuyler and former USF teammate Will Bleakley left on a fishing trip early Saturday. Weather conditions worsened through the day, and the men didn't return as expected in the evening.

The men were reported missing Sunday, and the Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the 21-foot Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning.

Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.

Petty Officer Sondra-Kay Kneen confirmed that searchers located a boat. No further details were available.

Unless there is some miracle, it appears as if Smith, Cooper, and Bleakley may never return. Hopefully I am wrong and that by some miracle they show up again, even if it is 20-years from now on the coast of some deserted island.

Make Room For Big Ben's Ribs, Canton, Ohio

Sigh....get ready for ESPN's talking heads to go gaga over Big Ben's great courage and toughness. Because right now, sitting next to Curt Schilling's bloody sock and Jamie Moyer's toilet, is Big Ben's ribs (or seeing as they were broken, the lack thereof). That's right, Big Ben played in the Super Bowl with broken ribs. From Yahoo! Sports.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have no knowledge that Ben Roethlisberger played the Super Bowl with two broken ribs, as the quarterback told a Web site.

According to SI.com, Roethlisberger said his fractured ribs did not show up on X-rays taken before he led the Steelers to a 27-23 win over Arizona on Feb. 1, but were revealed only during a MRI test he had last week.

“Luckily, in the game, I didn’t take any big hits to make ‘em hurt,” Roethlisberger told SI.com. “But I knew all along there was something wrong. There wouldn’t have been anything that could have been done about fractured ribs anyway. It was just suck it up and play.

Roethlisberger did not miss any practices before the Super Bowl, although a pool report from the Wednesday practice said he attempted during the middle of the workout to stretch his torso. He missed one practice during the off week before the Super Bowl because of what the team said was a back injury.

Big Ben has a history of exaggerating his injuries so the claim may not be entirely true. However, if the MRI revealed broken ribs, then there's no disputing that. Once the A-Rod story has subsided a bit, be prepared for non-stop Roethisberger gushing on ESPN.

FYI, I'll be live blogging Marquette @ Villanova tonight at 7:30. Not only is it a big game for both teams, but it's also ESPN Interactive Tuesday! Which means be prepared for stupid poll questions and even stupider fan comments. Don't miss out on the big fun!