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!

On The Super Bowl XLIII Officiating

48-hours ago I did not think there would be any need for me to type this. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

What happened 2-nights ago in Tampa at the Super Bowl was a travesty. Yes, it was a great game. Yes, Big Ben had a drive for the ages capping with a touchdown that will be replayed over and over and over again for years to come. The Pittsburgh Steelers are deserving of the Super Bowl that they won. That can't be taken away from them. But the Arizona Cardinals were deserving of a chance at the end. And they were denied that. Not by the Steelers, but by Terry McAulay and the rest of the officiating crew at Super Bowl XLIII.

Now had the last 40 seconds of the game been officiated properly, there's no telling what would have happened. Would the Cardinals have been able to punch it in the endzone in the last 5 seconds, no one knows. But what we really should have seen will surprise you. And that will be pointed out here.

You can debate calls all throughout the game. There were debatable calls on both sides. You can argue that the refs were against the Cardinals all game, as evidenced by the fact that the Cardinals had to use both of their challenges and they won them both. I'm not going to argue that. This is not Tim Donaghy big. But this is big.

It started on the Santonio Holmes touchdown catch. It was a great play and a clean play. However, it was after the play that we have some controversy. Actually, there is no controversy. After the touchdown, Santonio Holmes treated the ball as a prop by using it almost as a salt-and-pepper shaker (the motions mimicked that in a way) and then threw the ball up in the air while spreading his arms out, clearly mimicking LeBron James. And there was no penalty! This was something that was clear as day and yet, the refs clearly missed that call. That's 15-yards! This is the Super Bowl and while you can use the argument that it's the Super Bowl and he should be allowed to do what he wants after catching one of the greatest touchdowns of all time, the fact remains it's still a penalty. And a clear penalty in a game that was littered with ticky-tacky calls. No one's going to say anything if you call that 15-yards, it was clear as day. And yet, it went ignored and uncalled. 15-yards. Remember that.

Now we get to the Warner fumble. I have seen that play over and over and over again from every possible angle and I have come to one conclusion. Warner's arm was going forward. Based on the sheer physics of the play, there's no other possible explanation. We'll get to back the the physics later, but first let's disect the video. Here's a great close-up.


What happened when he threw is he put his arm back, put it back even more to heave it down the field, moved his arm forward, got hit as he was doing so and the ball came out. And if the video does not prove it (which I think he does) then let's talk science. There is no way this is not an incomplete pass. By the sheer physics of it. The ball ends up 4-yards down the field. How is that possible? Especially seeing as Lamaar Woodley came from Warner's side! He was not popped from behind. We've seen empty hands before. A good sign of an empty hand fumble is the ball popping up in the air because the only momentum is the defender hitting him and the QB going down. How does the ball end up 4-yards down the field if Warner is hit from the side with his arm all the way back? The only possible explanation is that he must have had possession of the ball while moving his arm/shoulder forward. How else does the ball get all that forward momentum? It certainly would not have been provided by Woodley who hit him from the side. Momentum cannot be created or destroyed and Raymond James Stadium is not a place where the laws of physics are destroyed. And not only did it end up 4-yards down the field, but it ends up 4-yards down the field on a line, not popped up in the air. If it were popped up in the air, that would lend credence to the empty hand, but the fact that the ball was 4-yards down the field on an albeit somewhat wobbly line proves even more that the pass was incomplete and the arm was going forward. There's no other scientifically plausible explanation. And if there is, I'd like to see it.

And what's an even bigger crime here is that this play WAS NOT EVEN REVIEWED! It is impossible in one-minute of looking at the play to make a judgment on it. You think that I spent only a minute or two looking at it? NO! I must have seen the play now 50-100 times. I've studied it. And while you certainly can't completely disect the film in 3-minutes for a booth review, you can definitley look at it, apply high school physics, and make a judgment that the arm must have been going forward. And even if McAulay and his crew don't remember anything about physics. Isn't that play close enough just by looking at it to warrant that it needs to be looked at for more than a minute.

And we're not done here. There was another 15-yard excessive celebration penalty on the Steelers. That would have been tacked on. Remember the 15-yard excessive celebration penalty after the Holmes touchdown? Assuming everything stayed the same, and the pass was rightly overturned, the Arizona Cardinals should have had the ball at the 19-yard line with 5 seconds to go. Now whether or not the Cardinals would have converted is anyone's guess, but there chances were very good with Larry Fitzgerald on their team.

The fact that this game came down to this though, is unforgiveable. I'm not here to come up with a crazy conspiracy that the refs were employed by the Steelers or something, but the circumstances certainly are dubious around the whole thing. Terry McAulay was the only referee to have a major controversy in the playoffs and he is the referee for the Super Bowl, having been named days after the Delay of Game controversy in Nashville. And here we are in the Super Bowl, with one of the most controversial finishes in Super Bowl history.

Again, I say, I'm not glad that I'm talking about this. I have no problem with Pittsburgh winning. But thanks to McAulay and the officiating crew, there will always be a cloud of "what if" surrounding the game? Does Warner connect with Fitzgerald for the game-winning TD? Does Polamalu pick it off and seal the deal? Is the pass caught at the 1 by Boldin and tackled immediately, leaving him and the Cardinals inches short of a touchdown? It was a great game, a historic drive by Big Ben ending with what may very well be considered the greatest touchdown in Super Bowl history. However, the cloud of controversy will forever lurk over this game. And that, my friends, is a damn shame.

Highlights and Lowlights Of The Super Bowl XLIII Ads

It's amazing that with all of the talk about the exciting conclusion of last night's game that we've pretty much forgotten all about the ads, but alas, we've forgotten all about the ads. And with pretty good reasons as well. Except for a few diamonds in the rough, the ads this year were not really special. But there were a few diamonds in the rough. All ads courtesy of Hulu.com

While not necessarily one of the best per se, one of the more talked about ads. The Troy Polamalu Coke ad.


In hind sight, this ad is a bit tasteless for these economic times, but the CareerBuilder.com ad did make me laugh when I saw it.


One of the Budweisder Clydesdales has a girlfriend.


This Pepsi parody of MacGyver was, in my opinion, the worst commercial of the evening. But yet, it has that "so bad, it's good" air about it.


And now for my two favorites. The runner-up was the first commercial of the night. But Light at meetings are a must.


And lastly, my personal favorite, and according to the CBS Early Show, America's favorite as well. And if you know my sense of humor, this should come as little surprise...


NUT SHOT! Again all of these are available at Hulu.com. And because I like it so much, here's the link to the Doritos nut shot commercial and you can navigate your way through all of the other commercials easily from there.

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)

Everything You Need To Know About The Super Bowl XLIII

Head over to Awful Announcing at once who did an absolutely yeoman's work of gathering all of the information needed for the Super Bowl XLIII pre-game shows.

My opinion is that NBC's coverage looks way better. And yes, long Super Bowl pre-game shows can get boring, but they only come once a year and in places they generally have some good stuff, so I am easily able to tolerate them. And as somewhat of a diehard football fan, I am somewhat intrigued by this matchup, so watching the pre-game shows, no matter how long, can serve as a fun time. Besides, Football Night in America is the only pre game show that I really watched religiously this year.

Either tonight or tomorrow, I'll have my exclusive preview up. And, as much as I hate to do it, I will spoil the ending for you guys. You have ESP, JFein? No, but in the last 6 playoff games this year, the team that I did not pick ended up winning. Just saying...

No, Silly, The Storm Of The Century Is Going To Be After The Super Bowl

Interesting little development coming out of Florida as we approach the end of the week. For a few days, the weather men have been watching a low developing over the Gulf that is going to produce a huge storm that's already drawing comparisions to the 1993 Storm of the Century.

The good news: The forecast is looking fine for the Super Bowl.

The bad news: The storm is going to come on Monday, and while it won't be snow in Florida, there's a chance for very heavy rain, strong wind gusts exceeding 40 mph, and damaging thunderstorms. In other words, while as of now the game will see clear weather, it's going to be one hell of a dogfight getting out of Tampa (and anywhere in Florida for that matter).

It will be interesting to see how this whole thing unfolds over the past couple days, and if there's a change in the forecast that will affect the Super Bowl. Right now we're looking at partly cloudy skies with slightly cool temperatures in the 50s. But if this storm decides to form a little earlier than expected, we could be in for a wild night in Tampa.

Super Bowl XLIII Forecast (AccuWeather)
Bring on the Blizzard of '09, Baby! (AccuWeather)

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.

What They're Gonna Be Talking About at Super Bowl XLIII (UPDATED)

Believe it or not, we are only 1 day away from the showdown in Tampa. And I guess now would be as good a time as any to set the stage for a lot of the storylines that are gonna be shoved down our throats for the next 6 days.

1. Kurt Warner has earned his way into the Hall of Fame this season; and to think that he nearly retired after Boldin got KTFO in the middle of the season.
2. The Arizona Cardinals' playoff run has been an improbable story.
3. Ken Whisenhunt is a former assistant on the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, he even won a Super Bowl ring during his tenure there.
4. The Pittsburgh Steelers are going for their NFL record 6th Super Bowl ring.
5. The Steelers defense vs. The Cardinals offense.
6. Larry Fitzgerald is having one of the greatest post-seasons in NFL history.
7. The Arizona Cardinals have gone 66 years without a championship (going back to the days of the St. Louis and Chicago Cardinals), the 2nd longest streak in American major pro sports (100 years - Chicago Cubs).
8. Mike Tomlin can be the 2nd black coach in 3 years to win a Super Bowl (You know FNIA is going to run some sort of piece on this).
9. Superman wears Troy Polamalu underwear.
10. Jerome Bettis is from Detroit (Oh wait, never mind....)

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)
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)
Al Roker (Today Show)
Alge Rogatis (Who Knows**)
Maria Bartiroma (Who Knows***)

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.
**Was mentioned by Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick on the 1/30 edition of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, yet I have no idea who he/she is and I have typed in various potential spellings of his/her name (it was only mentionned orally) and I can't find anything. If you have any information on someone whose name is pronounced like "Alge Rogatis", don't hesitate to let me know.
***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)