Thank you, Green Bay Packers

I hope all you people out there in Of Fair Hooker-land can forgive me for the scarcity of my postings lately. I'm a very busy man these days, what with working a job, tackling an engineering curriculum at the University of Akron, and the fact that my wife and I have four kids at home. I trust you will understand that those are all much, much higher priorities than a silly old sports blog.

So it took me two days to write anything about Super Bowl XVI. I'm sure you still remember the game. It was a good one, probably one of the 10 best ever. And I don't have much to say about the game itself; anyone who's interested in reading thoughtful analysis about that has surely already done so, and there's not much I can say that can add much to any of that. Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers, and to Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, who has obviously stepped out of Brett Favre's shadow.

It was nice watching the Steelers lose, too. And not just because I'm a Browns fan and the Steelers are our most-hated rival -- though that played a role. I watched the game at a friend's house, along with maybe 20 or so of my closest friends. And it just annoys the crap out of me how many people in Northeast Ohio are Steelers fans. There were about five of them at the gathering in question. If someone is from Pittsburgh and roots for the Steelers, I consider them a friendly rival. If I were from Pittsburgh, I'd probably be a Steelers fan too.

But if you're from Browns territory and root for the Steelers, you're rooting against your own city. That makes no sense to me. Sure, Steeler fans have had a better team to watch than Browns fans over the last ... well, 40 years or so. In fact, the Steelers are without much doubt the single most successful team in the Super Bowl era. They've won six Super Bowls, played in eight, and reached the AFC championship game 15 times. It's painful to admit it, but that's just a very well-run football organization, and the Browns could learn a few things from them. But that's a terrible reason to root against your own city.

A chance to run over a Steelers fan

Before I start telling you this story, I want to make it abundantly clear that I would never truly consider hitting someone with my car just because he roots for my team's arch-rival. So when you read the below, don't go thinking I'm really some bloodthirsty Pittsburgh-hater. I'm not bloodthirsty at all.

That said ...

I was running late this morning. My first class at the University of Akron was at 8:55, and after I dropped off my stepdaughter at kindergarten -- getting a late start because of my 17-year-old stepdaughter's absent-mindedness -- I punched my usual parking deck into my GPS. It said I would arrive at 8:48. Given that it usually takes about 10 minutes to walk to class from that parking deck -- and it's the closest one to my class -- I shifted into "everybody get the %@*$ out of my way" mode. I had pretty good luck with traffic most of the way there, until I actually got off the exit in downtown Akron. Akron may not be as big a city as Cleveland, but hey, city traffic is city traffic. I inched along with the traffic until I turned off Exchange Street onto the little side road that leads to the parking decks on the southwest end of campus, then waited and waited and waited for the car ahead of me to turn left into the deck I use, as cars continued to come toward us from Carroll Street. A pedestrian blocked the path of a car that would otherwise have blocked the path of the car in front of me, and she finally turned in. I followed hot on her heels.

But no, I was unable to hurry up the ramp because just as I was pulling in, some yahoo wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket chose that moment to walk into the garage from the sidewalk, ignoring the pedestrian entrances that are all over the place and going up the vehicle entrance, thwarting my attempt to get in. I did make the left turn, but had to go at walking speed until that moron got out of my way. He finally did, and I hit the gas and made my way up to the fourth level, where there's a walkway onto campus. I did get to class in time, but barely.

Now, I don't know what was on this guy's mind. Perhaps he was so preoccupied with Sunday's Super Bowl that he forgot to look where he was going. Maybe he deliberately got in my way so I'd notice his Steelers jacket and get agitated. Or maybe -- just maybe -- the dude has a death wish, and was hoping that his behavior coupled with his attire would goad some unsuspecting Northeast Ohioan into committing an unspeakable act.

All I know is, I've never been more tempted to run somebody over in my life. I'm not saying I truly considered it, of course, but I can honestly say I've never been more tempted.

Sorry to hear James Harrison won't retire

I'm sure anyone reading this blog is aware of what's been going on the past week in the NFL, involving savage helmet-to-helmet hits like the ones the Steelers' James Harrison put on the Browns' Josh Cribbs and Muhammad Massaquoi on Sunday, knocking both out of the game. Several similar hits occurred in other NFL games. The NFL fined several players $50,000 each, and Harrison $75,000. Harrison sat out of practice one day this week, saying he was contemplating retirement because now he can't play the way he wants to:

"You literally have to think about changing the way you play football. Honestly, I’m truly considering if I can play football in the NFL by the rules that they’re trying to make. I’m honestly going to sit down with my coach and see if I can play football within the NFL rules and still be effective. If not, I may have to give up playing football."

This came a couple of days after Harrison said he figures he's done his job if he hurts somebody. He was careful to say he wasn't trying to injure anybody, just hurt them. There's some distinction in those words, I guess.

There's been a lot of negative backlash about the NFL's actions on this matter. People are arguing that football is an inherently violent game. No doubt, that is true. I played football myself in high school and junior high, and I know that to a large extent, football players think of their opponents not as friendly adversaries, but as sworn enemies. That's simply the nature of the game. And when you have 200- to 300-pound men trying to block and tackle each other for three hours a week, injuries are inevitable.

But there are a growing number of rules in football aimed at keeping players from getting needlessly hurt. For decades, we've had rules against certain blocks in the back or below the waist, roughing the passer and kicker, and unnecessary roughness. More recently, we've seen rules that increase quarterbacks' latitude for throwing the ball away, in an attempt to keep them from taking too many hits. And just a couple of years ago, the NFL made horse-collar tackles illegal because so many players were getting hurt that way.

This is no different. A number of players suffered concussions on helmet-to-helmet hits on one single afternoon. A concussion is a more dangerous injury that anything else that can happen on a football field, short of something involving the spine. The NFL has to protect its players.

Football fans tend to have a certain degree of blood lust, which I think explains a lot of the negative reaction among spectators. Defensive players like Harrison are saying the NFL is taking away their ability to play. I say, tough $&!*. If this new stance makes it less likely for players to suffer concussions or worse brain injuries, I'm more than happy to see a few less violent hits on the football field.

James Harrison has decided not to retire. That's probably the worst news that came out of this.

Browns' loss not all that disappointing

* OK, losing to Pittsburgh is never fun. And a 28-10 loss to anybody is also never fun. So that's a bad combination. But still, who among us can say they thought we had a realistic chance to beat the Steelers this week, with Colt McCoy making his first NFL start behind center against the great Ben Roethlisberger? Big Ben, returning from his four-game suspension for bad off-field behavior, took a while to heat up, but once he did, there was no stopping him. McCoy did pretty darn well in his rookie debut, completing 23 of 33 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown. He did throw two interceptions, but in his defense, both were on tipped balls. I'm not hoping for continued ill health for Jake Delhomme and/or Seneca Wallace, but I do hope this isn't the last we've seen of McCoy this year.

* The Buckeyes fell all the way to #10 from #1 after their disappointing loss to Wisconsin on Saturday. The Ohio State offense faltered because the line couldn't protect Terrelle Pryor, who understandably had his worst game of the season. In addition to several big-time schools that could run the table, the Buckeyes have three mid-majors ahead of them who are highly likely to go undefeated, in Boise State, TCU and Utah. At this point, Michigan State (who is not on OSU's schedule) is the Big Ten's best hope for a national title. The Buckeyes are all but out of the equation. One loss just kills you in college football, because there's no playoff.

* They were talking on WTAM's Wills & Snyder this morning about a guy named Eric Barr, who recently moved to Cleveland from East Hartford, Connecticut, because he's a Browns fan. I guess the Plain Dealer did a story about him a couple of days ago. I don't read the PD anymore -- in fact, I don't even get a newspaper, which I probably should feel guilty about because I spent 14 years actually working for newspapers, but I don't. Feel guilty, that is. Anyway, this guy has no particular ties to the Cleveland area, and he quit his job to move here, where he has no job lined up. But he'll save the drive to Cleveland eight times a year, which he's been doing for every home game. This dude and I have one thing in common, in that we both love the Browns. Where we part company is that I would never in a million years move to an economically struggling town in a bad economy with no job lined up just to follow a football team. Especially not one that's 1-5 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2002. He's apparently single with no kids, so at least he's not hanging a family out to dry. Still, as much as I love sports, I think it's incredibly stupid of him. But I wish him good luck.

That actually happened

Yes, the rumors are true. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it. Our pathetic Cleveland Browns actually defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last night, 13-6. Sure, these Steelers are not playing like the Steelers who edged the Cardinals last January for the title, as the Browns handed them their fifth-straight loss last night. Still, this was our first victory over Pittsburgh since 2003 (when Tim Couch was the quarterback!), and I don't know about you, but I intend to savor it. How did the Browns do it? There were two main factors: a fine defensive effort, and another overall outstanding game from Josh Cribbs.

The Cleveland defense was just phenomenal. Ben Roethlisberger, who had never lost to the Browns in 10 previous meetings, got sacked eight times. Eight times! Credit the pass rush, but even more, credit the coverage. Roethlisberger got sacked because he couldn't find anyone open, and the Browns' front seven wouldn't let him get out of the pocket. Roethlisberger put up decent passing numbers (18-for-32, 204 yards, no picks), but he was unable to make the big throw or big run that would change the game. The Browns stuffed the Steelers' running game too, holding Rashard Mendenhall to 52 yards on 18 carries.

And what can I say about Cribbs? That man was unstoppable. Not only did his 55-yard punt return set up the Browns' first field goal, but he kept snapping off big runs out of the wildcat formation. He was the game's leading rusher, going for 87 yards on just eight carries — including a 37-yarder, in which he broke a couple of tackles, that helped set up the Browns' touchdown near the end of the first half. Credit the offensive line, too — they opened up some nice holes for Cribbs and Chris Jennings, who scored that touchdown and rushed for 73 yards himself.

Brady Quinn was awful, throwing for just 90 yards on 6-of-19. He didn't turn the ball over, and the importance of that shouldn't be overlooked. But he really made some bad throws, especially in the second half, when things were getting tight.

But that's not important right now. What's important is that the Browns beat the Steelers last night. Sing it from the rooftops. Yes, we're 2-11, but right now, things seem OK in Browns Town.

Catching passes

I'm busier than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs these days (just changed jobs, and am getting married this Saturday), but I wanted to make a brief observation about the Browns. We all knew they would lose to the Steelers on Sunday, but they made it somewhat respectable, thanks in large part to Josh Cribbs' return TD.

For the second straight week, Derek Anderson put up ugly passing numbers (though not even in the same neighborhood of ugly as the previous week against Buffalo). But, for the second straight week, Browns receivers dropped an appalling number of his passes.

I thought we got rid of the guy who can't catch. The Browns can't win if the receivers can't make receptions. It's as simple as that.

Recapping one of the best Super Bowls ever

I hate to call this one of the best Super Bowls ever, simply because of who won. I wanted badly for the Cardinals to pull it out, and the fact that they didn't was very disappointing from that perspective. But it was a dramatic, thrilling heavyweight prize fight, and it will be well-remembered for years to come. And at least, as a Miami University graduate, I can be proud of my alma-mater-mate, Ben Roethlisberger. I'm not, but I can be, if I so choose.

I will now go through the game, highlight by highlight:

The Steelers' opening drive was impressive, and it seemed inevitable that they would score a touchdown. But Arizona held them tough, and of course a Roethlisberger touchdown got called back on replay. That was huge -- had Roethlisberger gotten maybe an inch farther with the ball, it would have been six, and probably seven. So one inch was worth four points, if you follow. ... Still, the way Big Ben and the Steelers drove through the Cards' D on that drive seemed to portend ill for those who prefer a tight game, and for those who were rooting for the men in red.

Of course, Kurt Warner and his gang hadn't taken the field yet. Warner, as we all know, was a Super Bowl MVP 10 years ago for the Rams, and seems to have regained his form. There has been talk over the last two weeks of a plaque for Warner in Canton, and while I can't say I really think of him as a Hall of Famer, he has at least proved this winter that at age 37, he still has the goods. But the Cardinals stalled and punted, which led to the first Australian-born player ever to play in a Super Bowl, playing in a Super Bowl. That, of course, is Cardinals punter Ben Graham. That graphic flashed across the screen, and all I could do was laugh. The things they keep track of these days, huh?

On the ensuing Pittsburgh drive, Roethlisberger started showing off his scrambling legs, making a great play to get free on an across-the-field first-down throw to Heath Miller. A quarterback who can do that is pretty dadgummed hard to stop, as we would see over and over again throughout the course of the game. Benny-boy gave credit to his offensive line in the post-game interview, but the protection really wasn't that great. He just wouldn't let those big, mean defensive linemen get to him. The Steelers, of course, banged it in on that drive, and it was 10-0. And the rout was on, it seemed.

But Kurt Warner and his three 1,000-yard receivers went to work on the next drive. Warner made some big throws on that drive, and Ben Patrick -- who hadn't caught a touchdown pass the entire season up to that point -- made a great catch in traffic to make it 10-7. And now we knew we were going to have a game.

Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes combined for a big gainer on the ensuing drive, but it got called back for holding, and the Steelers were forced to punt to Steve Breaston. The Michigan grad returned it all the way to the Steelers' 42 as the second quarter started to wane, but a big Lamar Woodley sack on Warner stalled that drive. Ah, but Carlos Dansby picked a Roethlisberger pass that had been tipped at the line, and the Cards were in bidness again.

Unfortunately, that set up what was to be probably the play of the game. On what was to be the last play of the second quarter, Warner tried to find Anquan Boldin in the end zone, but he was well-covered by defensive end James Harrison. And, it turns out, Harrison can catch, and Harrison can run. As you are no doubt aware by now, his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest play in Super Bowl history. The longest play in Super Bowl history -- made by a DEFENSIVE END. It seemed the football gods wanted the Steelers to win. Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston -- two wide receivers -- managed to catch up to Harrison before he got into the end zone, but they were not able to make the tackle. It's usually pretty comical to watch a wide receiver try to make a tackle, and this was no exception. Fitzgerald actually took Harrison down, but the only reason Harrison's knee didn't touch the ground is because Fitzgerald's body was in the way. Had Fitzgerald been maybe an inch or two to the left or right, Harrison's knee might have hit the ground, and it might have been 10-7 going into halftime. So in this case, an inch meant seven points. And it's worth noting that had the pass fallen incomplete, the Cardinals would have had time for at least one more play, maybe two. So what could have been a 14-10 Arizona lead was instead a 17-7 Pittsburgh lead. Gut-wrenching stuff, Clevelanders. How does a freaking defensive end run 100 yards for a touchdown? Come on! A defensive end!

The Cardinals no doubt were champing at the bit to get back out there and close the gap, but they had to wait through a Super Bowl-length halftime. I don't actually know how long it was, but with Bruce Springsteen out there, it seemed like about four hours. (Yeah, I'm not a fan, and I don't care who knows.) It must have been at least 20 minutes, though, and we all know halftime of a regulation NFL game is supposed to be 15 minutes. I don't care what the entertainment is at halftime, I think it's wrong to stretch it out any longer. Whatever pageantry has been assembled should automatically be subordinate to the interest of the game. Harrumph and grumble. The halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl has become a story in itself, and I'm tired of it. Call me a curmudgeon if you will, but I think if you sit down to watch the Super Bowl, you should be most interested in watching a football game, and not some dumbass singer who wears jewelry on her nipple.

Now then, getting back to the game ...

The Cardinals didn't do much on their first drive of the second half, dodging a bullet when what was originally ruled a Warner fumble that Pittsburgh's Harrison recovered, was ruled an incomplete pass on replay. His arm wasn't moving forward very much, but it definitely was moving forward. Maybe an inch.

After the Steelers got it back, it seemed the Cardinals were bound and determined to let them score, simply by giving them penalty yardage. The Cards were called for three personal fouls on that drive, though I will say one of them -- a roughing-the-passer call against Dansby -- was pretty ticky-tack. They again held the Steelers to a field goal (though Adrian Wilson gave them a second chance to go for a touchdown by steamrolling the holder on their first attempt), so it was 20-7, and starting to look like the Cardinals might want to think about their post-game plans.

The teams exchanged fruitless possessions before Warner and the Cardinals started to go to work again. Warner did a lot of dinking and dunking on that drive, completing almost all of his passes, before Fitzgerald made a fan-freaking-tastic catch on a ball the Steelers' Ike Taylor had a hand on. And now it was 20-14, and the barn was starting to burn.

A sack of Roethlisberger on second-and-six was the key to stopping the Steelers' next possession, and Warner went back to work. Taylor helped them out with a late hit out of bounds on a Boldin catch, but on two separate occasions in the next sequence, Warner almost threw an interception, and the Cards had to punt again. When the punt pinned Big Ben's Boys back behind the 1, everybody at the party I attended was yelling for a safety. Even in that situation, a safety is highly unlikely, but darned if it didn't happen, due to a holding penalty in the end zone. That made it 20-16. Given that that happened with less than four minutes to go, the points didn't make a huge difference, but the key is the Cardinals got the ball back with plenty of time to work the ball down the field.

They didn't use much -- Warner and Fitzgerald connected on a 64-yard catch and run that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 23-20 with 2:37 to go in the game. Breaston and Boldin ran out routes that took the corners toward the sidelines, and Fitzgerald caught a slant pass and outran everybody to paydirt. It was a thing of beauty, and I'm not ashamed to admit I jumped for joy.

But that 2:37 was, as we now know, more than enough time for Roethlisberger, Holmes and the boys. Roethlisberger ran wild in the pocket on the next drive, completing a big third-down pass to Holmes on one play after scrambling and another big one to Holmes after stepping up in the pocket, though his 40-yard pass to Holmes that took it down to the 6 was made from a stationary position. As the clock ticked to under a minute, it looked like we might be looking at our first overtime Super Bowl, but then Holmes made a tremendous catch in the corner of the end zone, and managed to get both feet down. Maybe it was my Browns-fan glasses, but it sure looked to me like he didn't get his right foot down before he went out. But of course, it doesn't matter what I think. Had his foot been an inch off the ground, it would have been an incomplete pass. So in this case, one inch was worth the game.

Warner didn't have enough time to return the punch, and fumbled it away while trying to make a miracle happen with five seconds left. And one of the best Super Bowls I ever saw was in the books, gone to the stinking Steelers, for the sixth stinking time.

As Slim Pickens said in "Blazing Saddles," I sure am depressed.