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.

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.

Manning family returns to Disney World

That was one heck of an effort by the New York Giants. Holy smokes, what a game!

Super Bowl XLII was probably one of the five best Super Bowls I've ever seen. It doesn't top XXXIV, which ended with Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackling Titans receiver Kevin Dyson one yard shy of the end zone as time expired. But it's not far off.

The play of the game: The Giants have gotten to their own 43, with 1:15 to go. They're down 14-10. It's third-and-five. The Giants have already converted on one fourth-down play on this drive, and would certainly go for it again if it came to fourth down, but they'd obviously rather it didn't come to that. Eli Manning takes the shotgun snap. The Patriots rush four guys. The blocking breaks down quickly. Adalius Thomas, coming from the left side, gets a hand on Manning, but he evades him by stepping up in the pocket. But there are two Patriots waiting for him there. Richard Seymour is on his right, trying to shed a block. Jarvis Green manages to get through his blocker, and has Manning by the collar with one hand, and has grabbed onto the back of Manning's jersey with the other. Manning looks like he's got no chance to get a throw off. But somehow, Manning fights his way out of Green's tackle attempt, meanwhile slipping past Seymour, then runs backward, takes a quick peek down field and flings it from the 33. Wide receiver David Tyree is in single-coverage at the Patriots' 24, and the throw is a little bit high. Tyree leaps into the air and gets the fingertips of both hands on the ball, with Patriots cornerback Rodney Harrison all over him, thinking he's got a shot at a game-saving interception. Tyree has two hands on it, and Harrison has one. Tyree still doesn't quite have control of the ball, but he keeps both hands on it, holding it against his helmet while Harrison tries to wrestle it away from him. As the two of them fall to the turf together, Tyree somehow gets the ball down to his chest area. Harrison is still trying to get the ball away from him after they're both prone on the ground, but Tyree has established possession, and the play is over. Giants' ball, first down, 24 yards to go for a go-ahead touchdown.

A few plays later, Manning found Plaxico Burress, his favorite big-play target, in the end zone, with just 35 seconds to go. It was just Plaxico's second catch of the evening. Tom Brady has led some great comebacks in his time, but the way the Giants' defense was going, he didn't really have a shot. He took a sack on second down, then missed on two desperation heaves, both intended for Randy Moss, both into double-coverage. And the Patriots' perfect season was suddenly quite imperfect indeed.

And Don Shula, Bob Griese, Mercury Morris and the rest of the 1972 Miami Dolphins drank some champagne. They remain the only team to run the table for an entire NFL season, counting the post-season.

Archie Manning's quarterback sons are now both Super Bowl MVPs, something he never got within a mile of. And I'm sure he couldn't be prouder.

I don't believe I heard a single word about Spygate during the Super Bowl broadcast, though I did hear it mentioned in some of the talk earlier in the day on ESPN. I don't always know why I'm rooting for a particular team to win a particular game, but I can tell you that was the primary reason I was rooting for the Patriots to lose this game. I generally root for the underdog, so there was also that. But when I see Bill Belichick's face now, I no longer think "Failed former Browns coach." I think "Cheater."

I haven't felt this good about a sporting result not directly involving one of my teams since the Diamondbacks came from behind to beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.

It's the big day

This matchup reminds me, ironically, of the matchup six years ago, when the Patriots and Rams met in Super Bowl XXXVI. The Patriots were in the opposite position then. The Rams were clear favorites, having won it all two years before in one of the most thrilling Super Bowls ever, and they were 15-3 going into the game, to the Patriots' 13-5. But the Pats were playing awfully well going in, and won a game that was about as exciting as the one two years earlier. Of course, there's now some question about whether they pulled the same scam in that game that they pulled this year. If they did film the Rams, that calls into question every game Bill Belichick has ever won in his career, including his years with the Browns. If they didn't, Belichick has no one but himself to blame for the doubt cast upon him, as he has shown himself willing to cheat for a victory.

Anyway, the gap between records is bigger with these Patriots (18-0) and the Giants (13-6), but the parallels are there nonetheless. The Pats are 12-point favorites, and to hear the talking heads on ESPN, you'd think they'd won the game already. But don't underestimate these Giants. They're playing great, and the last game they lost was by just three points — to these Patriots. Any idiot can see that the Patriots are the better team, but in an individual game, I wouldn't be that surprised if the New Yorkers pull the upset.

Speaking of the betting line, you wouldn't believe what crazy crap you can bet on in this game. You can put money on not just whether the Patriots will win today, but whether they'll win the next THREE Super Bowls. They're giving 25-1 odds on that one. You can bet on whether the coin toss will be heads or tails — and you're a complete moron if you do that, because you have to bet $105 to win $100. You can even put down some action on what will be the higher number: the Patriots' and Giants' combined punts for the game, or the number of points Eric Dampier scores for the Mavericks against the Pistons this afternoon. I swear to God, I'm not making that up. Those bookies are pretty creative.

Apparently, you can't bet on how many marriage proposals Tom Brady will field from foreign reporters during the game. Oh, well.

Belichick's trial by fire in Cleveland

Here's an interesting look at what Bill Belichick learned from his failures in Cleveland (thanks to my good friend Jeff Brown for sending it to me). Of particular interest is the comparison between cutting our beloved Bernie Kosar and giving Tom Brady the QB job over Drew Bledsoe.

Of course, any Browns fan who's tempted to think "what if" has to remember that the franchise that gave Belichick his first coaching job is not in Cleveland now, but Baltimore. But when the new Browns came into existence in 1999, he was available. He took the New England job in 2000. I can't say I've ever come around to liking, or even really respecting, Belichick, but if he were on the cusp of winning his fourth Super Bowl for Cleveland, how would we feel about him? Let's be honest, we'd be ready to build a solid-gold statue of him and put it in Moses Cleaveland's place on Public Square.

Brady, Brady, Brady almighty

I can't help but be amused by the attention given to the walking boot seen on Tom Brady's foot while he was delivering flowers to his girlfriend. I guess, with a week and a half still to go before the big game, and nothing else going on in sports besides regular-season basketball and hockey, and the Australian Open, they've got to find SOMETHING to make a story out of.

But as much as I might like Tom Brady to miss Super Bowl XLII (and not just because he plays for the Cheatriots; he's also a Michigan man), I'm pretty sure that a walking boot 11 days before the game isn't going to keep him out. The Giants will just have to beat them at full strength.

Also, is it me, or has ESPN been replaying this Tom Brady Bunch segment on every single SportsCenter for days? It was funny once (especially when Drew Bledsoe shows up), but come on.