JOSH LEWIN: New play-by-player. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
This meeting of the 2012 Super Bowl Cleanup Committee is in order, and in no particular order.
1) It remains a modern cultural mystery that Eli Manning was able to succeed Sunday despite choosing to play without a swagger. Imagine how good he’d be if he ever learned to play with a swagger.
2) Tonight, why not invite the biggest slob you know for dinner? No? Might it be because he or she’s a slob?
To that end, the NFL and NBC apologized for the obscene gesture — giving the finger — British female rapper M.I.A. treated us to while performing with Madonna at halftime.
Why would she do such a thing? Better question: Why wouldn’t she?
M.I.A. adheres to all the current standards of gutter rap, thus her lyrical artistry is laced with vulgarity. It’s part of her shock in trade, what makes her stand out. Sunday, she merely stayed in character, and made sure to stand out. She did not, of course, give the finger during rehearsal.
All the NFL had to do was two minutes of research before allowing her inclusion in the form of an invite. Instead, the NFL invited a slob and she acted like one. Surprise, surprise.
3) Speaking of Madonna, choosing to perform while singing a tribute to herself made for a strong rhyme with what the NFL regularly features. She should have been flagged for excessive celebration, or at least invited Stevie Johnson, Santonio Holmes and DeSean Jackson to dance back-up.
4) That Wes Welker has been cast-ironed as the goat — the new Bill Buckner — by people including Cris Collinsworth (who should know better) and Chris Russo (who wouldn’t) is grossly unfair.
Take a good look. Welker was anticipating Tom Brady’s pass — from 30 yards away, no less — toward the inside, not the outside, thus Welker had to twist his body while jumping just to get both hands on the ball. He was off balance before the ball arrived.
Was it a catchable pass? Absolutely. Was it an easy pass to catch? Absolutely not.
A genuine flub came with 48 seconds left, a 10-yard pass tight end Aaron Hernandez dropped on second and 10. With a first down, a spike to stop the clock would have given the Patriots second and 10 from their 30. Instead, the Patriots had third and 10 from their 20. Huge drop by Hernandez.
Too late. Welker’s the goat. That’s the media’s story and they’re sticking to it.
5) NBC’s Collinsworth seemed eager, on several occasions, to stamp his name on the game.
From questioning the sideline routes run by Mario Manningham — a legit point, yet a route that in time provided the Giants a huge gain at a huge time — to flip-flopping on penalty calls and non-calls, Collinsworth came across as a borderline blowhard who felt we were too stupid to recall his earlier words. Last we checked, there are no more openings for such analysts.
6) Sure, Eli Manning, a conspicuous endorser of Toyota, winning a Chevy as the game’s MVP, made for an awkward moment. But nothing can compare to years of watching Lee Trevino playing in the Buick Open while wearing his Toyota cap.
7) Apparently, field credentials to this Super Bowl were easier to obtain than a junior high school hall pass. As seen on NFL Network’s postgame, among those hugging Tom Coughlin was rapper Flavor Flav. As blogger/watchdog Bob (Bob’s Blitz) Mantz notes, Flav’s criminal record includes:
Robbery, burglary, domestic assault, attempted murder, illegal gun possession, crack possession, a pile of illegal driving convictions and two stays in prison.
8) At the suggestion of ESPN’s Bob Picozzi and Giants media director Pat Hanlon, Tom Coughlin called Dave Jennings at his home in New Jersey on Saturday night, just to let him know people are thinking of him. Jennings, the former Giants and Jets punter and former radio analyst for both teams, has Parkinson’s.
9) What gives with our local news media — print and broadcast — that they’re now eager to show the world that New York is a town loaded with bad winners? While the boosterism for the Giants was expected and mostly harmless, once the Giants won why continue to trash the Patriots?
Why allow photo ops and sound bites for every knuckleheaded put-down artist who demanded the worst kind of attention? This is the same news media that makes tsk, tsk, tsk at bullies and young, remorseless wise guys during their arraignments.
10) With everything and everyone in place and NBC eager to split from Indianapolis in favor of “The Voice,” why didn’t it provide more postgame on NBC Sports Network (nee Versus)?
NBC explained it would have had to do so without game footage, as national postgame cable footage rights belonged to ESPN and the NFL Network. Hmmm.
And geez, with the Giants celebrating moments after they won the Super Bowl, why did NBC have us watch Al Michaels and Collinsworth talking to us from their booth for 45 seconds?
11) There are two people who would be best served if they shunned all forms of “social media,” texting, Tweeting and such: Gisele Bundchen-Brady and Tiger Woods.
Mets ink Lewin to radio deal
Josh Lewin, often heard here as a credible play-by-player on FOX’s Saturday Major League Baseball telecasts, will be the Mets’ new radio man, joining Howie Rose and replacing Wayne Hagin, who was not renewed after four seasons.
Lewin, 43, a Texas resident and an accomplished musician — he played piano at bars to get through Northwestern — has, since 2005, been the radio voice of the San Diego Chargers. He has worked Orioles and Cubs radio, and Tigers and Rangers telecasts.
Garden prices no bargain
Know the old joke about the kangaroo that hops into a bar and orders a beer?
The bartender says, “That’ll be $10.” Moments later the bartender says, “Say, we don’t get many kangaroos in here.”
“Well,’’ says the kangaroo, “at these prices I can see why.”
Well, here were Mike Breen and Walt Frazier on MSG Wednesday during Knicks-Wizards game, after Breen read a promo for tickets to tonight’s Lakers-Knicks game:
Frazier: “Tickets left for the Lakers?”
Breen: “Apparently so.”
Frazier: “But we’ve been selling out, almost every game.”
Breen: “Need some extra tickets?”
Frazier: “No, [he chuckles] not at these prices. … I’ll do what you do with the relatives — wait until the poor teams come to town.”