And the weak shall inherit the win …
In the cruel history of Super Bowl box pools, the impossible happened last night — on the game’s first play from scrimmage: A safety!
Suddenly, all the not-again! sorry souls who had 2, 5, 8 and 9 were alive! 7 and 3? Their smug anticipation lasted one play!
As for the telecast, the Seahawks’ 43-8 victory often was bruised by people-packed sidelines, end zone to end zone, making it tough — and occasionally impossible — to see near-sideline (Seattle’s) play. The NFL needs to fix that.
The Good: FOX’s after-whistle replays came quickly, which got us back to the field, fast — important with the anticipation of Denver going no-huddle and Peyton Manning hollering audibles.
Troy Aikman spoke plain, football English. No genuine gridiron gibberish. Joe Buck’s early call that the crowd sounded more football than corporate.
The Bad: Buck’s sustained misunderstanding of stats. Citing the replay challenge “success” records of Pete Carroll, then John Fox, projected his sense that all challenges are the same. Hardly. He should know, by now, they come in all sorts of varieties — often dictated by circumstances.
The first half was interrupted by four promos for the halftime show. Who needed more than one?
The Nauseating: Erin Andrews’ ha-ha pregame chat with Richard Sherman. She certainly wasn’t amused two weeks ago, when his wild-eyed, self-aggrandizing spew made her bolt.
That chat was followed by a feature in which Sherman, teammates and FOX panelists excused/explained his behavior as a residual of his enthusiasm for the game and his great regard for “his teammates.”
His teammates? He stole the NFC Championship stage from them! And his enthusiasm is for himself, not the game. Pathetic, TV-typical, bad-is-good pandering.
And what did FOX expect Sherman’s teammates to say about him? Why not ask Michael Crabtree and other opponents he trashes for attention and sport?
The Sad: The only team captain among eight to shake the hands of honorary captains Joe Namath and Phil Simms after the coin toss was Peyton Manning.
The Usual: Seattle became a blowout lock Friday, the moment Mike Francesa touted the Broncos, 26-21. He stressed that Russell Wilson is too often sacked. Wilson wasn’t sacked once.
The Confusing: If those were the Red Hot Chilly Peppers, why sing shirtless? How can you be red hot and chilly? … Oh, chili peppers!
Legal beagles: Giants’ debunking of suit too quick
Fascinating. Within 24 hours following the report Eli Manning and the Giants are being sued for supplying and selling expensive but bogus game-used memorabilia, the Giants were able to conclude and declare the plaintiff’s claim is bogus:
“The suit is completely without merit and we will defend it vigorously,” read a statement. “We will not otherwise comment on pending legislation.”
So, in the midst of co-hosting a Super Bowl, the Giants, in a matter of hours, had the time to conduct a thorough investigation to reach such a firm, clear conclusion.
Of course, if the suit is “completely without merit,” the Giants have chosen for us to believe them based only on their word, not a flake of explanation or evidence provided. Why is the suit bogus? Because they said so.
I’ve studied the sports collectibles “industry” for 30 years, and, as most dealers admit, it’s loaded with scam artists and with athletes and team insiders who don’t care to know what they don’t want to know — as long as they’re paid.
Of course, I always manage to run into “the one honest guy in the business” — all of them.
Even some of the most ostensibly reputable auction houses have peddled purloined goods, including, as was revealed here, a goalie mask that had been stolen from the Rangers’ John Davidson.
But the sad nature of winning the race for public opinion fuels a rush to spin, to produce theatrical outrage and indignation that defies logic.
Chris Christie is guilty of ordering those GW Bridge lane closures! Chris Christie had nothing to do with it! People who should know that they don’t know, already have publicly affirmed that they do know! How can both claims be right?
Fred Wilpon quickly declared the hit he took from embracing “Can’t Ask Questions” Bernie Madoff was just a drop from a full bucket. Later, he said Madoff had placed him on the brink of ruin.
And so the Giants, in a day, were able to both launch and conclude an investigation that found the bogus memorabilia charges against the team and its prized quarterback to be bogus.
Apparently the plaintiff, a longtime friend and business associate of the team’s, last week had nothing better to do, so he filed a “completely without merit” suit against the team. Makes sense.
Local towns are biggest losers
Shouldn’t be long before the bottom-line reports start rolling in. They’ll show how New Jersey and the towns nearest PSL Stadium, having fallen for broken NFL promises and the unfulfilled, fool’s gold lure of Super Bowl-host windfall profits, lost millions.
And several of those millions will be New Jersey’s out-of-pocket costs for an army of State Troopers. And that cost becomes the responsibility of taxpayers who, to a great extent, are all PSL holders. You’ll see.
Better late than never, the NBA is starting to recognize the Suns — 29-18 despite being superstar-less and supposed to finish dead last in the West — are a good story. NBA TV has added Bulls-Suns Tuesday.
In their two games — home and away — against the 36-10 Pacers, the Suns won both — by a total of 32. First-time head coach Jeff Hornacek and first-time lead general manager Ryan McDonough — kid brother of ESPN’s Sean McDonough — apparently can’t find any wrong buttons to push.
Happened again, Saturday, on ESPN. This time Jim Boeheim. He had Syracuse guard against something neither he nor us have likely seen: the made free throw, then the intentionally missed free throw followed by an offensive rebound and quick field goal to tie.
So, rather than foul with a three or four seconds left against Duke, he allowed the game to be tied with a 3-point shot. Stunning to watch the most successful, highest-paid coaches choose to allow a 30-to-35 percent shot to be taken rather than force an opponent into a 1,000-1 situation.
Stunning, too, to think such situations are not coached, every day, during practice.