Pennsylvania Is The State of Champions

Random post-Super Bowl thoughts as not to take away from Tuesday's Super Bowl column.

• I'm pretty sure the Pittsburgh Steelers channel the Lovie Smith Cover-2 on Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
• If Ben Roethlishotdogpolishitaliansausageberger would not have connected with Steely McDong, Larry Fitzgerald's sports writin' daddy or Kurt Warner's suddenly kind of hot wife get MVP consideration from me.
• Kissing Suzy Kolber wins Post-SB Blog Headline of the year: "MVPeepee." I'm still laughing.
• Speaking of Fitty's daddy, how many times do you think he changed the lead (or lede) in his story?
  
• I'm still waiting for the refs to go to the booth for an official review.
• But seriously, are the refs throwing flags or Terrible Towels?
• Is it me or did this year's commercials suck? There were a few good ones, but there always are. But the rest were mediocre. If feel as if some companies just wasted $3 million for 30 seconds of crap.
  
• How long until a wealthy NFLer charters Swag U or THE School of Hard Knocks as a place of higher education?
  
• But seriously, what's the point of having instant replay if you're not going to use it?
• Think John McCain (R-Ariz.) is rounding up his buddies and starting a Congressional investigation on the use of instant replay in sports.
• Even Ed Hoculli thinks he couldn't have f*cked that up.
  

My Guide To The Super Bowl

I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to convince myself that the Arizona Cardinals have a chance to win their first Super Bowl against the high and mighty Pittsburgh Steelers.

Then, Sunday night in Evansville, Ind., as I ate a meat-filled calzone with people like me with similar interests, I came to the conclusion when you have to go out of your way to convince yourself said underdog has a chance to slay the giant meanie ... then usually the underdog gets put under.

And even though I am cheering for the underdog and went on the record in choosing the Cardinals, I'm not going to be surprised when the Steelers win 46-17.

There's plenty of reasons to be cheering for the Cards this weekend.

I'll start with their offense. Kurt Warner went from the UNI Dome to bag boy to baller to Eli's back up and then back to baller. No truth to the rumor, however, that he was Matt Leinart's mentor when it comes to the beer bong.

Tim Hightower had a few good fantasy weeks for me and the fact that he's from FCS (fmr. Div I-AA) power Richmond, he gives the smaller schools a good rep. If he starts today, he'll be the second straight former I-AAer to start at the running back position in the big game joining SIU's Brandon Jacobs, who started for the New York Giants last season.

And unlike the Chicago Bears' offense, the Cardinals feature three receivers that can catch the ball as Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston and Larry Fitzgerald have more talent in one hand than the entire Bears receiver unit.

In addition to having good numbers, they have the storyline of being a suckfest that the Cubs fan inside me can relate to.

As for the Steelers, they're good.

They've been good for a long time and have five Super Bowl rings to prove it.

Their defense was ranked No. 1 across the board leading the entire NFL in rush defense, pass defense, points per game, angry linebackers, Terrible Towel waving, injuries inflicted on the opposition and SportsCenter Top Plays.

But don't sleep on the Steelers' offense.

It's efficient, to say the least, and will be just fine as long as Ben Roethlishotdogpolishitaliansausageberger can stay away from motorcycles.

Willie Parker is fast. Hines Ward can do it all as a receiver, and truth is he's a better quarterback than anyone on the Bears, Vikings or Lions' roster right now. And Santonio Holmes has naked pictures of himself floating around the internet. Oh yeah, so does their kicker.

Now that's an offensive "unit" you can't mess with.

So there you have it sports fans.

There's a game on today that each team has its own reason on why it may or may not win.

Good luck and stay classy Pittsbazona!

This post is gonna be Super!

To the victors go the spoils, everyone knows that. But to the losers go the really big headlines so to not forget how much of a failure you are.

So while Super Bowl week will revolve around the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, let's remember the teams that didn't make it with a moment of silence.

...

Thank you.

...

Now, let's talk some Super Bowl.

No one expected the Cardinals to be here, not even the biggest, baddest most die-hardest fan of the former Chicago franchise. But let's be honest, how many people expected the Steelers to be here, too.

Look at the preseason prognosticators and you'll see a lot of New England, Indianapolis, San Diego and Jacksonville projections for the big game. And all of those teams had good cases in the preseason, while the Colts and Bolts had a chance to make their mark because they actually made the playoffs.

The only team with a complaint should be the Pats.

They won 11 games and beat the Super Birds by a convincing 527 to negative-12 score in snowy Foxboro, Mass. If this was the B.C.S. (which it thankfully is not) every blogger in America would be pitching a bitch-fit over this injustice that would get blown so out of proportion, it would rival the inhumane treatment of sweatshop workers according to guys hanging out in their parents' basement.

I digress.

Arizona is who we thought they were: A team that won its games if (AND ONLY IF) they outscored its opponents. Granted, you can't win if you don't score and you can't win if you score fewer points than the team you're playing ... but the birds were at their best when they soared in shootouts.

As for the Steelers, they're better than we thought they were: A gritty defensive club with just enough offense to get by. A healthy Willie Parker, a steady Hines Ward and the emerging presence of Santonio Holmes (who moves faster than those Steely McDong photos across the internet) make Pittsburgh's pummeling team dangerous.

And before you say the Cardinals have no chance to upset the Steelers, I will go on the record and say that they do.

They made it here, didn't they?