Super Bowl 2012: Predictions and Notes

Just a quickie prediction, two hours before the Super Bowl kickoff:

New England 27, New York 23.

From the moment these teams were set, everyone jumped on the Giants bandwagon. There were all of these gasps over New York's three-point underdog status. Top to bottom, the Giants have more talent, I kept hearing.

But the Patriots have Tom Brady.

Belichick is an all-time coach, and maybe it seems the Pats have an advantage there, too. Except Tom Coughlin, who like Philly's Andy Reid is about to lose his gig every single season, is a very good coach as well. Call it a push in that area.

I predicted that, after almost 14 days of "Giants are great" talk, the betting trends and general backlash would have people flip-flopping. ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd, who was absolutely aghast when the SB lines debuted, had changed his tune just before the weekend. Being contrarian can be sweet. It's true.

Brady has had this expression of contained fury since the last weeks of the regular season. Reminds me of Kobe's face during the Laker-Magic Final of '09. As in, I will not lose. Eli Manning's been "hotter" recently, but this is a one-shot situation. Brady comes through in those situations. He will again tonight.

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post-game:

Giants win, 21-17. I thought New York's defense was a bit overrated. They shut me up.

Brady wasn't as in the zone as I expected, but he played well enough. It is Eli Manning who was inspired and, in a commentator's opinion, "brilliant".

And now, we turn to his brother...

Signs of the Times: Beer Pong

I used to be a big-time beer drinker, before I got saved. Drinking was business to me, more than pleasure, so games that get a person drunk were not necessary.

Saw these cups at one of my local Sheetz, while waiting for my chemicals to cook in the kitchen. The package made me laugh.

www.Getpong.com sells plastic cups and bouncy balls in the same bag, and yet Not intended for use with alcoholic beverages. Some might say the company is just protecting itself. Too kind. They just have crazy-mad nerve.

Roanoke, VA: Old-Timey Car at the Waffle House

Just some quick flicks I took early one Sunday morning. If anyone knows what kind of car this is, let us know.

I'm tempted to make a joke about being able to write my name in chalk on this machine's tire, while it is in traffic. But that's too much. I and a good partner could beat it in a three-legged race, though.

The good people at Waffle House know my face, if not my name....

Owners and Property, Masters and Slaves



We could say we are at a strange point in America's race relations. But the United States' whole history of obsession with skin color has been strange. Bryant Gumbel doesn't help when, in the words of mainstream media, he "evoked" slave-master criticisms of NBA commish David Stern during the lockout.


He made the comments on his HBO show Real Sports, and his commentary sparked controversy, as Gumbel meant it to. He's too experienced a journalist and TV personality to not have considered the backlash. He must have thought it through, because he's fanned these flames several times in the past.


No one talks about Bryant Gumbel until he says these things. So he must be considered suspect.


Gumbel is probably right: in his heart, Stern (and the other NBA powerbrokers) do see the players as "boys" in the literal, business, and diminuitive sense. All heads of companies and industries think this way about the little cogs of people, doing the grunt work. Makes it hard to understand why any Average Joe Schmoe would ever side with the very wealthy, on just about anything.


Observe how your boss's boss's boss treats you, when he or she strolls through for the yearly visit. And remember that it's not always simply sweat and hard work that gains worldly success.


People who've never cracked a Bible have heard Jesus's words: "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24, KJV) This verse says: you give me a man who's acquired great wealth, and I'll show you a man who's likely in love with the world.


The fact is, we are all property. In the flesh, anyone reading this is working for someone else. Shelter, food, clothes, transportation... the rest is a bonus.


On a spiritual level, you are either of the devil, or you belong to the Lord. You and everyone else must choose, even David Stern. Our President, past presidents, and the leaders of all of the other countries, have already made their choice. Watch them carefully and see for yourself. More importantly, ask: Who are you working for?

Are You There, God? It's Me, Tim

Right now, almost no one involved with the NFL (including radio and TV analysts) believe in Tim Tebow. His chances of becoming a successful pro quarterback are so astronomical, Tebow's critics say, they are positively biblical.

They are not wrong, at least to date. Tebow was given a half-chance after the lockout to make his mark. But his preseason appearances were anemic. He's been described as a tight end who wandered under center.

Monday night's game against AFC West rival Oakland and we didn't see Tebow.Kyle Orton started for the Denver Broncos, and rightly so. Even QB Brady Quinn has an opportunity to step ahead of Tebow.

Tim Tebow's supporters are just as enthusiastic as his critics. Strangely enough, many of those who think the least of him have confessed guilt--as if they're insulting a nice guy. They are correct again.

His Super Bowl commercial pushed an emotional anti-abortion button, and he wrote a memoir before the age of twenty-five. Those things, added to his evangelical appeal, rubbed people the wrong way. Now that he appears short of the skills needed to quarterback a team, Tebow is fair game.

The only way to give Tebow a shot to succeed is to completely build the Denver franchise around his particular skills--think Michael Vick, Jr. Slower with a weaker arm. For now it seems that Tebow hasn't adjusted to the speed of NFL defenses. Only playing time solves that, if it can be solved at all.

Denver is not going to build off of him. It could work if the Broncos were brilliant personnel evaluators, only they clearly are not. Tebow as the cornerstone is too radical an idea in the conservative world of the National Football League. You copy the winners--that's how it works. And so far even scrambling QBs like Vick can't win it all.

Only a strike of fortune will reveal whether he can really perform.

Doppelgänger: Seth MacFarlane v. Sam Bradford

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane

St. Louis Ram QB Sam Bradford

 

more double takes... 

Still Miles To Go

It's going to be hard for the typical LeBron-hater to keep that lump out of his throat. That's if the Miami Heat continue in the playoffs as they are.

Philadelphia put up as much fight as they could, but the Heat waxed them in the first round, four games to one. Fans and analysts tried to poke at LeBron and Dwyane Wade that week. It wasn't easy to criticize.

The NBA Playoffs are strange, as are all postseasons in all sports. Usually it's because of TV contracts. Games get spaced out by three, four, or even five days. Athletes lose something when their season-long routine is disrupted. In baseball it's very evident, because up until the playoffs, the players are working nearly every day. Even the viewer can see that the alignment is off, so obviously the athletes feel it.

Other than the surging Memphis Grizzlies, the Heat are the only team who seem unaffected by the schedule shifts. They have taken a 2-0 lead on the Celtics as the second round series goes back to Boston. All of them are in tune on the court and in the press room.

James and Wade stood together for a press conference before that Game 2 win, saying that being on the dais together saved time. But it was an unspoken message about their current solidarity. "Our job is to bring out the best in each other," Wade said.

That is bad news for those who hated this so-called super team from day one. The guard is changing.