Super Bowl, etc.

Super Bowl XLII was the best Super Bowl of all time. Additionally, the play where Manning avoided what was almost certainly going to be a sack and threw to David Tyree who managed to hold onto the ball courtesy of squeezing it to his helmet, was probably the greatest Super Bowl highlight ever.

I went crazy when Plaxico Burress made only his second catch of the whole game to give the G-Men the lead for good. Personally, it was nice to see a former-Steeler receiver score the Super Bowl-winning touchdown.

I was taking a bus and train back to New York Monday from Penn State, and I picked up the Pittsburgh Post Gazette in Harrisburg. Of course it said how a former Steeler made the game-winning catch, and how the Giants became the second team in history to win three games on the road to win the Super Bowl. The Steelers did it when they won Super Bowl XL; in my mind the second greatest Super Bowl of all time. (Bias, I know, but I love the Steelers).

Earlier in the season, around October, my girlfriend's father said he thought Eli Manning was, hands down, the worst quarterback in the NFL. I was like, "C'mon, there has to be at least five or so QBs that are worse than Manning," but he insisted that Manning was the cause of all the Giant's problems and definitely the worst in the league. I can't wait to ask him if it's possible for a quarterback to be the worst in the league and the Super Bowl MVP in the same season.

Of course, being two-touchdown underdogs, not many people thought the Giants could pull off such an upset. Personally, I think ESPN crowned the Patriots too much too early. All their coverage was perfect this, perfect that. Brady was made to be this immortal God who could do no wrong on the field, and week after week was nothing but Pats this and New England that, with the word perfect strewn in there a few too many times. This made me believe they were going to lose to the Giants in the regular season when they played at the Meadowlands in the last week. Although the Pats won, it was one of the best games of the regular season. I think the game between the Pats and Ravens was also one of the best, along with the Steelers-Browns meeting in Pittsburgh. Also, I think both of their meetings with Jacksonville, both of which were losses, were also great games to watch. Hard to stomach, but great to watch.

A few weeks ago, during Winter Break on ESPN Radio, I heard a talk-show guy, I believe Colin Cowherd, say that the loss of Jeremy Shockey was good for Eli Manning and the Giants. Almost laughable at first, this is true. He was saying how dominant personalities like Shockey are difficult to have in a locker room when the quarterback is such a shy and quiet leader like Manning. Who knows what would have happened if New York had Shockey for the playoffs. I doubt they would have won the Super Bowl. It makes sense that they were better off without him, which is why they flourished this year without Tiki Barber, another dominant and distracting personality. Speaking of which, I loved how Manning spoke out against Barber earlier in the year, the way he grew a pair and stood up for himself and his team.

To go along with that, after the Super Bowl, on the ESPN post-game show with Emmitt Smith, Steve Young, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, etc. someone, I think Keyshawn, said something like: "Notice how Tiki Barber wasn't a part of this." Losing Barber was the best thing to happen to the Giants, and I can't stand the guy. The way he announced his retirement in the middle of the season and called out his coach. It bothers me to see him on TV, still talking trash on the Giants. Seriously Barber, get a life and learn about how to be a professional journalist. He's just classless.

Sometimes losing a key player can be the key to a team's success. Take for instance Plaxico leaving Pittsburgh. I hated to see such a tall and talented receiver go, especially with him being so close with Ben Roethlisberger, but we won the Super Bowl the next season, so it worked out. I'm not saying we couldn't have won it with Plaxico, but he was like Shockey for the Steelers, and complained a bit too much. It also gave Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle EL a chance to shine. No comment on Randle El leaving, that just hurt.

Now there is talk in Pittsburgh about Roethlisberger and Ward having "beef." Evidently Big Ben would prefer a taller receiver instead of a smaller guy like Ward. As soon as I heard about this, I went straight to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website to get the truth, and found it in this column.

It says how the rift between the two is absurd. Yes, Roethlisberger said he would like to have a tall receiver to throw to, but who wouldn't? He also made sure to refer to his receivers as "unbelievable." As relieved as I was to read this article, it didn't surprise me that there is no beef, and Ward will take this, like he does other things, and use it as fuel for his underdog attitude, and his "I have something to prove, chip on my shoulder" mentality will only grow stronger.

But back to the Super Bowl. Just some final thoughts... I don't think Randy Moss will ever win a Super Bowl, which is a shame given his talent. The only reason I'm saying this is because after he came so close this year, it just didn't happen. He kind of stayed out of trouble, but it was a contract year, so of course he was on his best behavior. Wes Welker is a beast. There was an article in the NY Times after the Super Bowl about how small and unnoticed he always was, yet how hard he worked. It impressed me to say the least. I read somewhere that apparently Joseph Addai of the Colts and Laurence Maroney of the Pats are the same height and weight. I'll never believe that for as long as I read it. And finally, Bill Belichick, who I do not like at all, became the ninth head coach to coach in four Super Bowls. Of course, hearing this made me look up the other eight. I knew Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh; Tom Landry, Dallas; Marv Levy, Buffalo (what a pity); Bill Walsh, San Francisco; and Joe Gibbs, Washington. The other three? Don Shula, Baltimore and Miami (champagne anyone?); Bud Grant, Minnesota; and Dan Reeves, Denver and Atlanta.