• Schilling discusses laying an egg against the Yanks last night
• Death By Veganism
• NYTimes Hates Pirates 3 | WaPo Loves Pirates 3
• As promised, MLB Officials Meet with Giambi
• New Republican Ads Aimed At Discrediting Pelosi
• Girls Squabble on “The View”
• Interesting Op-Ed On Freedom and Protest

Unless the San Antonio Spurs plan on convincing the oh-so-lovely Eva Longoria to attend every game sporting scantily clad outfits, posing for every camera shot physically possible, TV ratings are inevitably doomed for the Western Conference Finals and, if they advance, the NBA Championship Finals. Arenas and stadiums will be hard-pressed to sell out. Bottom lines will be at risk. And, in a ridiculous long-shot, absolutely off-the-wall worst case scenario, the league could receive the “NHL treatment”. (Stern would have someone whacked before he’d allow that to happen to his league.)

The Spurs are simply too clean cut, by-the-book and fundamental to be “America’s team.” They lack the “sizzle” average part-time fans need to stay tuned in. Those fans typically look for a squad closely resembling a car crash; on any given night they can explode for 100+ points, dunk the ball with authority on fast breaks and is always good for the occasional scream after shots, passes and rebounds. On other nights, they get technical fouls galore for showing too much emotion and fire.

The Spurs will never be called a car crash. They are too good, too clean-cut, and just get the job done night-in, night-out, without the same over-the-top emotions as the popular teams (Suns, Warriors, Heat, and Mavericks). They do everything coaches always teach — play defense, box-out, hustle, work the ball down low — and young players should take notes at their precision. The thing is, those young kids never finish watching Spurs games because halfway through they are bored to tears.

Excitement, emotion and personality put butts in seats consistently. The Spurs, when visiting other arenas, do not put butts in seats consistently. The last thing a dynasty should have a problem with is selling itself. So I propose a solution to put the Spurs on the map, by way of marketing their quiet, friendly, clean-cut friendly giant.

Get Tim “The Big Fundamental” Duncan to follow the same marketing route as Peyton Manning.

There have to be enough “Cut-That-Meat!” commercials to go around, right?

Duncan is perfect for the job. He is friendly, gets along with his teammates and coaches and, most important for marketing the good of the league, has not been on the wrong side of the law or the league. Hell, the last fuss he made involved a referee giving him a technical foul for laughing, and where is the ref now? Pushing up dais… wait, no, he was fired. (I kid, Stern, I’m a kidder.)

The NBA’s image has been dragged through the mud for too long. Contrary to popular beliefs, not every player in the league is a hooligan, thug or diva. While the NBA cannot control negative media coverage – face the facts: negative stories always lead over the positive – it can pull out the “good guys” and plop their face in front of the American consumer.

Manning used to be viewed as the second-biggest football nerd on the face of the earth (John Clayton wins #1 by a landslide). Now he is the funniest player on the Super Bowl champs.

Manning was always known for spending countless hours studying game film and creating ridiculous audible calls for every imaginable situation. Now half of that time is devoted to SNL appearances, Mastercard and Cell phone commercials.

Surely Duncan has enough time to dedicate to the occasional commercial where he will be allowed to come out of his shell.

Ask not what the NBA can do for The Big Fundamental, but what The Big Fundamental can do for the NBA.

With his emergence as a positive face for the NBA, seen on just as many commercials as Manning, it will give a temporary face to all that is good in the league. Granted, like Manning, his commercials are not going to prevent the Bengals from being the Bengals, or Ricky Williams from smoking weed.

The kids would finally notice Duncan by the best means available, and not only respect him for his accomplishments on-court, but off-court, in the community as well. TV commercials have always been the best outlet for allowing athletes to show a side fans rarely get a chance to see. Among the best, commercials have allowed Manning to show off his funny bone, “Mean” Joe Greene to show his nice side and Gilbert “Agent Zero” Arenas to share his story of perseverance and heart. Duncan would fit into the list perfectly.

As we used to say back in the day, Duncan has the “skills to pay the bills.” He is ripe for the role of “The Face” and the NBA would be neglectful to not step in and ask him to “Be Like Peyton.”

The plan is so foolproof, even T.O.’s former “25 million reasons” publicist couldn’t screw this one up.

Move over, Jose Canseco. Another player who admitted to using “stuff” to enhance his game wants to join in on pointing fingers at who’s to blame as Major League Baseball continues to battle league-wide drug abuse issues.

In a report by USA TODAY, Yankees first-baseman Jason Giambi – a man who should feel obligated to send portions of his career earnings to the Save BALCO Bums Campaign* (campaign juice/funds provided by anonymous donors) — called out the MLB for not apologizing to its fans long ago (from the USA TODAY report):

“I was wrong for doing that stuff,” Giambi told USA TODAY on Wednesday before playing the Chicago White Sox. “What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said: ‘We made a mistake.’

“We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. … Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it.”

When asked why he used steroids, Giambi replied:

“Maybe one day I’ll talk about it, but not now.”

Now that is full disclosure the MLB must envy, especially coming from Giambi, a man of infallable integrity.

So maybe Giambi expects the league to look past the asterisk behind his name and take in his opinion because, as one can assume, everyone cares about his steroid-related opinions — he is, after all, an expert.

Had the league scheduled an apology right after Giambi’s, in 2005, they would be better off today, according to the slugger.

Giambi’s apology was one politicians write on a daily basis. What’d he apologize for? For taking… well, he couldn’t get into specifics. He just knew he was sorry.

After the most absurd apology in history (after Bill Clinton’s “Ya’ll caught me… finally” apology to end the Lewinski scandal), the MLB accepted Giambi back into the league as a known “cheater” and did nothing to punish the records he attained while he admittedly using “stuff.” And after an impressive allegedly “steroid-free” 2005 campaign, a year after discovering he suffered from a benign tumor (also known as a ”steroid bubble” in some insider circles), he received the 2005 MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Kids - live your dreams! (I’m assuming kids are the correct audience, and who the entire steroids issue is all about, right?) One day, you too can cheat your way to the top and criticize the people who continue to ignore follow cheaters like you!

There’s a saying - ”Don’t bite the hand that fed you.” The MLB should feel betrayed by Giambi’s latest comments. It was the league who helped feed Giambi (and his brother) millions of dollars, even when first hearing of his link to steroid use. Back in December 2004 the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Giambi told a grand jury investigating BALCO in 2003 he used steroids and growth hormone. Only after the testimony leaked, he felt obligated to apologize.

Now, Giambi sits atop a holier-than-thou position, telling the league to apologize for going easy on players like himself.

How would Giambi feel that same MLB apology included a hard-line against the records of admitted steroid users? This would mean immediate “Delete” button uses of the two major whistleblowers, Giambi and Canseco. Not included: possible retro payment lawsuits for earning fraudulent dollars from the league by way of cheating. (Not so sure this is possible, but it’s a thought.)

Players like Giambi are fun to watch - in press conferences and media quote pages. They admit to a vague list of items like “stuff” and “things” but point fingers at the biggest entity and say “they made me do it!”

The MLB lost control of the entire steroids/performance enhancers issue a long time ago. But Giambi, of all people, is in absolutely no place to call anyone out. If anything, he should send flowers, a “Thank You” card and chocolates over to the league who did not throw him under the bus back in December 2004.

I know a certain slugger in San Francisco who would kill to get the Giambi treatment, but he never will. So Giambi should do himself a favor and keep his mouth shut.

Another line of advice comes from something an old grade school teacher once told me - “When you point your finger at someone, remember, there are three other fingers pointing right back at you.”

*Please Note: Save BALCO Bums Campaign is not a real campaign as far as I know, although its existence is not at all too far-fetched.

Let’s talk about the word “adversity.”

Adversity is playing a game without a key component of your game plan.

Adversity is facing one of the top-5 best center/power-forwards without your top-5 in the league center/power-forward.

Adversity is having millions of eyes zoned in on you, expecting even the slightest gesture to spark a complete loss of your composure and cool. (Mainly because most people in the same situation would consider the idea)

The San Antonio Spurs did not need to overcome an ounce of adversity to pull off yesterday’s win in Phoenix. You will be surprised to find more than one person who feels differently. So will someone please get Manu Ginobli on the same page?

In his post-game locker room interview with Craig Saber and again in the organized press conference, Ginobli went on about his team’s amazing win, overcoming adversity and pulling off a tough win. Puh-lease. The only adversity the Spurs overcame was whether or not they should put 3 guys in the paint at any given time or 4.

Essentially, for the entire game the Suns were short-staffed, leaving the Spurs with an NHL-like Power Play for the entire game; quite appropriate considering that a NHL-like hip-check from Robert Horry to Steve Nash changed the series.

Last year, the Phoenix Suns overcame adversity to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the Western conference playoffs. The Suns were without Raja Bell, their Kobe Bryant defense specialist, who was suspended for clotheslining Bryant in Game 5. Rallying behind Bell’s defense that he was bullied by Bryant but had not received calls accordingly, players like Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw stepped up and made the series one to remember.

Last night, Phoenix simply didn’t have enough gas in the tank to pull off the same feat. This situation was ten-times more difficult. Not only were the Suns without their most dominant big man — who missed all of last year’s playoffs due to injury — but they were also out one versatile big man, Diaw, who made his bones last year starring as the number-one back-up to their injured missing piece.

To say the Suns are upset at the league would be a huge understatement. The league wronged them by not laying just punishment on Bruce Bowen (knee to Steve Nash’s groin) and Tim Duncan (wandered onto court during play/brief altercation). The suspension of Amare Stoudemire and Diaw (wandering away from bench during altercation) was unnecessary, especially considering the leniency given to Bowen and Duncan.

Last night the pick-and-roll looked smooth, crisp and so long as shots fell and passes made their way to the right person, Phoenix led for most of the game. But, predictably, in the end, without their star big-man on the block to bang with the Spurs’ Tower of Tim, there just wasn’t enough energy to last them through the final moments.

As much as they wanted to prove they would not be affected by the league’s suspension hammer, the Suns were devastated. This entire series, they have been battered, beaten and abused. But not yet defeated.

It’s times like this where you hear the phrase, “They’re playing for Pride,” because that’s how it is for the Suns from here on out. And Game 6 will show exactly how professional and, just as important, resilient Phoenix truly is.

But the Phoenix will never forget this incident, nor will they forgive the league for placing them against all odds, battling actual adversity.

(Again, someone may need to explain this concept to Mr. Ginobli)

The sports site I’ve been talking about getting together a number of times is finally up and live.

Find it here >> http://www.mindritesports.com/

You can still find old items live there from way back when we first started it in the 70’s (ok, ok, not quite… more like late ‘06).

The first “GET YOUR MIND RITE!” is directed at everyone’s favorite troublemaker/finder, Adam “Pacman” Jones. Go check it out and give us some feedback. We’ll need plenty more suggestions, though we have quite a few lined up across the sports realm.

Enjoy, enjoy… stay tuned for the Arenas “Zero Doctrine” piece scheduled to go up on MindRiteSports.com soon…

Not many weeks are more torturous than the one leading up to the biggest NFL game of the year. Super Bowl hype week has to be a journalist’s most dreaded of the year, as far as stories go. Everyone Kanye West’s (sample, sample and then, when all else fails, sample some mo’) everyone else’s story and the team you found yourself rooting for moments after the Conference championship games tends to change as a product of this information overkill.

This year’s Super Bowl information overkill is hosted with the beautiful South Beach Miami, Florida in its backdrop. Not too shabby a spot, I must say, for repetitive, irrelevant and unoriginal questions to roll out one after another.

And, how appropriate is it that the Super Bowl is played right as Sundance Film Festival in Utah concludes? Those with tickets to both Sundance and S.B. XLI (41 to those who are in the 21st century, where only the graphic design team could possibly appreciates the NFL’s use of Roman numerals) can rub it in how they jump from snowy Park City, Utah to sunny Miami, Florida and miss nothing. As a member of the hoi polloi, to those types we say collectively, “We envy you.” To Park City and Miami locals, I do not envy you. Thousands of bodies of tourists, celebrities and media folk polluting your town for a full week sounds torturous. Luckily, no such abnormal traffic would be allowed in our nation’s capital where I currently reside. Three words: ”White House paranoia.” Think: DiCaprio as Howard Hughes at the end of The Aviator.

So as the SB XLI coverage gets a tan in the Sunny State, let’s dive into the story lines that will most likely be covered. Even the ones I’ve plucked out of the sky…

* * * * * * * * * *

Black Coaches Make History
Do not fall among the many who think this is not a top story. Those types are the ones who think that if we ignore the elephant in the room, it will go away. The truth is, this year the NFL will have its first ever competing and winning Super Bowl coach. No, this is not as big a deal as Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barriers, but bear in mind that for the entire Super Bowl Era (41 years now) this is the first time a black coach has made it to the Big Game. Many black players have graced the grand stage (no QBs, either, until Doug Williams of the burgundy and gold nation’s capital team stepped it up) but less than a decade ago, the Rooney Rule was implemented so the owners would not just ignore black coaches who were as qualified as their “good old boys” they normally hired. The significance of Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith’s achievement will be revered many years from now after they hang up their hats and this game is played on ESPN Classic - as it goes in sports, and history in general.

The “conspiracy theorist” in me secretly thinks the storyline behind the scenes is reminiscent to The Chappelle Show episode where fellow black actor Wayne Brady takes over as host while Dave tests his limits with Comedy Central studio heads. The “I have your back, you have mine, right?” implication is there but there’s no doubt in either mind that they want to be the one looking back toting the all-so-important advice as to “How To Succeed on the Big Stage”. On that same episode, Chappelle’s half-hearted “black actors” statement to Brady as he fears for his life says it all.

The Rex Grossman Factor
No quarterback could possibly have been scrutinized as much as Rex Grossman throughout an entire season. Reason being is that no QB actually existed on a team where his defense remained motivated to win big ballgames by protecting their awful offensive leader. Grossman has overcome amazing odds of being awful to… continue that same trend, yet make it to SB XLI in-spite-of. While every NFL player will carry around a digital video camera to capture all of the excitement (and stay tuned for which make the YouTube best-of clips!), if no one else, Grossman should have a full camera crew there to document this historical occasion. Never again will a QB so mediocre make it to the Big Bowl. It’s not Rex Grossman vs. Peyton Manning, so be real with the coverage. It is Rex Grossman vs. Brian Urlacher and the Bears’ D. The teammates have been loyal all the way up to this point, but who really thinks that if Rex blows this game his teammates will still have his back?

Peyton, Demons Sun-Lotioned Up For Sun, Media Attention
Peyton Manning looks to be headed towards a shoo-in Hall Of Fame career, surpassing all recorded passing statistics known to professional football. But, as many would have you believe, if he does not win a Super Bowl, he, Marino and Boomer Esiason will created their own club as the “Greatest QBs of All-Time… To Never Do A Super Bowl Shuffle.” I can already imagine Saturday night, after the team’s lights-out deadline, where Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne will be practicing play after play until dawn, when the players will suddenly realize that sleep is a pre-game requirement for most human beings. Luckily, the Colts’ elite rarely seem to portray many human traits. But as Manning looks to skewer the Bears D, his biggest on-field foe, his biggest off-field foe will be those damn CareerBuilder.com monkeys, who, like Manning, may also be on the big stage for the last time ever in their professional career, despite the entertainment they’ve provided for us all.

CBS (Conservative Broadcasting Station) Telecast - Again?
And the most anti-climactic part of the the whole Super Bowl experience this year? The fact that SB XLI will be hosted by CBS. Their High-Definition is suspect at best and the only shining star of the pre- and post-game coverage is DC’s own James Brown (the host formerly of the FOX Sunday team, not the legendary Godfather of Funk). I was a fan of Boomer in his playing days, as was I of Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe, but their broadcasting days have been longer than I could have ever imagined. Not to take away from any of their genuine liking for the game of football (obviously) but the tandem doesn’t hold a candle to the ESPN squad (yep, even with Michael Irvin), the NBC squad (With my boy Sterling Sharpe, former ESPN analyst, whom left The Worldwide Leader way too soon), the FOX squad (Terry, Howie, Jimmy and “the other guy” aka. Curt Menefee) and the NFL Network Squad (Anyone else pleasantly surprised at Chris Collinsworth’s work as of late?). Let’s hope JB’s microphone remains louder than the others, and maybe a few guest spots will steal the show.

Oh, and what day will someone speculate on the possibility of another Janet Jackson-lke incident considering Prince is performing at halftime? Considering the conservatism growing in this world during events like this, a man dressed in purple frilly suits and mascara would surely rattle many a household, no? I can’t wait… as I, personally, think Prince’s music is among the classics.

Oh How I Miss Commercial Potty Breaks
Count me among the masses who will take a bathroom break only before the game (thirty minutes out, to be exact) and quite possibly during a potentially long and silly car commercial. Otherwise, consider my arse glued to the couch/chair/flooring of some sort where I stand, awaiting the entertainment of the game, but especially of the commercials. Historically I’ve not been so dedicated that I have a sheet filled out for rating each of them (might Google it in a few, actually) but I do believe that ever since comic relief in forms of jokes, wit and animals were added to the 30+ second spots, entertainment stole our traditional “potty breaks”. And taking these commercials a step further will be when a man uses a fourth quarter spot to propose to his girlfriend, at the low-low rate of $2 million!

Here’s to hoping that, for his and her sake, she says “yes,” or we can expect the attention drawn will work negatively against Mr. $2 Mil Proposal Guy when she mysteriously disappears, as it would be too suspicious to avoid guilt from those oh-so-suspecting finger-pointers. So, in respect to this, keep your fingers crossed.

Last night, I ventured over to the Verizon Center to catch what was supposed to be a high-flying, high-scoring match-up of the NBA’s top-2 scoring offenses. When the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards met last month, the game needed to go beyond regulation before a winner could be decided. Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas and his “Hibatchi!” chant took out revenge on one of the men who cut him from the Team USA roster, Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, when he scored 54 and halted the Suns’ 12-game winning streak.

Apparently Arenas has since moved on, according to an article on ESPN, and is now focused on coach number two who spurned his Team USA hopes and dreams, Nate McMillan, skipper for the Portland Trail Blazers. In that same article, D’Antoni drops a wonderful line after about how Arenas has been marking off his hoops hitlist, getting back at those Team USA coaches.

It’s strange how the fire Arenas showed last month against the Suns seemed to be missing last night in DC, but he still dropped 31 points. Amazing, but not quite as amazing as…

Steve Nash, your league MVP for the 3rd year in a row. Haters who say that Nash doesn’t deserve to get the award yet again have some ’splainin to do. I want to hear the arguments, I really do. Last night’s game can’t really be placed among his best performances, even though he had a double-double (27 points, 14 assists) and missed only two of his 13 shots all night. He puts up similar numbers each night, with ease. He runs the pick-and-roll to perfection with damn near every player on the team. It may just be impossible to stop.

The Suns easily cruised past the “Suns of the East” and hopefully next time someone other than Caron Butler can figure out how to play D and score. But I guess it’s too much to ask, for a top offensive team to play a little D…

Anyway, send me your “Anyone but Nash for MVP” arguments, I’d love to hear them.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It’s a links day, so here are a few articles from all sorts of topics for your own viewing pleasure:

• John Clayton rips T.O. for ripping Parcells on the way out when Owens is the one who needs to work on securing the ball more.
• Jason Whitlock talks about the dream matchup between the two Super Bowl coaches.
• Michael Vick gets the dreaded vote of confidence from executive VP of operations.
• A Chicago Sun-Times columnist actually defends Rex Grossman… I think.
• David Thorpe, from Scouts, Inc., breaks down why Gilbert Arenas is the best combo guard in the league. (Smell that MVP air?)
• Some guy named Marty from SI.com breaks down some midseason NBA awards.
• John Kerry will elect not to run for President in 2008, amid the competition, lack of support and the fact that his personality is more dry than our local global warming expert, Al Gore.

As sure as Jordan with seconds to go, Barry Sanders with a football in his hand with no hole in sight, and Tiger Woods in a final-day playoff, the Nuggets Show in Denver is guaranteed to be non-stop action night in and night out. There will be plenty of assists to go around. Steve Nash may force a trade from Phoenix to get in on the action. Hell, John Stockton would be hard-pressed to not come out of retirement for this.

When Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, J.R. Smith and two random co-stars — most nights it will be Marcus Camby and Steve Blake — take the floor, it wouldn’t hurt to add an extra ball to the game. And maybe a few extra feet to the court. Maybe bring up the lights a bit, too, just to make sure that the spotlight is wide enough to capture the entire show. It would be a shame to miss out.

If you still can, log onto your local sports team’s site and purchase tickets to check out the Nuggets Show when they come to your town. But tickets may already be sold out. Why wouldn’t they be? They sat at 4th in league in scoring with only one leading scorer. Add a second leading scorer to the line-up and the Pepsi Center may want to keep doctors on hand to treat exhaustion and fatigue, with the incoming workload increase for the scoreboard operators.

Adding #3 next to #15 in the powder blue on whites may demand league changes. Assuming the NBA runs on an honor system already, the opposing team will be forced to believe that the scoreboard is not malfunctioning on a nightly basis. There are, in fact, five actual players on the floor each night, placing ball-in-hoop just as league rules state. Playing defense against a large blur may be something only Casper The Friendly Ghost can do but, much to the chagrin of the other 29 teams in the NBA, Casper is currently employed in Seattle as their infamous 12th man.

Hand the ball to Melo, he’ll score. No one can guard him straight up. Not his buddy Lebron (as “The Chosen One” the concept of defense is “different,” as in, “optional”), not Kobe (and he actually plays defense), not even Dwayne Wade. Maybe Dennis Rodman has a shot, or his little brother Ron Artest. Just maybe.

Hand the ball to A.I. of old, he’d score. Once he learned that passing the ball produced stats also, his career skyrocketed. No smaller man is/was/will be as quick, or as versatile. He seems just as fast, strong, elusive and determined as when he first entered the league. People say he’s aged over the years but that remains to be seen.

A.I.’s #3 looks great in Denver powder blue on white, almost as if the colors and number were made to be together. His #3 looked great in Philadelphia black and red, too, but not this gread. If it weren’t for the availability of NBA paraphernalia in stores, no one would truly know how great the jersey would look. A.I.’s body moves at a different pace than that of the average human being. Luckily, #15 hasn’t been “average” at much of anything since he picked up a basketball, so the pairing with #3 couldn’t be any more perfect.

Not since “the backpedal” has #15 seen game action. Rumor has it the Broncos gave him a tryout to play opposite Champ Bailey. In 36 days off, the former Syracuse star claims to have worked on his game, reflected on who he is and who he wants to be. And rightfully so. Football or basketball star, Melo, which is it?

As of last night, his decision is hoops. Maybe by summer training camp, things will change.
Following his first game back, after recording 28 points, 5 boards and 6 assists, and participating in what seemed like all of Sportscenter’s top-10 highlights throughout the night, #15’s focus was not on offense, the hands-down furthest-from-an-achilles-heel-possible, but on the other side of the ball.

“We buckle down on defense, we’re gonna be a force to reckon with.”

Defense? Who’s got time to play defense with the game moving that fast?

We’ll have to take his word for it whether they win the title or not. All there was to see last night on TV was a malfunctioning scoreboard favoring Denver and an Arena full of smiles. Finally, the Broncos and the altitude won’t be the only things keeping fans in Colorado happy and high.

After Colts rookie running-back Jason Addai crossed the goal line to give his team the four point lead late in the fourth quarter, Peyton Manning’s heart must have dropped to the turf. Of course Manning was extremely happy to possess the lead with less than a minute to go in the biggest game of his career, that’s given.

But, patiently lurking on the opposing sideline, warming up the same arm that helped win three Super Bowl titles and twice as many Manning match-ups, was Tom Brady.

The Yankees have Mariano Rivera. FOX Network has “American Idol.” The Patriots have Tom Brady.

Brady’s arm, paired with Bill Belichick’s coaching, had only lost one of thirteen previous playoff experiences. Of course Manning should be scared.

Face buried in his hands, seated on the sideline bench as as Brady took the field, Manning knew that if his arch-rival seized yet another opportunity to place a dagger in his heart, he might just burst, right then and there. And he wouldn’t want to have his eyes open to see it.

Luckily for Manning and the Colts, bursting would not be necessary. Brady threw a pick to Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson which handed both the game and general sanity back to Manning and his team.

The Colts’ win placed Tony Dungy alongside Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith in the history books. In its 40 years of existence, never before has the head coach of a Super Bowl team been African-American. This year, in Super Bowl XLI (41), there are two.

Both the league and its players should be proud. Dungy and Smith are pioneers in their profession. Their story means much more than the Manning “Killer B” hump ascension as the main focus heading into the biggest game of the NFL season.

Hopefully, years from now looking back at this moment, we will be thankful that attention was paid to how important it is to have diversity in not only professional sports, but professional organizations in general. Tackling the issue is much harder to achieve than Manning and his ”Killer B” hump, but still possible. And more than necessary.

Surrounding Your Star With Stars

Rightfully outshined by the stories of amazing black coaches and a Manning in the Super Bowl will be figuring out why the invincible duo of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick failed to move on. The Patriots’ focus needs to be on the lack of weapons surrounding Tom Brady.

For the better part of the last five years the Patriots always found a way to win the big games, no matter how many injuries or free agent departures plagued the team. That is, until now.

With the Pats at home to watch the Super Bowl for a change, it may be time to start asking the same question the Philadelphia Eagles hear every year — why not surround your superstar QB with other superstars?

Up until this year, the Patriots’ the answer was simple: they won three Super Bowl titles in the last five years with Tom Brady.

With the Eagles, the answer is not as simple. They have zero Super Bowl titles with Donovan McNabb. (To McNabb’s defense, the Eagles organization as a whole has yet to win a world title since the NFL/AFL merger in the 70s.)

Belichick has been dubbed a coaching genius, running the show and winning the Big Show three times with only two future Hall Of Famers on his roster (Brady and current Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri). Eagles’ coach Andy Reid has been dubbed a great coach but not quite a genius. And the reason why? He can’t win a league title. And he won’t until he surrounds McNabb with better players. No knock on Brian Westbrook, one of the best all-around backs in the league, but cannot be left as McNabb’s only weapon.

Both Reid and Belichick make the same mistake in the off-season, thinking they can win a title without surrounding their number one guy with adequate talent.

It is almost as important as taking into account how many carries a running back has in his lifetime. After so many carries, their body is bound to wear down and they’ll lose some of what made them great. How long before the weight of the team’s success wears down Brady and McNabb?

In professional sports, the game is about being in first place at the end of the year; winning the championship title. Anything less means something must be redone, changes need to be made.

Unlike the Eagles, the Patriots are not used to this feeling of longing at the end of the season. It is not about what you did last season, but what you do in the current year. And this season, the Pats didn’t quite make it over the final hump. Neither did the Eagles.

Both teams need to take a long look at the talent (or lack thereof) surrounding their star quarterbacks. In Brady’s case, he has managed to remain healthy throughout their run. McNabb has not been as fortunate.

McNabb and Brady both need to be surrounded with better talent. No-name wide-receivers who drop big passes just won’t cut it.

You wouldn’t want to go into war without the right equipment for battle. Why should the Pats or Birds want to?

The half-hearted response of “Well, Donovan McNabb’s made due with what he’s had…” is no longer valid.

And, as of last night, neither is the response of, ”Well, Tom Brady’s made due with what he’s had…”

Star QBs shouldn’t have to tank games before the front office wises up and surrounds their star with fellow star talent. Both the Eagles and Patriots are much too smart to continue this same trend of QB negligence.

It’s simple: Support your local star QB before it’s too late.

Two Quick Sidenotes on the Music Tip

• What’s on Common’s plate? Only the new movie coming out January 26, “Smokin’ Aces” starring a large cast of scattered celebs, as well as a movie in the fall starring two of Hollywood’s finest — Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe — entitled “American Gangster”. Oh, and, not to mention an album due out soon, once all the movie promotion smoke settles, called “Finding Forever”. Newsweek ran an article about what the multi-talented hip-hop artist has been up to. And asking the question “Is there anything he can’t do?”
• On January 30th, Norah Jones plans on following up her successes with her third solo album, “Not Too Late.”

The college football bowl games contained just as many blowouts as the Final Four of last year’s men’s NCAA hoops tourney. That said, the football version of the blow-out is ten times more exciting, I must say. LSU put it to the Irish, 41-14, placing Notre Dame coach Charlie Weiss at the same record as prematurely-fired-ex-coach Ty Willingham (0-2). Does the coach get fired now? Even after the hunky suspension? Of course not. In fact, Weiss may get another extension just to keep him from grabbing any other NFL job. Justice? I think not.

Moving on to last week’s predictions, the sure-bets, the bet-your-house-and-home-on-these, I went 3-1. In Indy, Peyton Manning nearly threw the game over to Ty Law (yep, again in the playoffs) and his faltering Chiefs, who could not move the ball on that Colts D to save their life. Maybe the Colts’ D was possessed by that of old great defenses of the past, or maybe Larry Johnson dropped back into “baby” mode, which would make Dick Vermeil even more of a genius for predicting it. But either way, the game was sloppy but the better team won.

If you haven’t seen my piece on Tony Romo yet, go read it. He blew it for the team. Sports people always say “no one play loses the game” but they’re wrong. If that 19-yard field goal (!!!) goes through without a hitch, Dallas moves on and Owens’ drops and Terry Glen’s fumble for a safety are ignored. Give it up to the true player of the game, Jordan Babineaux, for making the shoestring tackle on Romo that stopped Dallas short of the goal line and, just as importantly, the first down marker.

The Patriots outplayed the Jets in every aspect. Even in the end after the game, Belichick’s hip-toss of the cameraman who stood in the middle of he and hated ex-coworker/current Jets coach, Eric Mangini, was better than Man-genius’s simple sidesteps. The hug was awkward, strange, and more of a “rubbing your face in it, you punk” than a “congrats on the loss, you’re still my boy.” Jets fans, you couldn’t have possibly thought… nah, you couldn’t have. Next year, you’ll be back and fighting even stronger. Credit the hug.

The Giants fought hard all the way to the end, but the momentum the Birds had from their winning streak proved impossible to overcome. Credit the Eagles’ new-found running game, which allows Brian Westbrook (Please, Washington Metro-area folk, stop confusing him with Michael Westbrook and/or Brian Mitchell. He’s about 100 times better than both.) a chance to show that he is not just the best receiver on the team, he also knows how to run the ball (See resume w/ stats from Villanova). Tiki Barber didn’t go out on a winning note, but at least he knows that thanks to the media and out-spoken (now)ex-teammates, he’ll always be able to cut on a TV and know what’s going on in that locker room.

Moving onto the “Bet your cat on ‘em because I don’t like cats” picks…

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Colts at Ravens

The staple of the Ravens team is, and always will be so long as Ray Lewis is a part of that squad, the defense. They’re fast, loud and usually trying to injure someone on every play. That said, Peyton Manning is probably licking his chops this week like he’s part of his own pack of wolves. Not the protectors of his city but, rather, the hunters. He knows he can overcome the Ravens’ D and all week he’s worked on ways to make it happen. The Colts’ D is on a high right now so they may play possessed again, but don’t expect them to completely shut down Jamal Lewis. They performed last week and complained that they get no respect, but the media isn’t the one putting up poor defensive numbers all year. They have only themselves to thank for that. So… yeah…

Steve McNair is one of the most underappreciated, tough leaders of my lifetime at the position of quarterback. His position in Baltimore was perfect, for a team that seemed to have every piece imaginable (and then some) on defense but no leader for their shoddy offense. The team was going nowhere with Kyle Boller (a young Jon Kitna, if you ask me) and McNair’s veteran leadership ability is another reason the Ravens have been runaway favorites for this year’s Super Bowl title.

But although the picture isn’t painted just right – with the shaky D always seeming to be the lead reason to count Indy out – it is their year to win. They avoided winning 16 games in the regular season to relieve pressure from the entire squad. Then they lost a few games late to have everyone in the league write them off in the first round, to an inconsistent team with one main offensive threat. Just remember that if Peyton Manning can overcome throwing the ball to his favorite defensive target, Ty Law, and still move onto the next round of the playoffs, the league had better get real scared.

Colts win 28-27.

Eagles at Saints

All year I’ve said dreaded the position this game places me in. The team I root for by way of fan obligation (Eagles) is matched up against the team I root for because I think the country has forgotten about, much too quickly (Saints). The damage caused by Hurricane Katrina over a year ago still affects residents today. Some have not had the chance to move back into their homes, either opting to live in another state or FEMA trailers that tend to be much too small for its inhabitants. The attention garnered from a Saints win would bring more national attention to the city (it’s a pity that it takes a sporting event to bring the attention) and the city would need and appreciate any and all help.

That said, I think that even with the Coach of the Year, Sean Payton, on the sideline, the Eagles are riding a wave that isn’t ready to stop just yet. Philly is stacked with veterans who not only have been to the playoffs, but many have been to the Super Bowl (yep, in the T.O. era that wasn’t). Experience trumps young confidence here, and despite the establishment of Reggie Bush as a great pro, and the emergence of Payton as one of the best coaches in the league, they cannot complete the miracle and keep their ball rolling. And I’m almost saddened by it. It’ll be a close one, though, with both defenses having as many holes as one of the failing levees left by the gov’t before Katrina. If this were a basketball game, you better believe Spike Lee would be courtside rooting for New Orleans.

Nobody’s a real loser, despite the outcome, because the story the Saints have had this year will be remembered, and hopefully cause momentum to go beyond the walls of the Superdome and down into the Lower Ninth Ward, where help is truly needed.

Side note: Whoever wins this game will go on to the Super Bowl. Yep, I said it. As a famous character in a certain ‘hood flick said, “Write it down, take a picture, I don’t give a…”

Eagles win, 35-31.

Seahawks at Bears

Each week, as I watch the Bears play it’s not a matter of if Rex Grossman will screw the game up, it’s when. Lovie Smith sat in the stands as he watched his two former colleagues, Tony Dungy and Herm Edwards, battle it out to advance to Round 2. On the Kansas City sideline, he saw Edwards battle his instincts, as Trent Green played poorly. With Damon Huard on the sideline pacing frenetically, Edwards now may wish he had pulled the plug on Green for his more capable backup. Smith will encounter the same feeling. Grossman may as well be named Murphy, because his Law goes, “whatever bad can happen, will happen.” It’s almost to the point where I just stare at the TV and say, “Oh, that’s just Grossman being Grossman!” the same way I did when watching Bronson Pinochet’s character back on Perfect Strangers.

The Bears’ D, while one of the best in the land, has been inconsistent as of late. People want reference the great, historic comeback against the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football during the season as the reason why there is nothing this team can overcome. (1) That was the Cardinals. (2) It was the Cardinals’ offense, sans Larry Fitzgerald, who put up the early points on that D everyone loves.

Rex will screw up. He has to. The pressure’s mounted and, even though Seattle has no business being here after their lucky win against Dallas, they will defeat the Bears on Sunday. Yes, in Chicago. Hasselbeck is a veteran, playoff-tested quarterback who, so long as he doesn’t make any premature scoring promises after the coin-toss of either regulation or overtime, will come through for his team. It helps to have last year’s MVP in the backfield. And the X-factor is something I don’t think people took notice of last week much when rubbing their lucky rabbit’s foot for the win: Jerramy Stevens actually caught the ball. Effectively. Remember last year? All the smack talk? The ‘hawks ain’t done, by any means.

Seahawks win, 31-28.

Patriots at Chargers

Fresh off the Man-genius defeat and consequential hug, Bill Belichick is on Cloud 9. He knew he could beat his former protégé, of course, but, I’m saying, he’s… still happy for the team and “blah, blah, this week’s game.” So last week’s win behind them, the Pats beat up on a team that in no way rivals the talent of the San Diego (Super)Chargers.

LT is near unstoppable right now. As the saying goes, “You cannot stop him. You can only hope to contain him.” And their defense has been on fire, lit by the enhanced-spark known as Shawn Merriman. For the sake of this article’s examples, we’ll affectionately refer to him as the “lighting fluid”. And, of course, that nickname in no way references his four-game suspension for using illegal enhancers. Seventeen sacks in twelve games is enough to make any quarterback fear for his life. That is, any quarterback other than Tom Brady. The aggressive blitz package that the Chargers utilize is just what the Pats’ dink-and-dunk offense thrives on. It frustrates people like me who love open offenses that put many, many points on the board.

This one looks to be a battle of the ages; one where the outcome will come down to Tom Brady defeating Philip Rivers. And it sure is extremely difficult to pick against, as Jason Whitlock calls them, the “Killer Bs” this time of the year. But it also seems hard to pick against any team led by LT. The Pats will bring fans from the stands and tigers from under the stadium a-la Gladiator, just to slow down the MVP of the league. Call Tomlinson Maximus Aurillius if you want, but even his performance will not stop the Pats from their continued playoff success/skill/luck.

Patriots win, 31-28.

Picks also available here.