The Miracle on Ice Means Nothing to Me and Other Thoughts on USA Hockey

I’m going to write about some Olympic men’s hockey and insult some Americans…don’t change the Web page yet, give it a chance.

First, some music to listen to: Triad by Tool

This one of my top-five Tool songs and is arguably their best instrumental, even though it isn’t technically one because of Maynard’s sounds from the vocals. It does fit Tool’s ideal of making something so simple sound complicated yet developed.

OK, so this is the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” you know, the USA men’s hockey team beating the USSR team in Lake Placid during the 1980 Winter Olympics. The US team was a heavy underdog, facing arguably one of the top teams of all-time.

BTW, that’s legit. The Russian team beat NHL All-Star teams and featured Hall of Famers. The USA team were amateurs, college kids.

So, the USA wins the game amid the background of the Cold War and during the conflict in Iran and American patriotism was at a low but the win inspired a nation.

I don’t care about it 30 years later.

First, I wasn’t alive during the game. I was born in 1981. I wasn’t alive to see it. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the moment. It was a major win for those guys and congrats to them but it doesn’t resonate with me at all.

It’s the same with the 1972 Dolphins. I know that going undefeated in the NFL is a major accomplishment but its beyond my scope.

The members of that team and Al Michaels have turned the moment into a profitable endeavor for themselves and good for them in that regard, accept for Al Michaels.

You didn’t play in the game. I get mad at people who use the royal “we” when talking about their favorite team. You didn’t score the touchdown, hit that home run, make that free throw. You’re a broadcaster.

And don’t give me the whole, “Hey Marcel, he came up with the do you believe in miracles statement that everyone remembers from the event. Shoot, its called The Miracle on Ice for a reason.”

That’s fair to a degree. He did contribute to the atmosphere with his broadcasting. However, when I see interviews with the players including Al Michaels, the sports information/public relations director in me cringes.

The first rule of public relations and sports broadcasting is that you’re not the show. Its about the athletes/clients you are presenting. They are the show. Michaels violates this rule in this instance.

The point of all of this is saying that I see the clips of the game and I’m disconnected. If I was alive during the game to completely comprehend the significance of it than maybe I would feel different…

Which brings us to the game last night between the USA and Canada. The Americans gave an inspired effort and earned the win in this contest. I enjoyed it and it seemed like a lot of others did as well.

However, people found a way to bitch about it because it was on MSNBC, not NBC, and I’m not kidding, it wasn’t in High Definition.

My thoughts:

1) There was a reason it wasn’t on NBC and its called ice dancing. If you’re reading this, you probably follow sports for the most part and can’t comprehend figure skating usurping hockey in popularity, but it does. For all of the talk about this being the Olympics and competition between the best athletes in their sport in the world, it’s a business.

The whole concept of television is to sell advertising, not to present original programming. People tend to reverse that but it’s not accurate.

Hockey isn’t as big of a ratings draw as figure skating. The ice dancing hits two huge demographics, women and older people. Hockey hits middle-aged males. Advantage figure skating.

2) This game wasn’t even in the medal round. The semifinals and finals are going to be on NBC, puck heads, it will be all right.

3) Even if the game was on NBC, it wouldn’t increase the viewing of hockey in the United States. If the Miracle on Ice didn’t make the sport mainstream, nothing will.

4) People are mad about the game being on MSNBC because the USA won. If Canada won 4-0, which was a distinct possibility and the game was on NBC, people would be complaining about the terrible scheduling of NBC. You can’t win whatever you do.

5) This isn’t 1980. The majority of people have cable and if you have basic cable, you have MSNBC. Its not like the game was on the NFL Network that a significant amount of people don’t get. If you don’t have cable and there have been times I’ve been without, last night was a rough break but it happens. I would love to see Dexter on Showtime or Entourage on HBO, but I won’t pay for the package. So if there’s an epic Dexter episode on during a new season, I can’t get pissed that I didn’t see it.

6) Seriously, people are complaining about not being able to see the game in HD because I guess MSNBC doesn’t come in HD or some shit like that. I don’t have HD so I don’t know.

The elitist nature of that thinking is beyond me.

You want to go back to the olden days. OK buddy, 20 years ago, that game doesn’t get shown on TV until later. CNBC and MSNBC don’t exist so you have to wait through the ice dancing and see the game on midnight, on tape delay.

Instead, you got to see one of the biggest wins in USA hockey history, live, in your home and you want to complain about the game not being in HD so you can see the extra crispness of the lines on the uniforms, fall back!

7) Final thought, if you think that this is the last time that we see NHL players in the Olympics, you are kidding yourselves. Back in 1980, the Olympics were a major, major event. There was minimal competition. You had no choice but to watch it because you had three networks. Having cable was beyond a luxury back in the day.

That’s why the Miracle on Ice was so big. Even people who didn’t know a blue line from a power play heard about it. Now, we have so many distractions. Plus, the Cold War is over, the tension between Russia and the USA doesn’t exist today.

I guess the closest thing that we could have to it today is if the North Koreans won three straight World Cups in soccer using professionals and a group of USA college kids won the next one. Even that is a stretch.

You could pull off the amateur thing in 1980, not in 2010. We want to see stars. We want to see Ovie and Sidney Crosby duke it out. We want to see the Americans, who are very gritty and play like a bunch of college kids, relatively speaking for this competition, show that their professionals are just as good as the rest. We want to see the older men like Forsburg and Jagr represent their countries for the last time.

Once again, it is all about ratings and amateurs wouldn’t bring them.

So in conclusion, the Miracle on Ice means nothing to me and people annoy me with their complaints, sounds about right for a Pourtout Pancakes post.

Good fight and good night.

NBA Halfway Point Review

First, some music to listen to: I Wanna Rock (remix) by Snoop Dogg, Jay Z and Ludacris

Your boy is moving into the 21st century musically, heard this on the radio today and was blasting it in the car.

We’re at the unofficial halfway point of the NBA season and its been an entertaining. Teams like Oklahoma City and Memphis have become playoff contenders while San Antonio and Boston have regressed. We’ll get to them later but the best way for me to do this is to review my preseason predictions and go from there.

Preseason predictions by division (in order)

Preseason Atlantic: Boston, Toronto, Philly, New York, New Jersey
Current Atlantic: Boston, Toronto, Philly, New York, New Jersey
Thoughts: Off to a good start on my predictions.

Preseason Central: Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee
Current Central: Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indiana
Thoughts: Cleveland will have the best record in the conference, maybe even the league. The Bucks have been surprisingly springy. Detroit has seen much better days. Indiana is well, Indiana

Preseason Southeast: Orlando, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte
Current Southeast: Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Washington
Thoughts: The Magic are doing what I expected. Respect to Atlanta for surprising me. The Wizards are a complete mess right now. Charlotte has been a spunky group and may cause damage in the playoffs. The Heat are still the Wade show.

Preseason Northwest: Utah, Portland, Denver, Oklahoma City, Minnesota
Current Northwest: Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City, Portland, Minnesota
Thoughts: The Nuggets have emerged as the second best team in the conference. Utah has been solid as always. Portland has been a good surprise, thriving despite injuries to some core players. Minnesota, specifically their general manager, should be ashamed.

Preseason Pacific: Lakers, Phoenix, Clippers, Golden State, Sacramento
Current Pacific: Lakers, Phoenix, Clippers, Sacramento, Golden State
Thoughts: Not bad, nothing special.

Preseason Southwest: San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis
Current Southwest: Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis
Thoughts: Maybe the deepest division in the league.

Preseason Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Cleveland
Current Eastern Conference Finals (most likely): Cleveland over Atlanta
Thoughts: Ignored Boston’s age.

Preseason Western Conference Finals: Lakers over San Antonio
Current Western Conference Finals (most likely): Lakers over Denver
Thoughts: Ignored San Antonio’s age…sense a trend?

Preseason NBA Finals: Boston over Lakers
Current Finals (most likely): Cleveland over Lakers
Thoughts: Honestly, Cleveland and the Lakers are a toss-up.

Preseason MVP:
1) LeBron James, Cleveland
2) Kobe Bryant, Lakers
3) Chris Paul, New Orleans
4) Dwight Howard, Orlando
5) Kevin Durant, OK City and Derrick Rose, Chicago (tie)

Current MVP Standings:
1) LeBron James
2) Kevin Durant
3) Kobe Bryant
4) Dirk Noritzki, Dallas
5) Carmelo Anthony, Denver and Steve Nash, Phoenix (tie)

Thoughts: I thought James has one of the best individual seasons ever and got his first MVP award. This year, he has been even better. He’s finally balancing scoring and distributing to the point that he’s averaging nearly nine assists a game and he’s a forward. Durant has been a monster this season and was legally allowed to drink a little more than a year ago. Kobe is still Kobe and is the engine that makes the Lakers run. Dirk and Carmelo have reached a maturity level where they do more for their team than score. The injury bug has definitely hit Bryant, Paul, Anthony and Rose, affected their seasons and placement in the MVP voting. I’ll have more on Howard with the Magic review.

Preseason Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin, Clippers
Current Rook of the Year: Tyreke Evans, Sacramento

Thought: Griffin is out for the year with a knee injury and hasn’t even played a game. Evans gets the edge over Brandon Jennings of Milwaukee because he has been more consistent.

Preseason Sleeper (East): Chicago

Thoughts: Hasn’t completely worked out but Rose can carry the Bulls to a first-round playoff win.

Preseason Sleeper (West): Utah

Thoughts: This one may work out for me.

OK, some quick thoughts on each team so you can sound smart to your co-workers:

Cleveland: With the addition of Antawn Jamison, they are clearly the class of the East. If he can incorporate himself with James, this team is going to be scary . Shaq can’t get injured because their front line has gotten thinner.

Lakers: Them and the Cavs are the top two teams in the league. I worry about three things. First, Kobe’s health. He’s a warrior but if he breaks down, problems. Second, don’t like the point guard play. Jordan Farmer has to be a big piece for them. Finally, Bynum is too inconsistent for my liking. it’s a good sign when I mention three potential negatives for the Lakers and not say Ron Artest.

Utah: Its all a tease people. They will win a round, maybe even two in the playoffs but will lose to the Lakers in five games, it happens every year. What has been good is that Deron Williams may be having the best season by a point guard in the league this year, maybe.

Orlando: Something is off about this bunch. Never liked the unofficial trade of Turkoglu for Vince Carter. All of the matchup advantages that they had in the playoffs last year are completely gone. Howard needs to really get some more touches on offense.

Denver: Biggest issue for them is health. They have to get Carmelo, Kenyon Martin and Billiups on the same page to make a legitimate run at the Lakers.

Oklahoma City: If Durant played for a top-ten NBA market, he would be more known. He’s probably going to win a scoring title this season and is getting even better. Did I mention that he’s only 21? His current streak of scoring at least 25 points in 26 consecutive games is impressive but I like the other numbers, like him averaging nearly eight rebounds a game, shooting more than 50% from the field, giving effort on defense. Those things are making him an MVP candidate.

Toronto: They are quietly moving up the Eastern conference standings and may even gain home court advantage over Boston. Bosh is playing like the best post player in the league right now, even better than Howard.

Atlanta: They’re not a fluke, third-best, arguably, second-best team in the East. They have everything you would like in a good team. Go to scorer (Joe Johnson), post presence (Al Horford), scoring off the bench (Jamal Crawford). Key to team has been maturity of Josh Smith. Don’t know where it came from but he stopped shooting three-pointers and getting others involved has been a nice surprise.

Boston: Breaking down health-wise. Garnett’s knees aren’t good, don’t listen to what anyone is saying, seen the guy play for more than 10 years now, its noticeable. Pierce is also banged up. Rondo has been very good for them but he isn’t enough. They don’t even make the conference finals this year.

San Antonio: Its tough to dismiss a team with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, but that’s what I’m going to do. They may win a first-round series, but nothing beyond that. Duncan still has his moments like his 26 rebound effort in tonight’s game, but his body can’t keep it up. The Richard Jefferson pickup has been a moderate success and that’s being nice. Ginobili’s body has betrayed him as well.

Phoenix: Nash is playing the best ball of his career and he’s 36 and is a two-time MVP award winner. Its really a physical marvel that he’s kept this up. The Amare Stoudemire saga needs to end this trading deadline. No fault of his own, but both sides can use a change.

Dallas: Like the Caron Butler and Brandon Haywood additions. Josh Howard’s time has drawn to an end there. You now have a second scorer to take pressure off of Dirk, who may be having his second-best season of his career outside of the MVP year.

Portland: Treading water now but desperately need Brandon Roy to return if they expect to have any impact in the second half of the season.

Charlotte: Who expected the addition of Stephen Jackson to be one of the top-five in-season moves of the NBA this season? He now has Charlotte contending for a playoff spot and a tough out in the first round. They have beaten Cleveland two times this year already, not saying that they would beat the Cavs in a playoff series, but the Bobcats can make some noise.

Milwaukee: Jennings has been a nice surprise and Bogut has been productive. Imagine what they could have done if Redd has been healthy the whole time?

Chicago: Speaking of injuries, look at the Bulls since Rose has returned from a bad ankle. They can make a nice run in the East over the next few weeks.

Miami: If they acquire Stoudemire, they become the fourth best team in the East. If not, Wade will continue to be an elite player whose team loses in the first round of the playoffs once again.

New Orleans: Screw this season, I’m very, very concerned with Chris Paul and his knee injury.

Houston: Nice story but not an elite team.

Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, Indiana: All having bad seasons

Washington: Not saying that they’re tanking but you suspend Arenas for the rest of the season, and deservedly so, trade Jamison AND Butler. That’s a major purge that may net them a nice free agent or two in the offseason, in addition to a top-three draft pick.

Clippers: Hard to judge them with no Griffin this year, but these are your father’s Clippers, awful.

Sacramento: Evans has been excellent for them but I’m torn on him. He’s playing point guard for them but I don’t know if that’s his ultimate position. He doesn’t pass well enough to play point but doesn’t shoot well enough for shooting guard. He’s more of an off-guard. They also need to figure out if he and Kevin Martin can co-exist long term because in the short term, its not working.

Minnesota: T-Wolves fans should be pissed at the general manager, David Kahn, for screwing up the draft last year. They could have a back court of Rick Rubio and Stephen Curry right now.

Golden State: Free Anthony Randolph and Curry!

New Jersey: What do you say about a four-win team? Not much.
　
Tomorrow: Five storyline to look forward to the second-half of the season.　

Not Bitter on Valentine's Day? I Was Shocked Myself!

First, some music to listen to: You Lied by Tool (live)



This is actually a cover of a song by Peach, a band which included Tool's bassist Justin Chandler so I don't know if this counts as a cover, but its a good track.

So Valentine's Day was on Sunday and it was the first one in a few years that I was bitter that I was single. I think this is for several reasons.

First, I think that people, especially women are finally catching on to the overrated “holiday” and I use that term loosely. You shouldn't have to wait until February 14th to express your love to your girlfriend, it should be a daily event. Plus, I've said this since I've been a little kid, you should be insulted if your boyfriend treats you well on only one day of the year. So this has been an improvement. You're still going to have the few that take the day TOO seriously, but its ok.

Second, I really think that the economy has had a major effect on the “holiday.” People are struggling to pay bills and are literally losing their jobs, so the concept of spending thousands on a gift is a lot for us these days.

Third, on a direct personal level, I've gone through a complete reevaluation of my life and I'm not happy where I'm at professionally and personally, more the former than the latter. I'll get into that distinction at another time, but the point is that I've been more concerned about things like how I'm going to pay rent and what I want from my career in the next five years than worry about my dating situation.

Fourth, I've been single every single Valentine's Day in my life, literally. Even back in elementary school and junior high when you would just pick someone of the opposite sex and keep it moving, I never did that. I even broke down about it at 16 years old, will never forget it.

I was coming home on the subway and I saw at least five couples my age looking happy and exchanging gifts. Women were carrying flowers and candy, men were appreciating the affection and I was there staring at them, giving them the patented mean look. It was based on envy and when I got home, I started to cry because of my feeling of lonliness. I balled my eyes out for nearly an hour.

What does all of that mean? If the same thing happens for nearly 30 years on the same date in an annual basis, why get mad at it? I'm going to be single, most likely for the rest of my life, and I've accepted that. No need for tears.

Fifth, being single on this “holiday” saves money and I take pride in my thriftiness with my finances. You can call me cheap, I don't care.

Finally, the “holiday” does focus on love within dating relationships, but it does promote the concept of love in general and who can hate on that?

Before you can find happiness in your life, you have to appreciate the happiness that others are experienceing in their lives. Instead of having jealousy for people who are in loving relationships, I should acknowledge and approve of it. Love is hard to find and not all of us will feel it in our lives.

Plus, your time will come. It may not be soon and it may not be in the form that you expect. I may not come across a loving relationship with a girlfriend or wife until I'm 80 or I may meet her tomorrow, or even worse, maybe I've already experienced it and didn't understand it. Maybe my true love will be a dog I'll purchase next year. Either way, it will happen for me.

So, I wasn't bitter on Valentine's Day and it felt good.

My thoughts on social networks

First, music to listen to: Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin

I saw a special on Soul Train on VH1 over the weekend and it featured this performance of Rock Steady. She kills it on this song and that bass line is a beast.

Came across an interesting article today in USA Today, actually it was the cover story, on the impact that internet social networking, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. has had on our society.

Here's the link to it: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2010-02-10-1Asocialbacklash10_CV_N.htm

The article is really about how addictive these networks are for some people and the liberation that they feel when they stop using them. While some of the quotes are hyperbolic, comparing deactivating their Facebook account to “regaining their freedom,” it did make me thing about my reliance or lack of reliance on social networks and technology in general.

Concerning Facebook, I usually log on to it once a day to see what my friends are doing, check out some pictures, wish people happy birthday, etc. I'm actually on it right now. Its a good way for me to see what my non-Nashville friends are doing with their lives.

I'm not going to lie, I do look people up from time to time to see what is going on, especially if I haven't heard from them in a few months.

The danger of this is the ever-present potential for “Facebook stalking,” which really does happen, especially to women. If you're a guy and you really want to be creepy, all you need is a name and you can find out all of the information you need, including pictures if that's your thing. Thankfully, I think women have gotten wind of this and have limited profiles.

There's also the element of having friends in general. Some people treat it like its a privilege that they are accepting me as a friend, like I should be honored that they have even considered me. Slow down, bucky. We know each other and there is potential that I may have to interact with you on Facebook, nothing more.

Personally, if I know you in any form outside of the internet, I'll be your friend. If we've had face to face interaction, then we can be friends. However, if its a woman, I always try to tell them that I'm going to message them to be a friend, a forewarning. I think I've requested a friendship with a woman without warning them only once or twice. As a male, you have to be aware of this.

As far as pictures, they're fine as long as you have common sense. I'm not going to put pictures of me socially drinking or doing any other “adult” oriented activities. Its not because I'm afraid of an employer seeing them, I have a Blog, I have a relatively open book to my personal life, but I just don't think people want to see that stuff. When I was an SID for baseball at Belmont, I put up pictures of my travels and people actually liked seeing what it was like for a college baseball team on the road. That was productive. I do like seeing pics of that nature, as well as family pics, your kids, your significant other, its all good in my book.

Now some people put a little too much of themselves out there, I don't necessarily need to see you without a significant amount of clothing, if you catch my drift. However, I rarely run into that unintentionally.

I have no interest in playing any games on Facebook. I don't want to do anything related to Vampires. I don't want to be in a Mafia War.

This is when the social networking can become time consuming. When I first joined Facebook, I had a large amount of friends wanting me to play these games and download applications. I didn't like this for two reasons. First, I didn't want something bad getting on my computer. Second, I just don't have the time or interest to do it.

I have never had an interest in MySpace so I can't comment on that.

As far as Twitter, I have an account but haven't posted anything in weeks. The only good thing for me personally is that its an excellent way to follow sports. All of the writers that I follow will post their items on Twitter, so its an easy way to get to them. Also, during a contest, you get direct reactions from people, so that's a good thing.

I was going to go into other technical things like my lack of a DVR system or lack of internet on my cell phone, but its getting late and one of my New Year's lifestyle alterations was to get more sleep.

The guitar is going to happen by the end of the year and my first French lesson will be on Sunday. Still working on the Dad, its on my end.

Until then grasshoppers, good fight and good night!

Super Bowl Reflections and a Crush of the Day!

What's going on everyone, let's get to my thoughts on the Super Bowl...

First, some music to listen to: South Side of the Sky by Yes (live)

Bump this in your office today, it will make you feel better.

One more thing...

Crush of the Day: Esperanza Spalding

Saw her performance on Austin City Limits on Saturday and was impressed. Talented musician, plays an excellent bass and is a cutie...you may be looking at the future Mrs. Pourtout, even though she will have to get past Ashley Judd, Ciara and Maria Menunos. That smells like an upcoming post on my updated top-five list...I'll save it for when Kentucky comes to play Vandy and Ms. Judd makes her annual trip to Memorial Gym.

For now, lets talk about the Super Bowl. It was a solid game, and I have some passing thoughts about it and yes, I'm openly imitating Don Banks from Si.com and his Snap Judgements, but what can you do, I like the format.

-I know that it seems hyperbolic to state that a team winning a championship can help the morale of an entire city because sports hold a place in our society but not that important, however, if you've ever been to New Orleans, before and after Hurricane Katrina, you can't overstate what this win means for them.

I have family from Baton Rogue and have seen what the Saints mean to that area. Outside of maybe Green Bay with the Packers, Buffalo with the Bills and possibly Cleveland to the Browns, no city takes their cue from its NFL team like New Orleans.

Will the Saints winning the game rebuilt the homes, give people jobs and erase the horrible memories of that natural disaster nearly six years ago, no. However, if the people truly affected by that event take comfort in seeing a team that they supported through some good and mostly bad, good for them. That's why I was supporting the Saints yesterday, because...

-There's no way that I will ever support a Vol in a major event so Peyton can go kick rocks, but...
-Manning played an excellent game. I thought that the talk about how this win would place him on the list of greatest quarterbacks was premature for several reasons. First, he's playing for at least six more seasons. He's durable, avoids injuries accept for normal wear and tear and keeps himself in prime condition. He's going to make at least one more Super Bowl in his career, you can book it. Second, people like to label him as a “choker,” which is not completely fair. Has he lost some playoff games? Sure he has, but all of the greats did.

Johnny Unitas got beat by an average New York Jets team in Super Bowl III.

John Elway got dominated in three straight Super Bowls before receiving redemption in his last two appearances in the championship game.

I saw Joe Montana get knocked out of two NFC title games against the Giants in his heyday with the 49ers.

Farve has had his bad losses, shoot, even Tom Brady has come up short.

The point is that you have to look beyond the initial analysis and wait for the career of these guys to end. Would it shock me if Minnesota won the Super Bowl with Farve next year? Of course not (btw, if you think Farve isn't coming back next season, you're trying to avoid the obvious. I want him to go away too, but he's not leaving that situation and the Vikes won't let him. You want Tavaris Jackson running your team, didn't think so). Brady still has a good year or two in him. The Pats have work to do but another Super Bowl isn't impossible.

That's why I don't like ranking current players in any sport. If Farve gets his second title, does that make him the best ever? He'd have a better case than Manning most likely. If Brady gets his fourth title, he matches Montana but still would have to win a few more to catch Otto Graham. Patience.

-Speaking of great quarterbacks, what about Drew Brees? I have to admit, I've doubted this guy's career on two occasions. First, when he came out of Purdue, I didn't think he had a strong enough arm and was too short to be an elite QB. I wasn't the only one because he lasted all the way to the second round when he had a first round-type career in college. He gets to San Diego and I'm proven right at first because he struggles there. Even the Chargers weren't sure about him because they drafted Rivers with the number four pick of the first round a few years later.

This motivates Brees and he becomes a Pro Bowler. However, he jacks up his throwing shoulder in the last game of the regular season in his contract year, and his career is almost over.

That was the second time I doubted him. I remember it exactly because it was a national TV game and the way that he was tackled was nasty. Then word got out that he needed major reconstruction and that was a wrap, or so I thought. Even the Dolphins didn't sign him because of the shoulder. The Saints were desperate to bring someone in and Brees was desperate to have a chance to play and it turned out to be a perfect match.

I don't think that Brees gets enough appreciation for what he's doing. He's arguably the most accurate quarterback in the past ten years and he's shorter than nearly everyone on the field. I don't know how you can play the QB position better in a championship game than he did.

Also, when he had his wife and baby son on stage with him after the game, it got misty in the Pourtout Palace, your boy almost shed a tear but I didn't.

-Hurts to say because they're a legendary group but The Who were weak last night.

-Sean Payton has significant testicular fortitude because there's no way I would have called for that onside kick to start the second half. Analysts are now saying it was a great move and not that big of a risk on paper but were saying that after the fact. When I was in front of my TV at that moment, you kick the ball deep but he didn't and was rewarded. I didn't mind the attempts to go for it on fourth down on two occasions because you're not going to beat the Colts with field goals, you need touchdowns.

-I guess Reggie Bush is now going to marry Kim Kardashian because he said he would if they won the Super Bowl. Hope he didn't get that in writing...

-Freeney was getting his moments in the first half but that ankle didn't hold up and its a shame because he was doing some nice things on the field.

-I thought about writing a post on the Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad but didn't for three reasons.

First, while I'm pro-choice in the issue of abortion and the ad was from an organization that is pro-life, I really don't care what it does with its money. The only argument that some have made, which is fair, is what if an anti-American terrorist group or even a group based in racist or sexist ideologies wanted their 30-seconds as well. Can CBS or even the NFL say no at that stage? That in itself may be worthy of its own post.

Second, by even giving time to the ad, it would get Tebow's name out there even more and we don't need that in our lifes.

But the biggest reason I didn't do it is because I didn't see the ad. I couldn't objectively critique it without seeing it and I'm glad I held off because the ad was fine besides the fact that I found his mom slightly attractive in a “hey, your buddy's mom is kinda cute” kind of way...come on fellas, I wasn't the only one thinking this, am I right?

-Reggie Wayne, what happened? He openly quit on at least two passes last night, the one at the very end of the game and the interception by Manning. Peyton is getting the blame for the pick but Wayne should have cut inside to shield the Saints' defender from getting to the ball.

Those are my thoughts, what about yours? Damn, it feels good to be writing again!