Looking Ahead to the Super Bowl

---

The president will not exactly be an impartial observer on Sunday.

---

For football fans, I guess Super Bowl weekend is always a bittersweet time.

It's the weekend when the pro football season comes to an end (the college season wrapped up three weeks ago), and there won't be much football news for the next six months — other than the NFL draft in the spring.

But it's also the weekend when this season's champion will be crowned amid all sorts of hoopla.

Bruce Springsteen will be on hand to provide the halftime entertainment. And even non-football fans tune in — some to watch the commercials, some because it's what everyone else will be doing. I have a friend who is not a football fan, but he says he records the game every year, then fast-forwards through it to watch the commercials.

Anyway, just as a reminder ...

Super Bowl XLIII
Pittsburgh (12-4-0) vs. Arizona (9-7-0)
6 p.m. (EST), NBC

Now, let's break this thing down.

Who has the advantage at ...

Quarterback

Statistically, this looks like a mismatch. Arizona's Kurt Warner had the third-best QB rating (96.9) in the entire NFL — and the best in the NFC. His counterpart, Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh, wasn't in the Top 20 in the NFL, and he ranked 12th (with an 80.1) in the AFC.

Warner passed for 4,583 yards. Roethlisberger accounted for 3,301. Warner connected for 30 TDs through the air. Roethlisberger had slightly more than half as many (17). Warner completed two-thirds of his passes. Roethlisberger completed just under three-fifths.

Neither had a distinct advantage in avoiding turnovers. They were about even in the number of interceptions they threw — Roethlisberger was picked off 15 times, Warner 14. And both quarterbacks lost seven fumbles.

To be fair, Warner attempted 129 more passes than Roethlisberger did — probably because Pittsburgh had a stronger running game and could rely on it more often. But, even though he had fewer pass attempts, Roethlisberger was sacked nearly twice as often. Big Ben was tackled for a loss 46 times while Warner was brought down 26 times.

Advantage: Arizona.

Rushing

Neither team has a 1,000-yard rusher.

Pittsburgh's top runner is Willie Parker, who ran for 791 yards. Mewelde Moore was second with 588. Each produced five rushing touchdowns.

Arizona's leading rusher is Edgerrin James, who only compiled 514 yards, probably because the Cardinals relied so much on the aerial attack. He scored three touchdowns. Tim Hightower gained only 399 yards, but he accounted for 10 TDs.

Of the two teams, Pittsburgh probably got more from its ground game this season, so ...

Advantage: Pittsburgh.

Receiving

With their edge at the quarterback position, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Cardinals have the upper hand at receiver — Larry Fitzgerald was the NFC's leader in receiving yards with 1,431, Anquan Boldin was ninth in the NFC with 1,038, and Steve Breaston was 11th with 1,006. Fitzgerald also led the NFC in receiving TDs with 12, Boldin was third in the NFC with 11, and Breaston had three.

Fitzgerald and Boldin were 1-2 in the NFC in receptions — Fitzgerald had 96 and Boldin had 89. Breaston was 12th with 77. Fitzgerald averaged 14.9 yards/catch. Boldin's average was 11.7, and Breaston's average was 13.1

I don't mean to suggest that Pittsburgh doesn't have any weapons at receiver, but if the QB doesn't have the numbers, neither will the receivers.

The Steelers' Hines Ward was seventh in the AFC in receiving yards with 1,043. Santonio Holmes was 20th with 821 yards. Ward was tied for sixth in the league in receiving TDs with seven; Holmes had five.

And Ward was ninth in the AFC in receptions with 81. Holmes wasn't in the Top 20 in the AFC, but he had a respectable 55 receptions, which was good enough for a 14.9 yards/catch average. Ward's average was 12.9.

Advantage: Arizona.

Defense

Pittsburgh's James Harrison was fourth in the NFL in sacks with 16.0, and teammate LaMarr Woodley was tied for ninth in the NFL with 11.5. Aaron Smith wasn't in the Top 20 in the NFL, but he tied for 14th in the AFC with 5.5 sacks. The Cardinals didn't even have anyone who finished in the Top 20 in the NFC, let alone the NFL.

Harrison also led the NFL in forcing fumbles, with seven. Arizona's Gerald Hayes was in the NFL's Top 20 in forced fumbles with four.
So the Steelers seem to have the edge when it comes to putting pressure on the quarterback.

But, if Arizona's offensive line manages to hold up against Pittsburgh, how will Warner fare against the Steeler secondary?

Troy Polamalu tied for second in the NFL in interceptions with seven. Teammate Tyrone Carter wasn't in the NFL's Top 20, but he tied for 17th in the AFC with three.

Arizona's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie tied for 14th in the NFL with four. He was also the only Cardinal in the NFC's Top 20 in that category.

Advantage: Pittsburgh.

Kicking

Both teams have accurate placekickers.

Arizona's Neil Rackers nailed 18 of 20 field goal attempts from inside the 39, and he made seven of eight attempts from beyond the 40. He made all 44 PATs.

Pittsburgh's Jeff Reed made 27 of 31 field goal attempts this season. He made all 10 of his attempts inside the 30, missed one between the 30 and 39 and made nine of 12 from the 40 and beyond. He missed one PAT.

If it comes down to the kicking game for either team, I don't see an advantage for either squad.

Weather

The game is being played in Tampa. The temperature should be in the 50-60 range with a light breeze. It should be mostly cloudy, but no rain is expected.

So who's going to win? Well, they say defense wins championships. If that proves to be true on Sunday, I think the advantage will belong to Pittsburgh.

It's always tempting to go with the underdog, but the New York Giants may have used up Cinderella's quota for awhile last year.

I predict Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 20.

Peter King's Random Thoughts About the Super Bowl

Peter King is an excellent, entertaining writer.

And, for years now, I have enjoyed reading his "random thoughts" and his "10 things I think I think" columns that he's written for Sports Illustrated.

This week, as he prepares for this Sunday's Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, he has posted a "Ten Things I Think I Think during Super Bowl Week in Tampa" that should be read by every football fan — and, if you aren't a football fan but you're planning to watch the game, anyway, you probably should read it, too.

His first item probably makes the most sense to me. "I think I wish the NFL would stop using the Roman numerals," he writes. This year's game is the 43rd Super Bowl — and, instead of calling it Super Bowl XLIII, King says it should simply be called Super Bowl 43.

I agree. Using Roman numerals made sense when the game was young — and I'm old enough to remember those days. I was in first grade when the first Super Bowl was played. But now that we've nearly had as many Super Bowls as we've had presidents, it's time to modernize it.

King's other observations are probably more suited for the hard-core football fans. And, while I consider myself a hard-core football fan, I understand that millions of non-football fans will tune in to the game — because it's the "in" thing to do or because they want to see the ads that are being shown this year or because they want to watch the halftime show with Bruce Springsteen.

Whatever motivates you to watch the game, make sure you have something to nibble on. And enjoy yourself!

Football and the Damage Done

Like millions of Americans, I enjoy watching football games on TV. Mostly, I prefer college football, but I do enjoy watching professional football. And I'll be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

If you watch football, though, you know there are some pretty vicious hits administered. Most of the concerns that are expressed when a player has received such a hit and is lying on the ground for an extended period afterward have revolved around whether the injury may cause paralysis so when a player gets up and is able to walk off the field under his own power, that is generally taken as a good sign by most fans.

I recall a comic strip — either "Doonesbury" or "Tank McNamara" — from many years ago in which a couple of the characters were seen watching a football game on TV. The panels in the comic strip only showed the characters and the side view of the TV they were watching, but you could read the dialogue that was being spoken by the announcers. They were speculating about the nature of an injury suffered by one of the players. Then one of the announcers intoned that the player in question appeared to be dead.

"But what a hand he's getting!" his colleague said.

"These are some kind of football fans!" the first announcer agreed.

But it's no joking matter.

Many football teams play on artificial surfaces, which are really nothing more than asphalt covered with green plastic that may look like grass — but being tackled on it is like being tackled in the middle of the street in front of your house.

For years, fans have known that players suffer concussions almost routinely. There were many questions about concussions and, as CNN reports, those in the medical community couldn't tell athletes — or anyone else, really — much more than the obvious — that a concussion was "a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness."

A concussion was considered an "invisible injury," CNN's medical producer Stephanie Smith reports. It couldn't be tested. No MRI or CT scan could detect it.

But Smith reports that the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at the Boston University School of Medicine is learning about concussions and the damage they cause to the brain by studying brain tissue taken from dead professional football players. Their findings can have an important influence on contact sports, perhaps leading to improvements in artificial surfaces and protective headgear.

No one is suggesting banning football, but concussions clearly cause more extensive brain damage than most people probably imagined. And it's important to study the affect of multiple concussions on athletes to learn more. Smith says that about 100 athletes have already given their consent for their brains to be studied after they die.

Damage from multiple concussions is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford, Mass., tells CNN that CSTE studies have revealed "brown tangles" throughout the brain that resemble the kinds of tangles found in elderly patients with dementia.

There's still a lot of research that needs to be done. There appear to be a variety of symptoms of extensive, long-term damage, but the most frequent ones include depression, sleep disorders and headaches.

The research that has been done is good, but much more needs to be done.

Death of a Coach

---

---

Those who don't follow women's sports may not be familiar with the name of Kay Yow, but followers of women's college basketball will recognize the name.

The 66-year-old coach of North Carolina State's women's basketball team died of breast cancer today.

Her distinguished coaching career needs no embellishment from me or anyone else, but for those who are unfamiliar with her accomplishments, I will briefly list them here. She was the fifth winningest coach in women's college basketball. She began her coaching career at Elon College in 1971, then went on to North Carolina State in 1975, where she coached not only basketball but volleyball and softball as well.

She had more than 700 victories in her career, most of them at N.C. State. She coached the U.S. women's team to a silver medal in the 1981 World University Games, and she directed her squad to a gold medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games, She also coached a FIBA World Championship team and her U.S. team won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Yow had been on a leave of absence to battle the disease, and the indomitable spirit she showed throughout her life suggests that she had every belief that she would prevail. A member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and only the fifth woman inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Yow was the inaugural recipient of the Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance, which is named for Jim Valvano, another N.C. State basketball coach who lost his life to cancer in 1993.

She was an inspiration to many over the years. No doubt she will continue to be an inspiration long after her death.

An Era Truly Comes to an End

The phrase "the end of an era" frequently seems to be tossed around as casually as any.

But, with the passing yesterday of Billy Werber, one can truly say that an era has come to an end.

Werber was a major league baseball player. His wasn't a household name, but he was the last surviving teammate of the legendary Babe Ruth — who, until I was a teenager, was the undisputed king of home runs. And, even in the 35 years since Ruth's career mark was surpassed by Hank Aaron, only one other baseball player has hit more home runs. And that baseball player's mark will always be regarded with suspicion because of the widespread belief that steroids played a role in achieving it.

Werber was a third baseman who played with Ruth for the New York Yankees, although he wasn't a member of the famous Yankees team of 1927 that is known to history as "Murderers' Row." Werber broke into the majors in 1930, but he only played in four games before being sent back to the minors. He was called up to the majors again in 1933, but, by that time, Ruth had left New York.

Werber also played for the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds, and the New York Giants before making his final major league appearance in September 1942.

His name might not be well known, but Werber enjoyed some success in his baseball career. Some of his career marks — his batting average, for example — are unremarkable, but he led the American League in stolen bases three times. As a member of the Reds, he was on two National League pennant winners and one World Series champion. As a result, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1961.

Also, during his time in Cincinnati, Werber became the first player to bat in a televised baseball game in 1939.

Ironically, in his last years, Werber apparently did not watch baseball on TV, at least in part because he didn't like the long hair and beard worn by Johnny Damon. "I don't like the appearance of a lot of the players," he told an interviewer for MSNBC last year. "The hair's too long. Their beards are too evident. They're a grubby-looking bunch of caterwaulers."

He was 100 years old when he died yesterday, acknowledged as the oldest living baseball player. Now, that title belongs to 99-year-old Tony Malinosky, who played in 35 games for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937.

Who'da Thunk It?

The Arizona Cardinals withstood the Philadelphia Eagles' comeback the other day and earned their first trip to the Super Bowl.

I have to admit that I never thought I would see the day when the Cardinals would be going to the Super Bowl, even though I saw them play when they were in St. Louis in the 1970s — during what was, arguably, one of their best seasons.

The Cardinals didn't have the best record in franchise history this season — but they proved that, once you get into the playoffs, that doesn't matter. They've demonstrated — in case anyone needed further convincing after the Giants' season last year or the Steelers' championship season a few years ago — that anything can happen once you qualify for the playoffs.

I'm not sure that charmed existence will carry on through the Super Bowl. But I do hope that the game will be competitive.

Congratulations, Cardinals.

You know, with the Cardinals going to the Super Bowl and Barack Obama becoming president, it's starting to seem like anything really is possible. Who knows what 2009 will bring?

Who Will Advance to the Super Bowl?

---

This was the play that won last year's Super Bowl.

---

On Sunday, we will find out which two teams will be playing in this year's Super Bowl.

One thing we know for sure is the survivors of the conference championship games will not be the teams who met in last year's Super Bowl. The New England Patriots did not qualify for the playoffs, and the New York Giants lost to Philadelphia last weekend.

With the frigid, snowy weather the northern portion of the United States has been experiencing, it's only natural for fans to wonder what kind of impact the weather will have on the games.

The weather should not be a problem in Arizona, where the current forecasts call for sunny conditions and temperatures in the mid-70s Sunday afternoon. But the NFL might wish it had reversed its schedule and permitted the Steelers and Ravens to play in the afternoon instead of the evening. Snow is a 50% possibility in Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon and evening, but, obviously, it will be warmer during the day (predicted high near 27°) than it will be after the sun goes down (the predicted low for Sunday night is 14°).

NFC Championship
Philadelphia (9-6-1) at Arizona (9-7-0)
3 p.m. (EST), FOX

They say defense wins championships. If that is so, the Eagles may emerge from the showdown with Arizona as the NFC's representative in the Super Bowl.

But first, let's take a brief look at the offenses.

The offensive statistics appear pretty even. However, the Cardinals have a statistical advantage at quarterback. Arizona's Kurt Warner led the NFC in QB rating (96.9) while Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb was 10th in the NFC in that category (86.4). Warner also led the NFC in completion percentage (67.1%) while McNabb was ninth (60.4%).

McNabb managed to finish fourth in the league in passing yards (3,916), although he still trailed Warner (4,583). And Warner accounted for more passing TDs than McNabb did, 30-23. It's worth pointing out, though, that McNabb's longest pass completion (90 yards) exceeded Warner's longest (79).

But, when you think about it, it probably isn't too difficult for Warner to excel when he has receivers like Larry Fitzgerald (NFC's leader in receiving yardage with 1,431, tied for first in receiving TDs with 12, league leader in receptions with 96), Anquan Boldin (ninth in the NFC in receiving yardage with 1,038, third in receiving TDs with 11, second in receptions with 89) and Steve Breaston (11th in the NFC in receiving yardage with 1,006, 12th in receptions with 77) as targets.

As far as interceptions were concerned, the two were fairly even. Warner threw 14, McNabb threw 11.

Sixteen running backs in the NFL ran for at least 1,000 yards this season, but none played for the Cardinals or the Eagles. In fact, no 1,000-yard rusher remains in the playoffs following the elimination last weekend of the Giants, Panthers, Chargers and Titans, all of whom did have running backs who cracked the 1,000-yard barrier. Of the running backs who are still playing, Brian Westbrook of the Eagles came the closest to 1,000, with 936 yards. Arizona's top rusher was Edgerrin James with 514 yards.

Turning our attention to defense, the Eagles may be one of the few teams in the NFL that can travel to Arizona with the confidence to shut down the Cardinals' passing game.

During the regular season, Philadelphia held opposing QBs to a 54.1% completion rate while restricting those signal-callers to a 72.9 passer rating — and the Eagles had to face Eli Manning and Tony Romo twice, not to mention a game against Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.

The Eagles routinely held teams under 200 yards passing, giving up an average of about 182 yards/game. And the Eagles' foes averaged about 18 points per game, while the Cardinals gave up nearly 27 points per game.

Clark Judge of CBS Sports observes that the Eagles are on the brink of a trip to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in eight years and suggests that this time "it's more satisfying," given the obstacles he's had to overcome.

When the Eagles faced the Cardinals on Thanksgiving night, Philadelphia picked off Warner three times en route to a 48-20 victory.

I don't think it will be that high scoring again, but I think the same team will prevail.

My prediction: Philadelphia 21, Arizona 17.

AFC Championship
Baltimore (11-5-0) at Pittsburgh (12-4-0)
6:30 p.m. (EST), CBS

This may seem almost sacrilegious to Pittsburgh fans, but, at the quarterback position, I see almost no daylight between Roethlisberger and Baltimore's first-year phenom from Delaware, Joe Flacco.

Flacco was 10th in the AFC in QB rating (80.3) while Roethlisberger was 12th (80.1). Roethlisberger did outgain Flacco through the air, 3,301 yards to 2,971, and passed for more TDs, 17 to 14.

Flacco's completion percentage was slightly better than Roethlisberger's, 60.0% to 59.9%, and Flacco did a slightly better job of avoiding interceptions, throwing 12 picks to Big Ben's 15.

But Roethlisberger may have more potent weapons for receivers in Hines Ward (seventh in the AFC with 1,043 yards, tied for sixth in TDs with seven, ninth in receptions with 81) and Santonio Holmes (821 receiving yards, tied for 15th in TDs with five). Flacco's top receiver was Derrick Mason (eighth in the AFC in receiving yards with 1,037, tied for 15th in TDs with five, 10th in receptions with 80).

Like their NFC counterparts, the Steelers and Ravens do not bring 1,000-yard rushers into the AFC championship game, but the Ravens' Le'Ron McClain was eighth in the league in rushing with 902 yards and Willis McGahee contributed 671 yards. Pittsburgh's top rusher was Willie Parker with 791 yards and Mewelde Moore chipped in 588.

The Ravens did a slightly better job of scoring than the Steelers did this season, averaging 24.1 points per game to 21.7 points per game, but that edge appears to be offset by Pittsburgh's performance on defense. The Steelers yielded only 13.9 points per game while the Ravens allowed 15.3.

Both quarterbacks may be able to throw the ball efficiently, provided the weather doesn't play a significant role. Baltimore allowed opposing QBs to complete 60.6% of their passes while the Steelers permitted a 63.4% completion rate. And the Ravens picked off 26 passes while the Steelers intercepted 20. Neither team allowed opposing QBs to throw for over 300 yards at any time this season. But the Steelers only permitted 156.9 passing yards per game while the Ravens allowed 179.7.

And both defenses kept opponents from gaining four yards per carry or better. Baltimore gave up 3.6 yards per carry while Pittsburgh allowed 3.3.

Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun says "Bring on the Steelers," but I say, be careful what you wish for. During the regular season, Pittsburgh edged Baltimore in Pittsburgh, 23-20, then won the rematch in Baltimore, 13-9. I think the Steelers will make it a three-game sweep.

My prediction: Pittsburgh 20, Baltimore 14.

Showdown Saturday in the ACC

As college basketball enters its conference schedule, there may be no bigger game on this week's schedule than Saturday's game between #2 Wake Forest and #10 Clemson — in spite of the fact that the Atlantic Coast Conference is known for other North Carolina schools.

Unbeaten Wake Forest (14-0), coming off its 92-89 victory over North Carolina on Sunday, still must play Boston College tomorrow, but if the Demon Deacons can win that game, it will set up a showdown between unbeaten squads when Wake Forest takes on 16-0 Clemson in the 3:30 p.m. (Eastern) game to be televised on ABC.

And what a match it should be.

Currently, Wake Forest is fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 85.7 points per game. Clemson is 23rd, with an 80.4 average. The Demon Deacons are fifth in the country in field goals (30.6 per game), led by sophomore Jeff Teague, who is one of the nation's best at making field goals, nailing better than 57% of his attempts. The Tigers aren't bad, either, ranking 11th (29.7), and both teams are in the Top 15 in field goal accuracy — Wake Forest is fourth (51.0%) and Clemson is 15th (48.9%)

Defensively, both teams are in the Top 25 in steals — Clemson is 10th (10.0 per game) and Wake Forest is 19th (9.4).

But Wake Forest enjoys an edge in some categories where Clemson doesn't rank in the Top 100. The Deacons are eighth in the nation in rebounds (46.0 per game), 14th in free throws per game (20.4) and 17th in the nation in blocks (5.9 per game).

Perhaps North Carolina won't have the easy ride to the conference title everyone expected when the season began.

An Astonishing Weekend

No matter which teams you were pulling for in the NFL playoffs yesterday and today, it was truly an astonishing weekend.

Things got started yesterday with the Baltimore Ravens' hard-fought 13-10 win over the Tennessee Titans and continued with the Arizona Cardinals' comparatively easy 33-13 triumph over the Carolina Panthers.

Then, today, the Philadelphia Eagles eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, 23-11, and the Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the San Diego Chargers, 35-24.

So, next Sunday, Baltimore will travel to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will travel to Arizona. The winners of those games will meet in Super Bowl XLIII three weeks from today.

All four of this weekend's games were rematches from the regular season. That hasn't happened in nearly 40 years.

And the AFC and NFC title games also will be rematches from the regular season.

Baltimore and Pittsburgh compete in the same division, so naturally they have faced each other during the regular season. The Steelers beat the Ravens in Pittsburgh back on Sept. 29, 23-20, and then won the game in Baltimore on Dec. 14, 13-9, so the Steelers will be trying to pull off a three-game sweep. As the scores of the earlier games indicate, it won't be easy.

The Eagles and Cardinals played each other in Philadelphia on Thanksgiving night, and the Eagles won, 48-20. There was a time when the Eagles and Cardinals were in the same division, but that was back when the Cardinals called St. Louis their home. Now, the Cardinals play their home games in Arizona and they compete in a different division. But, as the division winners (whereas the Eagles are a wild-card team), the Cardinals will get the home field advantage.

Much will be said about these matchups in the coming week.

My initial thought, however, was this: This must seem like redemption to Donovan McNabb, who endured booing by the fans and benching by his coach only to come back and lead the Eagles to a fifth NFC championship game. Whether he goes to the Super Bowl or not, he has the satisfaction of knowing that he made the clutch plays while the Giants' quarterback, Eli Manning, did not.

Gators Grab National Crown

---

---

Congratulations to Florida on its victory over Oklahoma last night.

The Gators now have their second national title in three years — and the Southeastern Conference has its fourth national title in six years.

In fact, in those six years, the SEC has compiled a record of 7-2 in BCS bowl games — only Georgia (in the January 2006 Sugar Bowl) and Alabama (in the January 2009 Sugar Bowl) have failed to emerge victorious in BCS bowls in that time span.

Viewers who tuned in to the game expecting to see another 60-point performance by the Sooners were disappointed. OU only managed to get a single TD in each half.

And those who enjoy controversy may have been denied that opportunity this year. If Oklahoma had won the game, Texas fans might have been able to argue convincingly that they were more deserving of the national title since the Longhorns beat the Sooners in October.

But OU lost by the same margin (10 points) to Florida as to Texas, and the Gators' defense did a better job of stopping Oklahoma's admired offense than Texas did.

So, if Mack Brown follows through with his pledge to vote Texas #1 in today's poll, what will be his justification?

Florida followed the prescribed formula for winning the national title.

Does that mean the national championship will be spared controversy this year? Not necessarily. After all, Utah finished the season undefeated — and beat Alabama more convincingly than Florida did last month.

Doug Robinson of the Deseret News is armed with the blue-collar argument: "This is about nothing more than money, a case of the rich getting richer and not wanting to share the loot with the lower classes. It's the good-ol'-boys bowl network protecting its turf."

And he isn't finished.

"No matter how you cut it, the arrangement is just plain un-American," he writes. "In America, it's what you do, not who you are or what club you belong to or how much money you have. It's about fairness and equal opportunity and performance, or it's supposed to be."

Ah, yes, performance.

That's an area where Oklahoma came up far short of expectations, after routinely putting up 50 or 60 points against foes during the regular season — and even in its Big 12 title game.

During halftime, Barry Switzer may have been on to something when he pointed to OU's failure to score in the red zone as a potential factor in the game. Instead of attempting what should have been a chip shot field goal on a fourth-and-goal situation with the score tied late in the second quarter, the Sooners tried to score a touchdown and were rejected by the Gators.

That's the kind of play that gives confidence and momentum to the defense while robbing the offense of the same things.

Late in the game, OU coach Bob Stoops may have wished the Sooners had kicked that field goal in the first half. If the Sooners had settled for the three points before halftime, the whole complexion of the game could have been altered, strategies would have been different, and the Sooners might not have faced impossible odds late in the contest.

So this loss was as much Stoops' failure as his team's.

If not moreso.

As a result, as Kevin Sherrington suggests in the Dallas Morning News, Stoops' moniker of "Big Game Bob" may not survive.

But Florida's Urban Meyer, who has now won two national championships in three years, may now be overdue for a nickname that implies his winning ways.

PBA Bowling Championship Starts in Reno

The careers of athletes who participate in traditional team sports (i.e, baseball, basketball, football) typically have a short shelf life. But participants in some individual sports — like bowling or golf — can enjoy much longer careers.

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) National Bowling Stadium Championship got under way in Reno, Nev., today.

Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., is the defending champion. On Jan. 6, 2008, he won the title by defeating Patrick Allen, 254-214. It was his 11th career title.

A field of 64 bowlers is lined up to compete in this year's event, which comes at the beginning of the second half of the 50th anniversary of the PBA.

If you can't get to Reno to witness the event in person, you can catch coverage of the final round on ESPN starting at noon (Central) on Sunday.

Eagles-Giants May Be Best Game This Weekend

Peter King of Sports Illustrated — a sportswriter for whom I have a great deal of respect — points out that this weekend's playoff games are all rematches of regular-season encounters.

And each one was a "barnburner," King says.

"Philadelphia beat New York by six, New York beat Philly by five, Carolina beat Arizona by four, Tennessee beat Baltimore by three, Pittsburgh beat San Diego by one," he observes. "Wow. You can't make this stuff up."

No, you can't.

Only the outcome of one of the four playoff games is guaranteed to be a reversal of a regular-season game — the Philadelphia-New York game. Those teams play in the same division, which means they face each other twice during the regular season.

As King notes in his column, the Giants and Eagles split their games during the season. So what is to be gleaned from that? Well, the visiting team was the winner in both instances. If that trend continues, that means the Eagles will prevail over the defending Super Bowl champions.

That may turn out to be the relevant factor. The Eagles were very hot at the end of the season, going 4-1 in their last five games. And one of those wins was a 20-14 victory over the Giants at the Meadowlands.

The Giants, meanwhile, sort of staggered to the finish line, going 2-3 in the same stretch.

The Giants still won the NFC East, with a 12-4 record. The Eagles took a wild-card spot with an 8-7-1 record, including a much-maligned tie with Cincinnati that many observers believed would keep them out of the playoffs.

Nevertheless, the Eagles made it to the playoffs, beat the Minnesota Vikings, and should be very confident when they take the field Sunday against the Giants, having won five of their last six games.

Do the statistics support the suggestion that the Eagles will advance to the NFC title game and face either Carolina or Arizona?

• Well, neither team seems to have an advantage at quarterback. Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb and New York's Eli Manning both have ratings of 86.4.
  
  McNabb threw for 3,916 yards and 23 touchdowns during the regular season. In his 10-year career, that's the highest yardage total he has compiled and his third-highest TD total. He threw for 300 yards or more four times this season, but came up just short of 200 yards in each of the games with New York.
  
  Manning's NFL career has been half as long as McNabb's, and neither his yardage total (3,238) nor TD total (21) represented his best efforts. But Manning threw only 10 interceptions (his lowest total since his rookie year, when he only played in nine games). He failed to throw for more than 200 yards in either of his previous encounters with the Eagles.


• Both teams appear to have spread the ball around in the passing game. Rookie DeSean Jackson led the Eagles with 912 yards on 62 receptions and scored two TDs. Brian Westbrook led the team in receiving TDs with five — one came at New York on Dec. 7.
  
  For the Giants, second-year receiver Kevin Boss led the team in receiving TDs with six, one of which came against Philly on Nov. 9. He had 33 catches during the season for 384 yards. Steve Smith led the team in receptions with 57, accounting for 574 yards and one TD.


• The Giants seem to have the edge in the ground game. Both Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward ran for more than 1,000 yards, while the Eagles' leading rusher, Westbrook, accounted for 936 yards. However, when you combine his rushing and receiving yards, Westbrook accounted for 1,000 yards for the fifth consecutive season.
  
  Jacobs was third in the NFC in rushing TDs (15), and he got two of them at Philadelphia in November, but Ward got into the end zone twice. Westbrook, meanwhile, scored nine TDs, one of them at New York on Dec. 7. For both Jacobs and Westbrook, those are career high TD totals.
  
  But Jacobs has been hobbled by injury in recent weeks. The Giants have to hope that having some time off since the last regular-season game will help him get back to normal.


• On defense, things look fairly even in the sack department. Justin Tuck (12.0) and Mathias Kiwanuka (8.5) were New York's top producers in that category; Darren Howard (10.0) and Trent Cole (9.0) set the pace for Philadelphia.


• Putting additional pressure on the quarterbacks are Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, who picked off four passes this season, and safety Quintin Mikell, who intercepted three passes. Giants safety James Butler, second-year cornerback Aaron Ross and cornerback Corey Webster had three interceptions each.


• Second-year linebacker Stewart Bradley led the Eagles in tackles with 108. Antonio Pierce was the best tackler for the Giants with 94.

The Giants-Eagles game may well be the best playoff matchup of the weekend, although, as King observed, all four games are rematches so they should all be reasonably familiar with each other.

Bob Glauber of Newsday says the Eagles look like last year's Giants team that, as a wild-card team, won three straight road games and then beat the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

But Gary Myers of the New York Daily News is adamant that the Eagles will not beat the Giants on Sunday.

The Giants "take the Birds seriously," Myers writes. But, he insists, "The Eagles come flying into Giants Stadium but will pack up their season and leave by bus."

Sounds like bulletin board material.

Longhorns' Victory Wasn't Enough to Claim #1

In the aftermath of Texas' come-from-behind victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, Texas coach Mack Brown was defiant.

"I wasn't sure before, but on Friday, I'll vote Texas No. 1 because I believe this is the best team in the country," Brown, a voter in the coaches' poll, proclaimed.

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman agrees that Texas looked like a champion. However, "[i]n all likelihood, the Florida-Oklahoma winner in Thursday's BCS title game will take home the big prize unless unbeaten Utah's longshot campaign takes hold. But Texas deserves to be in the conversation about No. 1."

This is utter nonsense.

Not to take anything away from the season the Longhorns have had. But if Brown votes for Texas, he will be in violation of the agreement that the voters in the coaches' poll will support the winner of what is designated as the BCS national title game.

In the pre-BCS days, Brown could do that with a reasonable expectation of getting additional support from his colleagues.

But today it amounts to little more than a quixotic gesture — and one that could cost Brown his voting privileges in future polls.

Things could get interesting, though, if Oklahoma beats Florida. If that happens, Texas can claim to be deserving of the national title because the Longhorns were the only team to beat the Sooners.

But, if Florida wins the game, what would be Brown's justification? The Longhorns didn't play the Gators this season, so any claim to be the better team would be purely hypothetical. And Florida would have back-to-back victories over Alabama and Oklahoma to its credit.

No offense to Ohio State intended, but the Buckeyes have now lost three consecutive bowls — including two BCS title games.

When they look at the Buckeyes these days, college football observers don't see the team that beat Miami in double overtime to claim the national title for the 2002-03 season.

They see a team that has a reputation now — fairly or unfairly — for being unable to win in January.

A win over Ohio State simply doesn't impress people the way Brown may think it should.

Even so, the Longhorns are positioned well for 2009.

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle points out that Texas will have nine offensive starters and six defensive starters returning and "might well be the preseason No. 1 team in the country."

But Texas will have to settle for the potential for greatness next season — and concede this year's national title to the winner of Thursday night's game.

Even if that turns out to be the hated Sooners.

Mike Freeman of CBS Sports may have said it best when he wrote that Texas "choked away a long shot at history" by claiming a "lucky" victory over an "average team whose claim to fame now is beating Michigan" — an achievement that wasn't too remarkable, given the fact that Michigan, with its 3-9 record, had its first losing season in more than 40 years.

Brown will have to be gracious this time — and abide by the coaches' agreement to support the winner of the BCS title game.

The Latest Polls

It seems that I was a bit hasty — but only a bit — when I wrote the other day that Oklahoma hadn't budged from #4 and unranked Arkansas hadn't received any votes for the Top 25 following Arkansas' victory over Oklahoma a week ago today.

I guess what I saw was mislabeled — or perhaps I was mistaken. Either way, I apologize for any contribution I may have made to anyone's misunderstanding of the situation.

I wasn't too far off, though. OU only dropped a couple of spots. The Sooners are now ranked sixth in both the AP and Coaches' polls.

And the Razorbacks still aren't ranked in the Top 25 — but they did receive some votes.

If you extend the AP rankings to include every team that received any support at all, the Razorbacks would be ranked 28th in that poll.

Arkansas also received some modest support in the Coaches' poll. If you extend that poll to include every team that received any votes, the Razorbacks would be ranked 36th in the nation.

Nevertheless, I still hope that Arkansas will beat Texas tonight — and the Razorbacks will break into the Top 25 in both polls next week.

Arkansas Has Rare Opportunity Against Texas

I must admit I was disappointed, but now I realize it simply means a greater opportunity.

My alma mater, the University of Arkansas, pulled off its most significant basketball win in recent times by beating fourth-ranked (and previously unbeaten) Oklahoma, 96-88, on December 30.

But when the next polls came out, Arkansas hadn't received any votes for the Top 25 — and OU hadn't budged from its position at #4.

Now, the Razorbacks have an opportunity to beat two Top 10 basketball programs within a week of each other — and, hopefully, break into the Top 25 in the process.

Eighth-ranked Texas (11-2) faces unranked Arkansas (11-1) on ESPN at 8:05 p.m. (Central).

If you grew up in Arkansas before the Razorbacks left the old Southwest Conference in the early 1990s, any competition between Arkansas and Texas will bring back memories of autumn afternoons on the gridiron or winter nights in the fieldhouse.

When I was a little boy, Arkansas-Texas was significant only in football. Once football season was over, neither school seemed to exist until September rolled around.

But, when I was in junior high school, something amazing started happening. Arkansas and Texas became competitive in basketball and, by the time I was in high school, the Razorbacks were competing on a national level, advancing to the Final Four for the first time in 30 years.

And, in my college years, the Razorbacks were always playing in the NCAA Tournament.

They battled Larry Bird and Indiana State to the very last second for a trip to the Final Four.

They knocked off Louisville, the defending national champion, with a midcourt shot at the buzzer — years before such a shot would count for three points.

And every year, it seemed, the Razorbacks and the Longhorns met in the SWC's postseason tournament — which inevitably gave the schools three meetings in basketball in a single season.

As a writer from Sports Illustrated observed at the time, that was two more shootouts in a season than the schools' fabled football coaches, Darrell Royal and Frank Broyles, ever had, even in their best years.

The schools haven't faced each other regularly in any sport for 16 or 17 years now. But this academic year is resembling the days of my youth — last fall, the football teams met in Austin, Texas (in a game that was postponed for a couple of weeks by Hurricane Ike), and, on Tuesday night, the basketball teams will face each other in Fayetteville, Ark.

As familiar as the scene appears to an old Razorback fan like myself, I know it won't last. Both teams will revert rapidly to their current roles, and the memories of the old SWC will recede.

Texas opens its Big 12 schedule Saturday at home against 10-4 Iowa State. After that, the Longhorns have a couple of challenging road games, at 13-1 Oklahoma on January 12 and at 10-4 Texas Tech on January 17, followed by a home game against an old football rival, 13-1 Texas A&M on January 24.

For Arkansas, the SEC schedule also begins Saturday. The Razorbacks host 9-5 Mississippi State, then they also must go on a two-game road trip — to 9-5 Ole Miss on January 14 and 12-2 Florida on January 17. Arkansas will be at home on January 24 against Auburn (10-4).

In the meantime, both teams come into the game with certain things they do much better than the other.

Texas, for example, is one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to blocking shots. The Longhorns average 6.3 per game, which is 13th in the country. Senior Connor Atchley is responsible for nearly one-third of those blocked shots.

The Longhorns are 43rd in the nation in rebounds, averaging 43.2. Junior Damion James averages 8.4, and sophomore Gary Johnson accounts for 7.4.

Texas also ranks 64th in avoiding turnovers, averaging 12.8 per game.

The Razorbacks are 12th in the nation in scoring, averaging 82.7 points per game — they're 39th in field goals made (27.8 — same as UConn and a full field goal more than Texas).

But Arkansas is way down the list in average field goal attempts per game (96th while Texas is 73rd). And lots of field goals made combined with not too many attempts means the Razorbacks are in the Top 50 in field goal percentage (47.4%).

The Razorbacks have always been solid in scoring, though. But an encouraging development for long-time Arkansas fans is clear improvement in both free-throw shooting and rebounding.

Currently, the Razorbacks are sixth in the nation in free throws made (20.1). That may be due, in part, to the job they've done at drawing fouls. They're second in the nation in free throw attempts (30.7). Now, I'll grant you that their 65% accuracy rate isn't one of the nation's best, but it's not bad when you consider that they're attempting nearly 31 free throws per game.

And it's a distinct improvement over what the Razorbacks did from the free-throw line when I was a student.

Arkansas is also 17th in rebounding (44.9), thanks in large part to junior Michael Washington, who is 18th in the nation (10.4).

Freshman Courtney Fortson is 16th in the nation in assists (6.4), and he had one of his best games of the season against Oklahoma, accounting for 10 that night. As a team, Arkansas is 69th in assists, with an average of 15.3.

Can the Razorbacks do it? They'll be playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd and a national TV audience.

As someone who's seen more Razorback basketball games than he can recall, I say this — it can be done.

Who's No. 1?

Friday had already been a surprising day for college football fans when they sat down to watch the Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Utah.

After all, Ole Miss pulled off an amazing 47-34 victory over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl Friday afternoon.

But few people — outside of Utah's base of hard-core supporters — gave the Utes much of a chance of beating the Crimson Tide. Although they were undefeated, there weren't many college football observers who thought the Utes could beat the team that many people believed should have been playing Oklahoma for the national championship.

Myself included.

For most of the season, I believed that Alabama was the best team in college football. I was among those who were surprised when the Crimson Tide lost the SEC championship to the Florida Gators last month — even though Florida's quarterback was the defending Heisman Trophy winner.

And I was absolutely shocked that Utah not only beat Alabama but did so by two touchdowns.

Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register called it an "uninspired" performance — and implied that the Crimson Tide lost its motivation after losing the SEC title to Florida.

In the future, I believe Nick Saban's Alabama program will be a force to reckon with — on both the SEC and national levels.

But, to pull off this victory — Utah's 14th straight win and its eighth consecutive bowl triumph — required more than athletic ability.

As Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote, it required a "winning mind-set."

Monson aptly wrote, "Destiny, thrown in alongside talent and execution, even when it shows up in the last two minutes, can do that for a team. A group of guys who have been good enough to win 12 games without a loss figure they're good enough to win 13, even when few others on the outside agree with them."

Following the Utes' victory, it is appropriate to wonder what kind of impact this may have on the national championship picture for this season — and, looking ahead several months, what kind of impact will it have on national polls and expectations when the start of the next college football season approaches.

It may have an impact next week, after Texas plays Ohio State on Monday and either Florida or Oklahoma wins the "national championship" game on Thursday.

No matter how those games turn out, Utah will finish the season, as Cory McCartney writes for SI.com, as "the only unbeaten," and he all but underlined the achievement by observing, "Entering Friday night's showdown, the Utes had beaten three teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25 (No. 11 TCU, No. 17 BYU and No. 24 Oregon State)."

Make that four teams now.

McCartney observed that Utah took some motivation from Saban's remarks after the loss to Florida last month. Saban said Alabama was "the only team that plays in a real BCS conference that went 12-0, which is very difficult to do."

Florida or Oklahoma will still be proclaimed the national champion a week from now, but Utah's victory should make some people think twice about what "a real BCS conference" is.

Then, perhaps, we can do away with the BCS nonsense altogether.

(Almost) Seems Like Old Times

More than 20 years ago, just about any conference basketball game featuring the Georgetown Hoyas was looked upon as a big game — and seemed to qualify automatically as a "rivalry."

In fact, as Ray Fittipaldo observes in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Big East Conference "is known for its rivalries, and none recently has been better than the series between Pitt and Georgetown."

The Hoyas fell on hard times after making back-to-back appearances in the national championship game in the mid-1980s, beating Houston and then losing to conference foe Villanova.

But the name "Hoyas" — whatever that name means — always retained its magic when mentioned in a basketball context. And recently, Georgetown has been back on the NCAA map.

And, tomorrow, you can re-live that old-time feeling on ESPN, which will televise the Big East match between the Hoyas and the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers at 11 a.m. (Central).

Pitt is undefeated (13-0) and ranked third in the nation behind top-ranked North Carolina and Big East rival Connecticut. Georgetown is ranked 11th in the country and boasts a record of 10-1.

In their most recent games, Pitt rallied to beat conference opponent Rutgers on New Year's Eve, and Georgetown upset UConn on Monday.

In most statistical categories, Pittsburgh seems to enjoy an advantage.

Neither team is among the leaders in scoring — Pitt is 45th in the nation, averaging almost 78 points per game, while Georgetown is 73rd in the country with an average of about 76 points per game.

That may be due, in part, to the fact that neither team is in the Top 100 in three-point shooting.

But Pitt has a huge advantage in rebounding, ranking 25th in the country with an average of 44 rebounds per game. Georgetown isn't even in the Top 100.

And the Panthers' advantage is even more pronounced in assists and field goals, both attempts and field goals made per game. Pitt is 14th in the country with nearly 18 assists per game, 21st in field goals with slightly more than 29 per game and 41st in field goal attempts (61.2 per game). Again, Georgetown didn't make the top 100 in any of those categories.

But Georgetown turned the tables on Pitt in free throws. The Hoyas are fourth in the nation in free throws made per game (20.8) and 11th in free throws attempted (27.6) while the Panthers failed to make the Top 100 in either category.

Georgetown also has outperformed Pittsburgh in steals, ranking 38th in the country (averaging 9 per game) while the Panthers are 62nd (with an average of 8.4). And the Hoyas are ahead of the Panthers in blocked shots per game, 4.7 to 4.2.

Pittsburgh, however, has been more efficient at avoiding turnovers. The Panthers have averaged less than a dozen turnovers per game while the Hoyas again are not in the Top 100.

On an individual level, Pittsburgh sophomore forward DeJuan Blair is 18th in the nation in field goal percentage (nearly 63%) and he's second in the nation in rebounds, with more than 13 per game. Senior guard Levance Fields is one of the nation's leaders in steals, averaging seven per outing.