Hartley Miller’s Slapshots – Friday, February 3rd
Friday, February 3, 2012 @ 3:45 AM
It is nearly impossible for the New England-New York Giants Super Bowl XLVI game Sunday in Indianapolis to live up to its advance billing, especially since it is the biggest extravaganza in North American Sports.Four years ago, the Patriots and Giants played in arguably the greatest Super Bowl ever, so how can the thrilling Giants come from behind 17-14 victory in 2008 possibly be topped?There are as many storylines for this year’s game as any in the past. Can Bill Belichick and Tom Brady
become the greatest coach/QB combo in history? This will be the Patriots 5th championship game in the last 11 seasons, all of them under the dynamic Belichick/Brady combo. There are three coach-and-quarterback pairings—-Cowboys’ Tom Landry and Roger Staubach; Steelers’ Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw; Bills’ Marv Levy and Jim Kelly – all who have reached four Super Bowls together. They will be surpassed by Belichick and Brady, who are attempting to match the four Super Bowl wins by Noll and Bradshaw.
become the greatest coach/QB combo in history? This will be the Patriots 5th championship game in the last 11 seasons, all of them under the dynamic Belichick/Brady combo. There are three coach-and-quarterback pairings—-Cowboys’ Tom Landry and Roger Staubach; Steelers’ Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw; Bills’ Marv Levy and Jim Kelly – all who have reached four Super Bowls together. They will be surpassed by Belichick and Brady, who are attempting to match the four Super Bowl wins by Noll and Bradshaw.
There are seven Patriots and 11 Giants remaining from that 2008 Super Bowl game. The Giants were 12-point underdogs but pulled off one of the greatest football upsets ever, ending the Patriots unbeaten season. Will anyone ever forget the miracle 4th quarter play where Eli Manning escaped from the rush to heave a 32-yard pass to David Tyree who somehow caught the ball while it was held to his helmet?
To think New England gets another chance at that same opponent is intriguing. If the Pats win, it will not erase the bitter memory of 2008 but it certainly mark a little revenge. Amazingly, if the Giants win, Eli will have one more Super Bowl than his older brother Peyton which will spark discussions of who is the better “clutch” quarterback.
Both teams are on a roll. The Giants have won five straight after going 7-7. The Patriots have won 10 in a row, but Brady and many of the other Patriots were not impressive in that fortunate 23-20 AFC championship victory over Baltimore.
A strong case can be made for a New England win because Brady will not have two bad games in a row and the Giants will not be able to handle the Pats tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Moreover, the Patriots have lost two straight to the Giants, (24-20, Nov 6th, 2011 and the 2008 Super Bowl) but seldom do they lose three in a row to the same team. Although the Pats are
3-point favourites they are more under the radar than most New England teams of the past. In addition, the Patriots are on a “mission” to deliver another championship to their likeable owner Robert Kraft and the memory of his late wife Myra, who died in July at age 68 after a battle with cancer.
3-point favourites they are more under the radar than most New England teams of the past. In addition, the Patriots are on a “mission” to deliver another championship to their likeable owner Robert Kraft and the memory of his late wife Myra, who died in July at age 68 after a battle with cancer.
A strong case can be made for a Giants victory because their defensive line will chew up the Patriots offensive line, the Patriots defence ranked 31st in the league in yards allowed, N.Y. has already won on the road back to back at Green Bay and San Francisco arguably the two best NFC teams, the Giants
are better balanced on both sides of the football and Eli has been the most consistent quarterback in the playoffs.
are better balanced on both sides of the football and Eli has been the most consistent quarterback in the playoffs.
The Patriots three Super Bowl victories were all by three points but based on history, I suspect this will not be decided by a last second field goal. Double digits have decided 28 of the 45 Super Bowls and 35 of the games have been decided by five or more points. However, four or less points have decided five of the last 10 games. Interestingly, overtime has not factored into any of these contests.
My pick is for New England to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy by more than a touchdown. If that happens and Brady is the game MVP, then we can all spend the off season discussing whether he is the greatest quarterback of all time.
One thing that cannot be denied is whether you live in Prince George, B.C. Canada, or Prince George’s County in Maryland, USA, the four hour (including lengthy half time show) Super Bowl is the one event that unites North America with millions of fans and even non-football fans focused at the same time. There is no other sports tradition that offers this type of HYPE, or in other words a media circus.
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Here are a dozen “out of the ordinary facts” in preparation for Sunday’s Super Bowl:
• Just one in 20 people will watch the game alone.
• The average number of people at a Super Bowl party is 17.
• 35% of people who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense.
• 80 per cent of all Super Bowl tickets sold go to corporate sponsors of the NFL and of the Super Bowl.
• 80 per cent of all Super Bowl tickets sold go to corporate sponsors of the NFL and of the Super Bowl.
• Super Bowl fans spend more than $50 million on food during the 4 days prior to the game
• Super Bowl Sunday is second in food consumption behind only Thanksgiving Day. (The amount of food gobbled down includes an estimated 14,500 tons of chips, 4,000 tons of popcorn and eight million pounds of guacamole)
• On the Monday following the Super Bowl, an average of six percent of the workforce calls in sick.
• On the same Monday, antacid sales show a 20 per cent increase.
• More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year (except St. Patrick’s Day).
• One out of every 12 people viewing the game on television only does so to see the commercials.
• Of the top 10 most watched television programs of all time, nine of them are Super Bowls.
• Over 700,000 footballs are produced annually for official NFL use and 72 of them are used for the Super Bowl.
Here is one last stat to digest. For every NFL game, a study shows there is only about 12 minutes of real game action. Therefore, the game may not last long, but the hangovers sure will.
From the Quote Rack:
Fans in Indianapolis were charged $25 to sit in the stands and watch reporters ask questions during Super Bowl Media Day. The NFL, desperate for revenue, has seized on this idea and will now offer fans the chance to watch the greatest stars wash their cars, mow the lawn and brush their teeth for only $9.99 a month on pay per view.
Which individual showed less class Alex Ovechkin not showing up for the All Star game to defend himself or Tim Thomas for showing up and trying?
Contributor Derek Wilken of Calgaryhttp://smacksport.blogspot.com
The Pizza Hut pizza chain says it will sell 1.7 million pizzas on Super Bowl Sunday, enough to
cover 45 football fields. And, you’ll never guess who will deliver most of those pizzas; Ryan Leaf.
Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano says security will be very tight at Sunday’s Super Bowl game. So far, the only thing bomb-sniffing dogs have alerted to is Madonna practicing her halftime show.
Comedy writer Jerry Perisho http://monologuewriter.blogspot.com/
More than 50 million cases of beer will be sold in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, The Nielsen Company estimated. Or roughly 2 ½ seasons’ worth in the Boston Red Sox clubhouse.
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sidelinechatter/
Patriots’ receiver Wes Welker is engaged to the former Miss Hooters International. John Daly is said to be in seclusion.
In the latest voting for Most Valuable Athlete in North America, Peyton Manning and Sydney Crosby remained neck in neck.
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Which event featured the most hitting this past weekend?
a) NHL All Star Game
b) NFL Pro Bowl
c) BC Ladies Curling Championship
Answer: c) BC Ladies Curling. At least the rocks were hitting each other. The other two events featured more handshakes than a Harbaugh family reunion.
The NFL is in damage control after this year’s Pro Bowl farce. Plans are underway to overhaul the game for next year. First decision facing the organizers is – 5 pin or 10 pin?
Comedy writer TC Chong http://www.dailycomedy.com/u/tcdag52
Several injuries were reported at a casino construction site in Cincinnati. When a floor fell into a V shape Friday and sent workers crashing to the ground. It was one of the more noteworthy collapses in town, well, not involving the Bengals.
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal for the Australian Open in a 5 set, 5-hour, 53-minute final. 5 hours and 53 minutes? That’s almost as long as a Kardashian marriage.
Contributor Janice Hough of Palo Alto, Californiawww.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
And in case you missed it:
An Australian university’s 81-year-old study has been recognized as the world’s longest running experiment. Unless you include the Chicago Cubs.
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com.
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