Unlikely

Since the least likely Super Bowl in recent memory (if ever) is coming up and predictions have been requested, here's except from tomorrow's article in the New York Beacon (75 cents at select NYC newsstands):

The battle that should gain more attention is between the Cardinals’ defensive line and the Steelers’ offensive front. Though Arizona allowed just below 27 points per game in the regular season, they were in the middle of the pack in many defensive categories, including the popular sack (31) and interception (13) tallies. In all three playoff games, Arizona has allowed just above 20 per contest; mostly by slowing the running game as Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook, Atlanta’s Michael Turner and Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams to a tune of 50 yards apiece. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s offensive line had been criticized for much of the year because of inconsistent protection for QB Ben Roethlisberger and their collection of running backs. However, as their defensive teammates, they take pride in knocking players to the dirt and creating holes for Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore.

Now, for an actual prediction: whichever team scores more points than the other has a fairly strong chance of winning the game.

Overload

You will be overloaded over the next seven days, including Super Sunday.

With all due respect to the league that has granted this Scribe access over the past four years, the journey that the NFL takes – better yet, throws in front of us all – gets a little mind-numbing.

This may not be the ‘sexiest’ Super Bowl in recent memory, but it is the Super Bowl that provides a compelling matchup that should be able to stand on its own for a hopefully memorable NFL championship game. However, the idea that we need any more than two or three hours of coverage before the game begins is beyond comprehension.

Ninety hours from ESPN’s networks.

Fifty-five hours from the NFL Network (for the seventeen people who have it).

And just a measly six hours from NBC, the actual broadcaster of the Big Game.

For those of us who have something to do during the day such as work, go to school, look after the kids or sell illegal pharmaceuticals, we’re able to mostly avoid the über-analysis and absurd questions of Super Bowl Media Week. Even so, there is still an inordinant amount of programming waiting for us to smack our heads over and over again.

Yet, unlike most sports media personalities, your favorite blogger is going to give you some advice on how to avoid the Super Bowl Migraine that comes with actually paying attention:

First and foremost, don’t use sick days, Paid Time Off or vacation days to actually soak in any of the stuff coming out of the ‘idiot’ box. Not only will the multiple shows scramble your brain despite hearing the same stories over and over again, but you won’t have days to use later this year. Keep that vacation to the Caribbean during your favorite team’s bye week in mind.

Now, in terms of actual TV programming, there’s plenty to offer that you may have completely forgotten about because as this writer, your head has been wrapped around an oblong spherical brownish object thrown in the air for three hours. There are plenty of shows throughout the week that are showing new episodes, but if you have not been up-to-date on them, spend your next few evenings catching up on whatever shows you recorded on DVR or get yourself online… well, don’t watch anything on one of the MTV Networks or American Idol.

If you’re like this writer and barely keep up with actual scripted content, there’s a good chance that you are a true sports junkie. This week, the NBA offered a free week of their absolutely wonderful League Pass, giving cable subscribers a chance to see any game coast-to-coast. Look, the economy is shaky and people are looking to cost-cutting methods to save a buck or two. Yet, if you need to entertain yourself with something athletic, either invest in the half-season sports packages from the NBA, NHL or college basketball or find the nearest watering hole/restaurant. Hey, if you’re nice enough and willing to go Dutch on some (insert food delivery company here), I might let you swing by.

The Australian Open has been quite intriguing so far, so take a gander at either ESPN or The Tennis Channel to watch the matches that went on while you were sleeping.

If you are really hyped for some hitting and you’re fortunate to have the premium channels on demand, check out HBO and Showtime’s best matches of 2008 along with Sugar Shane Mosley’s absolute beatdown of Antonio Margarito that entertained many this past Saturday.

Of course, there was a time when there were about three television channels and only one TV per household. Some families huddled their one TV unit and watched iconic shows that still stand the test of time. Yet, some people did something that seems almost unheard of these days. They grabbed one of these. It’s not a bad idea to do so while all of the media in Tampa is sweating to find anything worth our attention when we wake the next morning.

Being that this was the first non-football weekend since the late summer, you probably reconnected with loved ones and friends, stepped out of the house on a Sunday, took a long weekend out of town or actually stepped inside a church for the first time since Easter. Have an encore performance.

If you’re like me and there are at least 10 movies in the past five years that you have not seen that people keep demanding that you watch, cherry pick a few for each day up until the minute leading to Sunday’s kickoff. I have a list of about thirty.

Finally, there are probably three or four websites you have been meaning to check out or some blogs that you haven’t caught up (ahem) with (ahem) in about a week (or month). This is a pretty good time to get all educated and whatnot.

By the time Super Sunday rolls around, you would swear that the last football game you watched was six years ago. You would be caught up with most of what you have missed in the last five months, you’d put a dent in a book that you haven’t touched since last May (Atlas Shrugged for this guy) and you would finally be able to say to your co-workers “yeah, I watched ‘Juno’ the other day and I got to say that it was kinda overrated”. You would be so far away from the gluttony of pre-pre-pre game coverage that you’d be convinced that Kurt Warner was the rookie that the Arizona Cardinals drafted last April.

Most importantly, you would actually look forward to watching the game itself.

Good luck and remember, by 6:30 PM this Sunday, it’ll be all over.

Start

Various thoughts may consume the mind, yet these handful seem to shine through the most today.

First and foremost, those that we have lost in our lives who fought, spoke and hustled for real change in society should be here to witness this day. I knew someone in particular who would make sure that our newly-elected government officials, including President Obama, stick to their guns.

Secondly, a song that has become a personal mantra over the past sixteen months since the album's release in 2007 may speak more to what we are celebrating today:

We will make a brand new start
from the pieces torn apart
The break of day is before us
Cast your sorrows to the wind
Let the highway take us in
as we escape the disorder

Finally, as said once before, we're not done. Nowhere close. This may be a sports blog, but the ramifications of the new Obama administration are supposed to speak to change for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic background, political (in)differences, prejudices, occupations, etc. While this inauguration may turn out to be the Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game of the early 21st century, to not have a passing published thought would be foolish on my part.

However, don't forget... we're not done. Change will take a few more tomorrows than most of us have planned.

So let's get to work.

For inauguration links, check out the always-on point Fang's Bites.

Say What?!?!: As always, I'll be real with you; I've always known that this day would come, just not when. However, I'm probably the only black/African-American person in the country who thought that a person of color or a woman President of the United States was more likely than the Arizona Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl. Yeah, I said it.

Excellente

Watching the NFL's conference championship games from Cancun was an experience to behold.

I have not attempted to learn and speak another language since senior year of high school; that was after four years of strictly French. Despite having grown up with a good bit of exposure to Spanish (come on, it's New York City), it was not a language that flowed from the tip of the tongue. And so, for those of you who know, give us a little translation beyond my multilingual excellence.

The video that was originally uploaded and intended to live here was deleted, but it will be re-edited for proper use.

What was interesting about the Spanish telecast is how much the networks went out of the way to (for the lack of a better phrase) de-Americanize their presentations. First of all, the in-studio teams (apparently) are handling the announcing of games. Just as many international competitions may employ the same Throughout both conference title games, they did not show either FOX's or CBS's announcers and sideline reporters (or they were in view of the players in post-game comments coming off the field). Also, because these games were telecasted by Spanish-language networks, they were not laden with cross promotions of other programming, a definitive and maddening American staple.

However, just as FOX Stateside, SKY Sports (Rupert Murdoch's international telecaster) does show just five commercials over and over and over again. Azteca Deportes (the telecaster for the CBS game) interspliced the CBS broadcast with clips from the NFL Network.

And is you must know, even in Cancun, you can't get the NFL Network.