Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Super Bowl XLII Preview

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Pats vs. Giants, Tom Brady vs. Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, NFL Owners vs. NFL Union, Bud Light vs. FedEx, Tom Petty vs. Paula Abdul, Tony Parker vs. Jacque Vaughn (and Damon Stoudamire), Washington State vs. the Bay Area, Chuck Knoblauch vs. Congress, David West vs. Al Jefferson, Cameron Crazies vs. Mother Nature and More!
The Opening Pitch: Pats 41, Giants 17.
After an absurd amount of back-and-forth in my own muddled mind, I have decided to split the difference:
I am rooting for the Pats to lose in Super Bowl XLII, but as you see above, I am picking them to win. (Conflicted much? Yeesh.)
For rooting interest, my sense of schadenfreude trumped my ongoing interest in novelty. But as far as actual predictions go, I (like anyone) would be a fool to pick against the Pats. As the genius trolls at Cold, Hard Football Facts put it: This is the Mismatch of the Century.
But for a super-fan of superlatives, that makes the Super Bowl a can’t-lose proposition: Greatest Season Ever or Greatest Upset Ever.
I’ll take it.
Obligatory Tom Brady Coverage: Brady is already a legend (or mythological hero, depending on your rooting interest).
A fourth Super Bowl title would tie him with Bradshaw and Montana -- and if Brady has as big of a game as he has averaged all season long, it might just secure his place at the top of the list of all-time QBs.
(The scenario I want to see: Brady’s ankle injured early, with backup Matt Cassel taking the field and leading the Pats to a win. That would make an inevitable Pats win so much more interesting.)
The Ad Game, always as interesting as the football game itself.
Let me predict some winners:
Beer: Bud Light (Gold standard; six in all)
Animals: FedEx (Two words: Carrier pigeons) Career Builder (What, no monkeys this year?)
Movies: “Semi-Pro” (Will Ferrell movie trailer)
Gimmicks: E*Trade (Talking Baby will be hit or miss)
Entertainment: Halftime performer Tom Petty is universally appreciated, but I can’t say the same about National Anthem singer (and reigning “American Idol” winner) Jordin Sparks. Willie Nelson and Alicia Keys will perform in the pre-game show, but I guess the performer I am most intrigued by is Paula Abdul. That’s the performance I predict we will all be talking about on Monday.
More coverage from the Sporting Blog on the scene at the Super Bowl.
Pro Football Hall of Fame voting: I think it’s a Redskins two-step, with Darrell Green and Art Monk (finally!) making it. I would put Cris Carter in, too, but you never know with those lame Hall voters.
NFL vs. its Players Union: Gene Upshaw said the union would support HGH testing ... as long as it was a urine test, not a blood test. With the blood test the far more realistic one to be developed, the union’s “cooperation” rings hollow.
Meanwhile, it looks like the NFL owners will opt out of the current labor deal this fall. Of the aftershocks, I’m not so intrigued by a possible strike as much as I am by the 2010 season being played without a salary cap -- let’s see which owner wants to pay the most to field a Super Team.
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NBA Last Night: Spurs stifle Suns, holding the league’s highest-scoring team to their lowest point total of the season (in Phoenix, no less). And that was without injured Tony Parker (Jacque Vaughn filled in admirably, with a season-high 17.) An ugly win but a quality win for the defending champs ...
Meanwhile, no KG, no problem: The Celtics beat the Mavs, even without him. Maybe that loss will spur the Mavs to pull the trigger on a trade for Jason Kidd ... For what it’s worth: The Cavs without LeBron are not as good as the Sonics with Kevin Durant ...
CBB Last Night: Cal stuns No. 9 Wazzu in Pullman, Washington State’s first home loss this season. And this was supposed to be the “easy” game of the pair against the Bay Area schools coming to town. (Saturday opponent Stanford won at Washington and has won 4 in a row.)
Meanwhile, No. 13 Wisconsin shut down No. 11 Indiana in Madison. IU scored 13 points less than its lowest point total of the season, and it’s the Hoosiers’ second straight loss. Good thing they have Northwestern at home on Sunday.
CBB Weekend Preview, across the major conferences: (1) Stanford at Washington State, (2) Baylor at Texas, (3) Tennessee at Mississippi State, (4) Pitt at UConn, (5) Arizona at UCLA.
Chuck Knoblauch goes to Washington: He will talk to the Congressional committee looking into steroids in baseball. Hmm: Wonder if they’ll ask him what he knows about Clemens’ alleged PED use?
Betting there’s a lot of “I don’t recall” in the transcript.
Don’t forget: Santana deadline. The Mets and Twins have to complete the deal for Johan Santana by 5 p.m. ET today -- provided the Mets and Santana can come to a mega-deal on a contract extension.
NBA All-Stars Reserves announced: East: Billups, Bosh, Butler, Hamilton, Jamison, Johnson, Pierce. West: Boozer, Nash, Nowitzki, Paul, Roy, Stoudemire, David West. Adding New Orleans’ own West was very cool. Top Snubs: Al Jefferson, Baron Davis, Jose Calderon. (And, yes, it will be strange not to see Shaq in the All-Star Game.)
Damon “Mighty Mouse” Stoudamire to the Spurs: Here he comes to save the ... Spurs rotation while Tony Parker is injured?
NBA Dunk Contest Update: Rudy Gay used his NBA.com blog to challenge Dwight Howard to a dunk-off on a 12-foot rim. I say: Oh yes. Gay continues his breakout season -- on and off the court.
CBB Coaching Carousel: Exiled ex-Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien can return to college coaching ... but will any team have him?
The Last Word: Do Duke’s Cameron Crazies hate the environment? To their credit, the fans wore green shirts last night to support awareness of global warming.
But as soon as Duke fell behind at the half to N.C. State, a lot of the fans ditched the shirts. (Oh, sure: Because the team was playing badly because the fans weren’t wearing blue.)
Actually, I’m the kind of fan who will switch seats in front of the TV if my team isn’t doing well while I am watching them, figuring I can break up the bad mojo by adjusting my viewing angle.
I’m not saying it’s not insane, but I can relate. Still, it’s one thing for the Crazies to taunt N.C. State players; it’s another thing to taunt Mother Nature.
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
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