The Super Bowl: Just the Facts...

Just a few interesting facts the day after the Super Bowl:

• Pittsburgh has the most Super Bowl Victories (6)
• Two teams have five Super Bowl trophies: Dallas & San Francisco
• Three teams have the most Super Bowl losses (4): Buffalo, Denver, & Minnesota
• Four teams have never played in a Super Bowl: Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville
• Fourteen teams have never won a Super Bowl: Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Carolina, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Minnesota, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle, & Tennessee
• Three men have won Super Bowls both as a player and a coach: Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy, & Tom Flores
• Miami has hosted the Super Bowl the most times (10)
• Only one on-sides kick has been attempted in a Super Bowl before the fourth quarter: New Orleans Saints - 2010

Sean Payton: "Ambush"!

Sean Payton did not bring his New Orleans Saints to Miami to just play in the Super Bowl. No, he brought his Saints to Miami to win the Super Bowl. And win they did, defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. In winning, Payton showed more play-calling guts than all other NFL coaches combined. The biggest of which was the on-side kick to begin the second half. Never would I have attempted that. If it fails you give Peyton Manning a short field to work with and all the momentum to carry him to his second Super Bowl victory. And Payton was asking his rookie kick-off man, Thomas Morstead to attempt his first on-side kick EVER. In fact, he only practiced the kick, appropriately named "Ambush", for less that two weeks. Yikes! But the gamble paid off, even if it did take 90 seconds for the officials to confirm "Saints ball". The Saints have their first Super Bowl victory and the city of New Orleans has yet another excuse to throw a party. Now we can all collectively say: "Great call, Coach!". You just gave new meaning to the phrase "in it to win it".

Super Bowl XLIV: Ready For 100 Million?

NBC holds the Super Bowl record for average viewers with 98.7. Today, CBS hopes to see that record fall and be the first network televising the big game to draw 100 million viewers. If the game is close and interesting, the network thinks it's a gimme; if not that close but has some interesting sidelights going on, the 100 mil is still possible. The fact that NFL regular season ratings have been very good all season is another point in the favor of CBS. It is also a 'Super' plus that the game features the top two seeds from each conference for the first time since 1993. Indianapolis is the favored team with the experience of having been here before, while New Orleans is the extremely hungry underdog playing in the league's showcase spectacle for the first time ever. Las Vegas has the Colts as a 5.5 point favorite over the Saints going into the contest. Veteran Jim Nantz will be calling his second Super Bowl, along with partner Phil Sims who has the experience of five previous Super Bowls. CBS will be televising its seventeenth NFL championship contest. Are you ready?

Jason Heyward: It's Just A Mattter of Time

Jason Heyward is the top prospect in the Atlanta Braves farm system. For that matter, the twenty year old is the top prospect in all of Major League Baseball. Baseball America named the 6'4", 245 pound slugger the 2009 minor league player of the year. He will arrive at the Braves spring training facilities shortly with a legitimate chance to earn the starting right field job for the big league club. Making the opening day starting roster is the only way Heyward starts out the year in Atlanta, because the club does not want their still-developing phenom to be sitting on the bench anywhere. It's an all or nothing proposition with regards to the big show. Having had only three at bats late in the season at Gwinnett, Heyward would be pretty much skipping Triple A ball if he starts in Atlanta. Last year he hit .323 in A and AA ball, and he has only 173 at bats above the Class A level. None of this seems to phase the young Heyward in the least. His attitude is to have fun and let everything else take care of itself. I think things will take care of themselves very well in Jason Heyward's baseball future. After all, he's what they call a "can't miss" kind of guy.

NCAA: Enough Already

I didn't agree last year when I heard that several high school sophomores had verbally committed to certain colleges. That's just rushing things a bit, getting the cart before the horse, if you will. Now this story out today regarding a thirteen year old's commitment to Southern Cal. Yep, you read correctly: thirteen years old. That's 'thirteen' as never been inside a high school classroom yet, doesn't even have a learner's permit to drive yet, and hasn't even thought about putting a razor against his cheeks yet. That's absurd. It's crazy for the kid at this point, and crazy for the college as well. However, according to the story, none other than Lane Kiffin has already given David Sills a "verbal" scholarship offer. (Note: We all know how much Kiffin's word is worth.). This is where I think the NCAA should step in and put yet another rule for college coaches to abide by. I know, most of their rules aren't even worthy of the paper they're typed on, but I think this one could be good: No offer of a football scholarship can be tendered to a high school athlete and no verbal commitments can be made before September 1st of his SENIOR year. That might sound late, but think about it. It would give the player the entire summer before the 12th grade to attend camps, travel to different campuses with his family, and determine which schools he wants to take official visits to (it wouldn't hurt to reduce the number of official visits as well). That would also give colleges more time to study film and talk to high school coaches before extending offers. They would know who they wanted to offer before football season begins, so there would be no problem there. Both parties would have over five months at that point before National Signing Day. Perhaps this process would make recruiting easier and smoother for everyone involved. And at the same time let thirteen year old players be thirteen years old.

National Signing Day

National Signing Day 2010 has come and gone. Basically, the rich got richer, so some got all but all got some nevertheless. There's so much high school football talent now that all major programs really do have a legitimate chance to be successful. However, the flip side to that is, of course, that the competition is so fierce. Not only the competition to sign certain kids, but the competition on the playing field. Much of the suspense of signing day has evaporated because most high schoolers verbally commit to schools long before that magical day in February. Most of the suspense comes now from kids who back out on their commitments and sign elsewhere (Just ask Georgia). Recruiting analysts rank recruiting classes by the number of 5-Star, 4-Star, and 3-Star players they sign. That's understandable, because you do have to have talent to succeed. Like I always say, "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken 'poop', you've gotta have the chickens!" But with that being said, I think there are three main goals for a school to accomplish in having a successful class:

• Sign the best athletes you can




• Fill immediate needs with quality and quantity




• Keep the "Stable Stocked" in conjunction with the eligibility chart

When schools do these things, they might not be ranked high in recruiting polls, but they'll probably be ranked consistently high in the post-season polls. It's not hard to figure out which one is most important. Do you think your school was successful this recruiting season?

Willie Martinez: The "Willie" Has Landed

No, Willie Martinez will not be coaching defensive backs at Stanford as was thought to be the case less than two weeks ago. Yes, Martinez will be coaching the DBs at Oklahoma. He is now officially part of Bob Stoops defensive staff of the Sooners. Apparently the Georgia and Oklahoma coaching staffs have worked together in the past, and that is where Stoops' familiarity with Martinez comes in. Martinez was fired by Georgia's Mark Richt on December 2nd. Good luck Willie, Boomer Sooner!

Tom Watson: Not "Tip-Toeing" Around the Issues

Tom Watson expects professional golfers to protect the spirit of the game. From using golf course etiquette to avoiding rules loopholes, Watson expects his fellow golfers to respect the game they play. He specifically mentioned Tiger Woods, saying Woods hasn't carried himself with the same statue as other great golfers before him. He doesn't feel golfers should use profanity and throw clubs, two things Woods has been guilty of, but not traits associated with Nicklaus, Palmer, or Nelson. He basically feels Tiger needs to 'clean up his act', and I concur with him on that. On the topic of the loophole in the rules that allows players to use twenty year old Ping Eye 2 wedges in order to use 'box grooves', Watson feels players should not take advantage of that. Box grooves are actually against the USGA rules, but a court agreement between Ping and the USGA in the early 90s allows those clubs to be "grandfathered" in. Phil Mickelson is one golfer who has taken advantage of this and used an old wedge, but Watson believes it is pretty much a cop-out. He does not understand why golfers would take advantage of the integrity of the game that way. Neither do I.

Jose Canseco: Always Feeding Near the Bottom...

It seems that Jose Canseco has always got a lot to say about a lot of things, but always after the fact. He's always sticking his nose into someone's business, always having the 'inside scoop' on something that went down earlier, often calling someone a liar, and now trying to get a little piece of the action from Herschel Walker. Canseco had one MMA fight and got lambasted; Herschel had his MMA debut this past weekend and walked out of the ring victorious. So, after Walker has received some positive press, here comes Jose. Today, Canseco "called Herschel out", saying he might have "to show Herschel Walker who the real bad boy of the Sports Industry is". I don't know about the 'bad boy' deal, but Canseco is definitely the original "bottom-feeder " of the sports world. And if the truth be known, Jose Canseco doesn't want any part of Herschel Walker in the ring. But I would almost pay to see that one.

John Wall: Just a Little "Frustrated Love"

John Wall insists he loves his coach, John Calipari. He said his negative comments to the contrary about not listening to his coach were just a result of his frustration after putting up only 13 points with 9 assists and 7 turnovers against Vanderbilt last weekend. Regardless of the numbers, Wall didn't think he played that poorly to get ripped by Calipari. However, after talking things out with his coach, as well as watching the game film to go over mistakes, everything is fine now in the land of the blue grass. Whew, for a moment there I thought this was going to turn into another Allen Iverson/Larry Brown thing. Didn't that turn out to be a player/coach "love thing" too? Oh well...

Ben Hogan: "Bantam Ben" Did Strike Again

On this date in time, February 2, 1949, professional golfer Ben Hogan survived a near fatal automobile accident in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus. Hogan, one of the greatest golfers of all time, suffered a double pelvic fracture, a fractured collarbone, a chipped rib, a broken left ankle, and near fatal blood clots. The 36 year old golfer remained in the hospital for nearly three months before being released with his golfing future very much in doubt. However, Hogan returned to the course only eleven months after his ordeal and went on to win six of his nine majors (T4th best all-time) following the accident. He also came out of his accident as a more popular and 'approachable' golfer with the galleries and fans. The 5'7" Hogan, know as "Bantam Ben", is famously recognized for his theory of the golf swing, as well as, his tremendous ball-striking ability.

Bernard Lagat: He Owns the Wanamaker Mile

Thirty five year old Bernard Lagat won his record making eight career Wanamaker Mile at the infamous Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden. His time was 3:56.34. Irish Runner Eamonn Coghlan, the "Chairman of the Boards", previously held the victories record with seven. The things that stand out to me regarding Lagat's victory are his age, his mastery of the Wanamaker where the competition is usually very commendable, and his sub-four minute time. It's no wonder that the 11,510 track enthusiasts on hand gave him a much deserved standing ovation.