Monday, February 06, 2006

Super Bowl XL: Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10



Another football season has left the building, and we can only begin the countdown to Kickoff 2006. The Super Bowl in Detroit will not be remembered as an all-time great, but the win of Pittsburgh over Seattle was nevertheless full of interesting talking points:

- For the first time ever, a #6 seed won a Super Bowl, proving that bye-weeks and home field advantage are nice helpers, but they can be overcome.
- A QB won a Super Bowl at a younger age than any QB ever.
- The AFC won again, making it 5 out of 6, and 7 out of 9.
- Bill Cowher can now take his place amongst the best coaches in football. The last strike he had against him has been erased.
- Hines Ward became the 5th WR to win a Super Bowl MVP (Swann, Biletnikof, Rice, Branch) and likely won out of pure default. Who else could you have given it to?
- Pittsburgh joins San Francisco and Dallas as the only 5-time Super Bowl winners. Who will be the first to #6?

But, as someone who thought Seattle was going to win the game, I will remember this game for the way Seattle marched down the field, only to stall once again. Were some of the calls weak? Sure. But, Seattle could not close the deals too many times. Dropped passes, poor decisions, missed FG’s, and other stubs of the toe suggest that the right team won this game. Pitt did not make many plays, but they did enough to win a Super Bowl with some level of ease.

Report from Pittsburgh


The Steelers will fly home this afternoon, lugging their shiny, new silver booty to join the four the franchise won in six years in the 1970s.

"We're so proud to bring it back to Pittsburgh,'' Dan Rooney said.

Wide receiver Hines Ward, who began training camp with a contract holdout, won the game's Most Valuable Player award after catching five passes for 123 yards,
including a 43-yard touchdown from fellow wide receiver Antwaan Randle El. He was given the keys to a black Cadillac Escalade for the award.

"This is the one for the thumb,'' Ward said, holding his young son and, as usual, smiling. "We are bringing the Super Bowl back to the City of Pittsburgh.''

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw two interceptions and had a miserable 22.6 passer rating, nevertheless made plays when his team needed them. He dived into the end zone on third down for a touchdown in the second quarter and picked up another key first down in the fourth. In all, he ran seven times for 25 yards but completed just 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards.

Seattle halfback Shaun Alexander, the league MVP, was held to 95 yards on 20 carries.


Meanwhile, Steve Kelly files his report back to Seattle


This loss will gnaw at them the rest of this winter. It will follow them into offseason workouts. It will haunt their dreams.

The Seahawks will wake up out of a sound sleep in a cold sweat and remember the dropped passes, the missed field goals, the punt that rolled dead on their 2-yard line, the penalties.

They will look at the game film later this week and realize they should have been ahead about 24-0 at halftime. They will see that they kicked the Pittsburgh Steelers up and down Ford Field.

They will see Walter Jones burying Joey Porter deep into the artificial surface.

They will see Jerramy Stevens running open in the middle of the field, time after time after time.

But they will also see the blizzard of mistakes and they will wince at what might have been.

"We stubbed our foot a couple of times," wide receiver Joe Jurevicius said. "And that's all I have to say on that."

In a game that will be remembered for its lack of artistry, the better team didn't win Super Bowl XL. The Seahawks lost, 21-10.



Super Bowl Records Set


Super Bowl records
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS SET

Longest run from scrimmage — 75 yards, Willie Parker, Pittsburgh (Old record: 74, Marcus Allen, L.A. Raiders vs. Washington, 1984).

Longest interception return — 76 yards, Kelly Herndon, Seattle (Old record: 75, Willie Brown, Oakland vs. Minnesota, 1977).

Youngest winning starter at QB — 23 years, 340 days, Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh. (Old record: 24 years, 184 days, Tom Brady, New England vs. St. Louis, 2002.)

Lowest passer rating, winning QB — Roethlisberger, 22.6. (Old record: 51.9, John Elway, Denver vs. Green Bay, 1998.

Highest punting average — 50.2 Tom Rouen, Seattle, 50.2 yards. (Old record: 48.8, Bryan Wagner, San Diego vs. San Francisco, 1995).


Chmura calls the kettle black


Mark Chmura was in an anti-Dallas crank Sunday morning on his radio show on WAUK-AM (1510). "If Michael Irvin didn't have his friend's crack pipe in his car, he'd probably be in, too," Chmura said, referring to the Hall of Fame. Chmura questioned Troy Aikman's numbers as necessarily Hall-worthy. "What a flippin' joke," Chmura said. "I am so sick of the Dallas Cowboys. I really am."


Gee whiz, Mark. Simmer down, sport.

Easy to Predict event of the weekend : Liddell pounds Couture


Chuck Liddell did nearly nothing in the first round against Randy Couture on Saturday in what was billed as the most anticipated match in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. And, because of that, he knew the rubber match with Couture would go his way.

Just one minute, 28 seconds into the second round at Mandalay Bay, Liddell proved prophetic when he ripped Couture with a straight right that sent the former champion crumpling to the mat.

Before Liddell could pounce on him, referee John McCarthy jumped in to stop the bout and end Couture's career.


Saints to play at Superdome Sept 24th

Obligatory Story on Bill Guerin …its on time. This story comes about every 14 days…But, Mr Heika’s grasp of the situation is not at its usual high level:


Guerin's linemates Jason Arnott (49 points) and Brenden Morrow (46 points) each are having career scoring seasons and credit Guerin for his hard work in making the line successful. But just as there seems to be no explanation for Guerin's scoring drought, it's also difficult to explain how Morrow is a plus-21, Arnott a plus-12 and Guerin a minus-1. One area to look at could be that he's a team-worst minus-47 on giveaways and takeaways, but Tippett said he wants Guerin to be playing hard and not concentrating on the negatives.


Now, I admit to being a Guerin-apologist. I have no plans to completely turn on someone with such a consistent track record, but Heika really can find “no explanation” for the discrepancies in +/- amongst Morrow. Arnott, and Guerin? How about the fact that they did not skate on the same line for almost 2 full months? When Barnes and others were on the Arnott line from Mid-November until Mid-January, and Guerin was with Niko Kapenen, who easily is the team’s worst center as a -10, you don’t think there is some level of explanation there? I know Guerin has been horrible by his standards, but Heika knows why his +/- is bad.

Harry Carson will accept his Hall of Fame induction, after all.…

We have learned 2 things about this premiership season so far: Liverpool is much better than they have been in years; Chelsea is much better than Liverpool


As Mourinho delighted in pointing out, this victory over the side threatening to become their closest rivals encapsulated all the qualities that make Chelsea such worthy champions; comfortable and clinical yet some way short of thrilling. This was their season in microcosm.

"We need eight wins to be champions and after that it will be seven, six, five," Mourinho said. "We’re in the countdown. We want to win these games as soon as possible."

Still bitter about last season’s Champions League exit and with José Manuel Reina’s late sending-off creating another controversy, Mourinho could not resist crowing about his head-to-head record against Rafael Benítez. The Portuguese has won all four of the league games he has contested against Liverpool and this season’s aggregate scoreline is a flattering 6-1.

"After nine games against Liverpool in 1½ years we’ve lost one," he said. "The game proves we’re the best team in the country. This is a result and a performance that will help everyone to understand why we’re champions and are close to being champions again."

Liverpool came into the game still harbouring genuine title aspirations, though for all their dramatic improvement under Benítez, the European champions remain a work in progress. Despite controlling much of the first half the threat to Petr Cech’s goal was minimal, with Chelsea content to strike on the counter.


He is missed already. Grandpa Munster, dead


Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom, died after years of failing health. He was 82.

The actor was widely reported to have been born in 1910, but his son Ted Lewis said Saturday that his father was born in 1923.


He was 82? I question this. But, look at this:

Star Telegram really confused


AL LEWIS | 1910-2006
Grandpa on 'The Munsters' dies at age 82


I cannot say whether he was 96 or 82, but he is not both!

Werner Herzog of Grizzly Man shot?



HOLLYWOOD - German director Werner Herzog was shot by a crazed fan during a recent interview with the BBC.

The 63-year-old was chatting with movie journalist Mark Kermode about his documentary Grizzly Man, when a sniper opened fire with an air rifle.

Kermode explains, "I thought a firecracker had gone off.

"Herzog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, said, 'Oh, someone is shooting at us. We must go.'

"He had a bruise the size of a snooker ball, with a hole in. He just carried on with the interview while bleeding quietly in his boxer shorts."

An unrepentant Herzog insisted, "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid."

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have given the MVP to Randle-El. Between his pass, his returns, and his TD-saving tackle on Big Ben's granny toss to a Seahawk defender, he had as good a case as anybody. It's not a slam-dunk, but like you said it isn't like there were a bunch of stellar performances to choose from.

Anonymous said...

For the love of all things Holy, this WAS NOT ONE FOR THE F'ING THUMB.

One for the thumb was would be for the 70's Steeler dynasty and ONLY the 70's Steeler dynasty. Every time I heard that phrase yesterday, I wanted to punch Suzy Kolber in the face.

Sports Sturm, you're better than that.

F-Liverpool

Anonymous said...

Harry Carson = a man who believes in his principles...uh wait, I mean he believed in his principles until he got into the Club. Sorriness.

Pitt took care of me, but I admit. Seattle got some HORRIBLE calls early and then proved what we all knew....they are the Keystone Cops of the NFL (with all due respect to Arizona).

Anonymous said...

Anyone that wants to debate that the college game isn't better than the pro game needs to go no further than what has happened during the past month. Sit down and watch the replay of the Rose Bowl and then follow that up by watching a replay of yesterday's Super Bowl. There is absolutely no comparison. The NFL sucks right now.

As for Mark Chumra...he needs to worry more about staying away from 16 year old girls than he does about what Michael Irvin is doing. That guy is a sicko and has no room to be calling out anybody.

And we can officially add Joe Montana to the turd list now. Really nice Joe, really nice. He tarnished everything he accomplished on the field by not showing up yesterday due to his massive greed.

Anonymous said...

SB Pregame: HORRIBLE
SB National Anthem: EVEN WORSE
SB Halftime: Way below average

SB Game: very, very boring...

Anonymous said...

Ben Rothlesiburger was so over-rated before this game. If you put him on the Cowboys team, with their O-Line, he competes with Favre for most INTs this year. He showed his youth in this game. Pitt did not win this game, Seattle lost it. They had some calls go against them, but missd FGs and bonehead clock management will kill a gmae EVERY TIME!!! Maybe now, we can call Big Ben, what he really is, a servicable quarterback surrounded by good people.

Anonymous said...

Grizzly Man was genious.... when you rent the DVD, there is an 'extra feature' that shows how they came up with the music for the documentary. that was almost as good as the film itself.

Anonymous said...

The refs won while the Hawks gave it away. The Steelers won by default.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/football/13801313.htm

Anonymous said...

Somebody have Sturm put an addendum on his year-long thread showing that Pitt lost the TO battle, didn't have a 100 yard rusher, and still won the game.

Anonymous said...

Did Chmura make those comments from a hot tub full of 16-year old girls?

Anonymous said...

if this is true, joe montana is sorry....

Former MVPs were given $1,000 for incidental expenses while in Detroit, along with other amenities such as plane tickets, car rental and game tickets.

Sources told each paper that Montana asked for a guarantee of at least $100,000 in appearance money.

When the league balked at Montana's demands, the quarterback declined to be in attendance.


terry bradshaw didn't show up either b/c of a $$ dispute...


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/news/story?id=2321024

Anonymous said...

just a few points :

the ref's decided the game

the seahawks choked

big ben is the most overrated qb in the nfl

possibly the most boring superbowl i can remember, preseason games have more excitement

Anonymous said...

big ben is the most overrated qb in the nfl

Until Peyton Manning successfully walks on water, Big Ben is going to be no better than the 2nd most over-rated QB in the NFL.

Anonymous said...

yeah NFL over...Hockey talk from now on, ok sturm!!!

Controversy in Canada little leagues:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1139179810376&call_pageid=968332188492&StarSource=RSS

Anonymous said...

Fat Brad, great email to Chmura. Did you get any reply?

P1 Mike

Anonymous said...

Can Someone tell me why Grizzly Man was all that great. It could have been the 5 minutes of movie - 3 minutes of commercial for three hours. But, I was highly underwhelmed.

Anonymous said...

i think ill have to rent grizzly man, i tried to watch it friday night, but the commercial breaks every 5minutes was too much of a beating.

Anonymous said...

You ever heard of TIVO?