And the Winner Is...

Well, I'm back from our nation's capital and getting ready for Sunday's big game! After an eternity of waiting, there are now only two more days to go. So, who is going to win, you ask? Well, I suppose I have got to go with the major upset and pick the Jacksonville Dolphins. I know that they have struggled this year and currently sit at 1-19, but they will be at home against a struggling Kennesaw St team that seems to have lost its way the past couple of weeks and has lost three straight since opening the Atlantic Sun slate with a 9-1 record. Call me crazy, but I just have a feeling that 6'4 Antonio Cool (who is actually from Bloom Township and Chicago Heights) is going to light up the scoreboard and big-man...what do you mean "what in the heck am I talking about?" Oh yeah...there is a little football game to be played on Sunday as well, isn't there?

Anyway, before I jump into a discussion of the Superbowl, I want to make sure that everybody knows that Chicago is likely to lose one of its true sports icons in the very near future. As many of you likely know, former DePaul coach Ray Meyer is currently in Northwest Community Hospital with what appears to be a life-ending illness. Through my family's support of Blue Demon basketball and my own attendance at Coach Meyer's basketball camp, I have personally known Ray since I was 8 or 9 years old and, although I have not spoken to him in probably 15 years, I can guarantee you that Ray remains one of the nicest and most genuine men that I have ever met. Whether Ray passes on in one day, one month or ten years (he is currently 92 years old), on the day that he passes, the world will have one-less gentleman.

Okay, back to the Superbowl... I have given this a fair amount of thought and, ultimately, I have got to go with the Steelers to win in an absolute rout. After all, the ill-advised comments of Seahawk tight end Jerramy Stevens have provided Pittsburgh with the necessary motivation and as a result of Jeramey's stupidity, I expect that the Steelers are going to come out and play absolutely the best game in the history of football. They will be intent on shutting Jerameqy's big mouth and will be focused on making sure that Jearamxqhzy never "guarantees" a victory again for as long as he plays in the NFL. Boy, good old Jerrrrrrammmmmy sure screwed Seattle this time...

C'mon people, this is the freakin' Superbowl. If the Steelers needed Stevens' comments to get fired up, then there is something seriously wrong with sports today. Do you really think that Seattle Head Coach Mike Holmgren told his players "now guys, please make sure to keep your mouths shut so we can ensure that the Steelers don't care about the game?" ESPN's Mark Schlereth noted that you can be sure that the Steelers will put this on the bulletin board and that Stevens had made a huge mistake. Please... Thank goodness for Michael Irvin and Steve Young who both provided the voice of reason (what a minute did I just put the words "Michael Irvin" and "reason" in the same sentence?) and noted that the comments will not make any difference. They won't..

That said, would somebody please tell Joey Porter to shut up! This guy is beginning to make Freddie Mitchell sound like a deaf-mute.

So who do I really think will come out victorious? Well, the majority of the media and the majority of the people that I have spoken to seem to think that Pittsburgh will win (even without the added Stevens motivation). In fact, the Steelers are still favored by Vegas. Why, I ask, are the Seahawks getting little credit for their accomplishments? Seattle has been crying "disrespect" all week and I really do not blame them. Let's look at the matchups...

Quarterback: The Steelers have Big Ben. The Seahawks have bald Matt. The media constantly reminds us of how well Big Ben is playing. Well, what about Elizabeth from Survivor's brother-in-law? In the last six games that Matt has played he has thrown 12 TDs and 1 interception. Big Ben is a future star but I'll take Hasselbeck.

Running Back: Pittsburgh has Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker (anyone checked to see if Duce Staley is still alive?) while Seattle has the league MVP. Jerome Bettis is big. The league MVP is the league MVP. Jerome Bettis is from Detroit (did any of you actually realize this? Did you also know that Brady Quinn's sister is also A.J. Hawk's girlfriend and was at the Fiesta Bowl in person? Or that Kerry Wood's wife was at game 5 of the 202 NLDS? You get the idea...). The league MVP is the league MVP. Willie Parker is fast. The league MVP is the league MVP. Guess where I am going with this. Although it is tough to ignore the fact that Jerome Bettis was born and raised in Detroit.

Wide Receivers: Hines Ward is a stud, Antwaan Randle El is fast and Heath Miller is a nice tight end. On the other side, Darrell Jackson is excellent, Joe please-don't-make-me-spell-his-last-name-I-am-too-lazy-to-look-it-up is a terrific possession receiver and some guy whose name I can't remember because he is quiet and does not make headlines of any sort plays tight end and has four TDs in his last six games. I'll give a slight advantage to Pittsburgh because Hines Ward will be the best WR on the field, although the ex-Bear factor favors Seattle with Bobby Engram.

Offensive Line: Both teams reportedly have an excellent o-line but I must admit that I am ill-equipped to break down a position that I, in truth, no very little about, so I will just call it a draw. I will, however, try and show how smart I am, by doing a little name-dropping. Walter Jones. Steve Hutchinson. Alan Faneca. Aren't you impressed.

Defense: Both teams have been excellent in the postseason. Pittsburgh held down Cincy's high powered attack and for all intents and purposes shut down Peyton Manning and the Colts. Seattle had a great game plan to take away Michael Vick, er Steve Smith. I'll go with Pittsburgh and give the Steelers an advantage because the 'Hawks do not have a lot of experience playing against a base 3-4 alignment and were not particularily effective when they did (13-10 win versus Dallas). See how smart I am?

Special Teams. I've got to go with Seattle. After all, according to Joey Porter, the Seahawks' Special Teams features Jerramy Stevens.

Coaches: For the past two weeks, I have heard people talk about how great a coach Bill Cowher is because he has played in numerous AFC championships and a Superbowl. Yes, Cowher has taken Pittsburgh to the Superbowl. Well, guess what? Mike Holmgren has also taken a team to the Superbowl...and he actually won. Holmgren did it with the Packers, however, and, therefore, got to "get the kinks" out during two wins over the Bears during his Superbowl season. Cowher looks angrier and more threatening and...I'll pick him by the slightest of margins.

Bottom line: I agree with Jerramy. Watching Jerome Bettis win a Superbowl in his home city would be a nice story. Ain't going to happen, though. Seattle 24, Pittsburgh 20.

Finally, Mike and Mike are broadcasting this week from Detroit, a city teeming with hundreds, if not thousands, of current and former NFL players. So who does there production staff elect to put on the radio this morning? Torry Holt, who starts his interview by saying "I'm sorry. I do not have any voice." Excuse me...this is radio people (yes, I know that it is also on ESPN 2, but the prospect of seeing Torry's smiling face on TV is simply not enough...if you have a desperate fix to see Torry on TV, just turn on ESPN News for 10 minutes and you are sure to see a Fathead Commercial -- ooooh, two weeks, two Fathead references). Somebody sure dropped the ball on this one...and, this time, there were not undet two minutes to play and it wasn't Detroit's own Jerome Bettis .

Enjoy the game!!!

BTW, I'll also go with Jacksonville 72, Kennesaw St 69