Super Bowl wasn't so Super

Normally a 24-21 final in a Super Bowl would indicate a great, nail-biting, well-played game. But between all the referee and player mistakes, last Sunday's NFL championship should never go down as a true classic.

This was the first Super Bowl for that particular officiating crew, and hopefully that will be its last. There were three coaches' challenges over the course of the contest, and all three times the refs had originally called the play wrong. In one instance, the whole world could have seen that a New England player's knee was already down, yet the officials still forced the Patriots to waste a challenge.

In fact, it did seem that the referees were doing their best to give Philadelphia every chance they could to win the first half. There was the New England interception nullified by a bogus illegal contact penalty. There was a definite offensive pass interference on a pick play that wasn't called against the Eagles, which resulted in a 40-yard completion. There was the overall discrepancy in penalties versus New England, seven to three. And if Patriot quarterback Tom Brady clearly lands on a fumble on the Philly 10-yard line, and afterwards he gets squished and the ball squirts loose, why is it that play is not challengeable?

As bad as that was, Philadelphia's attempted late comeback was even worse. Down two scores with five minutes to play, the Eagles needed to put points on the board before the two-minute warning. But Philly failed to run a no-huddle offense.

The simple explanation for this is that quarterback Donovan McNabb ran out of gas. The Super Bowl inexperienced McNabb must have used up a lot of energy and adrenaline before the game.

Also, with the Eagles' lack of success rushing the ball, and their subsequent abandoning of the run, McNabb was asked to throw the ball 51 times. That helps explain why McNabb never ran downfield with the ball, and why he threw three interceptions. By the time there were only five minutes to go, McNabb was just too exhausted to run a two-minute offense.

So the only real drama left was the question of which team was going to cover the seven-point spread. Earlier with nine minutes remaining, and up seven, the Patriots had moved the ball to the Philly five-yard line. But they ran on third down and kicked a field goal, and in their minds now winning by 10, iced the ballgame. That opened the door for the Eagles to cover, which they did with 1:48 to spare on the clock, delighting the Philly spread bettors and the sports books. Those who took Philadelphia on the money line would get one final chance to win or tie with 50 seconds left, but McNabb was feeling so tired and ill at that point that if he had thrown up his lunch, the Pats would have somehow intercepted it.

Injured Philly wide receiver Terrible Owens played better than anticipated, catching nine balls for 122 yards. Although his Eagle arms never flapped in the end zone, as expected, his lips would be flapping in the post-game news conference. The egomaniacal Terrible berated the group of reporters for calling him selfish, going on a tirade about injustice, Brett Favre and being a warrior. You're not selfish for playing in the football game, Terrible, you're selfish when you draw attention to and can't shut up talking about yourself.

But Terrible wasn't the only one talking. Before the game, the city of Philadelphia started planning its victory parade. Oops! During the game, there was a ton of jawing and jostling after plays, making for a nasty battle. Talkative Philly receiver Freddie Mitchell, with one reception for 11 yards, of course said that he should have gotten the ball more instead of Owens.

Pro Bowl - The NFL season isn't over yet with Sunday's Pro Bowl from beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii. In an interesting example of how professional football has evolved, all three NFC quarterbacks are black.

Like most other all-star contests, the Pro Bowl is intended to be an offensive showcase. Assuming that the rules are the same as in recent years, defenses are not allowed to stunt or blitz. The results naturally have been high-scoring games. In 2000, the NFC won 51-31. From 2001-03 the AFC came out on top 38-17, 38-30 and 45-20. Last year the NFC won 55-52.

Prediction - Although the number is rather high, the bet is on the Over 62 1/2.

Super Bowl XL - It is way too early for next year's prediction, but a surprise should be expected. No team has ever completed a three-peat like New England will attempt to do, and no team that lost the Super Bowl returned the following year since Buffalo in 1994.