It's Time For Super Bowl LX

  With the Northeast locked in a bitter cold weather pattern for the weekend, it is the perfect time to stay home and watch sports. Especially the Super Bowl. 

The windy, cold temperatures led my wife to observe how lucky the NFL was when it held Super Bowl XLVIIII at Met Life Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands. And the NFL really was—for a big snowstorm happened the next day, crippling the New York Metropolitan area. 

Imagine how bad things would be if they NFL tried this again? Especially this weekend when wind chills will be near or beyond -20 degrees? When frostbite occurs after 15-20 minutes and hypothermia is a constant worry for everyone who attends, plays or works the event. 

That happens with the playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl in locations like Buffalo, Green Bay or Chicago and even Kansas City—too many people are ill-prepared or are alcohol-fueled and put themselves as risk. Remember the -34 wind chill in Cincinnati for the AFC Championship when the air temperature was -9 on what has been established as the sixth coldest day ever in the Queen City?

As a fan, you root hard for your team. If you are a season ticket holder, you attend the games in all kinds of weather, hoping that the colder months don’t become extreme. In reality, you are paying elevated prices for the privilege of freezing and potentially getting sick or worse. 

The coldest Super Bowl on record was Super Bowl VI, held at the old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. The temperature at kickoff was 39 degrees. The people at the Park Avenue offices of the NFL didn’t learn from that experience; Super Bowl IX was once more at Tulane Stadium whee the temperature reached 46 degrees. 

The aforementioned game in East Rutherford, NJ had a high temperature of 49 degrees. Downright balmy. At least the NFL executives haven’t gambled again on staging their spectacle outdoors in a cold weather setting. 

Right behind the Meadowlands game was Super Bowl VIII, held at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas. The temperature was 50 degrees that day. 

Fifth on the list of coldest Super Bowls was Super Bowl XIX, played in Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. The temperature reached 53 degrees, causing local fans to shiver and wear fur coats, unaccustomed to that kind of cold for football. Palo Alto is a mere 14 miles from Santa Clara, California, where Super Bowl LX will take place. 

It is no small coincidence that most of the Super Bowls are played indoors or where there is cover, like at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, where next year’s classic will be. Atlanta, where there is an indoor stadium, is the 2028 host city. 

Lest we forget that even if the game is held indoors, the outside conditions can contribute greatly to attendance worries. Super Bowl XLI had constant rain falling in Miami Gardens, Florida, creating a slick field. It snowed before and during Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis had single-digit temperatures outside. And there was an ice storm in Atlanta prior to Super Bowl XXXIV which created havoc. 

It will be much nicer in Atlanta on this Super Bowl Sunday.  No rain in Atlanta. Relatively warm for the Twin Cites. Only in Detroit along with New Jersey will the temperatures not reach 20. 

The expected high of 62 and a low of 47 in Santa Clara for this contest will be just about right for the players and the spectators shelling out enormous money to see Seattle, New England and Bad Bunny. Roger Goodell and his friends are getting just what they wanted from the Northern California weather. 

There were a number of interesting features heading into the game. The two teams have met before in a Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLIX to be exact. 

Driving the field for what seemed to be a sure score, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll elected to have quarterback Russell Wilson throw the ball at the one yard line of the Patriots instead of handing the ball to RB Marshawn Lynch. That may have been the worst call ever. Because Wilson’s throw was intercepted by Malcolm Butler, preserving the Pats’ 28-24 victory. 

These teams are not the same, with two different head coaches. Mike Vrabel is the former Tennessee Titans head man who was initially successful in Nashville, but was fired after two losing seasons in the Music City. With more losing seasons after he was let go, the Titans have turned to Robert Saleh, of late the San Francisco 49’ers defensive coordinator, who also had been the New York Jets ahead coach. 

Vrabel is a Patriot through and through. The Ohio State defender had a chip on his shoulder when initially drafted by Pittsburgh in the second round. He parlayed free agency into a stint with New England where he was on three Super Bowl-winning teams, was a first team All-Pro in 2007 and is in the New England Hall of Fame (he also obtained that honor at Ohio State). Oh, and by the way, this season’s NFL Coach of the Year (he also won that honor at Tennessee) for turning around a losing franchise into a big winner, caught a pass from Tom Brady for a TD in a Super Bowl XXXVIII. 

He is no Bill Belichick, his coach in New England. Certainly not in demeanor and tactics. The guy simply knows how to win.

Conversely, Mike MacDonald of Seattle interestingly was born in Boston—Patriots territory. He grew up in Georgia where he played high school football and baseball. MacDonald tore his ACL on his last play of his career. 

He went on to graduate summa cum laude from Georgia with a degree in finance. While an undergraduate, MacDonald actually coached in high school. MacDonald then started as a graduate assistant at UGA and moved up the ladder as a defensive assistant while earning his master’s degree in sports management at the school.

MacDonald coached twice with John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens’ squads. His second time was as the defensive coordinator. In between, MacDonald spent one very successful season as the defensive coordinator at Michigan for John’s brother, Jim. The Harbaugh ties extend to his Seattle staff—MacDonald’s special teams coordinator is Jay Harbaugh, Jim’s son. He certainly knows pedigree from a three generation coaching tree. 

His time in Seattle has been good. The Seahawks have gone 24-10 under MacDonald’s tenure. He also calls the defensive formations which has resulted in a league-low 17.2 points scored by the opposition. As much as Vrabel knows how to win, MacDonald, who when hired by the Seahawks as the youngest head coach in the NFL, is a brilliant football savant. 

While the Patriots have been belittled for playing an easier schedule than the Seahawks had with two NFC West teams making the playoffs (Seattle beat them both), New England QB Drake Maye finished a close second to Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford in the M.V.P. voting. Make no mistake about the former North Carolina star—he has been described as “an exceptional combination of elite arm talent, uncanny accuracy (he led the NFL in completion percentage), high football IQ and impressive mobility.” The guy is a top-tier talent.

Contrastingly, Seattle QB Sam Darnold has had an almost nomadic journey to this stage. A high first round pick for the New York Jets, his time with that franchise was anything but remarkable (then again, the only thing the Jets are good at is losing). A highly-touted quarterback out of USC (incredibly, Darnold is the first USC QB to start in the Super Bowl), he had stops in Carolina and San Francisco before arriving in Minnesota for the 2024 season. 

Darnold flourished, leading the Vikings to a 14-3 record and into the playoffs. However late season losses and a bad playoff loss led the Vikings’GM to let Darnold go into free agency while putting faith in former Michigan QB J.J. Mc Carthy. Mc Carthy succumbed to injuries and Darnold’s continued success in Seattle led to the Wilf brothers, owners of the Minnesota franchise, to let the GM go for his decisions at the quarterback position among other reasons. 

To say that Darnold was the catalyst of the Seattle offense is a valid statement. He has great wide receiver talent and a solid offensive line to make his throws even more accurate. He threw 25 TD passes in the regular season and 4 more in the post-season, with only 14 interceptions. He has matured as a quarterback at age 28. 

I have probably provided more hype about this game than the media seemingly has. For the game is coming at a bad time. First, the country has been fixated on the terrible situation regarding Today Show host Savannah Guthrie’s 84 year old mother with medical issues having been kidnapped from her Tucson home in the middle of the night. 

For the past week, the NBA trade deadline seemed to garner more attention than the Super Bowl. And that’s with no really spectacular trades—Giannis Antetokounmpo is still a Milwaukee Bucks player and the best that the Golden State Warriors could do was to package malcontent Jonathan Kuminga and inconsistent shooting guard Buddy Hield, sending them to Atlanta for oft-injured big man, Kristaps Porzinigis. 

A lot of attention was focused on the just-completed Australian Open.  In Melbourne, 22 year old Carlos Alcaraz defeated the legendary Novak Djokovic en route to a Golden Slam—he has won title in the four major tournaments. 

New York Knicks fans thought the team had righted itself with an 8 game winning streak which included a 2 OT thriller over Nikola Jokic, just back from injury, and his Denver Nuggets. Except that the Knicks then went to meet the Eastern Conference leaders, the Detroit Pistons, on the Pistons’ home floor. 

The resulting blowout brought a sense of reality back to those who believe that NYK will win it all. On Sunday they play in Boston, another house of horrors for the Knicks and its fan base.

Plus those North Carolina fans who regularly read this blog are ecstatic after the Tar Heels’ home win over arch rival #4 Duke on Saturday evening. Enjoy it now, UNC fans. You may see Duke two more times this season, when winning won’t be easy. 

Moreover, the Winter Olympics have started in Milan and Cortina. All American eyes early on have been on the Women’s Ice Hockey team and the exploits of skier Lindsey Vonn, who was valiantly trying to compete with a braced leg to support a torn ACL. 

Vonn was determined in her two practice runs. The women’s team looked good against its first two opponents in the Preliminary round. 

 

Then on Sunday, the unthinkable happened. Vonn clipped a gate early into her downhill run and crashed. Badly. She writhed and moaned in obvious pain before being airlifted to a hospital. Such a shame. 

While we still keep hope for the Guthrie family, we turn to the Super Bowl almost as an after thought. Halftime artist Bad Bunny has been maligned by those who make anything into a political football. 

Hardcore Jets fans—a dwindling lot it seems—will have to watch unhappily as the Patriots are in the championship game for a record twelfth time while the Jets haven’t been to a playoff game since 2010; the one appearance in the Super Bowl for the moribund franchise was 57 years ago. They are at least joined by the Vikings faithful who look on wistfully at Sam Darnold at the helm of Seattle’s offense. Even the most rabid NYJ rooters can’t root against Darnold, who has that underdog mentality. 

The prognosticators are going with Seattle to win. That seems to be the consensus. My advice is not to count out New England so fast. They looked quite good in their playoff games. 

One thing is for sure. While the Sunday morning temperature began in the single digits here in New Jersey, the weather in Northern California will be good for football (there was some morning fog—a reminder of where this game is being played). 

It’s finally time for Super Bowl LX. We get to listen to the dulcet tones of NBC lead announcer Mike Tirico as he teams with his NFL partner, Chris Collinsworth, a former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver who also is an attorney. Tirico, a Syracuse alum from Whitestone, New York, will continue his broadcasting adventure, calling the NBA for NBC previously, this game, and then jetting to Italy to head the network’s Olympic coverage. That will make the ice melt. 

See you in two weeks—I’m going to warmer climates. 

I Need A Little Puppy Love Right Now

  I am not going to discuss much football this week. The hiring of NFL coaches is ongoing—down to just two openings, which leads one to believe that an assistant coach on a Super Bowl team is likely going to claim a spot. 

I found it interesting that former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who reinvigorated the San Francisco 49’ers defense in his second stint there, has selected former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll to be his offensive coordinator in Tennessee. Talk about strange bedfellows. 

Meanwhile, speaking about the two New York football teams, there is an aura of optimism with John Harbaugh taking over the reins for the Giants. While Aaron Glenn, the so-called savior of the New York Jets, is totally deconstructing his coaching staff. 

Unless the Jets make a killing in the upcoming NFL Draft and sign some solid free agents, it is going to be the same old same old in Florham Park. Which makes one wonder what will it ever take to turn the franchise around?

Pittsburgh tabbed Mike Mc Carthy to replace Mike Tomlin. Mc Carthy had successful stints in Green Bay and at Dallas. The Western Pennsylvania native son has hinted at a reunion with Aaron Rodgers as the Steelers quarterback. I hope that either Rodgers or Mc Carthy comes to his senses and goes in a different direction. Otherwise, things could become dismal quickly for the Steelers.  

Of course, the biggest story surrounded the failure of a group of fifty individuals to get forty of them to agree that Bill Belichick should be a first ballot member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What an uproar this created. 

Multiple reasons have been given for this result. They run the gamut—from only 3 of 5 players, coaches and owners could get into Belichick’s involvement with Spygate, for which he and the Patriots were penalized. Or perhaps there was resentment that he could get in after being out of the NFL only one year instead of the five players must wait. 

Whatever the cause of this rejection, it was a major slight and a big stain on those who were tasked with enshrining the right people. The man’s credentials as a coach are unassailable. He did not deserve to be treated like a steroid user in baseball, where that kind of cheating led to long suspensions  for Alex Rodriguez and public questions about integrity or Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, two of the all-time great players. 

Put aside how intemperate Belichick could be with the press. He got his teams to win behind the mastery of Tom Brady as his QB. The defenses which he and his staff developed were top-notch. Nobody has won more Super Bowls. 

The NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame fumbled this one horribly. This snub will ultimately be corrected. It isn’t the same for Eli Manning, whose resume is very nice but not overwhelming. 

Manning can wait awhile for enshrinement. Belichick should have been on stage in Canton, Ohio in August, receiving the praise and recognition he richly deserved. It won’t happen when Brady’s time comes, unless he screws up as a broadcaster for FOX or his tenure as a Las Vegas Raiders owner goes south. 

And even then, if there are reasons Brady is disliked or resented, it won’t matter. He’ll get in on the first ballot. So should have Belichick, too, and on the first ballot. 

What amazed me is hat corrective action wasn’t taken for a special re-vote here. Change the rules if you have to. Football could have made it right. Not look stupid and pedantic. 

In the sports world, a lot of different events are colliding as February begins. Besides the Super Bowl in another week, the Olympics, Australian Open, NBA, NHL, college basketball, golf, MLB Spring Training and even the Westminister Dog Show are in full swing or on tap. 

Most everyone has seen the ski accident which derailed American Lyndsey Vonn as the 41 year old star ties to recapture glory one more time. Her prognosis to return to the slopes in Italy is up in he air—like the way she was guided into a waiting helicopter to whisk her away for evaluation and treatment of her injuries. Should she make a timely recovery and come back and medal, NBC has great theater for its viewers. 

The NBA trade deadline is on February 5. The big story is whether Milwaukee will trade superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

Golden State sure could use him, although I don’t know that Giannis will make the Warriors into a team to defeat Oklahoma City, Detroit or San Antonio. Yes, Steph Curry is going to be 38 soon and he is defying time with his high-scoring and three point accuracy. And yes, the window of opportunity for another championship for him, Draymond Green and dad coach Steve Kerr is closing fast—if it hasn’t already been shut. 

Obtaining Giannis for a lot of draft capital and/or players is risky. This isn’t like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leaving Wisconsin for Los Angeles. Not close. 

Bringing in Luca Doncic and pairing him with an aging but still powerful presence in Lebron James has made LAL a winning team. But not a top flight one. 

Other suitors might outbid GSW. That could even include the New York Knicks, with center Karl Anthony-Towns name being bandied about for possible trade packages. Much to Towns’ dislike. Can’t blame him—even if pro basketball remains a business and sudden trades are always possible. 

A footnote to the long NBA season. There was a historic rookie duel between two former teammates in college. Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record for points by a teenager on a night when the Mavs honored franchise legend Mark Aguirre, the former holder of the team’s rookie scoring record. Flagg scored a career-high 49 points, making 20 of 29 field goal attempts. He collected 10 rebounds. 

However, Kon Kneuppel of the Charlotte Hornets tallied his career-high with 34 points, which was on 10 for 16 shooting. Eight of those tens made baskets were three point shots, which set a Charlotte rookie record. This was Kneuppel’s 13th game with five or more 3-pointers, which tied the NBA record for a rookie. 

Their futures are bright for two franchises seeking to become relevant. The duo are certainly among the leaders for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. By the way, the final score was Charlotte 123 Dallas 121.

I want to comment about the influx of former G League and now a former NBA player back into the collegiate ranks. The courts are involved and one of the two players in question has played remarkably well for Alabama once permitted to participate. 

This is wrong. So wrong. On many fronts. Let’s start with the ages—older than normal four year matriculating students. That puts them at a competitive advantage. As does exposure to the pros—whether it was in the G League or 10 games in the NBA. 

I recognize that amateurism has been shredded at D I-level schools. Name, Image and Likeness has eviscerated that. Kids are being paid to play and then can up and leave through the Transfer Portal if a more lucrative deal awaits. 

Oh, some don’t even go to school—like Carson Beck for the past two years at Georgia and Miami. Whatever happened to being academically eligible?

Big time college sports, already driven by greed and avarice while placing so many school athletic budgets deep in the red, has no morality and not very much decency. The alumni and fans don’t care—as long as heir school continues to win. 

Curt Cignetti may be a saint for what he accomplished at Indiana in winning the national championship in his second year in Bloomington. However, the expectations will remain high and the pressure even greater. Cignetti must find he next Fernando Mendoza to quarterback his team lest the fans start to get uptight when the team loses a game or two.

It’s really no different at any other Big Ten school—there is tremendous pressure to win—now. Or in he ACC or SEC, where charges have been lobbed by Clemson head coach Dabo Sweeney that coaches at the University of Mississippi have been trying to poach his players—even calling their cell phones to take while the particular athlete is actually in class.  

I’ve said it before and it’s worth repeating. Top tier college sports is out of control. How this is reigned in I just don’t know. Maybe court or congressional intervention has to happen. It isn’t pretty and things may get even uglier. 

Which is part of the reason why I enjoy D III sports so much. It appears to be far less sullied and the kids actually go to school and many have real majors with aspirations that are high. Not to play professionally only to return to college older and with remaining eligibility. 

The New York Yankees collared their man after all. Cody Bellinger is coming back to the team, a lot richer and with much greater expectations. The team has to sort things out early and straighten out the lineup and pitching so that when injured starters like Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are back, along with shortstop Anthony Volpe, the team can really run it back, like GM Brian Cashman recently remarked. 

It has been nice to see a few new names surface to the top of college basketball. Nebraska looks for real—even with a loss at highly-ranked Michigan. The Big Ten is loaded this year with schools like Purdue, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin and UCLA joining the Cornhuskers and Wolverines as potential NCAA teams. 

#1 Arizona is really good. UConn is back and formidable. Every school in the Top Ten has a championship pedigree. March Madness is approaching—and it’s gonna be fun. 

The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings are feel good stories in the NHL. Franchises which have turned things around. The Islanders, too, as the trio sit in playoff spots just before the Olympics hiatus. It’s a lot closer in the West, as many teams are vying for playoff berths. 

Tampa Bay and Colorado are the leaders thus far. Both are playing exceptional hockey. Hopefully no teams suffer great losses due to injury when the Olympic competition begins. 

Down Under, Carlos Alcaraz declared that he’s the best in the world with his win over Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz is the youngest to complete the “Slam”—winning the Australian, French, US Opens and Wimbledon. At age 22. His future, barring injury, is bright. 

The fact that the aging Djokovic made it to the finals added to his legacy rather than diminished it in any way. His defeat of Jack Sinner in the semi-finals demonstrated that he still is in the top three in the world at age 38—for its going to be Alcaraz and Sinner dominating men’s tennis the way McEnroe and Borg did, or Federer and Nadal did previously—until Djokvic interceded. 

I may not like Djokovic for his arrogance among other reasons. I didn’t care much for Johnny Mac’s antics either. But I sure as heck respect their ability to play tennis. 

Watching the Westminster Kennel Club’s annual soiree at Madison Square Garden made me think of eligibility and N-I-L. Non-factors for the dogs. Those performing have it good—if you like being primped and pampered. Just like in the colleges and pros.

I need a little puppy love right now.