It is finally Super Bowl weekend and it feels….kind of blah. Maybe it is because two brothers from an apparently nice wholesome family are squaring off after two weeks of nice making between themselves and their teams. I dunno, but there seems to be a distinct lack of intense vibe, at least to my senses. Super Bowl weekend is also always bittersweet because it is truly the end of the football season and of regular Trash Talk. Sure we will be around for the start of the Formula One Circus and maybe March Madness, but this is it for the regular Trash posts.

In New Orleans there is a party going on. There is also the nagging specter of Katrina hovering over the festivities. For all the glitz and glamor, the Big Easy is still a tale of two cities. There is the glitzy tourist centric French Quarter, which largely survived Katrina intact, the well to do areas of the affluent, all restored and ready to party, and the center of it all this weekend, the Superdome. They are all looking good.

Lets look at at the Superdome, which is not only rebuilt and beautified, but now bears the signage and imprimatur of the ultimate in prestige and wealth, Mercedes Benz:

The multi-phase $336 million project begun after Katrina wrecked the building in 2005, stripping away part of the roof and dumping water throughout, allowing mold to grow unchecked. Evacuees stewed in the summer heat without air conditioning or working bathrooms in a scene that epitomized the chaos of the disaster.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided $156 million of the renovation money, said Superdome manager Doug Thornton. He said renovating the Superdome was half the cost of building a new stadium.

“This is a brand new stadium,” said New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who pushed hard for construction of a new facility before the 2005 storm. “It’s got all the things we wanted. I haven’t seen a finer stadium in the country.”

We bought that. Now that is not necessarily a bad thing, the Superdome was one of the symbols of New Orleans, and an eye that was blackened by Katrina’s surge and aftermath. It was important symbolically to heal and it is an economic driver for the city. Federal money spent means jobs and there is no denying the pride that the folks of New Orleans took in the rebuilding of their house and the rebirth of the Saints, culminating in their own Super Bowl season. It was a transfusion for an ailing city.

As we get ready to celebrate all that is good, glitzy and reborn about New Orleans, let us also take a moment for all that is lost and unrecovered. And there is still that. The population of New Orleans, although growing well, is still only about 80% of its pre-Katrina level and many of those were not the ones who were driven out never to return. Cleansing is a tough word, but it may have some application, and not in a good way.

Having taken a look at the side of the city that is whole again, let us also do so for the infamous areas that are not:

Most tourists this week will see the parts of the city that fared the best during the hurricane — the French Quarter and the Garden District, built on the highest ground near the Mississippi River. But many neighborhoods still bear Katrina’s scars, from the brown stains of high-water marks on buildings to piles of rubble on lots overgrown with weeds. Unemployment and crime rates are still high.

“It’s hard when you walk out the door and don’t see a house across the street,” said Nevles Brown, 46, who lost his home in the Lower Ninth, but now rents a refurbished one nearby.

His uncle, Ronnie Brown, lives down the block in a house that shouldn’t be standing. Still visible on the bright blue siding are spray-painted X’s — symbols drawn by rescuers who checked the houses for survivors in the early days. The front corner of the roof is sheered and splintered.

“I got nowhere else to go,” Brown said, sitting in a chair on the remains of his front porch.

Overall, you have to feel pretty good, both for, and about, New Orleans this weekend. They have come alive again, but there is still work to do and people to heal in the less glitzy areas. And then there is the homophobia that has surfaced in an ugly way over the last week in the hustle and bustle of the Super Bowl scene.

That is the tale of the city, now for the teams. Niners and Ravens. On the hermetically sealed, temperature controlled fake tundra. As the future of this blog may depend on it, I want to be clear:

The San Francisco 49ers will be the Champions of Super Bowl 47!

As my prediction record is basically 0 for the last few weeks, this should bode well for the Ravens and allow the good work here at Emptywheel to continue unabated.

There are several reason behind my Niners pick. First off, San Francisco has been to exactly five Super Bowls, and they have won all of them. Jo6pack and JohnT, both of the Bay area demand a six pack of Super Bowls. Ray Lewis turned his “last ride” into a sleigh ride. John Harbaugh has been too bubbly and fun, Jim Harbaugh has been too quiet and sullen, you KNOW he is plotting.

I could go over the usual litany of players and potential impacts on the game, but you know them already. Both teams are pretty healthy and ready to go. Lewis may still have a wounded Raven wing, but he played fine against the Pats and has now had an additional two weeks; he will be ready. I am going to go out on a limb here and say the difference may be…..Randy Moss. The Ravens play great ball hawking pass defense; Ed Reed and the boys will have to focus on Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis. If they leave Moss one on one downfield, he will burn them. If they pay attention to Moss, there has to be less overage on Crabtree or Davis. Both are killers for Kaeprnick to exploit.

So, what will Roger Goodell be eating while in Nawlins watching the NINERS WIN? Well, not sure, but there is a laundry list of fine establishments that refuse to serve him. Man, that’s cold.

Music this week is by a variety of Big Easy big names. That is it, see you in comments!

Yes, it used to be that all that glitters turns to gold. How archaic that is; it’s platinum now baybee! Our football weekend is now down to eight teams and four games. All pro, because the student athletes have all returned to the classroom (okay, yes, most of them are probably rolling in South Beach and setting up their off season PED schedules, but a boy can dream, no?). There has been some movement of the coaching and GM fronts, but none of it all that earth shattering, so lets get down to business.

The best games are the two Saturday matchups. First up is the Ravens at Denver. No reason to name check the players here, you know who will be on the field and how great they are. The key factor really may be the weather. “Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Highs around 17.” Brrrrrrrrr! Trust me, it is COLD in Denver when conditions are like that, and there is no dome like Peyton had in Indy. Partially due to the cold, partially to not fully restored grip from his nerve injury, Manning has taken to wearing a glove in the cold for the Broncos. It may not be optimal, but I expect he will deal, and it will be no hayride for Flacco either. Both defenses are strong and relatively healthy, so the game may well come down to who gets untracked, Ray Rice or Knowshon Moreno. this could be a great game, but it is, after all, in Mile High. Oh, and Peyton has won nine straight against the Ravens. I think this is the end of the line for Ray Lewis. Donkos get er done.

The nightcap Saturday is maybe the topper of the weekend. Pack at Candlestick Park to visit the Niners. This is like old times, back in the day of Favre and Montana/Young, the road to the the NFC Championship always seemed to involve these two teams against each other. And it was always a killer matchup. Still is. This year, the Niners rolled The Cheese in GB early in the year. But that was before the Pack got untracked; they seem to have some of the momentum back now, and have even found a decent, though not spectacular, running game. Dujuan Harris is no Frank Gore, but he has given the GB offense some help with tough yards. Both defenses have all their key folks back and ready to go. Both teams have had problems with their place kicking, but Mason Crosby has been good the last two games. But in the Aaron Rodgers versus Colin Kaepernick battle, you have to take Discount Doublecheck (and he STILL has a chip on his shoulder over the Niners not drafting him as a hometown hero). Cheese Baby!

The Sunday slate opens with Seattle at Atlanta. This should be a great game, pairing maybe the hottest NFC team, the Squawks, versus the number one seed, Atlanta. Try as I might though, it still doesn’t seem to have the luster of the Saturday games. Seattle looks like a steamroller right now and Atlanta seems kind of underwhelming for a number one seed. Make no mistake however, the Dirty Birds and Matt Ryan are traditionally extremely hard to beat in their home dome, and they are very solid. The Falcons are desperate to avoid a fifth straight playoff loss, the Squawks are on a serious roll; something has to give. My head says take Atlanta at home; my gut says Seattle gets the upset.

Last, and emotionally kind of least, is Houston at New England. Lately it has been Houston playing like patsies, not the Bill Bels. As good as the Texans have been over the entirety of the season, it is just darn near impossible to generate any sense of belief in them right now. Last week Houston looked like crap in barely holding off the Bengals, who played pathetically. Four weeks ago, the Texans were blown out at Foxborough, and the Pats didn’t even have The Gronk that game. Gronk is back, and Tom Brady is not going to let up off the gas. Adam Shefter thinks the Texans might be an upset special. Not me, I think the Texans have a problem. Ring the Bill Bel!

There is the ultra shiny Platinum Coin Playoff lineup folks. In some regards, this is the best weekend of the NFL year, what with two must watch games on both days. Great stuff. Music by Simon and Garfunkel with a Hazy Shade of Winter, cause it will be just that in Denver at Mile High.

Ah, here comes the holiday weekend. With Monday being Christmas Eve, many of us are already on a giant holiday roll. Whether you are or not, it is time to engage in some holiday trashing.

Last night was some gawdawfully named thing called the “Beef O’Brady’s Bowl”. Seriously, what the hell is a Beef O’Brady’s? Well, no matter, fun is coming today in the form of the Boise State Broncos, who will be taking on Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl at 3:30 pm EST.Boise is always fun and well coached by Chris Peterson, and Washington Huskies should make for a good game. Christmas Eve night brings another smaller bowl, but a potentially interesting matchup between SMU and Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl. All on ESPN.

In hockey news……No news is hockey news. Just foolin.

Okay, on to the NFL, where the meat on the plate is these days. First up is a rare Saturday night version of MNF on ESPN (8:30 pm EST). The matchup is Atlanta at Detroit. At the start of the year, you would have thought this game was a no brainer for critical playoff positioning. Not so thanks to the disappointing Criminal docket Kitties. The Lions are toast, seem to have lost heart and really need a coaching change. Hot ‘Lanta rolls on.

But the one must see game of the bunch is Niners at Squawks. San Francisco is playing for the NFC west title and to maintain its slim half game lead on the Packers for the second seed and first round bye. Seattle, on the other hand, is on a roll having won five of their last six outings and getting explosive offense from Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and some quietly talented receivers. The game is in the notoriously loud and difficult Seattle bird’s nest. Should be cold and awesome. Head says Niners are too good; heart says lookout for the Squawks.

The other must see head to head division grudge match is Bengals at Stillers. Cinci comes in at 8-6 and Pittsburgh at 7-7. The way the Ravens have been going down the tubes, this game may well decide the AFC North and has so many playoff entry and seeding implications they are too many to go through. The Steelers have to win out against the Bengals and the Browns next week to get in. Bengals, who play the Ravens next week are in better position. The Ravens, meanwhile, play the also reeling Giants Sunday. Huge game; both the G-Men and Ravens are desperate to end their skids. Something will have to give. I think the Steelers pull out the win at home over the Bengals, and Giants pull together enough to pin another loss on Baltimore. Setting up a wild last week for all of them.

That leaves the Cowboys. They host the fork in em Saints. Never count out New Orleans and Drew Brees, but Dallas seems to have curiously jelled in the last 2-3 weeks. And the game is in Big D at Jerry world. A little queasy about it, but I take the ‘Boys. The Skins should get past the crumbling Eagles. Assuming the Giants do indeed get past the Ravens, that will leave Washington, Dallas and the Giants all tied at 9-6 heading into the last week. Right now, the Skins have the tiebreaker among the three, but Dallas and Washington play each other next week. Good stuff.

That leaves one last game of interest: Vikings at Houston. Texans have to be favored at home, they are just a better team and actually have a passing attack. But the real question is can Adrian Peterson put up big enough numbers to stay in the chase for Eric Dickerson’s record? 300 yards to go, but tough sledding against the Texans’ front line. Honorable mention goes to the Jets at Chargers in what can only be described as the Toilet Bowl. I am rooting for the Bolts, cause it could save Norval Turner’s job and kill Rex Ryan’s. Both would be fun!

Christmas Time in New Orleans and Winter Wonderland by the one and only Louis Armstrong. Get yer Santa on and let’s take a sleigh ride baybee!

Tough last couple of days; there are really no words that make the happenings in Newtown explainable. So, let’s put that aside for a bit and let loose with a little good old fashioned pro football trash talk. And the pros is all we got until the bowl games start up in earnest. The only thing I will note about the student athletes is that it turns out Rich Rodriquez can win bowl games if he is not at Michigan. Maybe it was the Wolvereenies and not Rich Rod after all (hey, they didn’t win squat for bowl games under Bo Merlot either).

There are a host of big games today. With a nod to Ms. Wheel, we start off with the Niners at the Pats. Save for the embarrassing tie the the Niners got with the Rams, both teams have equal records and only three losses each. The Pats have the all world offense, the Niners the equal on defense, right? Not so fast! New England has been rocking on D lately and SF has found a vertical passing game and big play potential with Colin Kaepernick at QB. With both defenses playing solid, it will come down to the offenses. The Pats, however, have ever more receiving woes. Gronk is still out, and now Donte’ Stallworth (ankle) and Julian Edelman (foot) are out on the IR too. The situation is so bleak they have resigned Deion Branch for like the 90th time. But Tom Brady could roll out of bed and find Branch, and I think he will do so enough today, along with Aaron Hernandez, to beat the Niners.

Second up to bat is the timeless grudge match. Packers. Bears. At Soldier Field. Packers and Bears is always must see football, no matter what. But real things are on the line today. The Pack are playing for the Norske Division title and possible first round playoff bye and the Bears are playing for their lives, a loss today and you can put a fork in them. Mr. Discount Doublecheck looks locked in and the Pack are on a late season roll much like their last SuperBowl year. But this game will be won on defense, and on D Urlacher is out for the Bears and Clay Matthews returns for the Cheese. And that will do it, the Pack wins their sixth straight against the Bears.

Hey, if it were not for my beloved Cheese, the second biggest game might have been the Donkos at the Ravens. Because it ought to be a real barnburner (picture Keith Jackson voice)! With Denver at 10-3 and Baltimore at 9-4, both appear playoff bound. But Peyton and the boys are going one direction, and the Ravens have lately been going the other. Interestingly, the Broncos Continue reading →