Super Bowl 43 Trash Talk: The Red & The Black

This is it baby, the big finale. All the marbles come down to these two: One Red. One Black. One will leave with the Lombardi Trophy in hand, the other with the regret of the world’s biggest runner-up percolating in their gut for the entire off season, maybe for the rest of their lives.

Parting is such sweet sorrow; nevertheless, with this game will come the end of another season of football trash talk here at Emptywheel. Yes, we occasionally whip out a trash talk without football (March Madness and the start of the F1 Circus are certainly possibilities), but it isn’t the same without the pigskin in the air.

What a season it has been, from the tantalizingly close to perfect season by the Pats that came just a few points short to Good Eli and the Gents in Super Bowl 42, the entire complexion of the 2009 season inexorably changed with the loss of Tom Brady in the first few minutes of this year. For eleven games Brett was Favre and all was magical; then it wasn’t. The San Diego team looked like the Clippers for the first twelve games, then they caught lightning and were Chargers on into the playoffs where they again went Norval. When it was all said and done, it was the Stillers and the Cardinals, yes the Arizona freaking Cardinals, left standing. And, thus, here we are.

Who are the Arizona Cardinals’ fans? I’m not quite sure, but I appear to live in the town that houses almost all of what few there are of them. Oh, and even here I have not noticed the whole town being painted red and buildings redecorated in team colors and insignias like it was purple for Barkley and the Suns in 1993 and the Diamondbacks in 2001. Da birdz de rojo get no respect I tell ya. And if all that were not bad enough, now That One is climbing on the dogpile,

Q. The Steelers or Cardinals, sir?

THE PRESIDENT: I have to say, you know, I wish the Cardinals the best. Kurt Warner is a great story and he’s closer to my age than anybody else on the field, but I am a long-time Steelers fan. Mr. Rooney, the owner, was just an extraordinary supporter during the course of the campaign. Franco Harris was campaigning for me in Pittsburgh. So

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Coach signed up with you, too.

THE PRESIDENT: Right, Coach Tomlin was a supporter. So I — you know, I wish the best to the Cardinals. They’ve been long-suffering; it’s a great Cinderella story. But other than the Bears, the Steelers are probably the team that’s closest to my heart.

Jeebus. Oh, and Vice-That One (D-MBNA) too. How special. Freaking frontrunners. Well, on that lustrous note, lets get down to business:

THE RED – The Cardinals? The Arizona Cardinals?? Good golly Miss Molly how did the NFC end up with the Cards as its representative? I mean, seriously, wasn’t everyone sure the NFC East was the best conference in football? What happened to that? Romeo of Dallas still has the bimbo jinx, ever plumping, girlfriend, TO is whining again, and all of the Giants’ receivers are in the gunshot wound clinic. The Packers probably could have been in the hunt if Ted Thompson hadn’t have traded the entirety of the team’s balls to the Jets. Bears and Vikes still don’t know what a quarterback is. And, so, hailing from the lowly NFC West, here come the Red Birdz! Gotta love it.

Hey, why not? Kurt Warner has got to be the most unappreciated two time league MVP, Super Bowl winner and MVP on the planet. Well, he is back. He really needs a certain kind of offense, with wild ass receivers and a back that can catch the release out of the backfield, but, hey, give him that and he is deadly. Turns out that the Cards have this spidey man dude, Larry Fitzgerald. And Anquan Boldin (who will be fine for the game by what I hear) and Steve Breaston are pretty darn good too. Like Nixon and Elvis, the Edge is rested and ready for these playoffs and he is playing for his future as a featured back in the NFL, watch for him to prove his worth with a big performance. The real reason the Cards are still here though is their defense, which has come on late and strong. Antrelle Rolle, Adrian Wilson and the Rookie, Dominic Rogers-Cromartie have given the already underrated line and linebackers some deep protection, and it has made all the difference in the world. If the Cardz stand a chance, it will be because their defense rose to the occasion, not the supposedly vaunted offense.

THE BLACK – Contrary to the Cards, we know how the Stillers got here. They slugged it out in death cage battles with every team in their path, and possess one of the most impressive defenses I have ever seen. Certainly didn’t hurt the Steelers that the Titans beat and pummeled the Ravens before narrowly losing, leaving the Ravens with not enough left in the tank for the Stillers. Before we move on, how about a shout out to Chad Pennington and the Fish; awesome effort this year. Tuna + Fish – who knew they went together so well?

The Steelers look pretty scary if you ask me. They were still beating top notch competition when Fast Willie Parker was slow and out; now that he is back you have the full offense. Big Ben is a better passer than people give him credit for, he just isn’t asked to be Dan Marino in the traditional grind it out Pittsburgh offense. All Ben does is win, and he will put the team on his shoulders when he has to. But, of course, the heart and sould of the Stillers is the defense. You already know about the Polynesian Wrecking Ball Troy Polamalu, but don’t forget Ryan Clark, the guy who about decapitated Willis Magahee. James Farrior has been solid at linebacker for a long time, and his pal on the outside backer spot, James Harrison, well no less than Tony Dungy thought he ought to be the league MVP over Peyton Manning. That is pretty high praise, and deserved too, Harrison is very good. And all coordinated by Dick Lebeau, another former Detroit Lion who has gone on to win Super Bowls with the Steelers (there are a lot of those).

So, there is my rundown, with some input from Marcy, please add yours in comments. Well, now for the hard part. And for that, I am going to stay consistent. I have made and laid my bones throughout the playoffs on one simple contention: The Cardinals suck, no way can they win. No way I gonna quit while I am ahead and the devious plan is working. Stillers baby!

[I would like to thank NewtonUSR for the video mix above, it was a special request and he really came through. If you want a little hard hitting theme music, check out The Red and The Black, that is where the concept for the post came from]

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  1. Loo Hoo. says:

    Oh sure, freep is constantly belly-aching about no Trash Talk, but now that it’s here, he nowhere to be found.

  2. pretzel says:

    Nice post bmaz,

    Best of luck to the Cards. They’re here and they deserve to be here,

    but,

    LET’S GO STEELERS

  3. BillE says:

    As someone who roots for the team that beat both of em in the regular season only to watch the Cardinals win in the championship game. I have to go with the team that beat us. Go Cards.

    PS I grew up in St. Louis and was a Cards fan as a kid. I always liked that the baseball team was also the football team name. Now they have the RAMS like go figure that one out.

  4. LabDancer says:

    bmaz –

    As a diehard fan of “Cards suck!”, do you feel this Arizona edition might carry in its DNA the remnants of the bizarre cloning of the Chicago edition with the Stillers 68 seasons ago – – when the unholy spawn of that consummation ‘competed’

    [Quotations rendered essential whenever a franchise goes ohfer the season; & BTW the SECOND STRAIGHT season for those from the Cards component – something for Ms E’s Michigander Pussycats to shoot at]

    as the “Carpets”?

    [Math: Cardinals + Pittsburgh > Card-Pitts x ohfer = Get It?

    In 1944, that’s what passed as a thigh-slapper.]

    And if so, how would you explain the Pittsburgers quite obvious suc-cess in suppressing that same Original Suck in their own strain?

    • bmaz says:

      Hey, the Steelers had a very long run of futility, that only ended during the Chuck Knoll era, as a result of their brief conjoining with the Cardinals. Never discount the plague of the Cardinals.

      • scribe says:

        It’s Chuck Noll, not Knoll.

        Knoll you sit on – a chair or a hill.

        Noll coaches.

        And, yes, in the words of the song:

        “It’s been many years in coming,
        So, let’s keep that Steeler machinery humming.”

      • LabDancer says:

        Look it up.

        The 1925 Chicago Cardinals met the Pottsville Maroons twice during the regular season, and both times the Cards got waxed, plus the Maroons ended the season with the best record – – but also under suspension by the league for playing an exhibition game in Philly proximate to the same day on which the Frankford Yellow Jackets had a regular season game scheduled in the same ‘territory’, leaving the Cards as the last team standing with the best record.

        Deepening the controversy was that in those days there was a standing agreement between the NFL’s Eastern Divsion & a non-league touring team calling themselves the Notre Dame All-Stars [ND being the most sure-fire ticket draw in the game] for the NFL ED team that ended the season with the best record to play a ‘challenge game’, which over the years of it being played had proven to be the single most remunerative game for the players, at least, given the NFL took no cut, the ED took a much lesser cut than the NFL typically took from its regular season games, and there was no automatic home-away split of receipts typically heavily in favor of the home team, with the ticket sales being conducted by ND alums, which in those days meant it was at least perceived as being conducted by the practical equivalent of pre-Enron CA’s. And by arrangement with the ED before the season started, the game was contracted to be played November 29, with a lot of attendant publicity on top of interest piquing in Pottsville’s chances as its performance improved to dominant over the latter part of the NFL season. But there was a twist in this that proved to gnaw at some: the date was picked out in specific consultation with Pottsville, on the seemingly rational assumption they were most likely to end up as the ED champs. And for once at least, hubris lost out.

        As it happened, while the Maroons still had a game left to play on the regular NFL schedule, they’d already sewn up both the NFL & the ED titles the week before in a home game in thoroughly dismantling those same Yellow Jackets – – thus, Pottsville got the ND game – while the Yellow Jackets turned green with envy over the size of the estimated crowd for it & crimson with anger over the Maroons being so presumptuous as to suppose they would be in it. Lots of color, anyway.

        At the last minute, Philly abuzz with football talk, the Yellow Jackets scheduled a ‘make up’ game against another NFL team, the Cleveland Bulldogs [or a group so calling themselves; the owners of the Bulldogs & the Yellow Jackets were thick as thieves.], to be held on the very next day after the ND-Pottsville match, whereupon Frankford protested to the league – not to the ED, but to the NFL, which was entitled to a cut from league games but, again, got none from the ND game – that the Maroons had breached Frankford’s “territorial rights”.

        • LabDancer says:

          bmaz pro’ly is up on all this, but the controversy has lingered over the years, what with the one ‘hole’ in the NFL championship record book with a couple of very arguably relevant twists.

          As I mentioned in the first post, the Cards, to their credit, refused to accept the title on it being proffered them by the league, which over time led to a lot of record books reflecting the champs as Pottsville, though ‘officially’ it was the Cards. In 1963, for reasons I expect must have had something to do with the insufferability of the Bidwells, the league’s executive [well, Pete Rozelle] commissioned a special ‘investigation’ into the matter, with a report & everything being presented to the membership of the league “board” – a group indistinguishable from its team owners. The board voted against endorsing the recommendation of the executive to recognize Pottsville as the 1925 Champions, with only two votes in support of the recommendation, one being that of Art Rooney. And that wasn’t the only time it came up: the board again voted on it as recently as 2003, with again only two votes for Pottsville, and once again one of those two votes was by a Rooney, this time Dan.

          Do you get the distinct impression that this has very, very deep roots, and evidences a long-standing hate-on between the Bidwells and the Rooneys, going back over 80 years?

          I sure do.

        • jdmckay says:

          Great story LD, thanks for taking the time to tell it.

          Somebody ought’a tell Kevin Costner about this, if u know what I mean.

      • freepatriot says:

        Whaaaaat the hell u talking ’bout dude?

        You French or something?

        dude, it’s called “History”

        you should get some

        and leave poindexter alone

  5. scribe says:

    Stillers.

    Any team with a linebacker whose teammates gave him the name “Silverback” (as in Silverback gorilla), will win.

    For those of you who don’t know – that’s Harrison I’m talking about. I’ve been watching Black and Gold since before Franco and the Immaculate Reception, and Silverback is, to my eye and those of many other observers, as good and as dominating as Lambert or Butkus ever were. He just doesn’t do the happy-I-get-to-hit-someone-feet like Lambert did. A relative who’s met him says he’s about the thickest mo-fo anyone’s ever seen…

    Then there’s Woodley. I think Phillip Rivers is still getting over the rag-doll treatment he got from Woodley.

    I’m kind of a fan.

    As Coach Tomlin has said: “The most violent team will win this football game.”

    I have not seen anything out of the redbirds which indicates they will be that team. I have from the Black & Gold. This is not to say anything negative about the Cards – they are in the Super Bowl, after all.

    But I think the superior team is Pgh and they’ll likely win. You’ll be hearing a lot of this.

  6. Rayne says:

    Oh. My. Freaking. God.

    That is the most disgusting thing I have seen in quite some time.

    Okay, except for that graphic Marcy uses for Turdblossom, the one with the leaf over Moby Dick’s crotch.

    And that pic Trex uses for Coulter, the one with the lamprey mouth.

    Who could possibly top that snack tray? Should bacon and Twinkies ever be in the same room, let alone touching?

    • scribe says:

      I and a couple others have been kicking around how to remove the Twinkies from the construction of the stadium and still retain the enormity of its appeal.

      I had thought “already-filled tacos” but was voted down on that idea because they were deemed too brittle to stack into walls. My next idea would be burritos. But, those might be too prone to cooling off and be too big in terms of scale and throw off the proportions of the stadium. Egg rolls would likely be perfect, but that would be mixing Chinese and Mexican and, without the addition of appropriate sauces, wouldn’t be too much fun.

      So, I’m kinda stuck on what other than Twinkies to use for the walls.

      Ideas?

  7. LabDancer says:

    REASONS TO HATE THE STILLERS:

    Only one: they’ve won way more than their share of Super Bowls.

    REASONS TO LUV THE STILLERS:

    [1] got ‘em the old fashioned way: suffered, endured, persevered.

    [2] Art Rooney

    [3] Dan Rooney

    [4] all the Rooneys

    [5] the Rooney Rule

    [6] actually adhering to the Rooney Rule

    [7] head coach Mike Timlin

    [8] Mean Joe Greene

    [9] Jack Ham

    [10] Lynn Swann. before he retired

    [11] Jerome Bettis, before he retired –
    & since; the emBUSiment of Steelerhood: Fridges break down – the Bus Endures

    [12] Blessed by the Hope

    REASONS TO WATCH THE STILLERS:

    Troy Polamalu

    REASONS TO HATE THE CARDS:

    [1] Bill Bidwell

    [2] An historical record of staggering stupidity, cupidity & ineptitude

    [3] John McCain

    [4] A long-established definitive suckitude

    [5] Bill Bidwell

    REASONS TO LUV THE CARDS:

    [1] United States Army Corporal Patrick Daniel Tillman –

    1976-11-06 to 2004-04-02;
    1997: while at ASU, Pac10 Defensive Player of the Year – as an under-sized linebacker at 5′11″ 185 lbs;
    2000: member, Dr. Z’s All-Pro team – as an under-sized, slow-footed strong safety at 5′11′ 185 lbs;
    2001: as a free agent, turned down a contract offer from Rams of $9mn over 5 years “out of loyalty to the Cardinals”;
    2002, May: turned down contract offer from Cards of $3.6 mn over 3 years to enlist in the US Army after having told NBCNews on 2001-09012: “My great grandfather was at Pearl Harbor & a lot of my family has gone & fought in wars & I really haven’t done a damn thing as far as laying myself on the line like that”;
    2002: graduated from Ranger school;
    2003: deployed to Iraq & combat duties, where over time he formed the view that U.S. armed forces under the direction of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld & President GW Bush were lying to U.S. media & the American people & urged fellow soldiers to vote for Democratic party nominee Senator Kerry in the 2004 election;
    re-deployed to Afghanistan;
    pre-arranged to meet with Noam Chomsky for an interview in the US following the end of his enlistment [confirmed by both his mother & Chomsky];
    while still re-deployed in Afghanistan died from a group of three gunshots to the forehead from a US Navy-firearm standard-issued to Rangers, initially reportedly received while on duty in a firefight from “enemy forces” having “ambushed” his patrol, later “corrected” as from “friendly fire”, the incident still under investigation by Congress;
    R.I.P.

    [2] Paul Cristman –

    QB of the only Cards edition to earn the title of champions of the NFL;
    2-time All-American at Missou- holder of all Missou’s passing records 30 years;
    notorious for “small hands” – long-time holder of NFL all-time records for:
    most in-game own-fumbles [5 – since: 7 by Len Dawson],
    most in-season own-fumbles-recovered [8 – now 12 by David Carr]
    & most career own-fumbles-recovered [31 – now 52 by Warren Moon];
    my all-time favorite NFL expert TV commentator;
    50% of the greatest on-screen play-by-play broadcast team ever, along with his partner Ray Scott: the Voice of Doom [on CBS from 1968, following Cristman’s dumping of that interminable Curt Gowdy on NBC];
    father to daughter Tory: courageous indomitable enemy to Scientology

    [3] For class in declining the 1925 NFL title over the Pottsville Maroons

    [4] Kurt Warner – notorious for “small hands”

    REASONS TO WATCH THE CARDS:

    Spidey

    • LabDancer says:

      From all of which, it should be obvious that I’m going against my principles & with my instincts in picking the AWAY team.

    • scribe says:

      You’re leaving out a couple more reasons to love the Stillers:

      Jack Lambert.

      Franco Harris. Not just for being a great running back, but also for being a great human being. He does stuff like this, and this and, many years after retiring, is still a presence in the Pittsburgh community and very accessible to people who meet him in the street. Beloved doesn’t start to describe….

      Coach Tomlin. A relative worked waitressing in a Pgh restaurant where he was a regular and had this to say: “A total class act. Always polite. Very accessible. A good tipper.”

      FWIW, Mike Timlin is a relief pitcher, most of his career with the Boston Red Sox.

      • LabDancer says:

        Hey, until last night, I thought he was that former back-up QB for da Bears. And you might imagine my pain at learning the Stillers got him from the Vikes.

        I’ll grant you Franco. Lambert – I dunno: Jack Hamm, Andy Russell, the Steel Curtain, Mel Blount, Donnie Don’t Even Thinkaboutit – I think even I could have done okay with that crew around me. Even restricting the subset to the Psychotic Middle Linebackers, just off the top of my pointy head I can think of 30 I’d rather have, including that inhuman thing in Baltimore & of course Butkus.

  8. LabDancer says:

    OT – Big Puptent: RNC breaks ground [or cuticle, at least] in reaching out to African-American neocon antidiluvian hypocrites

  9. emptywheel says:

    Here’s the list of pols who will be attending Obama’s Super Bowl party on Sunday:

    Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

    Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)

    Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

    Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)

    Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

    Congressman Artur Davis (D-AL)

    Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

    Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA)

    Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA)

    Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ)

    Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

    Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH)

    Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC)

    Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA)

    Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI)

    Arlen Scottish Haggis???

    • scribe says:

      As to Arlen, it’s a Pennsylvania thing. (NB, and a bit OT: one wonders whether Arlen’s ever heard of these guys…)

      And Charlie Dent – he’s in a district which is marginal for a Repug (even though he succeeded Toomey in that seat), so it could be a little work-on-him opportunity. He was one of the so-called GOP moderates who went to kabuki-plead with Bushie to be less radical a little less than a year ago. For some reason, his Dem challenger in PA-15 never really caught fire, but his district used to be home to big unionized industries like Bethlehem Steel and Mack Trucks and a lot of their retirees are still there.

      As to the others, I have no idea.

      • LabDancer says:

        “Like Haggis (the food) the sound of ETH is a mixture of diverse and unusual elements”

        Sounds delicious!

      • emptywheel says:

        Sort of knew that would set you off. Still, if you’re gonna be bipartisana and have to invite at least 2 people from the Cards’ state, who are you gonna invite.

        Anyway, the gluehorse is probably watching the game from the Bidwell’s hot tub or something.

      • LabDancer says:

        Don’t you think he’s searching out the Capital GOOPers for lonely hearts? It seems at least possible that some of them are just sheltered ignorami.

  10. pmorlan says:

    Steeler Fan here!

    I used to live in Pittsburgh and I’ve been a fan ever since Terry Bradshaw was the Quarterback.

    We live in Kentucky now and with that winter storm that we just had we are crossing our fingers that our power stays on through the game (we’ve been lucky so far and have had power through the entire storm except for 1 1/2 hr. on the first night).

    • robota says:

      Hello, pmorlan,

      We are also formerly of Pittsburgh (McKees Rocks) and ended up in Kentucky. We hope the storm damage won’t prevent you from watching the game and posting comments.

      Go, Steelers!

  11. LabDancer says:

    Stuffed Sheep’s Bladder wants to talk a fantasy trade: the Man gets to fix the BCS mess, with a vote for the ObamaStim thrown in, and Arlen gets to go after Belichick in a subcommittee probe. Scottish Haggis is embarking on his legacy tour.

  12. scribe says:

    Ok, but the problem with egg rolls is that they call for a whole different set of sauces than are present in the stadium – con queso for the one end zone, guacamole for the field, and generic red salsa for the other end zone. (good thing neither of the teams’ colors is blue).

    So, now, one has to find a whole different way to have the soy, mustard and duck sauces. It messes with the architecture.

  13. vieravisionary says:

    I am pulling for the Cards in a major upset over the Steelers. I have been very impressed with the lack of “trash talking” between the two teams this week which I believe greatly helps the Cards. Kurt Warner is showing the kind of leadership that this young team needs to focus on the task at hand. The big X-factor will be E. James. If the Cards can run the football (James and Hightower), it will open the passing game and I do not believe the Steelers can get away with man to man coverage on the Cards’ receiver group.

    This game reminds me a lot of the Rams/Titans match-up when Warner led the Rams and the Ram defense was viewed very similarly to the Cards’ defense. This will be a great game with two teams that have show the class I wish every professional team heading into the championship game would show.

    Plus, i do not think I can deal listening to Bradshaw if the Steelers win :-(!

    Go CARDS – Git’r Done!

  14. bmaz says:

    OKAY Wheel fans and Fanettes, the post has been updated with the video. There may be a small clue in it who I am really rooting for. Maybe.

      • bmaz says:

        It was the only break from my theory of relentless negativity towards the Cards (which has worked like magic so far) during the playoffs. Hope it doesn’t jinx anything.

        • scribe says:

          It’s out of human hands (and into those of the refs and the bookies*) now.

          * Who doubtless made a killing on the during-game bets for the Philly game, particularly when Philly came back and then lost.

          Interestingly, my local sports-talk radio station, running a poll of all callers as they call in, was overwhelmingly Pittsburgh last week and then shifted to the Cards this week. Go figure.

  15. jdmckay says:

    Card’s D has come out’a nowhere to dominate. Never saw it coming. Probably never see it again either, Bidwells will see to that. Wouldn’t surprise me if those guys announce move to LA during pre-game warmups.

    Anyway, bird’s D has one more totally out of character transcendent performance in ‘em. With couple of early quik-strike TD’s to Larry, Big Ben will start throwing ducks again. As in mallards shot in the ass falling from the sky.

    And Warner’s on a mission from God. Looks to me like whole thing hinges on whether there’s a God or not… anyone help me out w/that?

    If there is one, he can’t lose… 57-3 Card’s.
    If not, flight of the Phoenix.

    Sadly though, Maricopa county has other priorities. I mean this is Phoenix, where old fat retired athletes go to seek the perfect blow job. From Sun City to the Gilbert bj blvd, this is a f**king retirement community.

    Pittsburgh has terrible towels.

    Card’s have Bidwell bow ties?

    With a special section reserved for McCain and Keating 5… geezus, I just realized something: no wonder Bidwell moved his team to Phoenix… he’s one of them!!!

    But really, who cares?… Al Davis just getting his 2nd wind, Raiders will restore order next year. Gooooooo Raiders!!!

  16. scribe says:

    This is rich – Haggis wants Obama to renominate three of Bushie’s nominees for judgeships: Paul Diamond in the 3d Circuit, Peter Keisler in the D.C. Circuit, and Glen Conrad in the 4th Circuit. He says Bushie renominated one of Clintons, so if Obama does this, it will show he’s bipartisan.

    Diamond I recall reading something about but I can’t be sure what. But, if he was a Bushie nominee, no doubt he was a radical.

    Conrad was, IIRC, a big-firm lawyer out of Richmond who played a big part in the Va. Rethugs.

    Kiesler is in a class all of his own. Bushie first nominated him to be in the 4th Circuit, but that was scotched b/c he didn’t actually live and practice in Maryland or Virginia – all he’s ever done has been in D.C. Then, he was in charge of fixing the tobacco cases for the tobacco industry. And he spent most of his career setting things right for the telecoms.
    And he argued Bushie’s side in Hamdan.
    I’ve written about this clown more than a few times. Here’s one of my diaries on him, from over at Talkleft. Some highlights:

    Keisler was profiled on LegalTimes.com (a warm, loving caress, really), where it noted he was a close friend and former clerk of Bork’s, and a force in the Federalist Society. Indeed, he’s been on the Fed’s board of directors.

    Remember the row over whether Roberts or Alito had ever been members of the Federalist Society? At Yale, Keisler roomed with its founders.

    Remember Bork? Bork remembers Keisler, his former clerk. About him, Bork says “he’s one of my favorites”. He should. Keisler helped shepherd Bork’s nomination. He’s a Bork “acolyte.”

    And he helped shepherd nominations of Doug Ginsburg and Anthony Kennedy, too. Kennedy gave him a clerkship.

    He helped investigate Iran-Contra, analyzing the legality of the arms sales. Those files are still sealed.

    He helped investigate Ed Meese regarding government contracting.

    Of course, heading the civil division in the mid-Bushie years and having all sorts of representing telcos in his background means … he knows all about warrantless wiretapping. He had to, because his office was defending against all those wiretapping suits.

    I want to know what Arlen’s taking, so I can avoid using it before driving and operating heavy machinery.

    But, in the meantime, it’s time to go nuts to stop him.

    • jdmckay says:

      This is rich – Haggis wants Obama to renominate three of Bushie’s nominees for judgeships: (…). He says Bushie renominated one of Clintons, so if Obama does this, it will show he’s bipartisan.

      Hillarious.

      Shame Franken’s not there for anecdotal commentary.

      • scribe says:

        Maybe he will be – not like he’s doing much besides watching Coleman gut himself. And the Courts are closed Sunday.

      • scribe says:

        I don’t want that catch to get lost in the usual Friday evening news dump no one looks at any more come Monday.

        Kiesler is poison – Bushie spent his entire 8 years trying to get him on the bench. There’s a reason for that. And that’s reason enough to go nuts.

  17. JimWhite says:

    Gosh, the family has scattered without me this evening and I’ve finished the critter feeding chores. For some reason I have a craving for Mexican topped off with

    Churros!

    • jdmckay says:

      Why the Cardinals have sucked forever

      Well, I can’t match wits w/you as futball historian, and I don’t know entirety of their history, but in my .5 century on the planet they had a few pretty exciting years under Coryell. Jim Hart was pretty much journeyman quarterback most his career, but like Jim Harbaugh and a few others he blossomed into something special his last few years there.

      They didn’t win championhsips, and their D was full of holes, but they scored a lot of TD’s through the air and were damn fun team to watch.

      • freepatriot says:

        they had a few pretty exciting years

        they also played in the WORST MONDAY NIGHT GAME EVER

        the Cards and the GNTS played to a 20-20 tie on monday night in the early 1980s

        I became a Bill Parcells fan as a result of a conversation that I had about that game, two years after the fact

        direct quotes:

        St Louis is looking pretty good

        my ass. The giants will win a superbowl before the Cards

        for the record, make that THREE SUPERBOWLS

        I’m psychic, or psychotic, or something like that …

        an about the game, GO PITTSBURO

        • bmaz says:

          Hey, i tried to feed you something crunchy a few threads back, maybe yesterday, and now here you are talking silly Sooner trash. Blerrrgh!

          • freepatriot says:

            that skinny pathetic thing ???

            hardly a snack

            with regard to the upcoming athletic event, are the good people of Arizona ready for the bidwell family to go all “Charlie Finley” on your team ???

            spidey an boldin are gonna want the big bucks now

            and the bidwells don’t pay the big bucks

            it’s a conundrum

            so get your tar an feathers ready …

            (wink)

  18. Rayne says:

    Hmm. Interesting concept. Although I don’t know that I’d want any likkeredup friends of mine mowing on tamales after a certain point in the evening.

    They’d forget about the husks and try to eat them whole.

    I maintain for egg rolls. And seriously, sriracha. I put it on everything — like cheese-ham-mushroom omelet last night, to chicken wings tonight, to barbecue ribs tomorrow night.

    You could just call it fusion cuisine snack tray. Sure as hell better than the Twinkies.

  19. randiego says:

    Nice job on the video… although that was a song that made me realize that Sammy Hagar was a total hack.

    As previously mentioned, we are skipping the game. After a full season of giving up various saturdays AND sundays, we’re over it.

    Blasphemy! Skipping the Super Bowl???

    Yes, I’m afraid it’s true.

    We’re headed to a small county park in the desert that has hot springs and hiking – we’ll spend the day there. (I’m sure there will be updates on the Instinct – I’m not a neanderthal)

    We have an overwhelming favorite over here, and the underdog over there. The Steelers are the heavy favorite, and will likely win.

    But there’s nothing that would make my day more than a !!REDBIRDZ!! win. The wailing you will hear from overly-smug Steeler fans everywhere will be sweet sweet music to my ears!!

    GO REDBIRDZ!!

  20. Neil says:

    AZ voted Republican, PA voted Democratic.
    The Cards wear red, the Steelers black and gold.
    Red is out, black is back.
    We are not red uniforms and black uniforms, we are the united uniforms of America. So much for conflating politics and football.

    Until three weeks ago AZ played half a game every week. Their defense was abysmal. But something happened the last week of the season, their defense showed fire in the belly and a drive to compete. If they show that same drive Sunday, we’ll have a football game on our hands.

    With no hope of shutting down the Cards receiving corps, the Steelers will pressure the passer six ways to Monday. If the Cards have a package to handle the pressure – quick hitting slants, dinks, dunks, draws and screens – they’ll remain in the game. I don’t see Pittsburgh having too much trouble making first downs. I think the Cardinals could have that problem, also have trouble finding their offensive rhythm, and an exhausted defense by playing 20 of the 30 minutes in the first half.

    Either team can have put in a new offensive package for the game, thereby shuffling the deck. I think the Cards have a big incentive to try this. They cannot afford to be a sitting target and yet they’ve demonstrated in the past a propensity for returning to their standard offensive package for most of the game. They need to get their receivers into the game and they need to make first downs.

    The Steelers defense against Balto was as physical as any defense I’ve seen since Dick Butkus. Sometimes its hard to bring that kind of abandon two games in a row.

    This game will be a stop and go affair. Both teams will have trouble finding a rhythm in the early going from nerves, pressure and the feeling out process. There will be lots of commercial interruptions to exacerbate that phenomena. Halftime is super long, which helps the cardinals defense. Then again, I could be all wet.

  21. phred says:

    Nice video bmaz — somehow I knew all along that you were a closet Cards fan. As my mother would have said, “me thinks he doth protest too much” ; )

    No waffling Chez Phred though… Go Steelers!

    And as for Haggis, I expect him to show up to the game at the last minute, all tricked out in Cardinals gear, then at the 2 minute warning in the 4th, he’ll take off his red jacket and Cardinals hat to reveal his Steelers jersey. Showing once again that when push comes to shove he sticks with the team that brung ‘im ; )

  22. bmaz says:

    It just dawned on me. Troy Polamalu plays safety very much like Pat Tillman did. Am just watching ESPN and it hit me. The similarities are literally uncanny. Polamalu may be a tad faster, but jeebus, the way they move on the field are eerily similar.

    • freepatriot says:

      Troy Polamalu plays safety very much like Pat Tillman did

      with reckless abandon, 24-7

      every play, every game

      like kids

      I get to see it a lot

      did I ever tell you about the kids in my neighborhood* they do strange things

      they’re always playing football, or basketball, or something else that’s fun to watch, all day long (I’ve heard em bouncin that damn basketball from 6 am to 3 am, non stop)

      I should put up a web-cam, and charge you guys to watch too

      we got a little Polamalu look-alike here. She’s about 10. Put a black 43 jersey on her, and from behind ya can’t tell the difference

      (*I don’t know if I mentioned it here or somewhere els, but I looked out one day, and there were 3 dozen kids ballroom dancing down the street. Turns out, they were practicing for a Quincenella)

  23. emptywheel says:

    Here’s my take.

    Remember how the Pats beat the unbeatable Kurt Warner Rams? Not by superb D of great receivers. Not by going after Warner directly.

    But by jamming the receivers hard at the line. I have heard no one say squat about this today. But I think that’s the key here–not because you’re going to take Spidey Fitz’s Spidey sense away from him, but because you ruin Warner’s timing.

    This game will be won or lost at the line. We’ll see. Either team can win. IMO.

    • freepatriot says:

      I’ve heard it

      somebody was saying “make fitz and bouldin restart their routes

      anybody remember how the GNTS beat the Bills ???

      by beating the shit out of Buffalo’s recievers

      Look for a physical game, and a stilliers victory

      unless spidey gets hot and warner gets lucky early

      • bmaz says:

        It isn’t just Spidey. It is Anquan Boldin too, and he is built like a fucking bull and is fast to boot; he can bull right over and by some DB trying to jam him. That is the thing, I am not saying the Cards will win by any stretch of the imagination, but their receivers are way more physical than the Rams crew was. This theory may work for the Stillers, but I dunno. If you ask me, the more likely issue would be the blitz packages with Pittsburgh’s awesome linebackers putting Warner on his ass.

        • freepatriot says:

          Lofton and Reed were physical receivers

          the GNTS had Reed’s head was on a swivel before halftime

          if Pittsburo knocks spidey and boldin on their assess ON EVERY PLAY, they might suffer the same fate as reed and lofton

          if boldin and fitz burn pittsboro early, the cards have a chance …

      • emptywheel says:

        I like both the teams but do no like Warner, so I’m rooting for the Stillers.

        Still, I mostly want lots of superb footage with Spidey Fitz and Polamalu fighting it out aggressively.

        • bmaz says:

          Warner’s praise jesus schticht wears a little thin with me; but he seems like a genuinely decent guy. I’ll tell you what, the Warner that just creeps me out and I really do not like is his noisy tacky wife. Just saw her on the teevee; looks very much like she is helping the economy by employing Tammy Faye Baker’s makeup artist. Jeebus.

          Then there are the Bidwills. Ugh. But, despite all that, how can you tarnish the memory of Granpa Pricky by not rooting for his homeboys? Tragic I tell ya, tragic!

          All that said, the Cardinals suck; Stillers are a shoo in for victory.

          • phred says:

            Bmaz, you just can’t do it, can you? You just can’t suck it up and cheer for the homers ; ) Next time I’m in the vicinity of Pittshburgh, I’ll pick you up a crying towel and send it out your way ; )

            EW, I guess I don’t see enough of the non-game stuff to know whether Warner is any worse than any of the other Intervarsity prayer-circle heaven-pointing NFL players. That sort of thing drives me to distraction, but I can’t help cheering (a teensy bit) for a guy the league had pretty much written off, along with cheering (a teensy bit) for a team that has been so bad for so long you can’t even call them a laughingstock, since they are almost uniformly ignored.

            All the same, I’ll be wearing black and gold (if only it were green and gold ; ) at game time…

            • bmaz says:

              There is a meth to my madness.

              And the Green & Gold from Titletown USA could easily have been there. Well, except for Ted Thompson trading away the team’s entire set of balls that is. Who could have imagined they would be average without their mojo?

              • phred says:

                LOL : )

                Yep, the Pack lacked a spark, but it was Sanders’ inflexible and predictable defense that wrecked their season. I don’t think even our Favre-ite player could have saved the season ; )

          • LabDancer says:

            Still time to play the hedge: Biddy makes a big pre-game announcement that the Cards cede the 1925 NFL title to Pottsville, whereupon ‘Zona surfs to victory on wave after wave of magnanimous bipartisanship.

            Also: Whilst bursting with such advice and tidbits of eye-of-the-hurricane calm sagacity, you might wish to know I considered throwing in an R.I.P. for Granpa Pricky–except for his late-stage DeMintia on restaging the Battle of Trickle Down. ‘

            Hold on hold on: I might of mixed the two of them up. Remind me again – which one’s the obstinate decrepit hunk of dried-out vegetation, and which your venerable sentinel cactus?

  24. 4jkb4ia says:

    I pick the Cardinals simply because I have gone through the entire playoffs thinking they could not possibly win.

    But we have the Rumble Down Under, the latest rematch of Federer and Nadal. I was going to use this quote from the NYT to attack plunger with but it is fine here:

    “Federer said on Saturday that he did not feel that Nadal would be at a disadvantage, in part because he had not dropped a set until he played Verdasco. Federer also supported the Australian Open’s schedule. This is the only one of the four Grand Slam events that stages the men’s semifinals on different days, although it does guarantee the men at least one day of rest before the final. The United States Open stages the men’s semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

    “At the U.S. Open we have no days off, so let’s be happy we have a day off here, to be quite honest,” Federer said. “I don’t think Rafa will struggle too much to get over this kind of a match. Like I said before, he’s had an easy tournament so far. This was the tough one. I’m sure he’s going to get over it. I see the point, but I don’t think it’s a valid one on this occasion.”

    Nadal is a remarkable physical specimen, as he proved once more by continuing to chase down Verdasco’s bolts from the baseline in the latter stages of their marathon semifinal.

    “If anyone can pull it off, it’s Rafa,” Bob Bryan, the American doubles player, said in reference to a quick recovery. “If it was me, I’d be in a body bag right now.” “

    • phred says:

      Thanks for that link bmaz… I’ll admit, I would be very happy for Warner if the Cards win. Still, I’ll be rooting for the Steelers ; )

  25. Neil says:

    Who thinks this game will be as exciting as last year’s game (said the guy who watched his undefeated team lose the game in the fourth quarter by the team with the better line play)?

  26. Petrocelli says:

    Egad … anyone else watching the Elitist Tail- gaters on the Today show ?

    Truffles ? Creme fraiche ? Gorgonzola ? Baby Spinach ? WTF is this, the Ballet ? /s

    • emptywheel says:

      Dunno. I’ve been to my share of fancy tailgates (and I’m sure Neil has been to his share and then some).

      There’s something to be said for them.

      • bmaz says:

        You told me you were used to kegs o beer on the side of the rugby pitch; now you’re going all Beverly Hills fancy dan on me?? Oh my.

      • Neil says:

        Yep. As a kid at a game at Wesleyan we ran into Prof. Morgan who taught art history and collected work for the college’s art museum. He was serving champagne and a fine red wine with Beef Wellington made with a rather large tenderloin, covered in pate and roasted in a fine pastry crust. It looked really good but my mom dragged us away when offered to share it. Our picnics were a little more spartan.

        As good as a beer-soaked grilled brat tastes at a Packer’s game, there’s something to be said for fine dining “in the raw”. Oysters anyone? Here, have a bloody mary or do you prefer a mimosa?

        At Homecoming last fall, we were able to tailgate right behind the end zone. If you get there early and park in the front row, you can watch the game from there. It’s a great view and the spread is at an arms length. I made a vegetarian chili from the silver palate cookbook, with cheddar and sour cream on the side,homemade bread, an assortment of all beverages and mom’s homemade pies (yes, not haute cuisine but satisfying.)

        • emptywheel says:

          I remember both kinds. The staffed tents (well, I don’t really remember those), as well as the kegs in jeeps. That said, I remember dating the son of an alum whose mug had been on the cover of Inc and Money and Businessweek the month before his son and I started dating. The mom in the family sure wore a bunch of dead animal pelts given that we were on a crappy football field (yes, she was a MoHo alum). But the dad–mr. econ–drank nothing but Pabst Blue Ribbon.

          And for those who haven’t heard this story before, Amherst has repeatedly refused offers for money to build a proper stadium because it’s just worth more to back up to the field with your keg in the bag of a jeep.

          • Neil says:

            Great story. PBR omg, Do you know if he played football before he became a captain of industry?

            In the early 80’s, the kegs were in the stands. I kid you not. Fewer kids had cars.

            ’bout money, I never heard Development once turn it down but they would make the hard sell in order to direct it instead to financial aid, a building or renovation or to endow a professor’s chair. In the 70’s there was planning to move the football stadium to the undeveloped field east of the golf course, across South Pleasant. Planning was quite far along. Dunno why they chose to not follow through.

            Pratt Field is one of the very few fields oriented East West, which is a problem in the late fall, when your offense is driving from west to east in the late afternoon. The bleachers are super close to the field, inside the synthetic track, which makes for great spectating for football and horrible spectating for track & field.

            The new soccer/field hockey turf field is just west of the football field down a level and further still is the softball diamond and football practice field – all 80 yards of it. Prince Albert, a soccer player at Amherst, and some others with money to give wanted to donate a new field in their former coach’s name. Development pressed him to give it for another purpose. They didn’t back down.

            • emptywheel says:

              No offense, but some of us still prefer to call that field the “rugby pitch.”

              Didn’t know Prince Albert is the one who paid for it. I once sent him a frat fund-raising pitch, when I was hanging out with some sordid frat types.

          • scribe says:

            You wanna see tailgates? Go to the Far Hills Hunt race meeting sometime. You park your Benz, Lincoln or fancypants Land Rover on a hillside looking down on a turf track, pop the bubbly, and watch horses race on turf.

            For whatever reason, it always rains. At least a little.

  27. bmaz says:

    I just heard that Joe Namath will be presenting the Lomabardi trophy to the winner today. I wonder if he will try to give it to Suzy Kolber?

    • Neil says:

      Give it to Suzy Kolber? Let’s hope not. I imagine the NFL sussed out whether Joe got the drinking thing under control.

    • scribe says:

      One of the funnier, better-written sports blogs is called “Kissing Suzy Kolber” or just “KSK”, by cognoscenti.

      • bmaz says:

        I know it well. And I would kiss her too, she’s kinda cute. Looks like she would be a heckuva good person to share a couple o pitchers of margaritas with.

    • bmaz says:

      Welcome, please do stick around, both here and in other substantive threads in the future. However, I will have to say, the ground here sure appears to be getting cluttered with hoity toity truffle eating snobby Wellington eaters.

      It’s getting hard out here for pimps.

      • Neil says:

        If you had read the post thoroughly, you would have noticed that my mom dragged us away when the delicious victuals when they were offered to us. Funny…apparently beef is manly cowboy food unless its cooked in a way that retains its tenderness and moisture. And if homemade vegi chili qualifies as “hoity toity”, then I don’t want to know what you and Mrs. Bmaz order when you go out to dinner.

        • bmaz says:

          Heh heh. Arrr matey roast coyote on a stick!

          It wasn’t just you, it was EW going all upper shelf too. Who knew the Lions’ team color is from blue blood??

          • Neil says:

            Yeah I know, them fancy pants poseurs… Can ya eat coyote? What’s the story behind the pirate ship? Did the Cardinals fan club steal it from Tampa Bay Bucs last time through?

      • robota says:

        Don’t worry about us . . .Today we will be eating what is called by people from Pgh Sweet Italian Sausage from Ricci’s and drinking Iron City. (We always load up on trips back to Pittsburgh).

  28. bmaz says:

    If the Cardinals are not to get their asses handed to them, this time it will be a lot more Anquan Boldin than Spidey. Also key will be Rogers-Cromartie and Adrian Wilson (who by the way, was mentored by Pat Tillman).

    But, mostly, Arizona will have to have The Edge.

    Cardinals suck.

  29. scribe says:

    This will mess with your predictions, folks. For the first time this season, Big Ben will be wearing gloves. It seems the balls in use for the Super Bowl are different – they have funky logos painted on them – and they seem to be slicker. The way it was explained to me, each team got 54 balls and about 20 kicker balls to practice with, and then they have to bring all those balls to the game. The idea of that is to allow the teams to get the feel of the balls they will use during the game and rough them up by using them, too. The balls get switched out pretty frequently, the idea being that the NFL will then be able to give the “actually game-used Super Bowl XLIII Ball” to big supporters, people who get game balls, and such. So, for each QB, they will be having to get used to using a “new” ball almost every single play. Thus, to deal with the slicker balls, Ben is using gloves. Jaworski went out and tried throwing a ball with the glove and says it makes throwing those touch passes ridiculously easier. In his opinion, anyway.

  30. rosalind says:

    OK, almost time for the National Anthem and our first parlor game of the day: live or lip sync? jennifer hudson is doing the honors, so i’m going to put my money down on “live”.

    oh, and the cardinals. gotta maintain my regional bias.

    • Petrocelli says:

      ((( CT )))

      How’s life in Paradise ?

      I’m rootin’ fer the Stillers but mostly I’m hoping for an exciting game.

      • CTuttle says:

        Working hand to mouth for a general contractor and ‘vacationing’ up the Mtn. periodically… Subsisting…! *g*

        Is it a Stiller TD…?

  31. Neil says:

    Great challenge. The offensive blocker cannot assist the runner by pushing or pulling him but unfortunelty you can’t challenge a penalty not called.

  32. Neil says:

    Steelers are running the kind of offense that would be keeping the cards in the game. Short passes, slants, wide-receiver screens, tight-end screens.

    Fast first quarter.

  33. scribe says:

    Stillers watched the video and saw that Philly’s TE had like 10 catches for a load of yards.Reed kicks off, and another defensive ass-whipping coming up. I’m signing off.

  34. LabDancer says:

    I’m thinking that direct hike to Parker in the first quarter was a single wing, in tribute to the Pottsville Maroons.

  35. LabDancer says:

    The Maroons ‘made their bones’ in several respects: They came to the NFL from combining hegemony in the Anthracite Football League [Wonder if that AFL was known for particularly ‘dirty play’?], with a couple of key raidings of NFL stars on the tab of their new owner, a Philadelphia area surgeon [and could their name have had something to do with that?].

  36. LabDancer says:

    Left a point dangling yesterday: In the same post, I credited the Cards with a “luv” for declining the 1925 title over Pottsville, yet threw out at”hate” or two for Bidwells, and later on, somewhere in the melee above, related the two to the saga of the continuing controversy. Here’s the kicker: It wasn’t until the Bidwell family first acquired an ownership interest in the Cards, in 1933, that the franchise started claiming Pottsville’s title for itself.

    Still holding out for a half-time detente.

  37. phred says:

    Wild merriment ensues chez phred ; )

    Not to worry though bmaz, the fat lady isn’t even warming up yet : )

  38. phred says:

    Damn. The Boss still rocks. Usually I think half-time is a total waste of time, but it looks to me like the whole stadium is rockin’, not just the pseudo-fans for the camera on the field.

      • phred says:

        No idea. Do you remember how cheesy the pseudo-fans on the field were? I like the Stones, but they didn’t have time to hit their stride during a short half-time bit. The Boss hit the ground runnin’ — like always ; ) For a guy who’s spring chicken days are well behind him, he sure gets everyone on their feet : )

        • Petrocelli says:

          Yep … unfortunately I do remember that. *g*

          I could never stand the Stones. Now Pete Townsend and The Who are another matter.

      • scribe says:

        “We’re from the town with the Super Bowl Champs.
        We cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers.

        “We play polkas on the radio.
        We cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers.

        and as the man says:

        “It’s been many years in coming,
        So keep that Steeler machinery humming.”

        Great game. I thought the Birds were going to hold out but, for whatever reason, they got into something resembling a prevent defense on that last drive and, well, we all know the only thing a prevent defense prevents, is winning.

        Obama called the Rooneys and Tomlin to offer congratulations. He is, after all, the Stillers most prominent fan. But we of Stiller Nation are everywhere.

        I thought the MVP should have been Silverback Harrison and, but for that stoopid penalty (I would have love to have heard what that Cardinal said to him that set him off like that), it might have been. If one watched the defensive plays closely, he was Mr. In Medias Res. He almost caught Spidey on that one TD, even, until Polamalu pulled him back. As to that INT, the whole bar where I watched was screaming “RUN” at him. As if. F’g brilliant.

    • Petrocelli says:

      The Steelers’ Defense has dictated the play to Kurt Warner … frankly I’m surprised the Cards’ Offence were not better prepared.

    • phred says:

      Well, as they say… it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. Maybe desert creatures exhibit a certain failure-to-thrive when stranded in damp swampy locales ; )

  39. phred says:

    What is up with the Red Bird penalties??? They would not be in the pickle they are in, if they weren’t racking up the penalties.

  40. LabDancer says:

    Really, there’s nothing inevitable or particularly revelatory to this point. One play meant a 10-14 point difference. Again: 20-7 Stillers versus 13-10 Stillers or 14-13 Cards. With that, and as this game goes on, players grow tired & quite human anxieties, frustrations & other emotions start to seep in & cloud focus, and the game threatens to turn into something only too familiar to me as a Vikes fan.

    Or else the Cards decide to stop pussyfooting around, shoot the moon, do everything possible to get the ball to Spidey, & let the chips fall.

    Which I would like.

  41. Professor Foland says:

    On the safety play, had there not been a safety but the pass had been incomplete, I think an intentional safety instead of a punt would have been the right thing anyway.

    As I type this, I see we have our MVP, assuming the cards go on to win…

  42. LabDancer says:

    First & goal Stillers. This would be a very good moment for the Bidwell’s to give it up to Pottsville.

  43. JTMinIA says:

    I love the way my streams all die when a great play is made. My only option right now is in German. Ja Ja Touchadownah.

  44. phred says:

    Give the Cards credit — how often have Super Bowls come down to the wire? It wasn’t pretty with all of all the penalties on both sides, but it was a wicked nail biter. Great game bmaz — try to give your home team a little love next year, will ya? : )

  45. LabDancer says:

    The last 6 minutes turned this game from okay, to electrifying, to operatic. Quite apart from the moment, that Holmes catch surely supplants the Niner’s Joe M to Dwight elevator shot as “The Catch”.

    Still: it’s worthwhile recognizing that, in the end, not Polamalu nor any Stiller mere human proved capable of stopping Spidey. Still MVP?It’s a team game so it doesn’t really matter

    [Doesn’t really matter – Nothing really matters – – at all.

    Sorry for that]

    Put it down to the Pottsville Curse – & for that, I blame the Bidwells.

    • newtonusr says:

      Comparisons to the ‘82 Conference Title game at Candlestick aren’t exactly precise, as that game lifted a once lost franchise from eternal Hell. I know.

      But it was very good today.

        • newtonusr says:

          True enough.
          Worth noting that today’s game was much better played than the Clark game, in which the 49ers turned the ball over 6 times and still won, and whose hometown participant’s main players were getting IV fluids at halftime because of a flu going around.

  46. LabDancer says:

    Ah jeez – ahhhh jeez – – Dan Rooney thanks Obama [!].

    Which one of ‘em gets the MVI!

    [Most Valuable Inspiration]

      • LabDancer says:

        I – – am – – not – – kidding.

        Now, given there was that little bit of business called World War II in it, and having regard to my age being, not inconsiderable but certainly nothing of great note, I wonder: might this be the very first time in the entire history of the National Football League that the owner of the Championship team has even mentioned by name, leave aside extended particular thanks to in relation to outcome of said championship, the name of any POTUS.

        Change has come.

        • Petrocelli says:

          Yikes … I missed that cuz someone rang my Doorbell … that’s clearly more spooky than Warner’s Jesus Obsession.

        • scribe says:

          You forget Nixon calling in to the winners locker room in various Super Bowls, back before they had outdoor extravaganzas to deliver the silver.

          And, for that matter, you may have forgotten Ronnie and Nancy being telelinked onto the Jumbo-tron for the 1984-85 Supe, when Ronnie tossed the coin in one of the private apartments of the WH.

          • LabDancer says:

            I may have blanked them out due to their pathetic neediness.

            Both incidents you cite involve the POTUS being directly involved, on stage, or at least on camera, right at that moment; what’s the owner gonna do: ignore the POTUS? Neither are truly comparable to what Dan Rooney did, on his own, with no big giant head prompting.

            Anyway, I’m gonna drop it, because as fun as it was to raise, your implication is that the incident itself still falls squarely withing the pantheon of totally irrelevant trivia, and in that you are certainly correct.

    • JTMinIA says:

      The bigger problem was that they didn’t. (As in: they did not do very good jobs of staying in sync [with themselves].)

  47. Petrocelli says:

    All I’m saying is, if they’re lip synching, couldn’t they do the Reader’s Digest Version ?

    I went through 2 Beers while Hudson sang …