Pickin' Winners (with experts): Super Bowl 44

As the story goes, Pete Townshend, the guru/leader/guitarist for The Who, and Jimi Hendrix were backstage at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967 arguing over who would go on first. You see, neither Jimi nor Pete wanted to follow each other as the last two acts at the seminal rock festival.

Who could blame them? To that point in the show, Otis Redding already incinerated half of the audience and Janis Joplin and Ravi Shankar didn’t mess around, either. So with the gig winding down and the stakes already high, both Pete and Jimi knew the other was going to bring it — they just didn’t want to get caught in each other’s wake.

See, what The Who and Jimi Hendrix already knew from playing in London (and what American audiences were about to learn) was that the guard was changing. Nobody was going to stand still and just strum the chords anymore. What good did that do? By that point, Townshend and The Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, were known for their destruction of their instruments as well as their blistering sets, while Jimi was known simply as the baddest man on the planet.

Actually, that last sentence implies something that isn’t quite accurate. By all accounts Jimi Hendrix was a peach of a man. Sweet and soft-spoken, Jimi was said to be incredibly self-conscious and humble. He and his father, Al, were particularly close and each had a love for music that they shared. Nice and friendly doesn't go far enough -- Jimi was just beautiful. It emanated from his soul.

But put Jimi on a stage with a guitar in his hands and he turned into a monster. Not just an ordinary monster, either. He was once-in-an-epoch monster who wasn’t satisfied unless he obliterated everyone in the room. He didn’t just want to strike to the heart, soul and bone, but he wanted to blow your mind, too. With a guitar, Jimi came for blood and didn't stop until he had it all.

Pete Townshend knew this and it’s why he didn’t want The Who to go on second. Jimi had seen The Who in action, too, and felt he couldn’t compete with the group’s furor.

With negotiations mired in a stalemate and the decision regarding which group would go on first drawing ever closer, Jimi grabbed his guitar, stood on top of a chair located in front of Townshend and as they story goes, proceeded to play some of the sickest licks ever contemplated by a human. It went on for a few minutes with the notes feeling more like taunts or arrows slung from a six-string. Everyone in the room stopped, unsure of what was happening until Jimi got off the chair, put down his Fender and finally spoke in that beautifully soothing voice of his.

“You can go on first,” Jimi supposedly told Townshend. “But I’m pulling out all the stops.”

Townshend should have known that instant that his strategy had backfired. Something transcendent was about to occur and instead of just the group that followed Jimi being lost in the shuffle, Townshend goaded the master into turning the entire roster of acts into a footnote. More than 40 years later when people mention the Monterey Pop Fesitval, the only lasting image is of Jimi Hendrix kneeling over his guitar that had burst into flames.

Jimi burned that bitch down!

Jimi Hendrix was not of our world. He was too good for us and had to go somewhere else. That’s just the way it is sometimes for deities, both religious and otherwise. But on Sunday The Who is still putting it through the paces when they will perform a medley of their most notable tunes at the Super Bowl.

Yes, The Who, once the most power packed outfit of men to walk the earth—so powerful that they once forced Jimi Hendrix to set California on fire—is playing the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

Just let that stand there for a second.

Townshend once wrote that he hoped he died before he got old, which is actually kind of a cool sentiment. Better yet, you can dance to it, too. Apparently, age and the ages don’t bother much with sideshows and novelty acts.

Could you imagine Keith Moon at the Super Bowl? Moon, of course, checked out in 1978 after swallowing too many clomethiazole tablets only to be followed by the group’s innovative bassist, John Entwistle, after an accident with some cocaine in Las Vegas in 2002. In other words, The Who stopped being The Who a long time ago. The Who that played in Monterey in 1967 would never be asked to play at the Super Bowl and that’s a compliment.

Instead, Pete Townshend and his muse, Roger Daltry, will open up for Peyton Manning on Sunday. And no, that’s not as bad as it sounds. A son of New Orleans, Manning could be viewed as the Jimi Hendrix of quarterbacks. Like Jimi, Manning is a virtuoso with a rightful reverence for the classics (Jimi played in Little Richard’s band when he started out and Manning wore black high-top spikes to honor Johnny U.) only with Smarty Jones-like bloodlines.

The truth is Manning is playing a different game out there. He sees things no one else has ever contemplated and then goes out there and makes it happen. Sure, it’s a team game and all of that, but Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding never sounded better than when they played in The Experience and drop Jimi into The Band of Gypsys with Buddy Miles and no one else stands a chance.

It’s just too much firepower.

So yes, when looking at the outcome for Sunday’s Super Bowl, just look for the message the halftime show is sending. No, Peyton Manning is no Jimi Hendrix. Not even close. But Pete Townshend is no Pete Townshend, either.

Colts 45, Saints 21

Andy Schwartz
CSNPhilly.com/wonder boy

Forget Manning vs. Brees. It's Hank Baskett vs. Kyle Eckel. Colts win, 105-104.

Andy makes others look good when it should be the other way around. He went to Cheltenham High and Colgate University, too.

Mike Sielski
Calkins Newspapers/stately columnist

I believe in the Manning family. The Manning family has made a fortune producing quarterbacks, and Archie Manning raised his son in the Manning fashion. He gave him freedom, but he taught him never to throw a curl-in route against two-deep zone coverage. His son found a good group of wide receivers and a strong offensive line. His son never went to the movies. He stayed up late watching game film. Who would protest? Two months ago, his son was winning every game he played, with his coach. Then the coach made him lose two games. The son resisted. He kept his honor. He didn't weep because of the pain. But I wept. Why did I weep? Peyton Manning is the light of my life, a beautiful man.

Colts 35, Saints 20.

Mike writes sentences the way you grow hair and rack up out of control credit debt. He is also the author of "Fading Echoes," which is sold at all self-respecting book stores.

Mike Wann
Neighborhood gadfly

Even as a self-diagnosed sports illiterate, I was surprised by my own ignorance of this year's Super Bowl. After a little research I understood why:  one team hails from Louisiana, the other Indiana.  No wonder I hadn’t heard anything about it. 

Nonetheless...

A prediction of a Saints victory would only stem from post-Katrina compassion.  Unfortunately that has completely disappeared in a tsunami of Haitian guilt. 

One could argue the Colts are due a victory since the only thing of worth to come out of Indiana in the recent past is John Cougar Mellencamp and the 27" all-wood-paneled RCA television set, neither of which have been relevant since 1981 (astute students of football may argue that the Colts won Super Bowl XLI, but they would be wrong.  Ever since Peyton Manning's developmentally challenged younger brother upstaged him the following year, only papa Archie remembers the "other" Super Bowl played in Miami).  

So with all that said, I have no choice but to predict a draw. 

Mike is out sitting in his sun room watching the snow cascade from the sky.

John Gonzalez
Philadelphia Inquirer/wacky guy

The Mannings are an international scourge. They own a Guatemalan sweat shop where children sew soccer balls with their teeth. Look it up on the internet. Saints 35, Colts 31.

Gonz is on the radio and in the paper... what can't he do?! WHAT CAN'T HE DO!?

Paul Flannery
WEEI/Celtics & NBA writer

I'm rooting for the Saints because Hokie Gajan was my favorite player growing up, and as an East Coast liberal I'm obligated to cheer for anything related to New Orleans and boo anything related to Archie and Olivia.

P.S. Oh fine. Add this: Saints 28, Colts 24.

Paul Flannery covers the Boston Celtics and the NBA for weei.com and used to write about Delco League baseball for the Daily Times down there in Delaware County. Follow him on Twitter @pflanns.

Dan Roche
CSN/song& dance man

Big C's Supe predictions/odds:
 
Over/Under on Archie/Eli Manning cutaway shots: 11.5 (Over)
Over/Under on Kim Kardashian cutaway shots: Nowhere near enough
 
Over/Under on Elapsed time for Carrie Underwood's National Anthem: 1:42 (Over)
Odds I think I could do a better job than Carrie Underwood: No Line
 
Odds Indy scores 1st:  -165
Odds NO scores 1st: +130
Odds Tiger Woods scores 1st: -1500
 
Over/Under - Total player arrests during Super Bowl week: 0.5
   Prediction: Under (Marvin Harrison isn't a Colt anymore)
 
Will CBS show Tim Tebow's commercial:
Yes  +200
No   -220
Who cares? -2250
 
What will Peyton Manning do first?
Throw a TD pass: -325
Throw an INT: +250
Step up to the line, then step back, pointing and screaming like an auction caller with Tourette's: -5000
 
Whom will Drew Brees thank first in the postgame interview if the Saints win?
God: 4/5
His teammates: 9/5
Brett Favre: 8/1
Whatever that is on Drew Brees' Face: 15/1
 
And oh yeah...

Final score: Colts, 31-20 (Colts -5.5, under, and so I win my block pool)

Dan sometimes goes by the handle, "Boonie." He lives in Delaware with his wife, son and mortgage and makes TV shows that you watch.

Jason Weitzel
Beerleaguer.com

I'm not a football guy, so I can only imitate what I've heard listening to two weeks of over-inflated blather from analysts on ESPN radio. It goes something like this ...

“To me, it boils down to the quarterback position. That means none other than Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. In order to have success in the Super Bowl, and achieve greatness in the National Football League, the quarterback must rise to the occasion in clutch situations, and in the National Football League, there's no greater game than the Super Bowl. This is a game that will be won in the trenches. It starts up front with the play of the offensive line. They must protect the quarterback and give Peyton Manning time. You can't expect to win consistently in the National Football League without a strong defense. They must apply pressure to the quarterback position. Sean Payton and Jim Caldwell must be prepared to make adjustments.”

Pitchers and catchers in 12 days.

Jason's site is Beerleaguer.com, but you already knew that.

Todd Zolecki
Phillies beat writer/MLB.com

Brett Favre throws another killer interception to help the Colts to a 31-28 victory. What? Favre isn't playing? Awwwww ...

A Wisconsin native, Todd finally asked his mom to take down the Brett Favre poster hanging on his bedroom wall. Read more from Todd on The Zo Zone!

Kevin Roberts
Good citizen

I can't believe you actually want me in here; I'm assuming this is a mistake with your old email chain. If you really want: “Kevin Roberts was a columnist at the Courier-Post before the Courier lost its mind and decided to stop being a real newspaper, and now works as an occasional freelancer and ghostwrites sports books in addition to his duties at Resources for Human Development, a national nonprofit human services corporation, where he works in communications,” well, then, OK:

I'm not sold on Peyton Manning as a clutch performer yet. He's been great this year, and in two playoff wins he's been excellent. But his career postseason record is just 9-8. His career QB rating is still just 87.1, which is just barely OK. In 2006, when he finally became, "A Guy Who Could Win The Big One," Manning threw touchdowns and seven interceptions in the postseason and won the Super Bowl MVP with a barely decent day (81.7 QB rating) simply because he was playing quarterback for the team that was playing Rex Grossman when Rex Grossman, predictably, threw up on himself. That might not be the best test. But New Orleans will be. Despite a nagging feeling that the Saints were the second-best team in the NFC championship game, the pick here is that Drew Brees and a complete Saints team armed with a big-play defense will carry the day.

Saints 33, Colts 2

Kevin is a terrific writer and used to ply his trade for the Camden Courier Post until it decided existence was no longer a compelling state in which to dwell. Kevin gets to New Orleans often for work and loves the notion that football will save that city.

Chris Wilson
Drums/Ted Leo & the Pharmacists

Choosing a Super Bowl winner between two dome teams playing a game in Miami in the middle of a snow storm in Philly is kind of a bummer. Anyways, I’m picking New Orleans for a few reasons, and here they are:

First, has anyone been to Indy? It’s a very wholesome landlocked city in the Midwest that's kinda dead boring to be honest. New Orleans, where to start? The food? The music? The history? The music?(!!!) the feeling that the best/worst thing ever could be waiting for you around each corner? Do I need to bring up Katrina? Sorry.

Second, the quarterbacks. Both seem like very likable guys and are beyond amazing at what they do. But Peyton did do that Oreo Racing League commercial and Drew Brees didn't. That’s worth at least a touchdown.

And lastly, I’m originally from Arkansas, and rooted for the Eagles even back then. They always played the Cowboys hard. Even though Dallas was only four hours away and it would make sense if I loved them, I hated them with a passion. America’s team? No thanks. I’ll root for the underdog. At any rate, in January of 1993, my great-grandfather was in the hospital and didn't have very much time left. I went on one of my weekly visits to see him so we could watch the NFC wild card game together. The Eagles beat the Saints 36-20 (going on to lose in the divisional round to those damned Cowboys, 34-10). I think my attitude may have been a little too boo-yeah that day and every time I’ve seen the Chappelle's Show skit where he goes to visit that sick kid Billy in the hospital and winds up slaying him at street hoops on PlayStation, I think about that and feel a little bad about it.

So for Elmer B. Hulsemann, I pick the Saints over the Colts 34-17. Boo-yeah!

Hear Chris’ work with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists on March 9 when their new record, “The Brutalist Bricks,” is released. Or hell, check out some of the new songs from last week's noontime gig at the World Cafe on XPN. If just owning a copy of the record isn’t good enough for you (and it shouldn’t be), catch the band on their spring tour that stops in Philadelphia (April 7), Washington (April 8), New York (April 9) and Boston (April 10).

Sarah Baicker
Sports kitten/CSNPhilly.com

I'm pretty sure the reason I find so much success in my March Madness pools (really, I've gotten first or second place each of the past five years) is that I try to pay as little attention as possible to the meaningful statistics. Instead, I pick something silly to consider about the two teams involved in each game. And so, for the Super Bowl, I've decided to think about which quarterback I would rather see guest star in an episode of Saturday Night Live. Because you know the winning QB will make an appearance, even though no one watches the show anymore.

Turns out, my SNL Bowl isn't even a contest. Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning? The guy who's allergic to dairy and wheat vs. the guy who's voiced a character on The Simpsons? I mean, c'mon! Manning wins it, hands down.

Seriously, though: The Saints have the story but the Colts have the experience. So my money (not that there's a lot of it) is on another big win for Manning and company.

Colts 31, Saints 24

Sarah knows more about hockey than you. She also will cross-check you into the boards, pick you off the ice and bake you some brownies. Tread lightly around her, folks.

Ellen Finger
School marm

Since I haven't paid attention to the actual football season this year, making an educated guess is out of the question. Maybe I will base my selection on the answer to the country's most timely and riveting question: Team Kim or Team Kendra??

While I have shamefully watched “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” more times than I'd like to admit, I found I couldn't stomach bubble-boobed Kendra Wilkinson's reality show for more than two minutes. She had absolutely nothing to say and seemingly, nothing to do but look blissfully confused and order dinner from the Olive Garden.

Then again, Kendra is actually married to a dreamy Super Bowler, while Kim has been looking desperate, crossing her fingers that a win on Sunday means a big honkin' engagement for her. Even People Magazine's online poll asking readers whether they are supporting Team Kim or Team Kendra is all tied up.

Geez. Decisions, decisions... maybe I'll just ask my five-year-old, and I'll go with whatever he thinks.

OK, he says the Stevens College of Technology Bulldogs will defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 100-5. Perfect.

Ellen is too busy and married beneath her standards to be bothered at this moment. This is all you get for now.

Dennis Deitch
Sixers beat writer/Delaware County Daily Times

Yeah, it's late getting here -- but so what? What are you doing? I'll tell you what you're doing, you're watching the snow pile up to your third chin. Meanwhile, I'm wearing shorts in Houston, so take that. Besides, the only people reading this are the other people invited to make their predictions. For good taste's sake I can't say what this is the Interblogs version of ... but there's a punk band named after it, and the first word in the name is a shape and the second word is a Steve Martin film.

Anyway, the game. First off, I just left New Orleans, and if one more person had said "Who dat?" before I got on that plane, I was taking a hostage (and considering the track record in airports, I probably would have been successful). That said, New Orleans deserves something good, and it is going to get it. I predicted that the NFC Championship game would be an epic. It was. I also predicted the winner would win the Super Bowl. It will. The Saints have a sick offense. Drew Brees is Joe Montana -- undersized, but a flat-out winner. He took not one, but two black-and-gold-garbed jokes (Purdue and the Saints) and turned them into quality teams. The Saints got past a team with a far better defense than the Colts two weeks ago; the Colts had to rally in the second half against a rookie QB and Buddy Ryan's son. C'mon.

We'll give the runner-up in the Sony Ping-Pong tournament a late TD to make it respectable, but it's Saints 35, Colts 31.

A child acting star, Dennis played Arnold's friend who was molested in an episode of "Diff'rent Strokes." His passions are cards and the atmosphere.

Enrico Campitelli Jr.
The 700 Level

I just don't think the Puppy Bowl will be the same without Harry the K calling the riveting action, although I did hear they have some arctic hares as cheerleaders (hairy cheerleaders!). I'm pulling for the Pomeranian.

As for The Big Game, I think I'm with the majority of the sports watching world when I say I'd like to see the underdog Saints pull it out but also think Peyton Manning and the Colts are just too much. Sean Payton has those Philly roots so I'll pull for him. Saints 35-31.

Also, Baba O'Riley opener.

Enrico started your favorite web site, The 700 Level. He's a force of nature.

Brett Favre is the greatest quarterback ever

Go ahead, admit it… you love Brett Favre. It’s OK to say it. It’s cathartic even. Seriously, do it:

I love you, Brett Favre!

See how easy that was?

The strange thing about this is that I even had to say it at all. Why wouldn’t everyone blather on about the gunslingin’ quarterback who just loves to play the game? Really, he just has fun out there. Besides, it’s impossible to write a sentence about Brett Favre without using the word, “just.”

Here’s the thing that’s just so lovable about Brett Favre (two names, please) — he always, always, always delivers. Every time. He’s like Michael Jordan that way. Tiger Woods, too. Whenever we need something in a football game, Brett Favre makes sure we get it.

Some say Brett Favre is overrated as a quarterback. OK, that might be true when talking about the actual quarterbacking skills. Throughout his career, Brett Favre has had 96 games in which he has thrown at least two interceptions, and seven games in which he has thrown at least four interceptions. Brett Favre has also been to the conference championship five times and has one more win than Donovan McNabb (one more Super Bowl victory, too).

So when it comes to the stats and his performance in big playoff games, yeah, Brett Favre might be a bit overrated. But then again, aren’t we all?

The truth is Brett Favre is completely underrated when it comes to the true essence of the NFL. In terms of the entertainment dollar, no one beats Brett Favre. Sure, Peyton Manning comes close, but that’s like comparing Superman to Batman. Superman can make the earth spin in reverse on its axis because he’s not even an earthling. He’s a mild-mannered freak from another planet and he flies. Superman is not perfect, but he rarely makes the same mistake twice.

Batman is human. He has hubris and vices. He falls down and gets concussions and still figures out how to go back to work only to repeat the entire process again.

Certainly the “humanness” of Brett Favre has been waxed upon for decades. There’s no new material there and in our selfish, mundanity of our everyday lives, we look at the rehashing of Brett Favre’s story as if it’s just another TV repeat. Worse, in this case the Brett Favre show isn’t even in syndication.

However, no one ever talks about how spectacularly Brett Favre fails. Sure, some quarterbacks throw bad passes in important parts of the game. Sometimes passes are dropped and tackles are missed. You know, the same ol’, same ol’.

But when Brett Favre goes down it’s like that old-timey newsreel of the Hindenburg exploding. Some guys watch their seasons go down the drain with a kneel or a simple expiration of time. Not Brett Favre. He grabs a flamethrower, amps it up as high as it will go and burns it all to the ground.

And we should love him for it.

When it comes to putting on a great show, yes, Brett Favre is ridiculously underrated. Better yet, there is no middle ground with him—people have extreme emotions to one side or the other. Yet the thing about the folks who loathe Brett Favre (just the football player, I hope) is their emotions are wrong. Certainly that’s a difficult judgment to make about another person, but it’s true. You are all wrong about this guy.

He’s great because he’s never lets you down.

How many guys have ended the past three seasons for three different teams with interceptions? I don’t have the figures or the charts, but I’m guessing this feat has never been done in the history of the NFL. In fact, the costly interception that kept the Vikings out of the Super Bowl (again) and ruined two weeks of unadulterated Brett Favre media coverage wasn’t even the worst (shouldn’t that be best?) one. Frankly, the interception he threw against the Eagles at the Linc in the 2003 Divisional Playoff game was totally awesome.

Remember that one? It was set up by the 4th-and-26 reception by Freddie Mitchell from Donovan McNabb to send the game into overtime. Then, after winning the coin toss, Brett Favre took the first snap, dropped back and threw the ball so high and far into the air that it was like a punt. Brian Dawkins was standing by himself so far back in the secondary that it seemed as if he should have called for a fair catch on Brett Favre’s punt/interception toss.

It was the most inexplicable throw by a quarterback in the history of the game. It was like a game of all-tackle-one broke out in the middle of a playoff game.

Sure, like any addicts we have are enablers like Chris Berman of ESPN who goes on and on about Brett Favre with a voice that makes one want to drive an ice pick into their middle ear. But the truth is we’re really going to miss him. Perfection, as we’ve learned, is sometimes a façade and always boring.

Brett Favre was never perfect and never boring.

Picking more playoff winners

Last week: 2-2
Playoffs: 5-3

Just imagine how crazy it will be for the promoters of the Super Bowl if Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings win in New Orleans tomorrow. Think of all the story lines that are just waiting to be pushed out there—Favre vs. the Jets or Favre vs. Peyton Manning.

It’s almost too easy. Never mind that Favre is a walking soap opera to begin with, but just imagine all the blathering and carrying on that will be belched out through Super Bowl Sunday if the Vikings get there.

Go ahead and think… I’ll wait.

The thing with Favre quarterbacking the Vikings is that no one will talk about the fact that the team is already 0-4 in the big game and no team has lost five Super Bowls.

That’s the hope for the right’s holders, of course. Favre, as we have learned, garners extreme feelings and Americans love to watch things specifically to root for the failure of others. How else could anyone explain the popularity of shows like “American Idol” or “How I Survived to Dance with the Stars?” You know… crap. Favre in the Super Bowl would pull in mega ratings of slack-jawed types rooting for the old man to get slapped around for 60-minutes.

What fun is that? Who wants to watch others fail? You know, besides jerks.

I guess it makes sense though. After all Favre said he was going to retire and he cried in front of writers and TV cameras because he was going to go back to Mississippi and enjoy life. A couple of months later he changed his mind about Mississippi, retirement and fun. In other words, the tears meant nothing. He was just faking it.

Nevertheless, the Packers traded him to the Jets where he played pretty good for awhile before struggling late in the season. When it was over there were the typical stories about how Favre was a divisive force in the locker room, didn’t really mingle with his teammates and just didn’t have it any more.

So what did Favre do? Yep, retirement, Mississippi, fun. At least for a little bit. When the Vikings came calling, Favre bolted out of Mississippi faster than General John C. Pemberton. Who could blame him? The guy loves to play the game. Better yet, the TV networks love to show him as he loves to play the game. How could they not? The guy is a gunslinger.

Still, Americans like retirees to remain retired. Most folks are counting down the days until they can quit their day job and go off to do what they really love, which is watch television and judge others. So by repeatedly retiring only to go back to work a few months later, Favre has proven himself to be more un-American than Alger Hiss.

Meanwhile, the city of New Orleans stands between Favre and a trip back to the Super Bowl. The Saints, representing the city on the gridiron, are in the NFC Championship for the second time in the last three seasons. Making matters tough for the Vikings is the fact that the Saints are playing in their home dome with the entire city galvanized behind them while loaded with an offense that scores more than … well, let’s just say the Saints score a lot.

Pick: Saints (minus-4) over the Vikings

We went through all the reasons why it name “Colts” and “Indianapolis” do not belong together last week. No sense rehashing it this week or proving that my ability to retain sports information stopped cold in 1983. Besides, if Baltimore has moved on past its depressions and given us state senator Clay Davis and detective Bunk Moreland, well, I guess it’s OK to cede the nickname Colts to Indiana.

That doesn’t mean I like it.

Besides, wouldn’t it be more fun if Peyton Manning played in Baltimore?

Anyway, in the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, there was a big story on Jim Irsay and his stewardship over the Colts. Jim Irsay, of course, is the son of Bob Irsay, the dude who crept out of Baltimore with a football team packed into a Mayflower truck under the cover of night. No, I haven’t read the story yet, but by all accounts the apple fell a long ways away from the tree—Jim is nothing like his old man.

For starters, the pictures in the magazine (yeah, I looked at the pictures not the words) reveal that Jim Irsay has a pretty bitchin’ vintage guitar collection. In fact, I saw a double Gibson-SG in one of the photographs, which is something I never knew existed. A double Gibson-SG? Can you imagine? Jim Irsay also owns the original manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s, “On the Road,” which was scribbled onto to a scroll that stretches 40 yards when unfurled. A few years ago Irsay lent out his scroll for a nationwide tour.

Hey, looking at a manuscript in a museum is no dumber than looking at King Tut.

For now, the media has focused on Jets’ coach Rex Reed, the son of legendary Eagles’ coach, Buddy Ryan. According to the stories, Rex likes to eat… a lot. Word is he needs 7,000 calories a day to keep going and likes to eat Mexican cuisine so much that it has been renamed, “Rexican food.”

Sounds gross.

Certainly Peyton Manning knows something or two about good food seeing as he comes from New Orleans. Archie Manning, Peyton’s dad, used to be the quarterback for the sad sack Saints back when folks turned out for their games wearing brown paper bags over their heads and calling their team, the Aints. Frankly, that’s your story line right there…

What kind of hype will we have force fed on us with the Mannings and New Orleans when they meet in the Super Bowl.

Pick: Colts (minus-8) over Jets

The song and the dance

Just like in the movies, sports require the participants to be good actors. We like the drama, thrills and the comedy—both unintentional and intended. Otherwise, what’s the point? We watch and engage it to be entertained.

Brian Dawkins gets that. Why else would he exert so much energy to come up with such an elaborate routine before every game? Sure, it looks like he’s doing it for his teammates to help get them fired up before the game, but really why does a pro athlete need someone else to motivate them? With all the money and competition riding on every play, the last thing a football player (or any other athlete for that matter) needs is some guy dancing the hootchie-coo in order to make other play harder.

I mean really.

Nope, Dawkins does all that stuff for you. He wants you to react and to be entertained. His pro wrestling-like entrance is just his way, not unlike Peyton Manning acting all goofy in a TV commercial, Derek Jeter serial dating, or Tiger Woods doing whatever it is he does.

It’s all part of the show.

But don’t write it off as insignificant. Oh no sir! Ballplayers hate the notion that they might be asked to “dance,” but when the music starts up and the lights start flashing, it takes Barry Sanders-like focus to maintain that austere façade.

Everyone has an act in sports. In fact, even Barry Sanders had an act. As they say, sometimes no style is considered to be a style. Hell, even they digitalized pixels on video games come with personalities programmed into the code. Better yet, the computer geeks set it up so even the folks playing the game at home can design any type of player they wish.

That’s kind of the way it works in pro sports, too. Do you think Terrell Owens was an obnoxious, delusional malcontent from day one? Or was Dennis Rodman such a quirky dude when he joined the Pistons with Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and Rick Mahorn in the mid-1980s?

Answer: No. Those guys would have gotten their rears kicked if they tried it.

Just like any of their other skills, the persona is something that needs to be honed. However, it has to come in conjunction with some bona fide playing skills. For instance, no one has a problem when Brian Dawkins does a somersault into a handstand during the pregame introductions in his first game back in Philadelphia as a member of the Denver Broncos. After all, Dawkins didn’t just show up doing that whole X-Men bit. It took a lot of work both on and off the field.

Meanwhile, Freddie Mitchell was a player whose skills skewed the wrong way. The former wide receiver and first-round bust had the song and dance down, but had no idea of which key it was supposed to be sung.

In other words, Mitchell wasn’t good enough to strut the way he did.

Of course there is a slippery slope one treads, too, and Dawkins very well might be in that territory at this point of his career. Before Sunday’s home finale the talk was more about the way Dawkins might enter the ball field as opposed to how well he would perform on it. Sure, everyone wanted to see Dawkins dance, but no one really paid much attention to the way he covered receivers or made tackles.

All anyone wanted to see was the show and to hear about how Dawkins was up in the tunnel in his old ballpark screaming "Hallelujah!" and various other sweet nothings meant to get everyone all ornery and loud.

And you can’t have one without the other.

Odds and ends

Here are some general noodlings while waiting for the sun to burn through what’s left of the ozone and return to temperatures to something a little saner.

It seems as if Charlie Manuel’s fears regarding Ryan Howard have been realized. Howard, it seems, has been worn out from eating too much microwaved chicken and mashed potatoes winter banquet circuit and asked the team for a break.

Here’s the blurb from The Sporting News:

If Phillies 1B Ryan Howard starts slowly this season, he'll have an excuse: He couldn't say no during the offseason. After being honored at five banquets in about two weeks, Howard told the club he had hit the wall and needed some time away before heading to spring training in Clearwater, Fla.

Manuel, as most remember, warned the writers about Howard’s popularity during the media-day outing two weeks ago, saying: “I want his time kind of monitored. He’s a professional and he doesn’t mind sitting there and talking. I don’t want to see interviews and stuff like that interfering with his work habits. Because who he is and his demeanor and everything – I’ve said this from Day 1 – if he sticks with exactly what he’s doing right now, that’s exactly where I want to see him stay.”

Fortunately for Manuel and the Phillies, Howard recognized that there was a potential problem and nipped it early. Better yet, Howard and the rest of the gang took off from the chilly northeast and hit Clearwater where the temperatures are supposed to be in the low 70s all week…

***
Speaking of warm, lefty Fabio Castro tossed a one-hitter through five innings for the Dominican Republic against Puerto Rico in a Caribbean World Series game on Sunday. Castro struck out four and walked three in the 12-0 victory.

A Rule 5 pick for the Texas Rangers last season, Castro, 22, seems likely to make the Phillies as a reliever. Initially, the team was considering sending Castro to the minors to get some work as a starter after spending the past season deep on the bench with the Rangers and Phillies. But since the Phils’ ‘pen is so thin Castro could end up with a significant role – relatively speaking.

Anyway, Castro posted some decent numbers this winter for Gigantes del Cibao (translates to Giants of the Cibao) with 31 strikeouts and a 1.86 ERA in 29 innings. In limited work for the Phillies last season, Castro made 16 relief appearances with a 1.54 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

Other (potential) Phillies playing in the Caribbean World Series are Karim Garcia (Mexico) and Randall Simon (Venezuela).

Man… wouldn’t it be nice to be sitting on some Caribbean island right now? Better yet, wouldn’t it be nice to be walking around in, say, Washington, D.C. – it’s supposed to get up to 28 degrees there today.

***
It was fun to see about six people in Indianapolis line the streets to welcome home the Colts after their Super Bowl victory. It was even funnier to watch Peyton Manning pick out which expensive, environmentally-incorrect car he wanted for free for being the MVP of the game.

The funny part isn’t that Manning got a prize for being the MVP, it’s the idea of giving rich and well-known people things for free. A former hockey player once told me that when he was young and coming up in the NHL, no one ever gave him anything. In fact, no one ever paid any attention to him no matter what he did. But as soon as that former NHLer signed a big contract and got some money and a little bit of fame, he couldn’t pay for anything.

“I have money now and can afford things, but everybody gives me stuff for free,” he said shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Gary Matthews Jr. once told me that his first car was the one his dad received for being the MVP of the NLCS in 1983. That’s kind of cool.

God bless the Internet

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re8hHD2EIxU]

Straight bloggin'

Here's the deal for today: if I find something interesting, or relevant to the local scene (Lancaster or Philadelphia) it's going up on the site. In other words this might be like a real blog for a change only not fun to read or planned out. Hey, what are you going to do -- I just came up with the idea on the way home from Starbucks.

In a sense this will be a homage to Dan McQuade since he is far and away the best blogger in the city. That Beerleaguer guy is good, too, but he's no McQuade.

Anyway, let's get started...

This morning in the car I heard all-time great football coach talk about the early Super Bowls. He remembered Super Bowl III and losing in his first two appearances in the big game and how everything had changed. The biggest change, Shula said, was in the coverage. Back before the Super Bowl became and event and a holiday -- it used to be just a football game -- Shula said he would ride with the team in a bus from their practice site, walk across the hotel lobby, a park himself in the hotel bar for his weekly press conference. For the two or three reporters covering him, that was enough.

Now, Shula says, the backup offensive linemen have a podium.

Even guys who aren't playing in the game like Donovan McNabb have press conferences, where, frankly, nothing fascinating was revealed. However, thanks to an email sent from bulldog Eagles' writer Andy Schwartz, Peyton Manning seems to have had something interesting to say.

Peyton on the most pressure he has ever felt in his life:

“I signed up for this class in eighth grade called ‘musical theatre’ with the goal of getting out of computers. A week into the class they told me that I had to be in the school play, and I said that I didn't want to do that and they said that I was in the play. They assigned you a role, the play was called ‘The Boyfriend.’ They gave me the role of Miguel. One of the scenes I had to do the tango with Lola. It had the wardrobe; black pants, red ruffled tuxedo shirt and a yellow cumberbun. It was a full on tango. I had to do it on Friday in front of the whole school which wasn't that much pressure. But they said that you had to do it again Saturday Night in front of the families, which meant in front of my two brothers, Eli and Cooper, because on Friday they weren't going to be there because Cooper had practice Saturday they were going to be able to be there. Now that's pressure.

“But I did it. I studied that, and I went full speed on that tango. There is video. Don't look for it. It's deep in the Manning vault I can assure you. That was some pressure.

“The way that I deal with pressure and I used this quote yesterday and I will say it again, my dad used to give me quotes and put a quote on my bulletin board. He would just peg them on there, like Jimmy Connors, ‘I hate to lose, more than I like to win,’ and I agree with that. Chuck Noll's, ‘pressure is something you feel only when you don't know what you are doing’ and that is how I feel. I get prepared. I prepare as hard as I possibly can. Sure you feel nervous, you feel anxious, but I don't feel pressure because I feel that I have done everything I could to be prepared for that game. When you go out there and do it, and there have been plenty of games where I have said that I wish that I could have this throw back or I wish that I would have seen that linebacker, but it just didn't happen, but I have never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready for that game. That gives me piece of mind.

“That is how I am dealing with it this week. I will study as hard as I possibly can. I am not over studying and I am not over preparing. I am doing what I feel I need to do to get ready. I feel that will be enough, and hopefully I go out there and play well.”

Now if Manning dances the tango in the Super Bowl we all should be really impressed.