Time to have a little fun as we pass the time and get set for more mini-camps and finally training camp to start up again. It’s time to throw out some options for Super Bowl 43, to be played in Tampa Bay in early February. Yes, not one team has taken a snap in the regular season yet, but what a better time than now to start throwing out possible matchups for the big game? Yes, we’re reaching a bit, but welcome to the snooze button of coming up with hard core news for NFL fans in early June.

1. The Rematch - New England vs New York Giants - What a better way to start this off than with the game that ended the 2007 season (no, we don’t count the Pro Bowl). The Giants and Pats waged a classic battle in Glendale that actually lived up to the hype. You know the Pats will do whatever it takes to get there again in 2008, while the Giants want to prove they were not a one year wonder and they can duplicate the upset from a year ago.

2. High Powered Shootout - San Diego vs Dallas - You can’t tell me that this wouldn’t be a fun Super Bowl to watch - at least it looks like it on paper. The Chargers and Cowboys both have weapons all over the field, and while all the attention would be on Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, the Chargers would be able to be the team that no one talks about - likely just the way they would like it entering Raymond James Stadium.

3. Archie’s Dream - Indianapolis vs New York Giants - Gee, no Manning hype here. Yes, maybe the worst nightmare of a Super Bowl if you get tired easily of Peyton or Eli Manning. This matchup would be dubbed “The Manning Bowl,” but on the field it would be a fun game to watch, as the brothers try and match each other pass for pass. Of course it also would highlight the last two Super Bowl MVP’s as well.

4. Southern Super Bowl - Jacksonville vs Tampa Bay - Two Florida teams playing in the Bucs home stadium sure would make for an interesting atmosphere. The Jags are one of the NFL’s up and coming teams, and they seem ready to take a step to the next level. As for Tampa Bay, they did make the playoffs last season, and while just about no one will pick them to make it to the dance, did anyone have the Eli and the Giants going last season?

5. A Battle of the First-Timers - Cleveland vs New Orleans - The Browns and Saints are two of the NFL’s more “sexy” teams, and two that will have a lot of hype entering the season. Cleveland has no less than 5 prime time games (more than the Pats), and the Saints are expected to come back after a lackluster 2007 and challenge in the somewhat weak NFC South. If the Browns can continue to develop their defense, and the Saints can stay injury-free, this is not that far-fetched as you may think.

6. Loyal Fan Bases Clash - Pittsburgh vs Green Bay - Aaron Rodgers not only comes out of Brett Favre’s shadow, but takes the Pack to the promise land for the first time in 11 years. The Steelers continue to build off of last seasons divison title and playoff birth and land in the big game under second-year head coach Mike Tomlin. With the way these two fan bases travel, it would make for a fun and interesting matchup in Tampa Bay.

7. GQ vs Jessica’s Boy Toy - New England vs Dallas - All the hype on this one would surround Tom Brady and his stoic career as a future Hall of Famer vs Tony Romo and his rise to the top of the league in just a few seasons. Again, who would not want to see this game with stars all over the field? This was a game that many thought we’d see going into the playoffs last season, so maybe it’s just a year late. Nevertheless, I can see this being a good one that comes down to the fourth quarter.

8. In the NFL, Never Say Never - Miami vs St.Louis - Two teams with the top two draft picks entering the April 2008 draft make the biggest one-year turnarounds in NFL history. John Beck comes from nowhere to be a solid, superstar NFL QB, Ronnie Brown leads the NFL in rushing, and the Fins make a monster reversal from 1-15 to a Super Bowl birth. The Rams stay injury-free, Marc Bulger gets time to throw, Steven Jackson tears up the NFC, and the Rams re-become the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Then again, maybe not.

It looks as if New York Giants veteran Michael Strahan will get his wish of a 10 table Super Bowl ring. You see Strahan wanted to someone 10 tables away in a restaurant to be able to see the ring.

The Giants unveiled the design of their Super Bowl championship ring on Tuesday it will be a white gold with 1.5 carats of diamonds in it.

The ring’s top is covered in diamonds and features three Super Bowl trophies accented with marquise diamonds signifying the Giants’ Super Bowl XXI, XXV and XLII victories. The team’s “NY” logo is in bead set round diamonds, while “World Champions” is emblazoned in raised letters on the top and bottom bezel, with channel set diamonds on left and right bezel.

The ring’s shanks celebrate the Giants’ season, noting the team’s “Eleven Straight on the Road,” the NFL shield; and player name, along with player number in raised letters appear on one shank.

The final score, “Super Bowl XLII,” date (02.03.08) and ‘AZ’ appear on the other shank.

“There was some discussion about maybe one of the rings was too big,” said center and team captain Shaun O’Hara, who was among group of players and team executives who designed the ring with officials from Tiffany and Co.

“I threw out the fact that it was a big win, it was a huge win, so the ring should be designed accordingly,” O’Hara said. “Michael (Strahan) said it best when he said he wanted a 10-table ring. I think everybody is going to be very pleased with the design. It is very clean, very classy, but at the same time it is very strong.”

The total price of the ring was not disclosed. The rings will be presented later this spring in a ceremony to players and coaches.

There are 290 kids in Nicaragua that think the New England Patriots went 19-0.

The NFL donated 290 Patriots hats and an equal number of team jerseys showing  the slogans “Super Bowl Champions, 19-0″ to impoverished children from two small communities in southern Nicaragua.

The donation from the league made youngsters in the communities of San Gregorio and Buena Vista very happy, said Miriam Diaz, spokeswoman for the humanitarian organization World Vision, which arranged the donation with the NFL. Diaz went on to add “The Patriots lost, but the children won”.

The game of football in that region is better known to those children as our game of soccer. Diaz added that the kids seemed excited about the American version of the game once the rules were explained to them.

“They were very happy to receive the hats and jerseys,” Diaz said. “They said they did not expect such a surprise.”

Neither did Patriots Nation.

I underestimated New Yorkers. There has never been a doubt in my mind that New York City is a great sports town, but until I witnessed the New Yorkers’ celebrations of the Giants’ Super Bowl win, I hadn’t an idea of the degree to which they love their teams.

After the upset win on Sunday night, I quickly jetted out of my downtown Manhattan apartment with one of my roommates and subwayed (yes, New Yorkers have their very own verbs) up to Times Square, the heart of Manhattan.

Although Times Square is usually overrun by national and international tourists, on this night, New Yorkers rejoiced in the streets to chants of “18 and 1!”, “18 and 1!”, “Let’s Go Blue!”, and something that rhymes with “Muck the Pats!”. Despite the foul language, the dozens of cops on horseback, and the general bravado and machismo of a group of mostly 20-35 year old pumped-up – and probably liquored-up – males chanting and cheering at the top of their lungs, the “event” was a controlled chaos.

It was obvious that not only relief spread through the crowd. After all, you just know Giants fans were relieved that Strahan and Toomer finally got their rings. Relieved that Coughlin didn’t seem so insane after all. Most importantly, relieved that Eli Manning proved that the Giants will be stable at quarterback for a long time. It wasn’t just relief though, as much as it was pure joy. It was the kind of joy only sports fans who have celebrated championships, after unpredictable and tense games, can understand.

Super Bowl XLII wasn’t a blowout. Giants fans didn’t have all game to emotionally prepare for their inevitable victory. They won a hard fought, well-played battle that held a ridiculously high amount of suspense from start to finish. And once the game was over and the win started sinking in, Giants fans started experiencing the greatest emotions any sports fan can imagine: unadulterated happiness.

The following night, I was at the Knicks-Clippers game in Madison Square Garden. It was my first time at the “Mecca of basketball,” so I was excited to take in the history of the venue and buzz of the crowd. Unfortunately, the stink of the Knicks has developed into this indestructible odor that sucks the life and passion out of the Garden crowd.

However, between the third and fourth quarters, the scoreboard hovering above the court showed Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters sitting courtside and the roof immediately blew off the top of the building.

I have been to many games at Dodger Stadium, a few at Staples Center, and a few more at many other arenas and stadiums, including Shea and Yankee Stadium. I had never experienced a crowd grow so loud, so quickly. It was obvious the Knicks didn’t matter, because the crowd was giving Madison and McQuarters a taste of how proud they were of their Giants.

The next morning, the Giants paraded through the Canyon of Heroes, a stretch of Broadway in lower Manhattan that took them up to City Hall. I only reached the end of the parade, but there must have been close to half a million people on a 15-block stretch of Broadway and its surrounding streets.

My first thought was “Man, think of all the money lost from these people playing hookey with their jobs.” But that was quickly followed by a thought that I think says it all. There are no guarantees the Giants will ever win another Super Bowl, so maybe Giants fans should take a couple extra days and let their collected tension release into the New York City air. Their team is the champion now, and a little piece of them are as well.

In a move that many fans and media labled classless and just plain rude, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick defended himself in a conference call Tuesday as to why he left the field early on Sunday.  It was after that fourth down play that ended the Pats season and crowned the Giants champs that Belichick took off his headset, and then came onto the field with time remaning and then left the field quickly.

After a day of blacklash for doing it, it was now Belichick’s turn to tell the world what he was thinking after that last play and why he did what he did.  “I wasn’t really sure of the time,” Belichick said. “Everybody started on to the field and then I got over there and I wanted to congratulate Tom. I’ve been in that situation before after the game. I wanted to get over there and congratulate him and congratulate him on the championship. There really wasn’t much left at that point.”       

In the end, it will still be a move that will be discussed by fans, media and others that thought the move was a pretty tastless one considering his team was 18-0 and had a run unlike any other team really had in NFL history.  Next time Bill loses a game, maybe he’ll think about it more before he sprints off the field with all of America watching.

Now that one of, if not the most exciting Super Bowl ever is in the books, it’s time to take a look back at an interesting topic - the top game-changing touchdowns in Super Bowl history. For sure you will see one that you will remember from Sunday’s thrilling 17-14 win for the Giants.

1. Super Bowl XXIII - Joe Montana hits John Taylor with a TD with :34 seconds left: This 92-yard drive was the cement that casted Montana in the Hall of Fame. He calmly and cooly led the Niners down the field and hit Taylor with the 10-yard TD to clinch the 20-16 win. The game was ranked as the best Super Bowl ever on NFL.com back in January of 2006.

2. Super Bowl XVII - John Riggins 43-yard run vs the Dolphins: The “Disel” ran over the Fins on a fourth down play that turned a 17-13 Dolphins lead into a 20-17 lead back to the Skins. It also was the defining moment for the Skins offensive line, as the “Hogs” opened the big hole for Riggins to run right through.

3. Super Bowl XLIII - Plaxico Burress catches a 13-yard score to clinch the win over the Pats: Fresh still in the minds of everyone, not many will forget this memorable TD with :35 seconds left that won the game for the Giants, or better yet the one that put the perfect Pats from close to 19-0 to 18-1.

4. Super Bowl XXXIV - Issac Bruce takes in a 73-yard bomb to be the deciding score over the Titans: Everyone recalls the play that where Mike Jones stopped Kevin Dyson on the 1-yard line to end the game, but it was this bomb from Kurt Warner to Bruce that clinched the game with just about 2 minutes left.

5. Super Bowl XVIII - Jack Squirek picks off Joe Theismann for a 5-yard score to slam the Skins: It was called the “Raider screen” and the silver and black played it to perfection, with Squirek picking it off in the final seconds of the first half to make it a route - 21-3 at the half in a game the Raiders dominated, winning 35-9.

6. Super Bowl XIV - John Stallworth hauls in a 73-yard score to put the Steelers ahead for good: The Steelers, 11.5 point favorites to win their fourth bowl, struggled with the Rams, but this score with 12:59 left in the game put them ahead for good. Facing a 3rd and 8, Terry Bradshaw took the snap, faked a handoff, and then threw a pass to Stallworth, who caught the ball without breaking stride and took it all the way to the end zone, making it 24-19 for the Steelers in an eventual 31-19 win.

7. Super Bowl XXXI - Desmond Howard takes a kickoff 99 yards for a 35-21 Packers lead in their win over the Pats: Howard was a highly touted player out of Michigan, but never lived up to the hype, other than this Super Sunday afternoon. Howard and the Pack were in a fight with the Pats, led by Bill Parcells, and led 27-21 in the third quarter. That’s when Howard took the kickoff after a Pats score and put the game away, racing 99 yards to clinch the Pack’s third Super Bowl.

8. Super Bowl XL - Antwaan Randle El throws 43 yards to Hines Ward for a finishing TD vs the Hawks: The Steelers could not put the Hawks away, and after an Ike Taylor pick, the Black and Gold were looking for the finishing touches on their fifth Super Bowl. They got it. Taking a pitch from Ben Roethlisberger, Randle El fired a perfect trick pass to Ward, who took it in stride for a score that clinched the 21-10 win for Pittsburgh.

It’s official.  Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the victorious New York Giants and New England Patriots was the most-watched big game telecast ever.  According to Nielsen Media Research, an average of more than 97-point-five-million people watched the event on Fox, up five percent from last year.  The number also beats the 94-point-one-million viewers that Super Bowl 30, featuring the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers, drew. 

Sunday’s Super Bowl also now likely comes in second when it comes to the most-watched telecast of all time, behind the M*A*S*H series finale in 1983.  That episode had an audience of 105-point-nine-million people.  Viewership for Sunday’s Super Bowl peaked between 9:30 and 10 p.m, when the Giants made their late-game comeback to 105-point-seven-million viewers.

“1) The Aerial Attack must return: It was very nice to see that Laurence Maroney is capable of being a 100 yard a game running back. But that is not the offense that took this team to an unbeaten season. Brady must return to being the quarterback who broke Peyton Manning’s single season record for touchdowns. Ideally you want to see the “Wonder Twins” Brady and new BFF Randy Moss back in form, but Gaffney and Welker are certainly up yo the task, if Moss can not get open. Brady must throw a minimum of 3 touchdowns, and stay away from the interceptions.

5) Get Inside Eli’s Head: The Patriots created a monster in the last week of the season, when Giants quarterback Eli Manning realized he could go toe toe with New England and remain competitive. Now along with the physical tools he always he had he has confidence. Some first quarter blitzing and some early sacks, could take that confidence away very quickly.”

http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2008/02/01/5-keys-to-the-new-england-patriots-winning-the-super-bowl/

The New England Patriots season ended with a whimper not a bang. Maybe no play was a more accurate snapshot than New York Giants rookie defensive tackle Jay Alford sacking Pats QB for a 10 yard loss on second down, during the futile last Patriots drive. Tom Brady was mortal after all, there would be no miraculous comeback as he had engineered in previous Super Bowls. But the game was lost long before that sack, long before Eli Manning’s touchdown drive in the series before, putting the Giants ahead 17-14. The game was lost in the first half when the Patriots did not deliver that knockout punch.

As I wrote in a previous article referenced above, the New England Patriots created a monster on the last game of the regular season. Yes, New England remained perfect winning the game 38-35, but Manning gained confidence in that game. And that confidence just kept growing, as New York first got past Tampa Bay, and Jeff Garcia, who was destined to lose. But then they won two games, that nobody expected them to, in Dallas, and on the “frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin.” For the first time in his NFL Career, Manning’s confidence matched his skill-set, he now knew he could win. He would go 19/34 for the game for 255 yards, 2 touchdowns 1 interception.  And the monster New England created in Week 17, destroyed their march to perfection, and all talk of “Best Team Ever.”

But it was not just Eli that won the game for New York, their defense played just as big a part. The sack by Alford was only the last of five, the most given up in a game by New England all season. The aerial attack never materialized Brady who I wrote in my previous article had to throw three touchdowns, threw just one. The regular season MVP went 29/48 for 266 yards, 1 touchdown. The most prolific quarterback during a regular NFL season, never appeared Sunday, Randy Moss had the one TD but had only 5 receptions for 62 yards. Wes Welker had a nice game, catching 11 passes for 103 yards, but it was not enough.

The New York Giants were the better team on February 4, 2008, and deserved to win. Eli Manning a guy who just a few months ago, was thought of as a player who would never fulfill his potential, proved his critics wrong.  He deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP. In the biggest game of his life Eli Manning proved he was a champion after all.

 © Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com   

Since I mentally allotted the rest of the night to watching the Super Bowl, and all of its pregame glory, I figured I should keep a running tab on my thoughts. Here they are:

2:30 Perfectville – Brilliant idea, but I dislike seeing those old grumpy Dolphins receive more star treatment. They’ve already let the success of one season 36 years ago clog their judgement.

2:58 Frank Caliendo: “Why doesn’t Terry Bradshaw ever finish his books? Because he runs out of crayons.”

3:00 Fox has put Ryan Seacrest on a red carpet on which celebrities are walking as they make their way into the Super Bowl. He first interviews Roger Goodell on the red carpet. The best part of the interview, besides Goodell unsurprisingly sidestepping a prediction for the game, was watching Goodell’s daughter ignore his hand and walk with her mom instead.

3:06 Michael Strahan’s nickname? Laehc im na harts. His name backwards. Yeah, it is pretty dumb.

3:11 Grumpy old coaches: In the regular segment with Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson admits that after defeating the 49ers (“the best team in the NFL”) two weeks earlier in the NFC Championship game, he had never been as confident going into a game as he was going into Super Bowl XXVII against the Bills.

3:19 Ryan Seacrest calls Laurence Fishburne “baby” and “man” within two seconds. God I hate Hollywood.

3:37 Fox shows Tedy Bruschi playing with his kids on the field prior to the Super Bowl in Jacksonville a few years ago. And every woman across the country just went “Awwww, look at how cute they are!” Super Bowl fever. Catch it!

3:40 Fox cuts back to Seacrest on the red carpet and I can’t help but think of him freaking out about Jessica Simpson not wanting to talk about anything in her personal life before asking for a chocolate chip cookie to settle down. If you haven’t seen Knocked Up, then I don’t expect you to understand the previous sentence.

3:45 Amp is sponsoring the NFL pre-game show, but will you really even think of buying Amp the next time you’re at a grocery store?

3:47 I just learned some random Super Bowl facts: Twelve million pounds of chips were consumed on Super Sunday. Pizza sales doubled with men eating an average of four slices and women ate three. Fifteen percent of our country called in for food. Five percent of all the avocados that will be bought this year were bought yesterday. In a semi-related note, 20% of antiacid sales that will be sold all year will fly off the shelves today. You want more?
The average visitor to Super Bowl week makes $200,000 per year and will spend $600 per day.

There will be 140 million viewers, four million of whom bought a TV on Sunday, specifically to watch the game.

Company that run advertisements during the game saw their Web site traffic increase by over 400%.

Finally, the 2008 Super Bowl will have a $9.5 billion economic impact.

3:51 Jillian Barberie is now Jillian Reynolds. Who knew? There’s a clip of her at the Maxim party on Friday night, where she interviews various celebrities, half of whom have TV shows on Fox. One nugget that we learn: Michael Clarke Duncan likes Tom Brady because “he has a cool girlfriend.”

4:08 Welker used to be called “The Natural”. How original. Donte Stallworth is called “Julio”, although he refers to himself as “Nico”.

4:11 The Caveman, from those Geico commercials: “I’m not 100% in love with your tone right now.” I am going to use that on my parents, friends, roommates, co-workers, my boss, the conductor on the subway, the bartender who throws me out of the bar, maybe even the cop who is beating me with his nightstick.

4:21 Marissa Miller is shown on the Super red carpet. Wawaweewa!

4:48 Fox runs an ad for their new show, Unhitched. They show one clip of a scene where a dad spills ice cream on his baby’s head, then licks his baby’s head for the ice cream. I still can’t stop laughing.

4:49 Jimmy Johnson is a bastion of knowledge. He says one of the reasons the head coach will meet with refs before the game is to notify them of any trick plays they might run, thus preventing the refs from throwing a flag for what they might think is suspicious activity.

4:58 The Super Bowl really is something. There is still an hour and a half before kickoff, but already there are fans sitting in their seats, watching an Alicia Keys concert. And she’s wearing the biggest hoop earrings any of us will ever see. I could throw a football through those things.

5:08 The WaMu guy is now doing commercials for Chevy!

5:35 Fox shows Eli running by Brady on the field, with Eli smiling. Brady isn’t.

5:55 The reading of the Declaration of Independence by NFL players. Damn, that was some strong stuff. How can you not get pumped up for a game after hearing the document on which our nation was built? I had chills the entire time.

6:06 Troy Aikman makes a very salient point that you can never really tell what Eli Manning’s emotions are. He’s right. Eli was brutalized by the New York media all season. I can attest to that, since I live in NYC. The Giants remained patient with Eli and obviously have been rewarded as Eli is developing into a very good quarterback. He’s not great, yet. If the Giants win today, and he plays well, he could be headed for greatness.

6:06 Right after Aikman’s comment about Eli’s emotions, or lack thereof, Brady is shown running around on the field, yelling like he’s William Wallace on the battlefield. Talk about a difference in two quarterbacks.

6:11 The Giants, in white uniforms, run out to Kanye West’s “Stronger”. Cool song, good tempo. They look fired up, but still somewhat reserved. Like the moment isn’t taking over their emotions.

6:12 The Patriots, in blue, walk out of the tunnel with a stonefaced Tom Brady leading the way. He looks so focused, you could punch him in the face and light his hair on fire and he still wouldn’t know you were there.

6:13 The Patriots run onto the field to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”. Their season, starting with Spygate and continuing with their record-setting offensive performances, Rodney Harrison’s steroids suspension, perfect season, and number of highly-hyped late-season contests, has certainly been on a crazy train.

6:18 A former American Idol winner sings the national anthem. Fox, always number one in self-promotion!

6:26 Brady even looks pissed that the Pats lost the coin toss. His body language shows that he just wants to get on the field and make this thing official. Still waiting for the first Super Bowl commercial not promoting a Fox show, by the way.

6:33 Eli gets a six-man rush in his face, but calmly converts a third down pass to Plaxico.

6:35 Eli converts another third down, this time to Steve Smith. The o-line gave Eli great protection.

6:36 Bud Light firebreather gets a chuckle. The Godfather spoof by Audi was great. The R8 looks NICE.

6:40 More than seven minutes into the game and the Giants have picked up their third first down. And they are bleeding the clock. Exactly what a team should do against the Pats: keep their offense on the sidelines.

6:45 With 5:12 left in the first, the Giants knock in a field goal. 15 plays, ten minutes of possession for the Giants. 3-0 Giants.

6:46 Pepsi’s “Night at the Roxbury” commercial was solid. Joe Buck reinforces the notion that white men shouldn’t dance – or bob their head.

6:48 Bud Light just coined another term. “Going on a cheese run”. Perfect.

6:56 Matt Light is doing a great job on Osi Umenyiora. Light is quick and powerful, and is really keeping Osi away from Brady.

6:58 The screaming squirrel was another solid one. The insect screaming was hilarious.

7:01 With the first play in the second quarter, the Pats strike back with a touchdown. 7-3 Pats. There was nothing different on their first possession than what they have done in their previous two playoff games. Normally in big games, you’ll see offenses come out of the gates with nervousness and an uneasy chemistry. That isn’t the case in this game.

7:12 Aikman makes a great point about the Giants running backs picking up the blitzing Patriots. Eli is getting three or four seconds to throw each pass.

7:13 Eli finally turns it over. But it is really Steve Smith’s turnover, as he doesn’t handle a low
pass that should have been caught. Eli threw a much worse pass to Plax in the end zone in the first quarter that was tipped and nearly intercepted by Ellis Hobbs.

7:17 Twenty minutes of gametime have elapsed and Randy Moss still hasn’t had a ball thrown his way. I thought the Pats would throw deep to him early and often, but the Giants are assigning corner and safety coverage to Moss.

7:21 The Giants get a H-U-G-E break by recovering Ahmad Bradshaw’s fumble. New York’s biggest concern was holding onto the football and it could have been devastating if they had turned over the ball deep in their territory.

7:25 Naomi Campbell dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is fun to watch. She has perfect legs, a beautiful face, and just enough Catherine Tramell in her to scare off half the male gender. So far we have had spoofs on The Godfather, Night at the Roxbury, and Thriller.

7:28 The Giants are executing their ideal gameplan. Hold onto the ball, don’t turn it over, and
apply pressure on Brady. They’re still losing, but if they keep playing this way, they will make a big play to turn the lead their way.

7:36 Again, the Giants luck out on not turning over a fumble. Luck really is on their side right now. The Pats didn’t score after their interception and missed out on recovering two Giants fumbles. Not to mention Hobbs almost intercepting Manning’s tipped pass in the first quarter. Every team needs some luck to win and the Giants certainly have it in their corner.

7:37 Randall Gay just dropped a possible interception. Man, the Pats can’t get capitalize on anything.

7:38 I’ll never eat Plantars again. All I can think of now are unibrows and hairy moles. Truly disgusting.

7:42 The Doritos Mouse costume was possibly the best so far. I think any time a rodent beats up a guy in a suit, there will be plenty of laughs that will follow. And There Will Be Blood!

7:43 We are over twenty-eight minutes into the game and Moss finally had a pass directed his way. No dice, however, as Brady underthrew the pass while getting a safety rushing his grill.

7:48 The Giants again stifle a Pats scoring opportunity as Justin Tuck forces Brady to fumble and the Giants recover. Tuck is nearly unstoppable on the line of scrimmage tonight. Strahan is getting pressure, and the Giants are blitzing successfully.

8:17 First half thoughts: 1. I’m surprised the Pats aren’t more aggressive on offense. Why not throw downfield more to Stalworth or Moss? I realize Moss was thrown at late in the half, but the Giants are smothering the Pats. The Pats need to space the field.

2. The Giants receivers have dropped some crucial passes, but the Giants have lucked out. They have recovered their two fumbles, the Pats dropped one interception, and almost caught another.

3. The Giant front four is playing great, very physical and aggressive. And they are blitzing at just the right times.

4. Brady looks tired. He looks hurt. And the Pats are still leading. Will be interesting to see what second half adjustments are made concerning the Pats’ pass protection.

8:28 Umenyiora is dominating at the beginning of the second half.

8:37 Brilliant decision by Belicheck to challenge whether Chase Blackburn got off the field before the Pats snapped their punt. Belicheck is as savvy as they come.

8:43 Once again, the Pats let another scoring opportunity pass them by. It’s unreal. The Giants are playing faster, more aggressively, and seem to be relishing their underdog role more than the Patriots savoring their chance to become a legendary team tonight.

8:51 Eli is playing a great game. He threw a near perfect pass to Plax in the endzone that was batted away brilliantly by Asante Samuel. Then Plax dropped a tough but catchable pass on the next play.

8:52 The E-trade talking baby commercial made me laugh out loud. Two of my hardest laughs have come from a ten-year-old picking his nose (the Shaq jockey commercial) and an infant throwing up on himself. I’m all class.

8:57 Brady hitting Welker on slants is the only thing the Pats have been able to do consistently well offensively.

9:00 Brady tried to go downfield to Moss but was hit right as he threw. Brady is going to need a long, relaxing massage from Gisele in the morning. Bastard.

9:04 Belicheck’s decision to pass the field goal and go for it on 4th and 13 could be the difference in the game. In a game that has been tough to get any offensive rhythm, I’m not sure how coaches can be so willing to pass up good scoring opportunities. And right now I consider a 49-yard field goal to be a good scoring opportunity.

9:11 Eli continues to play his guts out. He is calm in the pocket, although that’s largely due to the stellar play of the Giants offensive line. But Eli is putting his passes right on the money, he’s throwing with authority, and is handling the game on his terms, much like what most of us expected Brady to do.

9:20 I can’t believe Brady just overthrew Moss on a post downfield. Brady hit Moss earlier in the drive on a slant, but Brady is throwing without confidence. His ankle can’t be helping, but his main concern has to be the Giants in his face every time he drops back. It seems like the Giants have officially won the psychological battle in this game. If a team rushes a quarterback enough times in a game, the quarterback will eventually expect to be pressured every time he drops back. And Brady looks like he is expecting the rush every time.

9:24 Manning just missed a golden opportunity as he scrambled to his left and overthrew Plax on a lobbed throw. The Giants don’t convert on third down and now the Pats get another chance to gain back the lead. Wow, the Giants might have missed a chance to ice the game. Plax had at least 20 yards of room ahead of him if Manning, on the run, hadn’t lobbed the ball too far out of his reach.

9:26 I’ve just realized, with 7:54 left in the game, that there haven’t really been any trick plays. The Pats ran a fake reverse on their first play from scrimmage, but the play calling has been fairly timid since then, from both teams.

9:32 Welker just made his eleventh catch of the game, with under five minutes remaining. If the Pats win, I would guess he will be named MVP. He has kept several drives alive tonight for the Pats, even though the Pats haven’t finished a drive with a score since their first possession of the game. Unreal.

9:37 My gosh, Brady missed possibly his easiest throw of the night by overthrowing Moss at the far left side of the endzone. Moss broke off his corner by running an out towards the front left corner but Brady threw too much to the corner. You just don’t see this type of inaccuracy from the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Ankle problems, skittishness from getting blitzed all game, I don’t know what it is.

9:39 And then Brady throws an easy touchdown pass to Moss. 14-10 Pats. Under three minutes remaining.

9:51 Asante misses an interception. The ball was thrown a little high for Asante to reach, but if he had, the Patriots would be on their way to a fourth Super Bowl.

9:52 Eli made the play of the game in somehow keeping his balance after nearly being pulled down by two Patriots, regaining his composure and launching a 32-yard pass on 3rd and 5 to David Tyree, who kept the ball wedged between his hand and the top of his helmet and was pulled down backwards. What great composure Eli is showing in the biggest drive of his life and what a great play by Tyree to keep the drive alive.

9:57 Eli to Plax for the touchdown. 17-14 Giants. Plax ran a simple slant and go, Hobbs’ knees buckled, and Eli had an easy pass to Plax in the endzone. Thirty-five seconds left in the game and the Pats have three timeouts.

10:10 The New York “football” Giants have just won the Super Bowl. The Patriots couldn’t get anything going on their last drive. Brady threw a perfect 60- or 70-yard pass downfield to Moss, which was batted away by a Giants defensive back. That was really the last gasp from the Pats. The Giants, having defeated Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay on the road, and then defeating the Pats, are truly a great team.

If you haven’t had enough of the Super Bowl, or Super Bowl commercials for that matter, our friends at Maxim on their Super Bowl Blog has but up their 10 best and worst Super Bowl Commercials. Here you go!:

The Best:

Click here to See more of bestThe Worst:

Click here to see more of the worst

Click here for the entire Maxim Super Bowl Blog