Super Bowl XL: Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10

Another football season has left the building, and we can only begin the countdown to Kickoff 2006. The Super Bowl in Detroit will not be remembered as an all-time great, but the win of Pittsburgh over Seattle was nevertheless full of interesting talking points:

- For the first time ever, a #6 seed won a Super Bowl, proving that bye-weeks and home field advantage are nice helpers, but they can be overcome.
- A QB won a Super Bowl at a younger age than any QB ever.
- The AFC won again, making it 5 out of 6, and 7 out of 9.
- Bill Cowher can now take his place amongst the best coaches in football. The last strike he had against him has been erased.
- Hines Ward became the 5th WR to win a Super Bowl MVP (Swann, Biletnikof, Rice, Branch) and likely won out of pure default. Who else could you have given it to?
- Pittsburgh joins San Francisco and Dallas as the only 5-time Super Bowl winners. Who will be the first to #6?

But, as someone who thought Seattle was going to win the game, I will remember this game for the way Seattle marched down the field, only to stall once again. Were some of the calls weak? Sure. But, Seattle could not close the deals too many times. Dropped passes, poor decisions, missed FG’s, and other stubs of the toe suggest that the right team won this game. Pitt did not make many plays, but they did enough to win a Super Bowl with some level of ease.

Report from Pittsburgh …

The Steelers will fly home this afternoon, lugging their shiny, new silver booty to join the four the franchise won in six years in the 1970s.

"We're so proud to bring it back to Pittsburgh,'' Dan Rooney said.

Wide receiver Hines Ward, who began training camp with a contract holdout, won the game's Most Valuable Player award after catching five passes for 123 yards,
including a 43-yard touchdown from fellow wide receiver Antwaan Randle El. He was given the keys to a black Cadillac Escalade for the award.

"This is the one for the thumb,'' Ward said, holding his young son and, as usual, smiling. "We are bringing the Super Bowl back to the City of Pittsburgh.''

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw two interceptions and had a miserable 22.6 passer rating, nevertheless made plays when his team needed them. He dived into the end zone on third down for a touchdown in the second quarter and picked up another key first down in the fourth. In all, he ran seven times for 25 yards but completed just 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards.

Seattle halfback Shaun Alexander, the league MVP, was held to 95 yards on 20 carries.

Meanwhile, Steve Kelly files his report back to Seattle …

This loss will gnaw at them the rest of this winter. It will follow them into offseason workouts. It will haunt their dreams.

The Seahawks will wake up out of a sound sleep in a cold sweat and remember the dropped passes, the missed field goals, the punt that rolled dead on their 2-yard line, the penalties.

They will look at the game film later this week and realize they should have been ahead about 24-0 at halftime. They will see that they kicked the Pittsburgh Steelers up and down Ford Field.

They will see Walter Jones burying Joey Porter deep into the artificial surface.

They will see Jerramy Stevens running open in the middle of the field, time after time after time.

But they will also see the blizzard of mistakes and they will wince at what might have been.

"We stubbed our foot a couple of times," wide receiver Joe Jurevicius said. "And that's all I have to say on that."

In a game that will be remembered for its lack of artistry, the better team didn't win Super Bowl XL. The Seahawks lost, 21-10.

Super Bowl Records Set …

Super Bowl records
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS SET

Longest run from scrimmage — 75 yards, Willie Parker, Pittsburgh (Old record: 74, Marcus Allen, L.A. Raiders vs. Washington, 1984).

Longest interception return — 76 yards, Kelly Herndon, Seattle (Old record: 75, Willie Brown, Oakland vs. Minnesota, 1977).

Youngest winning starter at QB — 23 years, 340 days, Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh. (Old record: 24 years, 184 days, Tom Brady, New England vs. St. Louis, 2002.)

Lowest passer rating, winning QB — Roethlisberger, 22.6. (Old record: 51.9, John Elway, Denver vs. Green Bay, 1998.

Highest punting average — 50.2 Tom Rouen, Seattle, 50.2 yards. (Old record: 48.8, Bryan Wagner, San Diego vs. San Francisco, 1995).

Chmura calls the kettle black …

Mark Chmura was in an anti-Dallas crank Sunday morning on his radio show on WAUK-AM (1510). "If Michael Irvin didn't have his friend's crack pipe in his car, he'd probably be in, too," Chmura said, referring to the Hall of Fame. Chmura questioned Troy Aikman's numbers as necessarily Hall-worthy. "What a flippin' joke," Chmura said. "I am so sick of the Dallas Cowboys. I really am."

Gee whiz, Mark. Simmer down, sport.

Easy to Predict event of the weekend : Liddell pounds Couture …

Chuck Liddell did nearly nothing in the first round against Randy Couture on Saturday in what was billed as the most anticipated match in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. And, because of that, he knew the rubber match with Couture would go his way.

Just one minute, 28 seconds into the second round at Mandalay Bay, Liddell proved prophetic when he ripped Couture with a straight right that sent the former champion crumpling to the mat.

Before Liddell could pounce on him, referee John McCarthy jumped in to stop the bout and end Couture's career.

Saints to play at Superdome Sept 24th …

Obligatory Story on Bill Guerin …its on time. This story comes about every 14 days…But, Mr Heika’s grasp of the situation is not at its usual high level:

Guerin's linemates Jason Arnott (49 points) and Brenden Morrow (46 points) each are having career scoring seasons and credit Guerin for his hard work in making the line successful. But just as there seems to be no explanation for Guerin's scoring drought, it's also difficult to explain how Morrow is a plus-21, Arnott a plus-12 and Guerin a minus-1. One area to look at could be that he's a team-worst minus-47 on giveaways and takeaways, but Tippett said he wants Guerin to be playing hard and not concentrating on the negatives.

Now, I admit to being a Guerin-apologist. I have no plans to completely turn on someone with such a consistent track record, but Heika really can find “no explanation” for the discrepancies in +/- amongst Morrow. Arnott, and Guerin? How about the fact that they did not skate on the same line for almost 2 full months? When Barnes and others were on the Arnott line from Mid-November until Mid-January, and Guerin was with Niko Kapenen, who easily is the team’s worst center as a -10, you don’t think there is some level of explanation there? I know Guerin has been horrible by his standards, but Heika knows why his +/- is bad.

Harry Carson will accept his Hall of Fame induction, after all.…

We have learned 2 things about this premiership season so far: Liverpool is much better than they have been in years; Chelsea is much better than Liverpool …

As Mourinho delighted in pointing out, this victory over the side threatening to become their closest rivals encapsulated all the qualities that make Chelsea such worthy champions; comfortable and clinical yet some way short of thrilling. This was their season in microcosm.

"We need eight wins to be champions and after that it will be seven, six, five," Mourinho said. "We’re in the countdown. We want to win these games as soon as possible."

Still bitter about last season’s Champions League exit and with José Manuel Reina’s late sending-off creating another controversy, Mourinho could not resist crowing about his head-to-head record against Rafael Benítez. The Portuguese has won all four of the league games he has contested against Liverpool and this season’s aggregate scoreline is a flattering 6-1.

"After nine games against Liverpool in 1½ years we’ve lost one," he said. "The game proves we’re the best team in the country. This is a result and a performance that will help everyone to understand why we’re champions and are close to being champions again."

Liverpool came into the game still harbouring genuine title aspirations, though for all their dramatic improvement under Benítez, the European champions remain a work in progress. Despite controlling much of the first half the threat to Petr Cech’s goal was minimal, with Chelsea content to strike on the counter.

He is missed already. Grandpa Munster, dead …

Al Lewis, the cigar-chomping patriarch of "The Munsters" whose work as a basketball scout, restaurateur and political candidate never eclipsed his role as Grandpa from the television sitcom, died after years of failing health. He was 82.

The actor was widely reported to have been born in 1910, but his son Ted Lewis said Saturday that his father was born in 1923.

He was 82? I question this. But, look at this:

Star Telegram really confused …

AL LEWIS | 1910-2006
Grandpa on 'The Munsters' dies at age 82

I cannot say whether he was 96 or 82, but he is not both!

Werner Herzog of Grizzly Man shot? …

HOLLYWOOD - German director Werner Herzog was shot by a crazed fan during a recent interview with the BBC.

The 63-year-old was chatting with movie journalist Mark Kermode about his documentary Grizzly Man, when a sniper opened fire with an air rifle.

Kermode explains, "I thought a firecracker had gone off.

"Herzog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world, said, 'Oh, someone is shooting at us. We must go.'

"He had a bruise the size of a snooker ball, with a hole in. He just carried on with the interview while bleeding quietly in his boxer shorts."

An unrepentant Herzog insisted, "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid."