In other words, it was a real slam dunk.
The games were fabulous, the drama was compelling, the
outcomes were in doubt until overtime, and there was even some
controversy to carry over into the new week.
It’s the New England Patriots, perfect villains, in the
Super Bowl again, cast against the upstart Los Angeles Rams. It’s senior
quarterback Tom Brady against trainee Jared Goff. East coast vs. west.
Cranky old Bill Belichick vs. ebullient young Sean McVay.
The controversy came when officials missed a blatant pass
interference penalty that could have affected the outcome of the game.
Saints fans will be a long time getting over this. It’s spurred debate
about the quality of officiating (these are “all-star” crews in the postseason) and exposed the flaws in a replay system that is supposed to correct the worst mistakes.
It may not shine a positive light on the league, but it has
people talking about football in the blah week with nothing but the
useless Pro Bowl. As long as they’re talking about you, that has to be
good, right? Or have we all been corrupted by Antonio Brown?
Some other scattered thoughts from the weekend:
* Tony Romo is drawing much praise for his work as a CBS analyst. It’s well deserved.
Romo is smart, well-prepared and enthusiastic. He’s also
only two years removed from the field, so he’s up to speed on the
current personnel and trends.
* The Patriots didn’t have a great regular season by their
standards, but they know how to gear up when it matters. Their
consistent success in the salary cap era is amazing.
* Of course, the regular season is a formality for the
Patriots because they play in a weak division. Then again, the Steelers
weren’t exactly in a powerful AFC North this season, and look what
happened.
* Poor Andy Reid. What is it about the postseason that makes
him look so bad. It wasn’t his fault that a player lined up in the
neutral zone, but that mindless gaffe contributes to Reid’s lousy
postseason record.
* Wonder how St. Louis, the city the Rams abandoned, feels about seeing them in the Super Bowl?
* A 57-yard field goal to win a conference title in overtime
on the road? That’s clutch. Or maybe it seems extra impressive after
watching Chris Boswell miss so many “routine” extra points.
---
The report that the Pirates were willing to trade Starling
Marte to the Dodgers has been discredited. It didn’t make sense from the
start, unless the Pirates were going to acquire someone to play center
field this season. With Austin Meadows gone, there is no logical
in-house replacement.
---
There was debate about whether Pitt fans should storm the court with an upset of No. 2 Duke.
Last year the issue was storming the exits at halftime.
John Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
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