Failing infrastructure in America? At the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is like a second Christmas for most Americans and perhaps the greatest holiday of them all. Everybody comes over, eats a lot of food and watches football. It's like Thanksgiving but without those pesky family members.

(Buy DVDs of all the Super Bowls, here)

On America's greatest day, however, the power went out. In the third quarter things went dark in the Super Dome and it took over a half hour to resume the game. Slightly embarrassing for the city of New Orleans which has had plenty of heartbreak in the past with Hurricane Katrina (even in this very stadium). They redid the Super Dome after the Hurricane but apparently the root cause of the power outage was that the infrastructure of the stadium couldn't handle the demand.

"Shortly after the beginning of the second half of the Super Bowl in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a piece of equipment that is designed to monitor electrical load sensed an abnormality in the system. Once the issue was detected, the sensing equipment operated as designed and opened a breaker, causing power to be partially cut to the Superdome in order to isolate the issue. Backup generators kicked in immediately as designed."

It's a rather vague explanation, but the very issue is infrastructure. Neither the power company nor the stadium operators could see the problem and avoid it. America's power grid is rather, shall we say, weak, and this just highlights it. You always here in those IBM commercials about all the smart grids and this is what they're talking about. A similar incident happened during at Sun Life Stadium at the Orange Bowl, but since it was a smart system, the operators were able to bypass the issue and avoid all the lights going out in the stadium.

The sad part is, the Super Dome got a new electrical system after the Hurricane, meaning that this should have been prevented. There should had been no problem with the lights. However, minutes of the stadium's governing board show that twice the issue of redoing some of the electrical work in the stadium to make it the power system 100 percent redundant. They still weren't enough.

The implication is obvious: the state agency that oversees the Superdome knew over the summer that the stadium's infrastructure—just seven years old—wasn't sufficient to host a Super Bowl. Whatever additional work was done wasn't enough to keep the lights from going out. (LSED's "preliminary review" finds that the upgrades weren't the cause of the blackout.)

So let me just pull thoughts together in a tight bow. Our aging infrastructure in this country gave us a stadium that needed a new electrical system, and the governing board knew the system couldn't handle the new load but still couldn't get it up to par of the big game. Lets say this is a bridge, the state would have known the bridge couldn't have handled the load, put a few wooden planks on it and it still collapsed.

I know this was a new system but it still failed. Infrastructure failure. Get use to it because its going to happen a lot in the near future in this country. The 49ers had a game delayed last year when a transformer blew on national television and plunged the stadium into darkness. If we can't simply keep the lights on during the biggest football game money-maker of the year, what about our roadways? Our sewage systems? Our drinking water?

Americans Believe God Has Decided Outcome in Sports

Heading into the Super Bowl we've been getting plenty of heapings of god from former charged-with-murder man Ray Lewis. Naturally he's now also been tied to performance enhancing drugs which he calls a "trick of the devil" or something like that. I would hope that most American sports fans can waddle through all the god talk by athletes that live a lifestyle that is anything but Christian.

But since sports is essentially entertainment for the masses... it doesn't mean their fans are considerably bright either. Over a quarter of American sports fans believe that god has helped decide the outcome of a sporting event, meaning god apparently loves steroid users?

Perhaps the most shocking is that 27 percent of those polled—more than a quarter—believe that "God plays a role in determining which team wins a sporting event." Watch a game with three of your buddies. Odds are that one of you wholeheartedly believes that God has a vested interest in the outcome of the game, and will influence it to get His way. This could really throw off Vegas's lines. ... There's variation across respondents. Minority Christians and white Evangelicals, as well as Southerners, are the most likely to believe God cares about sporting events and athletes; the religiously unaffiliated, and people from the West and the Northeast, are the least likely to agree.

(sigh) At least we're part of the godless masses up here in the Northwest. If you think for a second that the supreme creator of this universe - that's so large that light is just now getting to Earth from 14.5 billion light years across the galaxy - cares about a little football game, you're delusional.

Another part of the survey said that 53 percent believed that god rewarded athletes that had good faith. I'm curious to find out if these are the same good faith athletes that get caught with prostitutes a week before the Super Bowl.

(Or maybe the true Christian athletes don't go out to clubs, get drunk, get a baby mama, get shot, get into drugs, get into trouble with the team and then the league. A natural cause and effect?)

I'm pretty sure God is doing a facepalm right about now, or just every time Ray Lewis speaks.

Here come the Seahawks bandwagon fans

As a lifelong Seahawks fan I remember getting made fun of for rooting for the "Seachickens" while everyone else cheered on the Cowboys. Now those same people are cheering on the Hawks. At least they picked the right team this time! Go Hawks!

(Maybe it's time to buy some Seattle Seahawks gear. Just in time for the playoffs!)

But don't worry. If the Hawks don't win the Super Bowl those fans will forget all about them and go back to cheering for whoever did win it. (Ah, who am I kidding, the Seahawks will win the Super Bowl).

Super Bowl XLV Commercial

The Super Bowl is always known for the commercials. This was one of the best Super Bowl commercials that got a real chuckle from everyone I was watching the game with.

New AFC and NFC Championship trophies

Last year during the Super Bowl weekend celebrations the NFL announced that they would be redesigning the AFC and NFC Championship trophies.

The AFC wins the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the NFC wins the George Salas Trophy.

For all the previous years the trophies used to look like this:

Oak with a tough forged metal look. Pretty dominate and recognizable.

Now the redesign of the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the George Halas Trophy will look like this:


The NFL says it wanted to change the look of the AFC and NFC Championship game trophies to coincide with the look of the Lombardi Trophy.

The new championship game trophy took nine months to design. Tiffany and Company makes it, which is the same company that makes the Lombardi Trophy.

I think the new trophies are very futuristic looking and they do resemble the Lombardi Trophy.

What are you're thoughts on the AFC and NFC Championship trophy redesigns?

Mark Brunell finally wins Super Bowl

It took 16 seasons, but Mark Brunell finally has a Super Bowl ring.

And no, he didn't just sit on the bench to earn it, he was the New Orleans Saints holder for this entire season.

I'm a Colts fan. So obviously I was rooting for them today. But in the end, while I'm sad to see the Colts lose, I'm happy to see Brunell get a much deserved ring.

I grew up rooting for the guy. He is one of my dad's favorite quarterbacks so naturally, being a son, I started rooting for him too. Oh, and he's a former Dawg.

Brunell went to the University of Washington and was a key part in developing the dominant team that UW had through the early 1990s.

Following college he was drafted in the 5th round by the Green Bay Packers in 1993. Unfortunately all he saw was the bench as some guy named Brett Favre also played there.

Then as luck would have it, in 1995 the city of Jacksonville was awarded a new expansion NFL franchise. Shortly after Brunell was traded to the Jaguars and given the starting job. The team was less than impressive in their first season finishing 4-12, but the four years after that they made the play-offs each year.

During his time in Jacksonville Brunell lead the Jags to AFC Championship appearances in 1996 and 1999. However, each time they lost.

On the upside though, he did make the Pro Bowl three times and was the MVP of the game in 1999.

But then the Jaguars started stumbling and soon it was time for the franchise to rebuild. They didn't want to rebuild with an aging quarterback who was just coming off a hamstring injury. So in 2003 he was traded to the Washington Redskins.

While with the Redskins Brunell traded starting duties with Jason Campbell and Patrick Ramsey. Yet, the turnstile of quarterbacks at Washington would continue and following the 2006 season the Redskins released him.

Not long after that he signed with New Orleans and became the back-up quarterback there. And a veteran leader on a team that had just lost in the NFC Championship game.

This season he played in every game as the holder for extra points and field goals for kicker Garrett Hartley.

The Saints won tonight, and I'm sad for the Colts, but deep inside, I'm ok with it. I'm happy to see a quarterback that I grew up rooting for finally get his ring. I'm happy that finally Mark Brunell is a World Champion.

The dog days of summer

I love baseball and good thing because that's going to be the only thing going on for the next couple of months unless you're a big follower of the PGA money standings and NASCAR.

With basketball over and football not starting up until August, we're in for the long haul. For some sports fans that might be too much. This could be where they finally turn and become WNBA fans.

And don't forget, sometimes baseball will have off-days or slow days where only a couple games are being played. What does that mean? Lots and lots of Washington Nationals highlights.

You might be wondering what Casey and I will be doing to pass the time and worry not, we're both quite sane during this slow time in sports. We will fill our time watching Looney Tunes, stalking Rodney Stuckey, coming up with theories on how the Seattle Seahawks are going to win the Super Bowl and playing Wii Bowling.

With the slowdown in sports what will you be doing?

Things I really hate about Sports...

No, it's not Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson. While the Yankees are the bane of my baseball existence, they don't make the list either. Heck, I'm not even going to touch on Clay Bennet. Although somebody should put him in that Expos suit to my right and send him down the river.

These are non-specific things I hate about sports. I'm being ambiguous today.

1. How every close Super Bowl is apparently the best ever.

That's impossible. And considering that I fell asleep during the Cards-Steelers Super Bowl before the fourth quarter, just spare me all the jibber jab. The best big game ever played was Tennessee-St. Louis. The stretched out on the goal line moment is something that will be burnt into my mind until the day that I die. We're talking INCHES with a world championship on the line.

Meanwhile, ho-hum, the Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl. Media outlets need to get some perspective.

2. Fans that complain about female sideline reporters.

Because they're specifically there for you. Look how much we talk about Erin Andrews over the Internet. Don't act like your a sports fan first and a guy second. If she's cute, you'll keep watching. And trust me, she can do her job a whole lot better than your couch-sitting, sweatpant-fitting butt can. If we put a camera in your face and asked you to interview Bobby Knight coming off the court at halftime while he's down ten points, you're probably going to stammer and sweat like Sammy Sosa at the Congressional Steroids Hearing.

3. High School Athletes that cant let it go

I don't care that your 8th grade coach told you to box out, you did and you did it quiet well and that it annoys you that Lamar Odom doesn't box out. Whoop-de-doo, that doesn't make you any better than him, he's still in the NBA and you're biggest game of the year is the thanksgiving pickup game with your 12-year old cousin.

Don't talk to me about fundamentals and heart, because professional athletes need plenty of that to get to the point where they are. You may want to ask youself why you didn't make it that far if you were so dedicated to "defense, hard-work and not having corn-rows."

4. That heckler that says stupid, stupid, stupid things

I'm all for heckling, just make sure you say thing right things. "Hey guys you need to shoot the ball better" is not a quality statement. Something more like "You guys are shooting like Sh**" ... that will get their attention.

And we've all had the friend that talks sports out of his butt, well nothing is worse than the sports heckler that heckles out of his butt. Make sure you do research before you head to the game.

5. Sports Parents

Pretty Self Explanatory. Dumbest people ever.

6. Tearing down classic old stadiums and ballparks for new, state-of-the art buildings

I know its a money thing but look how the NFL has pushed out all their regular fans for the luxury suite Battlestar Galacticas, the NBA cant provide a packed-house environment on the weekdays in 20,000 seat arena and the MLB has a bunch of quirky retro-ballparks that all try to be unique but all end up being the same damn thing.

Meanwhile in college sports, we've got new, old and what-the-hell-were they thinking arenas based solely on the need of the program, not the "We need a new building because everyone else has one."

This leads to some of the legendary venues in college sports becoming just even more legendary, even if they're crappy places to watch a game (Husky Stadium, cough, cough).

7. Montana

Okay, this one is specific.

Jamal Anderson arrested

It's so sad when people I thought were awesome disappoint me.

We all remember Jamal Anderson. The guy who actually made me root for the Atlanta Falcons. His "dirty bird dance" in the endzone. I thought the guy was classy. Now, not so much.

I just found this on the AP today.

ATLANTA (AP) — Former Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson has been charged with felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession after being arrested at an Atlanta nightclub, authorities said Sunday.

Anderson, a fan favorite who created the ``Dirty Bird'' touchdown celebration dance, played eight seasons for the Falcons before leaving the team with a knee injury in 2001.

Atlanta police spokesman Officer Otis Redmond said Anderson, 36, was arrested early Sunday at the Peachtree Tavern in Atlanta's trendy Buckhead district. Redmond said a second man, whose name was not immediately available, also was arrested.

Redmond said an off-duty officer working in security at the club alerted police. Redmond said both men allegedly had powder cocaine in their possession and that Anderson also had a suspected marijuana cigarette in his pocket.

Now he has become just another athlete who deserves no respect. Someone who used to be admired, but now he's the dirty bird.

Epic Video: Paul Brogan Super Bowl Rap

He's at it again folks. Not as good as last years Super Bowl rap that he did. But good none the less.

A vote for Cards is a vote for change

Tomorrow is the big day. No not Brandon's wedding, I'm talking about the Super Bowl. As a Seahawks fan, I'm of course rooting for the Arizona Cardinals.

Here are the reasons why you should too:

-Pittsburgh was given this last Super Bowl win. Thanks refs.
-Kurt Warner has again risen from the depths to take a normally crappy team to the Super Bowl. AGAIN. Here's a fun note, the team that had the worst record one season and then made it to the big game the next season: The 1999 St. Louis Rams. The second team: this years Cardinals. What do these two teams have in common?
-No one wants to see one franchise have 6 Super Bowl wins.
-Terrible Towels are lame. The only thing worse is free "spirit" towels at Eastern football games that are really just used towels from the Red Lion Inn.
-The Cardinals have always been bad. Yes, I rooted for the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series for that same reason.
-The Steelers uniforms are ugly.
-So are their cheerleaders. (Ok, I'm not really sure on that one, but that's the word around the street)
-The Cardinals remind me a lot of the Seahawks. As a franchise they have always been bad, yet somehow still have fans who support them. Then, one magical season, the team learns how to win. Oh, and the last team standing between them and destiny, the Steelers.
-Did I mention the Steelers were given their last Super Bowl?
-You know Madden is rooting for the Steelers. Madden also says the dumbest comments. "You know how that there team will win today? Well, in order for them to win they have to score more points than that other team." (Thanks)

Oh, and if you root for the Steelers than you are no better than the hordes of bandwagon fans of the Patriots. Who, after last season, suddenly all seemed to fall off the face of the earth. Where did all those Pats fans go? I used to see them everywhere. Now, not so much.

The year of the bird

Brandon put down his NFL Championship weekend pics a few days ago. Now it's time for mine.

First up, the game being played in the staduim which is named after a college, but the college has no football team and is actually not located in the same city as the stadium. Whew...

Also, I think it is just awesome that the number 4 seed is hosting the championship game. That just is NEVER supposed to happen.
Cardinals and Eagles

This is a rematch of the NFC Championship game back in 2001. Warner vs. McNabb. Warner led the Rams to their second Super Bowl in three years that season. And this year, he leads the Cardinals to their first ever modern day Super Bowl. History repeats.

Cardinals 34, Eagles 24

Ravens and Steelers

In the second game we have the "gag me" Steelers playing at home against the third bird team in the championships, the Ravens. Now the Ravens haven't had a bye since week 2 thanks to hurricane damage to the Texans stadium. In addition to that, did you watch last weeks game against the Titans? Wow that was one hard fought, hard hitting, no punches held game. That really beat up this Ravens team. The Pittsburgh "still gratefull to the refs for giving us Super Bowl XL" Steelers win another hard fought grundge match against the Ravens.

Steelers 14, Ravens 13

So I see a Cardinals vs Steelers Super Bowl on February 2nd. Go Cards!

Questions I have about the NFL

1. Why does John Madden and Al Michaels always seem to be talking about instant replay disputes?
Seems like everytime I turn on Sunday Night Football, Al Michaels is going "and it looks like, John, this play is going to be overturned..."

"That's right Al, now you see here, the player went out of bounds, because his foot went outside the line."

Is there a stat tracker on how many replay challenges there are on Sunday Night games because I swear that's all these two do, that and talk about John Madden's food preferences.

2. Why are New York Giants fans much more likable than New York Yankees fans?
While there has to be some crossover, watching games makes me think that they're completely different fan bases. I don't know what it is, but there's something very admirable about rooting for Eli Manning as your quarterback, doing it in near sub-zero temperature, and watching some truly god-awful Giants teams of the past. Which brings me to my next question...

3. Why do I suddenly like Eli Manning?

It's like when you return from summer break to college and a girl that never really caught your eye has become hot. Granted, what probably helped Eli was being named Super Bowl MVP. It's an amazing transformation, it's like that girl was once a mammoth, with several moles on her face, a lazy eye, bad BO and a considerable lisp suddenly turned into Jessica Alba.

Don't know how that happened. I just don't get that "Eli is going to screw this game up feeling" anymore.

4. Why have the Seahawks won two straight?

And now they're peddling away their first-round draft pick.

5. How bad is the NFC West?

Well the division's champion, the Arizona Cardinals, lost 47-7 to the New England Patriots this week. I watched the game and was struck by the fact that for the first time ever, the Patriots were not trying to run up the score. They were doing everything they could to not score short of kneeling down, yet the Cardinals were giving up 20 yard runs between the tackles. Just sad.

At least it provided for some nice visuals as it was very snowy there.

6. Why does the media totally suck up to the Steelers?

So the Titans beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-14 this week to get the first seed in the AFC. After all this hype about how Tennessee peaked too soon and "here come the Steelers!" it all equated to nothing more than a wet fart.

Seriously, Pittsburgh... I'm glad you can beat the Ravens and their half-brained offense, the underachieving Browns and the hapless Bengals. Good for you, now we'll see how you do in the playoffs.

I hate how the media always crowns them Super Bowl favorites. Always. Every single year. If they're even remotely 10 victories, they're considered awesome. Why?

DA BEARS!

Today is an epic day. Now you might be saying, "But Casey, what makes today epic? Isn't it just December 11?"

To you I would say wrong. For today, in the year 1985, the single "Superbowl Shuffle" by the Chicago Bears Shufflin' Crew was released

And now, for your viewing and listening pleasure, Just South of North is proud to introduce, THE CHICAGO BEARS (of 1985).

Somewhere the Pats went 19-0

The poor kids will never know that the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Nor do I think they really care.

The NFL donated all of the 19-0 gear to Nicaragua. This was 290 hats and shirts. At least these kids are getting use out of the gear.

It appears that each of the loosing team hats and shirts are donated to countries each season. That means that somewhere children are dancing. Somewhere children are playing. Somewhere children are laughing.

And somewhere every loser of the Super Bowl won.

The Empire Strikes Back (for the 4th time)

Tomorrow is the day. The Super Bowl is finally here. The biggest football game of the year is even bigger this year as the New England Patriots look to become the second team in NFL history to have a perfect regular season and then win the Super Bowl.

They also would become the first NFL team to go 19-0.

But this Patriots team is no stranger to the big game, oh and no stranger to winning it either. It’s because of that that I dubbed them a few posts back The Evil Empire. Yes, many wondered what to call a dynasty that grew even more powerful, and Evil Empire is it.

As for the New York Giants, they are far from glamorous. Their last Super Bowl they lost to a Trent Dilfer led Baltimore Ravens. (Oh, and the Ravens cut Dilfer after the win and have sucked horribly bad since. Way to go guys)

Anyway, the Giants are still living in the glory of upsetting the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV. That was a long time ago. Plus, this Giants team must now face the Empire that is the Patriots and for that reason they have become the Rebel Alliance.

But both sides need characters to fully complete the transition, so here is the list of players in the game.

Evil empire

Tom Brady – Evil Anakin Skywalker (pre Darth Vader)
I say pre Darth Vader because Darth Vader was such a badass, while everybody hated Anakin. Brady is too much of a pretty boy to ever be as cool as Vader.

Bill Belichick- The Sith Lord
This one is obvious. Not only were they both the leaders of the Empire, but they both wore the same torn up hoodie.

Wes Welker- Storm Trooper
Often overlooked, yet the Storm Troopers were the real heart of the Empire. Welker has proven that he is a great receiver, yet always takes a backseat to Moss.

Randy Moss- Count Dooku
The righthand man of the Emperor. Without the deep threat that Moss provides, would this team be the same? 23 touchdowns is definitely something. Dooku also chopped off good Anakin’s arm. As Moss will do to the DB that covers him.

Laurence Maroney- Darth Maul
Maul wasn’t in the story for very long but when he was, he ruled. Maroney is overlooked in the fact that Brady is on the team. But like Maul, Maroney knows how to kick some serious butt.

Tedy Bruschi- Boba Fett
The bounty hunter Fett and the head hunter Bruschi share a similar hobby. Ripping opposing characters apart.

Rebel Alliance

Eli Manning- Luke Skywalker
For some reason Manning and Mark Hamill pose a striking resemblance. Plus, Eli is the prince of a very powerful family. But for the most part, I think he forgets.

Tom Coughlin- Yoda
Coughlin usually is seen with the same facial expression as Yoda. The main difference though is that Yoda is green and Tom was brilliant red color after the Green Bay game. Although, with the frostbite, he might still turn green.

Michael Strahan- Chewbacca
Chewy was the big fuzzy guy that you didn’t take serious until he was ripping you limb from limb. Same thing for Strahan. With that gap in his teeth you are laughing at him until he grabs you for a snack.

Osi Umenyiora- Hon Solo
The new leader of the defense. Solo was always overlooked for the star Skywalker, Umenyiora is often considered the number two on this defense after Strahan. But the fact of the matter is that Umenyiora is the new leader of this D and Strahan has become the sidekick.

Plaxico Burress- Obi-Wan Kenobi
With his performance during the playoffs, Burress has become a true master of the force. Now we’ll see just how powerful his use of it is, if he plays in the game tomorrow.

Brandon Jacobs- R2D2
Reliable, durable and always there when you need him. Jacobs and R2 are always in the scene, even if over shadowed by another. For R2D2 it was Hamill, for Jacobs it’s Manning.

Amani Toomer- The Ewoks
Toomer has been with the Giants since almost they were founded. Yet, he is still overlooked. As were the Ewoks. The Empire didn’t consider them real threat until the Ewoks whooped the Empire’s butt. Perhaps Toomer will do the same.

I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if Belichick has built this Empire better than the original contractors built the Death Star. Or will Manning finally be able to use the force and pull off the biggest upset of all time.

Congress is sticking their nose somewhere it doesn't need to be

Nevermind our foreign debt is larger than Kristie Alley, never mind we've fighting a war over in Iraq, never mind our health care system is an utter sham.

Let's have Congress spend it's time and resources trying to figure out whether or not the Patriots cheated.

Wait, didn't the NFL take care of this way back in Week 2? Is Congress now making the brave step of supposedly cleaning up the dirty sport of football?

What exactly are they trying to accomplish other than making headlines for themselves. Who wouldn't want to be the guy or gal that took down the Patriots?

Oh wait, just about every other team in the NFL tries to steal the signs of the other team on a regular basis. It's part of the game. Are you telling me that DBs and LBs aren't watching the coaches when they try to sign in an audible? Hell, Shannon Sharpe admitted that he was trying to do the same thing to defenses he lined up against when he played. And Shannon Sharpe is one real dude, how can you argue with a man who's got more Super Bowl rings than Peyton Manning.

Oh wait.. Well Peyton choked this year so I guess that statement doesn't really hold any validity.

While I agree with the fine and the lost of a draft pick, I don't see this as a tainted championship.

I see this as a team that is leaps and bounds better than the rest of the teams of the NFL.

However, it will probably take a committee in Congress to figure that one out.

Sports fandom increases your risk of a heart attack

You've got to feel sorry for Bears fans, because apparently if you wear clothing sporting that classic "C" logo, you're probably going to cut your life expectancy in half.

According to a German study, sports fans face an increased risk of heart attacks. Who new SNL and Chris Farley were preaching the truth?

But this really shouldn't come as a shock to anyone. Step back and think what people do when they actually go and watch sports.

"Hmmm, alright just got to the ballpark, man it's nice to relax after pulling a 40-hour work week, didn't even get a chance to go to the gym. Oh, who am I kidding, I haven't been to the gym since I graduated from college.

Alright well, now I'm walking up the outer concourse to the upper deck because I couldn't afford the $400 field level seats. Boy this is a windy, and long. Man I can barely breath. Oh good, I made it, now I'm kind of hungry, man I think I'll buy some of these hot dogs covered in nacho cheese and stuffed into bacon grease soaked bread. How about a couple of pretzels and that butter-soaked popcorn is looking delicious too. This is going to be good. Yummy!

It was like that time I had a Super Bowl Party and me and my five friends downed eight large pizzas, a 30-bomb of keystones and more hamburgers than a McDonalds franchise. Boy that was fun. Okay, now I'm at my seat and I'm going to yell at the top of my lungs for the next three hours."

It's rather ironic that we're watching physically fit people, but in the process, getting more unfit ourselves. Does anyone actually do anything on Sunday anymore when you have three flat screens all turned to a different football game. No, you have to track your fantasy football team, you can't move from your recliner.

And let's not talk about the stress that watching your team blow it in the playoffs.

Other terrible predictions that Plaxico Burress made

Awww, how cute, the media is making it seem like Giants actually have a chance to beat the Patriots. How nice of them, they're giving New York players hope leading up to a Super Bowl that will probably feature a New England team that will crush every last inch of human spirit in the G-men's body.

At least this new-found swagger has given us this rather entertaining guarantee by Plaxico Burress: A 23-17 Giants' victory.

(roaring laughter from our studio audience here at Just South of North)

I mean, has this guy watched any NFL football this season? Does he think Drew Bledsoe is still the quarterback of the team? You don't guarantee a victory over a team that has quietly gone undefeated and has shown their resolve during tough games more than once.
This is bulletin board material. Did he see how the Steelers' guarantee of victory turned out?

But we've heard that Plaxico Burress has also made some terrible guarantees and predictions in the past. Just take a list at this guys' track record.

- "That Lindsey Lohan is going to grow up to be a real role model for girls."

- "Damn, you want me to invest in a search engine called Google?!?! Google?!? That doesn't even sound like a smart investment."

- "Nirvana isn't going to be a big band, I'm going to stick with Guns and Roses."

- "Steroids isn't a big issue in baseball. I think Barry Bonds just hit the gym like a mad man, and his head growth is probably just from his ego."

- "Enron? Sign me up!"

- "I think that trip to Baghdad in the summer will be wonderful!"

- "Trust me, Wesley Snipes knows what he's doing when he handles finances."

So when you sit down for the Super Bowl on Sunday, be prepared for the biggest smackdown of your life, because the Pats are probably bringing the kitchen sink (and that kitchen sink would probably be Junior Seau's newfound gut).

And don't forget to order the NFL film DVD of the Super Bowl, we hear that they'll be getting behind-the-scenes video of the Giants locker room from the Patriots coaching staff.