Prediction Dept.

No time for reasoned analysis – there are still too many household chores and tasks to be completed before I can settle in front of the big screen and watch me some Super Bowl, but here’s my prediction, for what it’s worth:

Patriots 27 Giants 19.

Chicken wings consumed by me: 18

Pretzels (stick form): .5 bags

Fizzy drinks: 5

Blood-curdling screams directed at repetitious advertising: 14

Update:  In case you’ve been under a considerably large rock somewhere, the Giants beat the Pats 17-14 on the strength of a very memorable catch by David Tyree (even if there probably was at least a Giant or two holding during the sequence in which Eli Manning escaped the Patriots offensive linemen) and an incredible performance by the Giants defensive line.  For my money, the MVP of that game has to be Jason Tuck, the guy who had an all-world history first half and managed to sack Tom Brady twice in addition to hurrying him and knocking him down countless times (well, okay, somebody has counted them somewhere).   Midway through the fourth quarter, Eli’s quarterback rating was a mediocre seventy-something and he was firing at something like a 10 for 28 clip with 1 TD and 1 interception – not exactly the stuff of legend.  Granted, he led one of the more memorable drives in Super Bowl history for that final touchdown, but no way that drive happens unless Tuck (and his d-line buddies) lays it down like he did in the first half.  There should be a rule that lines, be they offensive or defensive, are automatically eligible as a group for consideration as MVP – let those big, beefy corn-fed lads figure out for themselves how to share the truck later.  The award too often goes to a quarterback simply because no other individual has a notable standout performance and the QB just happens to touch the ball most every play, so we remember his name.  What was the deal with the conservative offensive play-calling from New England’s coaching staff?  No shotgun, no hurry-up offence until late in the fourth quarter and very few attempts at a five-wide spread the field set even though the Giants were absolutely murdering them at what they were doing.  I understand being confident in an offence that scored the kind of points the Patriots did this year, but it was way obvious to everyone watching that significant adjustments had to be made to the Bostonians’ attack plans in the second half, but no significant changes were forthcoming until the last series or two of the game.  Too little, too late.    I had this argument with a fellow in my office, but I think that despite the lack of scoring in the game (especially early) and despite some of the questionable coaching (see the lack of adjustments previously discussed), this was a game to remember.  Did.  You. See.  That.  Guy.  Catch.  The.  Ball.  With.  His.  H E L M E T ! ! !   

I miss football already.  Something tells me that this year’s “pitchers and catchers report to spring training” will be even less satisfactory to me than ever this year, and I seriously doubt that my Leafs will be playing any meaningful games for the rest of this season.  Am I supposed to get excited about golf?