Super Bowl XLV Is Set and WE WILL BE THERE!, Mike Martz With a Big Blunder

It will be the Steelers and the Packers to settle this year's NFL Championship.  The Steelers took the opening kickoff and held onto the ball for over 9 minutes enroute to a touchdown that the Jets would never overcome.  The Steelers took advantage of sloppy Jets tackling in the 1st half to build a 24-3 lead and held on for a 24-19 win.  The Steelers outrushed the Jets 135-1 in the 1st half.

Green Bay beat Chicago 21-14.  The Packers defense hurt two different Bears QB's (Jay Cutler, Todd Collins) and had a pick 6 courtesy of DT BJ Raji.  Bears 3rd string QB Caleb Hanie tried to rally the Bears but they came up short.

On paper this should be a very good Super Bowl.  I would put the line at Steelers -2.  The Las Vegas Hilton set the opening line at Green Bay -2 with a total of 45.

A reminder we will have around the clock coverage of Super Bowl 45 beginning next Monday January 31st.  All of our shows on Sports Talk 790 will originate from Radio Row in Dallas, courtesy of our friends with TxDot!  We will have tons of interviews, and live videos of the sights and sounds surrounding Super Bowl 45.

I think Chicago Bears fans are a little unhappy with the "toughness" of their starting QB Jay Cutler.  On the plus side for Cutler, he gets to go home to this.

If Jay Cutler says he couldn't go, that's good enough for me.  I can't imagine a guy pulling himself out of a game as important as the NFC championship because he was tired of getting hit.  Cutler took a crap load of hits all year long because his offensive line sucks at pass blocking.

Make no mistake about it, the Green Bay Packers earned their 21-14 victory over the Chicago Bears.  That being said, Mike Martz end around to his slowest WR (Earl Bennet) on 3rd and 1 has to go down as one of the dumbest play calls in NFL history.  Here are a couple of others.

1. Jerry Glanville's "Stagger Lee" From Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly's account of the game:

"With Houston backed up at its own four-yard line, on its second snap of the game, Glanville got this genius idea to try an end zone, overhand lateral to running back Mike Rozier on the far sideline, a play Houston calls Stagger Lee. Why throw a lateral to the man with the stoniest hands on the club, in your own end zone, so early in the biggest game that the franchise has had in eight years, on the road, in one of the most unforgiving stadiums in the country? That's one for Glanville to think about. What happened is that the ball hit Rozier in the numbers and the hands before bouncing stagger-ly into the arms of Bronco Steve Wilson at the one-yard line."

2. Joe Theisman throws an INT from his own 5 yard line on the last play of the 1st half that Raiders LB Jack Squirek returns for a TD giving the Raiders a commanding 21-3 lead at the break.

With the Rockets going through their 2nd consecutive forgettable season, it makes you wonder what Les Alexander is thinking about his franchise right about now.  Another also ran NBA team, the Golden State Warriors has new ownership.  Joe Lacob, one of the owners, gave a rather candid interview about the state of his franchise with the San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/tim-kawakami/ci_17154660?nclick_check=1
It wouldn't kill Les Alexander to come out of his hole every now and then to give his assessment of the franchise.



The Clippers are probably not going to the NBA playoffs this season, but there aren't very many other teams I would rather watch for an entire 48 minutes of hoops.

Pretty nice week if you're a Texas Longhorn hoops fan.  You slaughtered the Aggies at the Erwin Center on Wednesday night, and then on Saturday you can from 15 down to crush Kansas at Phog Allen Field House 74-63 ending the Jayhawks 69 game winning streak.  Rick Barnes has some serious talent on this team.  Between Jordan Hamilton, J'Covan Brown, and Tristan Thompson he has NBA caliber prospects that can change the game.  The Longhorns 2nd half defense versus the Jayhawks was sensational.  The Horns are definitely going to be in the Final Four discussion come March.