Super Bowl Sunday

The day every gridiron fan looks forward to; Super Bowl Sunday. This year it will be in Indianapolis featuring the New England Patriots and New York Giants. A few subplots here but nothing really outlandish. Over the past few decades we have seen more attention paid to the commercials than the game itself. I'd admit that since the Raiders are not playing, I will be watching for the commercials too. Madonna will be the headliner at halftime and she did earlier this week promise to keep her clothes on; phew!

Well with only a few hours to go before kickoff it is time to make a prediction - New York Giants 35 New England Patriots 20. The turning point will be a Double P pancake of Brady that Brady's wife will feel in the stands leading to a fumble and touchdown! Finally revenge of the tuck rule!

The Year of the Raven

After a nice long weekend and reading that the private sector is creating jobs while good ole big government is not perhaps the man in charge will realize his economic philosophy is not working. That being said the NFL starts another season on Thursday when the Minnesota Vikings travel to New Orleans to take on the defending Super Bowl champs. So what do people think?

Let's start over in the AFC East where Owens bolted from the Bills for greener pastures in Cincinnati. Tom Brady will try to make it a go this year and Randy Moss is hungry for a Super Bowl ring. With all that said, no sophomore slump will take place in New York as the Jets will roar and win the AFC East.

Pittsburgh Steelers will have a tough time this year taking the division let alone making the playoffs but having Big Ben's suspension reduced by 2 games could help. The loss of Leftwhich will really hurt them. The Cleveland Browns will be the doormat of the league this year especially after losing their rookie running-back to ACL tear. The division will come down to a re-vamped Ravens O and Bengals. Carson Palmer has the weapons to have a Peyton Manning style season but is he the same quarterback before the knee injury suffered in the playoffs? Even with Ed Reed out the Ravens will take the division as the O will get the D 20-24 pts a game.

AFC South will continue to be dominated by the Colts. The Jags will fair well as they always play the Colts tough but it won't be enough to overcome Manning. The Texans could make things interesting if Foster can improve on Slaton's numbers and Walter and Owens come back in prime form from season ending injuries. The Titans may figure out a way to get into the playoffs as a Wild Card team but losing some keep members on D may prevent that.

The AFC West had a clear cut winner in the Chargers before Vincent Jackson held out. Without Jackson the Chargers offense may struggle this season as they will have a rookie running back carrying the load for the first time in 10 seasons. The Raiders showed promise in the pre-season but a lot of answers were still left unanswered. If the O can get on track then they may break .500 for the first time since their Super Bowl appearance. The Broncos are not going anywhere this year and may be the doormat of this division.

Divisional Winners – Chargers, Colts, Ravens, and Jets with the Titans and Bengals making the Wild Card. The Ravens will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

The NFC won't be so much a crap shoot as each division has a clear winner with few dark horses.

The Cowboys are the class of the NFC East with the Giants a close second. McNabb going to an aging Redskins team will do little but get them a high draft pick next season. The Eagles are in rebuilding mold with a young QB and a second-year back.

The NFC North goes to the Packers. Rodgers has looked near MVP like this pre-season and with another year under his belt in the O; watch out. The Vikings will go as far as Favre goes which may be only until Thursday. The Bears could be the most interesting as Martz takes over the O. The Lions are one year away from actually competing for the division.

New Orleans Saints won't experience the Super Bowl hangover that so many previous winners have. Brees comes out slinging with 4 TD's against the Vikings on Thursday night. The Falcons will give them a run for their money but in the end the Saints D wins out. Panthers and Buccaneers are both in re-building mode and will not factor this year.

With the changes in the desert and Alex Smith finally getting back to back years with the same O Coordinator, the 49ers are the front runner in the NFC West. The Rams will rely on overused Jackson to shoulder the load as the rookie attempts to learn under fire. The Seahawks will battle the Browns all season for the overall number one pick.

NFC Divisional Winners – 49ers, Saints, Packers, and Cowboys with the Vikings (if Favre holds up) and the Giants rounding out the playoff picture.

It will be the Packers going to the Super Bowl. Once at the Super Bowl the Ravens will eke out a last second win as Ed Reed picks off Rodgers bringing back memories of the INT return for a TD by the Raiders when they defeated the Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

Jack “The Assassin” Tatum (11/18/48-7/27/10)

It has been reported that Jack Tatum died yesterday at a hospital in Oakland, CA. from a heart attack. The Assassin is best known for his hard hitting no-nonsense approach to roaming the middle of the field. Many receivers found out the hard way coming across the middle on the Soul Patrol in the 1970's. One such example is Tatum's bell ringing and helmet flying hit in the 1977 Super Bowl on Minnesota Viking receiver Sammy White but Tatum is probably better known for his paralyzing hit on Darryl Stingley of the New England Patriots.

The Assassin quipped, "I play a hard-hitting game. I just like to have the receivers think about me a little bit while they're trying to catch the ball." Unfortunately the manner in which Tatum played the game in the '70's would have landed him suspensions and fines in the Common Era. Even though Tatum is known for his hard hitting approach to the secondary he did play an integral part in the Raiders 1976 season. The Raiders went 13-1; oh those were the days, on their way to beating the Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI – Go Willie Brown!!!! I digress.

Mr. Tatum, the manner in which you played football will be missed. My prayers go out to your wife and three children. Today the Raider Nation lost one of its founders.

Obama to meet Party Leaders to discuss Health Care Reform on C-SPAN

During the pregame show for the Super Bowl, CBS's Katie Couric interviewed President Obama and the topic of health care came up. President Obama, in a gesture of bipartisanship, announced that he wants to meet with leaders of both parties to "go through systemically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward." The Democrats had the votes last year to pass health care reform without a single Republican vote. Now President Obama wants to meet with Republican leaders to find a way to pass a key piece of legislation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said today, "If we are to reach a bipartisan consensus, the White House can start by shelving the current health spending bill" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35296874/ns/politics-health_care_reform/). While I doubt that Democrats will be okay with starting over at square one, Sen. McConnell does have a point.

Much of what is in the Democrat health care bills will not achieve the desirable outcome of lowering costs and reducing premiums. It will be interesting though on February 25^th when President Obama sits down for a 4-hour discussion on health care. This time it will be on C-SPAN. The election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts stirs the pot a bit as his major platform item was to stop the Democrat health care bill. Why this is a strong indication to the Obama Administration is that Massachusetts only has about 14% of its citizens registered as Republicans. That means that Independents and Democrats voted for Brown thus sending a message to Washington on the health care issue. Some may see the 4-hour discussion as a publicity stunt or grand standing by Obama; I rather look at it as an opportunity for Republicans to get their message out on reforming health care.

By extending the bipartisan olive branch Obama can score points with the American public after the backlash from closed-door negotiations with Democrats that lead to special provisions for Nebraska and Louisiana. At the same time though, it could be his Waterloo as it gives Republicans an opportunity to one up the president and have their ideas displayed for all to see. The move to have it televised is a smart move by the president, especially since he campaigned on allowing all negotiations and debate to be aired on C-SPAN. My hope is that they will streamline the bill that calls for the creation of at least 35 new agencies to watch over reform. Do we really need more agencies? Does government need to get bigger? Perhaps the white elephant will get discussed during this meeting and we will see movement to eliminate entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Super Bowl Sunday: Saints vs. Colts

It is about 2:45 pm on Super Bowl Sunday and the coverage of the big game is already wearing thin. The Colts are, per Vegas, a 5 point favorite yet Madden Sports simulation earlier this week predicted that the Saints will win the game. The Madden Sports simulation has been right 5 out of the last 6 Super Bowls. I read that Obama picked the Colts as well. We all know that Obama has not had a great track record as of late so does that mean the Saints will win? MSNBC is predicting that the Colts will win 28-20. I am hoping for a higher scoring game. It will be great if the score is 103-100 in triple overtime.

What are the thoughts of others? Who will win the Super Bowl? Will Manning get a second ring or will Brees prove that the Saints offense can compete with anyone? Or will the defenses show up for the big game and we will see a 10-7 ball game? Kickoff is set for 5:20 pm CST with the Who performing at halftime. Will you be watching the game for the game or for the commercials? I know that I talked to a lot of Vikqueen fans and many of them, almost 70%, are hoping that the Colts destroy the Saints. I am going with the conspiracy angle and say the Saints win 49-42 with the winning touchdown set up by a phantom pass interference call.

Vikings success could raise your taxes

I know that Viking fans has longed for the day that their beloved team would be good enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season but it may have come at the worst possible time for Minnesota taxpayers. With the economy still running near the cliff of insanity, unemployment high, and a mounting debt in Washington D.C., taxpayers – not just in Minnesota – ought to be worried. The 9-1 start by the Vikings is the best in recent memory and they do look like a team that can compete for the NFC title. Along with that is the fact that the lease the Viking has with the Metrodome runs out at the end of the 2011 season. Zigi Wilf and his associates have already made it clear that staying the Dome, as is, is not an option.

While Zigi may say he wants to keep the Vikings in Minnesota, let's face it, Zigi is a business man first. Right now there is a group in Los Angeles that is courting the NFL for a franchise. At last look the mock up the proposed stadium had Vikings colors. I am not saying; rather just saying. Anyone that has owned a business near a stadium will attest that having a professional sports team nearby boost the bottom line. In a time where people are struggling, I can see some Minnesota Legislators making that argument when proposing a new stadium for the Vikings. At the same time, Zigi will play the move card at some point during the discussion. Actually, I think he already has without even saying it by saying that a lease extension is a non-starter.

Are taxpayers ready for a Legislative session that discusses raising of taxes to provide funds for a new Vikings stadium? Let's face it Favre cannot play quarterback forever and soon the Vikings will be turned back over to T-Jack. What then? Will Viking fans continue to support the team with sellouts if the team stumbles in a couple of years? I doubt it. Don't get me wrong, the notion of the Vikings playing in any other state is insane. Then again I do identify more with the Los Angeles Lakers than their former home in Minnesota. Now if the Vikings go on to win the Super Bowl imagine the leverage it will give Zigi and the organization to strap the Minnesotan taxpayer over the barrel.

Or is there another way to fund a stadium? Does the State Legislature have the guts to take on a powerful lobby group and risk the loss of a key political donor to keep the Vikings in Minnesota? The donor and lobby group I refer to is the Native American lobby. The notion of a Racino has been floated around for several years and each year it gets voted down. Now, if the proceeds were to save the Vikings – what warm-blooded Minnesota State Legislature would vote against that? Especially if Favre delivers the Lombardi trophy. Or will the taxpayers of Minnesota be saddled with another heavy handed tax to provide another wealthy businessman a place to house his pet project?