LONDON? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Would the NFL bring the biggest sporting event in all of American sports to London? Well, apparently the British are attempting to bring the Super Bowl to Wembley Stadium possibly as soon as 2014. The move would be worth over $500 million for the London economy.

NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, has denied reports from the BBC that say the NFL is in deep negotiations with London officials. I must say, I hope that Goodell is being truthful here. It would be a big mistake to have the Super Bowl anywhere other than the United States.

First of all, I wonder what time the game would be played. If the NFL wants to keep their standard 6:25ET kickoff, that means that the game would start at 11:25pm in London. How is that fair to either team in the game? The more likely scenario is that the game would be played at 3pm (8pm London) on either its usual Sunday or on President's Day. By 2014, the NFL will most likely be playing an 18-game schedule with the Super Bowl played President's Day Weekend. I don't like either scenario here. Keep the game in the US, so it can air in prime time. Why mess with something that gets a 40+ rating? Only the Academy Awards comes even remotely close to the rating the Super Bowl gets, and even that had a big drop off this year.

It's so much more than a time issue to me though. Our version of football is an American game! I could see the World Series, NBA Finals, or some other big event being played overseas before the Super Bowl. I'd still be against that, but at least those sports are shared by other countries around the world. You have to remember that the rest of the world has their own version of football. I don't think the European Premier League would ever consider holding their championship over in the USA. It doesn't make sense! Neither does having the Super Bowl over there. I don't have a problem with continuing them having one regular season game a year, but Super Bowl is a piece of Americana. It wouldn't make sense holding it anywhere other than right here in the USA.

Would the British really embrace the Super Bowl? It's just an attempt to help boost their struggling economy. If you add the Super Bowl to the 2012 Olympics, that could really help them. However, last I checked, our economy isn't in good shape either. So, why would we move one of the biggest money making events of the year to another country so people can spend their money there? The NFL is by far the most successful league in the country, so I understand why they want to be like other American leagues and try and be more global. However, they need to realize that they are not a worldwide sport! Again, it's fine by me if they want to keep fooling around and putting regular season games in other countries, but, please, keep the Super Bowl here!

Pat Morgan

LOSS IN SUPER BOWL TIED TO BAD HEALTH?

Just a couple of minutes ago, as I scanned my main sports news outlet, I found an article that says there might be a health risk linked to fans watching their favorite NFL team losing the Super Bowl. If this is true, I would like to see statistics for health hazards of all Buffalo Bills fans from the years 1991-1994. Did Buffalo's population decrease substantially at the end of that fourth horrid year?

Anyway, the study actually suggests that fans who watch their team lose in the Super Bowl have a greater risk for dying. That's right. And I thought only the losing team at the Super Bowl choked. (Get it? Get it? Oh never mind). According to the article, this is what was researched:

"To come to this conclusion, a team from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, looked at death rates in Los Angeles County on the day of two Super Bowls that had decidedly different outcomes for the home team: 1980, when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams in what has long been considered one of the most competitive match-ups in Super Bowl history; and 1984, when the Los Angeles Raiders handily beat the Washington Redskins."

Okay, so I think these scientists are total quacks! Hello! Buffalo Bills would be a perfect study. You have four years in a row of disappointment, heartbreak, and maybe even some heart attacks. Anyway, moving on, apparently during these Super Bowl upsets, "all-cause" deaths significantly increased. I can understand why there is a health risk with football fans, but it doesn't involve the Super Bowl in any way. When looking at a lot of football fans on TV, you know, the ones that don't wear shirts when its 20 below, or have comparable body weights to players like Sam Adams, Jason Peters, or Jonathan Ogden, but without the height factor. And look at the rituals based around watching football. Beer. Junk Food. Beer. Regular Food. Repeat. It's not a surprise that many football fans might already have poor health before the Super Bowl contenders are even decided.

So for all you football fans out there, watch your health right around the Super Bowl. If your team actually makes it to the game of games, prepare to call 911 in the event they lose. Keep the phone handy. Right by the beer, chips and onion dip. (P.S. if you are a Patriots fan, don't bother with the phone.) Cheers!

Jaclyn Kahn

MY TOP (AND NOT) FIVE SUPER BOWLS

TOP FIVE:

5- XXXIV St. Louis 23, Tennessee 16; This was a major snooze-fest for three quarters, but it had a finish for the ages. At 16-0, I seriously considered leaving the party I was at, but then the Titans started to roll. Then, the Titans tied it briefly before Kurt Warner found Issac Bruce for the go-ahead TD. I was rooting for the Titans like crazy to tie the game and force overtime. Well, it didn't happen in the most dramatic way possible. The time expired as Kevin Dyson caught the ball one yard short of the end zone.

4- XLII NY Giants 17, New England 14; This game probably had the most build up of any Super Bowl that I've seen, and it clearly lived up to the hype. It was a defensive struggle for three periods before the offenses got going in the fourth. The Patriots had a great go-ahead drive capped off with a Brady to Moss touchdown, which was the staple all year. At this point, most of us probably thought the game was over. I really think my vision is just bad, because I still don't believe David Tyree caught that ball with his helmet. Then, Eli Manning capped off the game-winning drive with a TD to Plaxico Burress, leaving me to wish he had shot himself last year.

3- XXXVIII New England 32, Carolina 29; While watching the fourth quarter of last night's game, I couldn't help thinking back to the Super Bowl five years ago. It is a close call to which I think was better, but I put this one behind it because, unlike last night, the team I was rooting for lost. Even with that said, this was a fabulous Super Bowl that did not let up in the fourth quarter. It was the ultimate cinderella story in Jake Delhomme against the established Tom Brady. There were few moments in Super Bowl history where I was more excited than when Delhomme hit Mushin Muhammad for that 85-yard bomb. Unfortunately, the Patriots got the ball last and Adam Vinatieri's leg delievered them to their second title in three years.

2- XLIII Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23; What a treat this game was yesterday! For a game that received so little attention (compared to other Super Bowls), it turned out to be a gem. The game had very few dull moments. I think the only place where you could call the game dull was in the third quarter when it appeared the Steelers were going to ice the game. Even that though set up the Cardinals comeback. Kurt Warner was magnificent and I believe his performance makes him a Hall of Fame lock, and Larry Fitzgerald's playoff performance may have lifted him to being the best receiver in football. Their comeback was stunning and made the final minutes of this game as good as it gets. However, Ben Roethlisberger got the last laugh. We've been spolied two years in a row watching quarterbacks have their Joe Montana moments in leading a team from behind in the final two minutes. Santonio Holmes made a marvelous catch, but Big Ben was the MVP to me. What a game! What a finish!

1- XXXII Denver 31, Green Bay 24; This game was very significant to me, because I had never seen the AFC win a Super Bowl in my life. The NFC had won 13 consecutive championships prior to this year, with the Raiders being the last AFC team to win five months before I was born. This game was so much more than that though as it was also the first real good Super Bowl that I got to see. Prior to that point, I had seen a lot of blowouts. The teams went back and forth the whole way, and watching John Elway going for the ring that had eluded him his whole career was just special. The Packers answered every Broncos score, so it just seemed like the AFC would never get it done. However, with 3 minutes left, Terrell Davis punched in what would be the game-winning score. When the Broncos stopped Brett Favre (RETIRE!) and the Pack on 4th and 6, I let out a roar that probably scared the crap out of my friend's parents. Even though I dislike the Broncos now, it was the best Super Bowl I've seen. AFC AT LAST!

NOT-SO TOP FIVE:

5- XXVIII Dallas 52, Buffalo 17; At least Don Beebe's play on Leon Lett was funny. Other than that, I'm just glad I was only eight years old and don't remember it thoroughly.

4- XLI Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17; Devin Hester's kickoff for a touchdown to begin the game was a major tease to everyone. The two weeks before the game were also perhaps the worst two weeks before a Super Bowl ever. I wanted to stab myself hearing about Peyton Manning's every move.

3- XXXV Baltimore 34, NY Giants 7; If it wasn't for Ron Dixon's kickoff return, the Giants would have been shutout. Plus, I hated both teams, so the fact it was a blow out just made matters worse. I can't say I didn't enjoy the Giants getting their doors blown in though.

2- XXXIX San Francisco 49, San Diego 26; Perhaps the most lopsided Super Bowl ever. Steve Young set the record for touchdown passes in a Super Bowl with six. The Chargers were led by future garbage men in Stan Humphries and Natrone Means. The game wasn't even as "close" as the final score indicated. I did win a free Sports Illustrated for my box winning the third quarter!

1- XXXVII Tampa Bay 48, Oakland 21; You know it's a bad Super Bowl when one coach knows everything the other coach is doing. Jon Gruden, who had coached the Raiders the previous four seasons, noticed that the new coach was dumb enough not to change most of his signal calling. And it seemed like the Bucs had 14 pick returns in the final two minutes of the game. Just painful to watch!

Pat Morgan

JETS SOAR FOR NEW HEAD COACH

Now maybe this is because I am in no way a fan of the New York (*cough cough* Jersey *cough cough*) Jets, but they really know how to snatch up a coach, and a couple of headlines. The latest news flash is that the Jets picked their man, Rex Ryan, to become their new head coach.

Now obviously this seems like a good idea, I mean Rex Ryan was on a team that almost won the AFC championship game. Almost. So that must mean that acquiring him will lead the Jets to the same fortune (or misfortune seeing as though the Ravens will not be making an appearance in the Super Bowl this year). But is that what the Jets really want? To get to the AFC championship game only to lose the one game away from the all-mighty Super Bowl game?

There was much speculation as the Jets laid low in pursuit of their attack, I mean pick. There were a multitude of names thrown out to us avid football fans: Cowher, Spagnuolo, Grimm, Billick, the list goes on and on. After the Cowher craze lasted for about 48 whole hours, the big trend was pointing to Spanuolo. It seemed as though his miraculous Giants would pull the right strings and make it back to the Super Bowl, which would be a positive quality for a Jets' coach to have. But unfortunately for the poor Giants (I hope you can gather the sarcasm), they got rocked on their home turf. I'm assuming due to that misfortune, or just the lack of skill that deterred the Jets from further going down that lane.

So now it's all Rex Ryan for the Jets. Honestly I'm surprised they aren't still waiting to see whats going to happen with Grimm and the Cardinals. I mean, at least they made it to the Super Bowl, Rex. And I just can't believe that their hard work and amazing 37-year-old quarterback is actually all that amazing. John McCain is pulling strings somewhere. And Warner's success might be stirring some ideas in Brett Favre's head, I'm sure. Maybe his twentieth try at retiring may be pushed back yet again. If the Jet's decide to keep Favre then they need more than just a stellar coach. Anyway, before the minor tangent, I would think the Jets would want a coach who can actually get its team to the Super Bowl, whether they win it or not. Unless they are on the same page as I am and don't think that the Cardinals are all that they are cracked up to be (but then again, neither are the Jets, but I digress...)

Although I've read some articles about Ryan, I don't really know that much about him. Some coaches do really well in certain cities and absolutely lousy in others. But maybe Ryan will turn around the floundering Jets. Maybe they will make it to the playoffs next season, or dare I say to a championship game? As for now, I hope that doesn't happen, for I have to stick with my Buffalo Bills who also know how to crumble on impact. The only positive thing from the Jets making it to the Super Bowl in this day and age (and possibly winning it) would mean that all the Jets fans will shut up about their one and only Super Bowl win, which for most of these fans, happened before they were even a figment in their parents' imaginations.


(note for the picture: THE JETS WERE ON SESAME STREET? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THINGS HOLY I hope there weren't any kids watching that day; brain cells might have been obliterated if they had!)

-The Jaxster

Trip to London Beginning of International Movement?

With the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins all set to square off in London tomorrow, it could mark the beginning of this becoming a regular, maybe weekly, thing for the NFL. Reports are that NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodall is seriously considering having all of the NFL's 32 teams play one of their regular season games outside of the United States.

The plan would call for the regular season schedule to expand to 18 games, which would mean the elimination two preseason games. One of the two extra games would be played outside of the USA. The plan has really been brewing for a few years now since San Francisco and Arizona played the first regular season game outside the country in Mexico City in 2005. The owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson, announced this week he would like to play one of the Bills' future home games in Toronto. Though, the story that got the most reaction this week was when Goodall said he might want to play a future Super Bowl in London. Clearly this is where the NFL is headed, but do we need to go crazy and play a multitude of games outside the USA every year?

I like the idea of having two extra regular season games, and I love that this plan would mean the elimination of two games from an unnecessarily long preseason. However, I wonder how this international experiment is going to work. With 32 teams, that would mean 16 games outside the country. Would it be one international game in 16 of the would be 19 weeks? If that is the case, I hope they cut off the games after week 16, and allow teams to prepare for the playoffs in the states. It would not be fair to have a team go play in Paris, Tokyo, or in Antarctica somewhere in Week 19 with a playoff spot on the line.

It is also a concern of mine of where around the globe these games will be held. Is it fair for one team to have to take an 18-hour flight to play in Tokyo, while another just has to cross the border to play in Canada or Mexico. I know I would be having fits if my New York Jets had to play in Bombay, India, while the Bills play in Toronto.

If I were making this decision, I would call for one international game a month. Sixteen games seem a tad rash to me especially when our brand of football is only popular in the US. Remember the rest of the world has their own soccer. However, if I was to go with the 16 international games, I would make sure they were all scheduled early in the season, and that those playing international games get bye weeks after that game. I can see flubbed schedules now. One week in Moscow, the next in Tampa. Goodluck!

As for the Super Bowl in another country, I think that would be totally ridiculous. I hate the fact it's already more of an entertainment event than a sporting event already, but to move a championship game across the Atlantic Ocean is stupid. It belongs here in America, and should be played in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and a bunch of other northern cities that never get a Super Bowl before it goes to another country.

Pat Morgan