Sting 11

I realize things aren't settled yet by a long shot, but I just placed my vote for JOSEPH ADDAI for Super Bowl MVP.

That'll work!

BOB FREAKIN' SANDERS!!!! Now... ...run the clock down, or score a touchdown. No turnovers.

Nooo! Don't change anything!!

It's one of those games... ...Rhodes breaks a 20+ and instead of yelling "GO, GO!!", I'm yelling "DON'T FUMBLE!!!" I'm hoping these taking FGs instead of TDs doesn't come back to haunt us...

I love these squib kicks, because it doesn't cost many yards and it increases the chances of a turnover in this weather. If they had just thought of that with 15:00 left in the 1st...

I just hope it's enough. It's going to be one of those ridiculously nail-biting second halves where one key screw up will make all the difference. Prince put on a good show, btw...much better than I expected.

Wow, what an ugly game so far. The rain is definitely a factor. The Colts are running over the Bears' D, but the turnovers and the realization of my worst fear (freakin' Hester) are keeping it close.

All the "experts" seem to be changing their pick at the last moment. After 2 weeks of how Grossman is the worst Super Bowl QB ever, now it's "Grossman will be MVP." We shall see. The fact that Skip Bayless is picking the Bears big is encouraging to me.

Do we have a source on this? We're moving to the rumors forum.

I hope we crush these asshats.

Getting a Super Bowl in your city is a huge factor in stadium design. The RCA Dome was too small for SB consideration, but their new stadium is being built with a Super Bowl for the city in mind. For that Indy had to go with a roof, otherwise it wouldn't meet the NFL's Super Bowl venue criteria.

True domes are on their way out. The Colts only have one more season in the RCA Dome; they will play starting in the 2008-09 season in a new rectractable-roof stadium. Granted they'll close the roof when crap occurs outside, but it still opens the game up to some outside elements.

Pumped in noise my ass. Even had they been pumping in noise, it would have been drowned out by the actual crowd, which was as loud and unified as any I have seen. And regarding Manning, generally the losses aren't all him. It's way too cliche to post losses on the quarterback...perhaps the game where he threw three picks to Ty Law, but I generally pin the recent Colts playoff losses on the entire team...or perhaps Mike F'n Vanderjagt. :battle: There are things that concern me about the Colts -- namely the special teams coverage, the run defense, and the health of the secondary. Those factors will determine what happens to the Colts next Sunday. Manning is not a concern.

And after just beating the renowned defenses of the Ravens and the Patriots, I think Manning knows what he's doing. Just sayin'.

Who says grown men don't cry? I lost my composure with 1:00 left in the 4th...I may not get it back until tomorrow morning. YEEEEEEAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!

Nice run by the Saints this year, but the Bears defense today was something. That, and I think the weather/field conditions were a much bigger factor than the TV guys wanted to admit. It stopped that "track meet" Saints offense cold.

He plays mainly in nickel and dime packages. He's still listed as a corner. I figured he'd be starting at corner over Jason David this year, but David's had a pretty good season. I think he'll eventually get his chance to start at corner, though. Starting safety slots will be locked up by Bob Sanders and Mike Doss (when healthy) for years to come. All the pundits who picked the Colts also seemed to pick the Saints...ugh. This is more nerve wracking than the Wings' Cup runs for me.

Time to start thinking AFC...and time for me to vanish into three hours of extreme nervousness...

And then Rex comes out and has a perfect drive... ...it looks like New Orleans just turned it over again; if so, this one's just about wrapped up.

New Orleans is very much alive now...fantastic play to Bush, and slowly Brees is beginning to get warm. Grossman has flat out sucked.

Colts by 3.

The Colts beating the Patriots would not be an upset. The Colts are seeded higher and are 9-0 at home this year.

I'm struggling to contain thoughts like how the Ravens might have been our biggest hurdle, how it might be all downhill from here, and how this might be "our year." I'm being very cautiously optimistic. This is so big that I'm going to be a nervous wreck about this run until it's over. The Colts are my longest-term favorite team...I've been following them since I became old enough to know what football was....over 20 years of losing and frustration. If the Colts do this, it would be far and away a bigger deal for me than the Red Wings winning in 1997...it would be overwhelming...I would probably cry tears of joy.

I don't think that most people are attacking OSU for scheduling cupcakes as much as they're commenting on the state of the Big 10 and some of OSU's big name opponents. I think most "weak schedule" arguments are accurate in that they point out, 1.) the exposed weakness of the Big 10 conference, and 2.) that OSU's purported "big wins" this season came against teams that were overrated when they met...those being Iowa (ranked #13 when they played OSU but finished 6-7), Texas (nowhere near worthy of the #2 ranking they held when they played OSU), and, arguably, Michigan, although they're by far the best of the 3.