A Super Bowl Rematch

One of my favorite days of the sports year is NFL Championship Sunday, and the two games played yesterday did not let anybody down. I felt going in, and as the games played out, I am even more convinced, that of the four teams that played yesterday, the best possible outcome for the Super Bowl would be Patriots-Giants match-up.

Some quick thoughts....

• That was not a vintage Tom Brady performance yesterday and much of that, no doubt, was a function of the Ravens defense. Joe Flacco, for God's sake, actually had better numbers! Two interceptions, and two others that were nullified by Baltimore penalties.


• Man, I would hate to be a placekicker, and have to live with what Billy Cundiff will be living with over the next few months.


• Patriots defensive back Sterling Moore broke up two passes on the Ravens' final drive, including the Vince Evans "drop" in the end zone. I hope he got a game ball.


• Why is Evans being blamed more for dropping that pass that Moore is being credited for breaking it up?


• For the lovers of great defense, that Giants-49'ers game was right up your alley.


• Great play by Vernon Davis on that 73 yard TD, but a really, dumbass unsportsmanlike penalty for his celebration. Lucky for him it didn't end up hurting the 49'ers.


• Just as you hate to see a game come down to a missed field goal, you also hate to see great game like New York and San Francisco played decided on a muffed punt (two of them, actually).


• Outstanding Player of the Day: Eli Manning. A real warrior.


• In explaining how Overtime would work in the playoff game, Ed Hochuli talked longer at the coin toss that Abe Lincoln did at Gettysburg.


• I don't have the intense dislike that so many seem to have for the Harbaugh Brothers, but I am glad that we will be spared all of the media nonsense that would have resulted had they been matched up in the Super Bowl.

With two correct call yesterday, The Grandstander now stands at 7-3 for this Playoff season and is assured of a better record than last year's 6-5. Not ready to call the Super Bowl yet, but I am thinking that this could be as good a game as it was when these two teams matched up a few years back. Plenty of time left to make that prediction.