Packers-Steelers should be a Texas-sized heavyweight bout

One team has the obvious edge in offense. That team is the Green Bay Packers.

Another has the obvious edge in defense. That team would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Come February 5th at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, only one of these teams will be hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at game's end.

For the Packers to bring the Vince Lombardi Trophy back home to Green Bay: Back when the Packers last won a Super Bowl, Bill Clinton had just been re-elected to a second term in the White House, gas cost about $1.25 per gallon, Toni Braxton had the #1 song in the land with "Un-Break My Heart," and the highest-rated TV show was NBC's "ER." Now they're the first six-seed from the NFC to ever make it to the Super Bowl, and they have the leg up in regards to offense. But in order for the Vince Lombardi Trophy to come home to Titletown, the Pack has to scale a Mount Everest of a defense that is the 2010's version of the Steel Curtain, which has allowed only 207.5 YPG in the playoffs. Both teams utilize a 3-4 defense, but their philosophies are very different. While the Packers have given up 17 points a game leading up to the Super Bowl, the Steelers have the edge in regards to total defense (combined against the pass and the run), which means whoever wins the battle in the trenches consistently could give the other side fits over the course of the game. Both teams possess strong running games, and if the Packers can move the ball effectively on the ground, they can win.

For the Steelers to add a 7th Lombardi Trophy: This is the third Super Bowl appearance for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the past six years. They won "one for the thumb" in Super Bowl XL against Seattle (which was also one of the most controversial Super Bowls in history in part because of questionable officiating throughout that game) and added another one in Tampa against Arizona in 2009 to make it "Six-burgh." Now they're looking for lucky number seven, which would solidify their edge in championships during the Super Bowl era. As I remarked earlier, the battle in the trenches could be the difference in who leaves Cowboys Stadium with the Lombardi Trophy, and if the Steelers defense can eliminate the Packers' run game, their chances will look very good. While the Steelers offense isn't as explosive as the Packers offense, it is effective and does possess a strong running game. But the game-breaker for the Steelers could be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who could be looking to attack the Packers secondary with his arm. But he'll have to be careful throwing the football because the Packers secondary has a penchant for picking off passes that could shift momentum back into their favor. The Steelers offensive line will also have their hands full with the Packers should Big Ben decide to move the football with his arm, as the Packers defense could be looking to go right after Roethlisberger much like the Steelers defense will be looking to let 'er rip on Aaron Rodgers.

Things to watch for from both teams: This will not be an easy game for either team. Both teams have strong running games while at the same time have strong defenses as well. The battle in the trenches will be one thing to pay close attention to as the game progresses, and whichever team wins the most battles will likely win the game. Another thing to keep an eye on is protecting the football. While Green Bay has the edge in turnover ratio (+3 compared to Pittsburgh's even ratio), the Steelers are also capable of forcing the Packers into making mistakes, and should a turnover take place late if the game's tight, it could prove to be quite costly for whichever team coughs up the football. Most of the players on the Steelers active roster know how to play these meaningful games, while on the flip side most of the Packers roster will be getting their first taste of playing on Super Sunday.

MY VERDICT: STEELERS 16, Packers 14

Photo credits: Getty Images

Why Seahawks fans should also root for the Packers...for this weekend, that is

Saturday was a day that I wasn't expecting to pan out well. Sure, the Seahawks were in the postseason for the first time since 2007. But they had gotten in with a less than impressive 7-9 record, which was an NFL first in a non-strike year. And even I was skeptical about their chances at home against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. I had just left Dahlberg Arena to see the Lady Griz basketball team get their first conference win of the season in pummeling Sacramento State 78-35, and learned from my good friend Jerek Wolcott, a UM athletics photographer, that the Seahawks and Saints were tied up at 17-17 late in the first half. When I arrived home the Seahawks had then pulled ahead 24-20, after the Saints kicked a field goal to end the first half. It was a good thing I caught the second half when I arrived because late in the 4th quarter, Marshawn Lynch ripped this earth-shaking run to seal the upset and move the Seahawks to the second round of the playoffs:


With the Seahawks' improbable victory in sending the defending champions to an early postseason exit combined with the Green Bay Packers pulling off an upset of their own at NFC East champion Philadelphia the following day, their next challenge will be at Soldier Field in Chicago. For the Seahawks, it's a regular season rematch against the NFC North champion Bears, whom they defeated in Chicago 23-20 earlier in the season.

Speaking of the Packers, I have to admit, I'm not real fond of them largely with how Brett Favre was run out of town by president/GM Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy. Though they do generate a relatively large following, influenced in part because Favre was their starting quarterback for 16 seasons and breaking passing records left and right, all but assuring himself of a first-ballot induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. But with Favre no longer a Packer and likely retiring from football, Aaron Rodgers is now at the controls of the Packers offense (was named the Packers starter in 2008), and he just came off his first postseason victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. But if Seahawks fans want one more home game should they beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday, they'll have to pull for the Pack in Atlanta on Saturday, and the Falcons are not a pushover because of their #1 seeding in the NFC. Just like Seahawks/Bears from earlier in the season, Packers/Falcons is also a regular season rematch at the exact same place. In the regular season meeting on November 28 the Packers tied up the game with less than a minute left in regulaion, on a Rodgers touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson. Then the Falcons drove into field goal range and nailed a game-winning 47-yard field goal from Matt Bryant to win that meeting 20-17.

Photo Credits: AP

Reposts from my replacement blog

I was somehow able to regain control of this blog, and it was as simple as answering a simple security question that I won't mention here. Anyways, here's what was posted on that substitute blog:

The Tale of Two Different Basketball Teams at Montana (Part One) (Written December 13, 2010)
For the past six seasons now, I have been an ardent follower of men's and women's basketball at Montana. I've seen great players come and go, but both teams have very different philosophies.

Let's start with the men's team first. One of the factors that had me hooked was the fact that Larry Krystkowiak was the head coach when I first started following the team. First game I attended was a home game against Pac-10 power Stanford during the 2005-06 season and the Grizzlies beat them soundly. That win over the Cardinal was one of the factors that helped the team get selected into the NCAA Tournament as a 12-seed against Nevada, who was a 5-seed that year. The 12 vs. 5 matchup in the NCAA Tournament has historically been an upset matchup, and the Grizzlies upset the Wolf Pack in Salt Lake City before falling to Boston College two days later. Three months afterward, Krystkowiak left the program as head coach to accept an assistant coaching position with the Milwaukee Bucks (the team Krysko spent the majority of his NBA playing career with), which was a move I never saw coming.

Assistant Wayne Tinkle was promoted to the head job. Krysko and Tinks had two totally different personalities. Krysko was blunt, brash, and fiery, but he knew what he was doing and wasn't afraid to light a fire under his players. Tinkle on the other hand is calm, reserved, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. The first two years of the Tinkle era were relatively mediocre, but the team finally started getting its legs back during the 2008-09 season, largely because of the team signing junior college transfer Anthony Johnson, who would make an almost immediate impact on the team.


Johnson's impact on the team was felt most significantly during the 2010 Big Sky championship game at Weber State. With Montana trailing 40-20 at halftime, Johnson took charge and guided the Grizzlies back from the dead, scoring 34 points in the second half and the Grizzlies' last 21 points of the game to beat Weber State and win the Big Sky Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the process, Johnson outscored the entire Weber State team in the second half 34-25. The performance was so incredible, national media outlets from ESPN to USA Today took notice of Johnson's effort, and he was even nominated for an ESPY award for "Best Championship Performance," and the following video shows why Johnson deserved those said accolades.


Even though Grizzly fans miss A.J. (who is now playing professionally in Greece), the team has plugged along nicely and has performed well all season to this point. That includes a huge win over national power UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles in a game the Grizzlies dominated throughout, just days after UCLA lost a heartbreaker at nationally-ranked Kansas. The team also has an impressive win over Cal State Fullerton and a blowout win against Idaho, but the Grizzlies will have road rematches against those respective teams and soon, so it will be interesting to see how they'll do in the rematches.

I'll weigh in on my thoughts about the women's basketball team at some point later this week. (Post was written on December 28)

My Favorite Feel-Good Sports Moment, In Time for Christmas (written December 24, 2010)
You always look at the positive things in life when Christmas comes around the corner. Just like at Thanksgiving, you're surrounded by family and friends. On Christmas Day, there's more to it. You have a tree decorated with ornaments and lights with neatly-wrapped gifts under the tree. And others go out of their way to offer up a Christmas for those that wouldn't otherwise have the luxury of experiencing the joy that is of Christmas Day.

It's not very often that I'll talk about auto racing here, but I have to make an exception in this case. Back in 2001, the CART racing series was racing in Germany on the weekend after the United States was attacked by terrorists on September 11th. While all major sports leagues decided to postpone their events out of respect of the victims who lost their lives on that fateful day, CART made the difficult decision to continue on with their activities at the Lausitzring, because all U.S. airspace was restricted as a result of the terrorist attacks on New York City and The Pentagon in Washington, DC.

At that point of the 2001 season, Alex Zanardi (right) was not having a successful return to CART, after a failed return to Formula One in 1999 and taking a year off in 2000. But on September 15, 2001, it appeared as if Zanardi was back to the form he had when he won back-to-back CART championships in 1997 and 1998, as he held the lead late in the race when he made a late pit stop with 13 laps remaining. After leaving the pits Zanardi hurried back onto track to beat out second-place Kenny Brack, but accelerated too quickly and spun onto the track from the warmup lane into race traffic. The car spun into the path of first Patrick Carpentier, who barely missed him, and then Alex Tagliani, who drilled Zanardi in the monocoque just behind the left-front tire. The impact was so bad Zanardi lost both of his legs as a result of the impact and lost a significant amount of blood. But thanks to the quick thinking and reaction of CART's medical team led by Dr. Steve Olvey, Zanardi's life was saved.

Turn the clock ahead to Mother's Day weekend in 2003. It had been over 18 months since Zanardi's life almost came to a tragic end, and in turn ended his open-wheel racing career. CART was making its second trip to the Lausitzring, but there was one thing Zanardi wanted to do before the race was to begin. Just watch the first ten minutes the following clip and you'll be amazed at what he was able to do with his two prosthetic legs.


What Zanardi accomplished that day to fulfill that promise instantly made him a hero to everyone that watches racing, myself included. I enjoyed watching him in CART from 1996 to 1998, and while he won everything left and right, he did it in a way that would have you on the edge of your seat most of the time. He was one of the most exciting drivers I had ever seen drive a race car, and if the CART/IRL split never happened in 1996 (Zanardi's rookie year in CART), I believe he would enjoyed having that symbolic swig of icy cold milk at least once, as a champion of the Indianapolis 500.

The Tale of Two Different Montana Basketball Teams (Part Two) (Written December 28, 2010)
A couple of weeks back I weighed in on my thoughts about the men's basketball team at Montana--a team that is now ranked 18th in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Now, I'm going to weigh in on my thoughts about the women's basketball team.

Just like with the Grizzlies, I have followed the Lady Griz since the 2005-06 season. Their team that year was young much like the teams they've had the last two years--young, talented, expected to make mistakes and learn from them. But one of those young guns was Mandy Morales, who led the team in scoring four straight seasons after she redshirted the 2004-05 season (as a result of her transfer from Arizona State after initially enrolling in Tempe and signing a letter of intent to play for the Sun Devils), and was the Big Sky's MVP in her sophomore and senior seasons. She was also honorable mention for All-American four straight years.


In regards to coaching, there has been one constant--Robin Selvig, a lifelong Grizzly from his days as a player on the men's team from 1970 to 1974. Since he took over the women's program in 1978, Selvig has notched 743 victories in his 33-year career, making him one of the winningest college basketball coaches in the nation, men's or women's. All of his assistant coaches have played for him at some point in his career, and the turnover there has been next to nothing since he named assistant Trish Duce to his staff prior to the 1994-95 season.


Last year's team could very well have contended for, if not won the conference title, regardless of what eventual league champion Portland State did. But during the team's third conference game of the season at Eastern Washington, top scorer and rebounder Katie Baker (right, in white jersey) injured her knee trying to get a rebound and was lost for the remainder of the season. The true freshman out of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho had easily become the team's best player right from the start of the season. And while the team went 8-6 the rest of the way without Baker, the team just couldn't get over the hump and lost to Portland State in the Big Sky tournament.

This year's team was voted by both the coaches and the media to win the conference title in 2010-11, but this year's team was swamped with a brutal non-conference schedule. They lost six games in a seven-game stretch heading into their Holiday Classic, in which they face two teams that have a combined two wins between them. Many of those non-conference losses can be attributed to abysmal shooting from the field despite having one of the stingiest defenses in the Big Sky Conference. With Baker back along with senior starters Sarah Ena and Stephanie Stender, the team should play well in conference play. The defense is there, but if they can put they can forget about their shooting woes, then they'll be one dangerous unit when league play gets underway next week.

Do we really have to be subjected to Thanksgiving mismatches every year?

I have to admit, I love Thanksgiving. Nothing like the presence of family, friends, and of course, mouth-watering food on the last Thursday of November. That day also includes NFL football. For years, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have hosted NFL games on Thanksgiving Day. To those fans of the Lions and Cowboys that live outside of their team's respective markets, it means they get to watch their favorite teams alongside turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.

But given how both teams have performed this year (in this case the Lions have been bad for years now), the quality of the matchups in Dallas and Detroit are bound to be complete mismatches, and they're games I'm not exactly looking forward to watching. The Lions are hosting the New England Patriots (who I think are a heavy favorite to play in the Super Bowl) and the Cowboys are hosting the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

In recent years, the league has scheduled a third game to be played in prime time, televised live on the NFL Network. And they have been diverse in where that game takes place. This year's prime time game is also primed to be a shellacking, as the New York Jets host T-Ocho and the Cincinnati Bengals.

But given there has been plenty of parity in the NFL this year, anything is bound to happen. Regardless, all three games have the makings of not looking pretty. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Mark Sanchez could very well have a field day dissecting the bad defenses of the teams they'll be facing much like my father dissecting his way through the Thanksgiving turkey once it's out of the oven.


And now on to some favorite Thanksgiving Day football moments. Perhaps a favorite moment of mine came from the 1993 game in Dallas against the Miami Dolphins:


Another favorite Turkey Day game of mine was from 1980 in Detroit (I wasn't born until four years later), a divisional matchup against the Chicago Bears, which included the shortest OT period in NFL history:

Enjoy the football tomorrow, everyone. I'll be giving my take on the college football rivalry I was first raised on: the Washington-Washington State rivalry

The Montana/Montana State rivalry: a personal retrospective

There have been 109 meetings on the gridiron between the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats. It's the oldest football rivalry west of the Mississippi River, and it is always as intense as any other heated rivalry the game of college football has seen. Regardless of how good or bad both teams are, statewide bragging rights are always on the line. The 110th meeting between the Grizzlies and the Bobcats is this coming Saturday in Missoula, and there certainly is a lot more on the line than just bragging rights. For Montana, a win would help their chances of getting selected to play in the FCS postseason for an unprecedented 18th straight season, but a loss will likely mean the end of their season. For Montana State, a win would definitely lock them into the playoffs. It's the first time in years the Bobcats have entered their cross-state feud ranked higher than the Grizzlies in the FCS polls (only Big Sky Conference rival Eastern Washington is higher than both of them, and they host an Idaho State team that will begin the process of hiring a new head coach once their offseason starts).

While this is the first Brawl of the Wild for Robin Pflugrad as Grizzlies head coach, he's no stranger to the rivalry. He previously served as an assistant under Don Read from 1986 to 1994 and had a second stint as a Grizzly assistant last year (under Bobby Hauck) before getting promoted to head coach at the start of 2010.

After I moved to Missoula from the state of Washington in 1992, I didn't begin to embrace the significance of the rivalry until about 1994. At that time the Grizzlies were in the middle of a long win streak against the Bobcats that began in 1986, the first year the Grizzlies played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and the first year of the Don Read regime.

The first game I ever attended at Washington-Grizzly Stadium was the 100th meeting between the Griz and the Cats in 2000, with Montana prevailing 28-3, making it the Grizzlies' 15th straight win over the Bobcats. They would beat the Bobcats in Bozeman the following season before the streak was snapped in 2002 during a snow-covered, defensive battle in Missoula, with the Bobcats winning the 102nd Meeting 10-7, getting their first win against Montana since 1985. Every Griz-Cat game I've attended, the Grizzlies have won, and won quite handily aside from 2006 (where Montana won 13-7).

But the battle between the two teams that fans from both sides of the rivalry remember the most is the 1997 game in Bozeman. Before the Bobcats broke their drought against the Grizzlies in 2002, this was the closest they came to ending that drought during the 16-year stretch. Here are the final minutes of that nail-biter in Bozeman (even though the video quality isn't great, it's the quality of the game's conclusion that is):

May Dave Niehaus Fly, Fly Away to Baseball Heaven

If you're a Seattle Mariners fan like myself, there would always be one constant whenever a TV or radio would be turned on. It would be the voice and presence of announcer Dave Niehaus. For all 33 years of the Mariners' existence, Niehaus would be a constant companion to those that wanted to keep track of of their team. He was there when Diego Segui threw that first-pitch strike during the Mariners' inaugural game against the California Angels in 1977. And he was there for all but 101 games of the Mariners' existence through the end of the Mariners' dreadful 2010 season.

Regardless if the team was one of the best in baseball or one of the worst, Niehaus was one of the reasons why I have remained loyal to the team. He called every game with a level of enthusiasm that is unmatched to other great announcers the game of baseball has seen and heard. He was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008 with the Ford C. Frick Award, which is always presented to the baseball announcer that has made significant contributions to the game of baseball.

Niehaus' signature calls like "Fly, Fly Away!", "My Oh My!", and "It is Grand Salami Time!" will always stick with Mariners fans. Here are two of my favorite Niehaus moments (first one of which is a no-brainer):



When the Eric Wedge era gets underway with Spring Training next March, there will be a relatively big void when the activities get started in Peoria. The voice of baseball in the Pacific Northwest has been silenced permanently. But the memories that came from that very voice will last forever. Fly, fly away to heaven, Dave. You will be missed tremendously, and Mariners games will never be the same without you calling them.

Surprise teams that could make the NFL playoffs

Kansas City Chiefs: This team has been the laughingstock of the AFC West along with the Oakland Raiders for the past few seasons. But that has changed in 2010. Thanks to the team hiring former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator and former Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel as defensive coordinator, the Chiefs' stock is rising high and things continue to look up for head coach Todd Haley. Matt Cassel is having a solid campaign in his second season as the team's starting quarterback and should have far better stats than a year ago, when the Chiefs struggled to a 4-12 finish. They're in the catbird's seat atop the AFC West and appear to be in the best shape to win the division at this point. There will be a couple of games that won't be gimmies for them (week 12 at Seattle and week 16 at home against Tennessee), but I can see the Chiefs shouldn't have any problems in winning their first division title since 2003.

Oakland Raiders: Speaking of the Raiders, it looks like "Just Win, Baby" is back in style in the East Bay. The team has not made the postseason since they got mauled in Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Now under Tom Cable (who was previously head football coach at the University of Idaho), the Silver and Black are finally coming together, and just might have the talent and willpower to contend for a playoff spot. The team was bound for yet another losing season, until they came to Denver and delivered a 59-14 drubbing of the Broncos. Then they proceeded to follow it up with an equally dominant 33-3 win over the Seahawks. As long as the Raiders can minimize mistakes on the field and owner Al Davis can keep bone-headed decisions to a minimum, the Raiders should be in pretty good shape.

Seattle Seahawks: Lots of questions and doubts were abound when the Seahawks named Pete Carroll head coach last January. I was skeptical about the Seahawks' chances of having a good season in 2010 because coaches that had a great deal of success at the college level historically don't do well in the NFL (look up Dennis Erickson, Steve Spurrier, Nick Saban, and Bobby Petrino for reference). Carroll had previous NFL experience and it was somewhat decent, especially during his three-year stint in New England before some fella named Bill Belichick took over in Foxborough. But back to Seattle. When Carroll arrived, the team made changes--big changes. The team made more transactions in the offseason than any other team in the league, and one of those pickups was wide receiver Mike Williams, who had been out of football for two years. He played at USC under Carroll during his highly successful (and controversial) stint in Los Angeles. Williams is showing flashes of brilliance he never had an opportunity to show off when the Detroit Lions drafted him in 2005. But what Seattle needs to do if they want to contend for a playoff spot if not win the division is to be more productive on offense. Having a big, physical receiver in Williams and an equally physical running back in Marshawn Lynch (acquired by Seattle via trade with Buffalo) is good, but not good enough. Being 30th in the league in total offense is an Achilles' heel for them. It showed in their Week 2 loss at Denver, Week 4 loss at St. Louis, and recently in Oakland. But the biggest intangible the Seahawks have is their home crowd at Qwest Field, regarded as one of the best in the NFL. And if the Seahawks do indeed win the division, they would host a playoff game. Hopefully their position atop the NFC West will motivate the entire team to play harder the rest of the way, beginning this coming Sunday against the NFC East-leading New York Giants.

St. Louis Rams: The days of the Greatest Show on Turf are long gone. Their teams were exciting with the likes of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Issac Bruce, and Torry Holt. Even though a decade has passed since GSOT was at its peak, the foundation of GSOT Version 2 might very well be in place, and it starts with quarterback Sam Bradford. What a wise move the team made in making Bradford the first overall pick in last spring's NFL Draft. He has done a nice job in his rookie season, and might very well be the Rookie of the Year. Not bad for someone that had not played a game since re-injuring his throwing shoulder during the 2009 Red River Rivalry, when Bradford was playing for Oklahoma against Texas. Another thing that has helped the Rams' cause is running back Steven Jackson has stayed healthy all year, something that he has struggled to do throughout his career albeit remaining productive. They're a half-game behind the Seahawks for the lead in the NFC West, and are off this week before playing the lowly 49ers. If both Bradford and Jackson can stay healthy and the rest of the Rams can stay hungry, it'll be a battle with Seattle to the finish line in terms of who will win the NFC West, with preseason favorite San Francisco now out of the picture with their dismal 2-6 record.