It’s A Thriller!! Steelers TD with :35 left wins it!

Steelers Celebrate Their 6th Super Bowl Title.

For the second year in a row, the game lived up to the hype.  It was a memorable game, filled with big plays in both halves, but in the end the Steelers were able to make one more big play than the very gritty Arizona Cardinals.

What many thought might be a rout (yes, yours truly), turned out to be perhaps as exciting a Super Bowl as any of the previous 42.

Holmes’ TD beats Cards, hands Steelers record sixth Super Bowl title

CBS Sports

TAMPA, Fla. — Their Steel Curtain shredded, Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense ended a Super Bowl of incredible swings with a final-minute touchdown for a historic victory.

Santonio Holmes made a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining Sunday, lifting the Steelers to a record-setting sixth Super Bowl win, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals.

MVP Santonio Holmes Catches the Game-Winner!

“Scramble right, scramble left, find someone open,” Roethlisberger said.

It was one of the most thrilling finishes to the NFL title game, certainly equaling last year’s upset by the New York Giants that ended with Plaxico Burress’ TD catch — with 35 seconds left, too.

But this one was even wilder.

The Steelers (15-4), winning their second Super Bowl in four seasons, led 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see Kurt Warner and the Cardinals stage a remarkable rally to go in front 23-20 with 2:37 remaining. (More.)

IT’S SHOWTIME!! COULD THERE BE AN UPSET BREWING?

Set To Do Battle. Favorite Steelers take on the upstart Cardinals.

Yo, dude! Say it ain’t so, Michael! Golden Boy looking not so golden…

Michael Phelps' new training regime?... Lets hope not.

He won 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics and broke the all-time record for most gold medals.  Still, there are ominous signs that Phelps’ life may be starting to spiral out of control.  The story is from the London tabloid, “News Of The World,” not the most reputable source, but then again, they got the picture.

*Update*  Michael Phelps Statement

Michael Phelps Acknowledges Photo

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” Phelps said in the statement released by one of his agents. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”  (Full Story.)

You Gotta Give It Up For Rafael Nadal…Beats Federer Again!

Rafael Nadal takes another bite out of Federer's legacy.

I know, I know–this isn’t a sports blog but today is Super Bowl Sunday and there’s not a whole lot of other things going on so…

One thing that did go on today was the men’s final of the Australian Open and once again it was Rafael Nadal continuing his mastery of the great Roger Federer with an unexpected 5-set victory.

Unexpected?  Absolutely, even though Nadal is the top-ranked player in the world, everything pointed to a Federer victory.  There were so many obstacles that Nadal had to overcome to defeat Federer that it’s no wonder that Federer was reduced to tears after the match….

Waaaah! Federer's nemesis also makes him cry.

Whether you like tennis or not (I watch only when there is a compelling match-up like this one), this made for some great theater.  Nadal had no business beating Federer this time because of the enormous physical toll the tournament had taken on him.  He had just played the longest Australian Open match in history less than 2 days earlier while Federer breezed into the final with an easy straight-set victory.  Federer even had an extra day off.

All the signs pointed to a Federer victory which would have tied him with Pete Sampras for most Grand-Slam titles in history with 14.  But Nadal survived his 5 hour and 14 minute marathon match against his fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and still had enough in his gas tank to outlast Federer in 4 hours 22 minutes.  When you watch the amount of energy that Nadal plays with you just shake your head.  He’s a physical marvel.

Nadal just keeps going and going and going...

Federer, who many people say is the greatest tennis player of all time, has now lost 13 out of the 19 meetings versus Nadal.  It will be a tough case to make calling him the greatest ever if he is being dominated by a great player while still in the prime of his career.

Nadal does so much running during his matches that this is what his shoes look like by the end of the match…

There wasn't enough of the other shoe left to even photograph...

Federer is 27 years old and Nadal is only 22.  Nadal’s physical style of play will probably wear him out by the time he is 27 so his window to win major championships is possibly 3-5 more years.

GOP Governors Smell State Pork, Urge Passage of “Stimulus”

Vermont Republican Governor Jim Douglas Throws Out Principle...Supports Stimulus

Just when you compliment Republicans for showing a little bit of fortitude for not supporting the trillion dollar swindle, they have to go and remind you that, by and large, they don’t have much more scruples than the dems.

After the House Republicans voted unanimously to reject Obama’s bill, most Republicans have decided to side with Obama and the bill.  There’s an old political adage at work here:  If all your co-workers are going to participate in mass plunder, it makes no sense for you not to join in.  If the Federal Government is going to start passing out money, you turning it down does make the money go away…it just gets sent to another state.  It makes sense for you, as a governor to participate in the mass plunder.

It doesn’t make the bill any wiser, but if you as a State Governor don’t bring any of this loot home, there may be serious rumblings about your ability to bring home the bacon come election time.

GOP Governors Press Congress To Pass Stimulus Bill 

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Republican governors have broken with their GOP colleagues in Congress and are pushing for passage of President Barack Obama’s economic aid plan that would send billions to states for education, public works and health care.

Their state treasuries drained by the financial crisis, governors would welcome the money from Capitol Hill, where GOP lawmakers are more skeptical of Obama’s spending priorities.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, planned to meet in Washington this weekend with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other senators to press for her state’s share of the package. (Read more.)

Super Bowl Eve: Current Line Steelers -6.5

16 Hours Till Game Time

I guess I have to prove once again why I never gamble on professional football…besides, ahem, sports betting is illegal (for those of us not in Vegas).

So here I go…remember this is for entertainment purposes only!  As much as I’d like to see the Arizona Cardinals holding up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the day—-I just don’t see that happening.

It looks to me like a comfortable Steelers victory.  They are the more physical team and I think they will control the line of scrimmage.  I think their defense will put enough pressure on Kurt Warner to force him into some poor decisions.

The Cardinals have a big play offense centered around Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquoin Boldin and they need to get out front because they need to be able to run the ball just to keep the Steelers’ line honest enough so that they don’t just pin their ears back and go after Warner.

On offense I wouldn’t be surprised if Steelers tailback Willie Parker had a big game.  He generally is feeling pretty fresh and defensively, the Cardinals are not the Baltimore Ravens.

I think the Cardinals need to force turnovers and produce touchdowns,  not field goals…if that happens then we’ll have a ball game.  I think the Steelers, in the end, are the steadier, more balanced team, and that’s why the B.S. Report selects the Steelers by 11 points.

Steelers       31

Cardinals    20

I’ve also instructed my webmaster to delete this post if it begins to be an embarrassment for me….

Freedom Quote Of The Day

(See, once upon a time the powers delegated to the federal government were few and defined…But, alas, that was back when we had a Constitution.)

The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce: with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.

–Publius (James Madison)

No Wonder She Wasn’t Invited…

HEBRON, Ind. (AP) — A woman who wasn’t invited to her sister’s wedding reception showed up anyway and attacked the bride, pulling out clumps of her hair, police said. Annmarie Bricker, 23, of Valparaiso, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of battery.

Jeremy Glotzbach told police he was hosting a reception for newlyweds Nicholas Landry and Lori Kappes at his home on Jan. 23 when Bricker, Kappes’ sister, attacked Kappes on the front porch.

Bricker pulled out clumps of Kappes’ hair, struck her head and took the bride to the ground during a struggle, according to the Porter County Sheriff’s Department.

Bricker told police she went to the house because she “just wanted to talk” to her sister and parents about family problems. She said she never touched her sister, but five witnesses contradicted her, authorities said. Kappes did not need medical treatment.

Bricker later resigned from her job as a Porter County 911 dispatcher, officials said.

B.S. Report–The Fight Looked Something Like This…

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Australian P.M. Happy To Embrace World Socialism, Too

New Leadership...Same Old Socialism

Time For A New World Order

KEVIN RUDD has denounced the unfettered capitalism of the past three decades and called for a new era of “social capitalism” in which government intervention and regulation feature heavily.

In an essay to be published next week, the Prime Minister is scathing of the neo-liberals who began refashioning the market system in the 1970s, and ultimately brought about the global financial crisis.

“The time has come, off the back of the current crisis, to proclaim that the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed, that the emperor has no clothes,” he writes of those who placed their faith in the corrective powers of the market.  (More here.)

B.S. Report-Just where is this mythical place with “unfettered” capitalism that he’s referring to? Government injecting themselves into all areas of private business is the problem–definitely not the solution.

He goes on later in the article to say that we need another FDR-style economic program of the likes that led the U.S. out of the Great Depression.  We now know that nothing could be further from the truth.  FDR’s policies are now believed to have extended the depression for as many as 9 more years.  Read Amity Shlaes great book, “The Forgotten Man.”

A P.M. advocating Socialism is hardly news.  Politicians lust for power–and if the people want to willingly turn their lives over to supposed saviors like Rudd or Obama, then they will happily oblige and take as much power as the people are willing to grant them.

Mr. President, “You’re Speaking Out Of Both Sides Of Your Mouth”

How can the "stimulus" package be so crucial...and yet it's still going to take us years to recover?

Stimulus Package Is Not About Stimulus, It’s About Power

Over and over again we hear President Obama talk about the need for “immediate” action to ward off our economic woes.  Yet, then he tells us that his special stimulus plan; chosen and designed specifically to ward off our economic woes, will not do the job because we will still be in recession years from now.

The President is trying to have it both ways.  First, he tells us that we must do the “stimulus” for the good of the country, and then he backpedals and tries to distance himself from its inevitable failure.

How else are we supposed to understand his repeated statements about this economic downturn lasting “several” more years?  The real reason is that all these financial maneuverings being advocated by the Obama team is really not about fixing our economy at all–it is about grabbing and entrenching as much power in the hands of the Democratic party.

Politicians are interested in one thing:  power.  They have no expertise in the areas that they will soon be overseeing.  Politicians expertise is in getting themselves elected to office.  But soon they will have the power to dictate policy to those people who actually do have the talents earned in their particular industries.

People who specialize in areas such as running banks, financial services companies, and designing automobiles will be forced to take their orders directly from Washington.  Politicians will be, in effect, the CEO’s of many of our major industries; industries that they have no specific talent or training in.  Toss in health care and we’re taking a huge portion of our economy out of the hands of its most productive and vibrant force:  the private sector.

Thomas Sowell wrote a brilliant column about this.  He always has a few pearls of wisdom in each of his essays.  What Dr. Sowell explains is how ineffective “infrastructure” projects are as a means to getting out of a recession.  These projects themselves take years in planning before they are actually given a go-ahead. To the degree that they ever produce any results, those effects are years away.

If the goal is to get money flowing through the economy again, this is precisely the slowest method one can opt for. Tax cuts, on the other hand, give  people an immediate benefit and they would spend more right away.

Here is President Obama’s speech about his latest financial proposals regarding the mortgage markets.  Scary stuff.