This game wasn't awful but it wasn't a good one either. The sad part was that it had potential. Take away 3 very crappy calls that went against the Seahawks (iffy offensive pass inteference that wiped a touchdown out, Roethlisberger TD dive that wasn't a TD, and a very ticky-tack holding call that wiped out a Seattle spot on the 1 yard line) and maybe we've got ourselves a game.

I thought the Willie Parker TD run and the Randle El TD throw were pretty cool. I was hoping Parker would outplay the Bus. He didn't do much else but that run was a killer to start the 2nd half.

Seattle needs to work on clock management. It seems like this is an epidemic in the NFL the last couple of seasons. There are lots of head coaches and quarterbacks who don't know what the word "urgent" means. If they throw in a nice per-diem I wouldn't mind teaching a class on this for teams.

The NFC's #1 seed just lost to the AFC's # 6 seed and nobody is surprised. It actually would have been an upset if it had been the other way around. Clearly the NFC has some serious work to do. Go Rams.

One thing I know is that in three years if you ask me to name the 2006 SuperBowl champion it might take me a couple of minutes to remember.

For two million buck commercials they kinda sucked didn't they? Budweiser is just trying too hard for laughs. The two best ones were the Ameriquest commercials. Both involved classic facial expressions from a mother and daughter. I loved the baloon release by the little girl when she thinks her dad is dead. The reaction of the guy who finds the chick on his lap in the airplane made me grin as well.

I realized I misread the Snowman omen that I mentioned yesterday. I just went out and took a look at the kids Snowman. It doesn't resemble a bird today. I was a day early. It had some more melting to do. It now looks exactly like one of Bill Cowher's daughters. Damn.

A couple of reflections before the big game tomorrow.

1. I would rather watch the Lifetime channel than I would the pregame stuff and the halftime show. I need football not overhyped speculation and Mick Jagger's tongue. I'd reconsider the halftime show if someone can gurantee me a Janet Jackson appearance.

2. I'm picking the Seahawks in a close one. I don't have a good reason for doing so other than the fact that the Snowman I was building with my 3 and 4 year old the other day has melted enough now that the head resembles a bird. Snowmen omens can't be ignored can they?

I was pondering today the significance of a professional athlete's personality in regards to their perception by other players, media and fans.
As the Bettis love-bus rolls on this week and some are debating his merit as a hall of famer and his place among the all-time great running backs I am becoming further convinced this would not even be an issue if Jerome was a jerk. Would he have survived Cowher's doghouse had he demanded all the carries and acted like a petulant child the last couple of seasons (as some others have done in his position)? Doubtful. His career may have ended right there. He was a good guy and good teamate. However, his weaknesses (career yards per carry is only 3.9) are generally glossed over and his strengths (look how nimble this fat guy's feet are and how he drags tacklers!) are often over-rated. I've said it before, Bettis has been a good running back. Not great, but good over a long period of time. Does that make him a hall of famer? Personally I don't think so but you can't deny longevity has played a role in many good (not great) athletes getting hall of fame votes (especially in baseball).

Personality plays a huge part in how we perceive athletes and the slack we cut or don't cut for them. Brett Favre gets very little criticism and his achievements are often blown out of proportion. We like him. When Terrell Owens finally plays again any mistakes he makes on the field will also be overrated. We don't like him. Chad Johnson can act brash and cocky yet he's a likeable guy. We give him a little rope. When Michael Jordan was a one-man team for the Bulls in the 80's there was some criticism but for the most part he was right in the beginning stages of idol-worship. We really liked him. Kobe Bryant is a one-man team right now but he's been an idiot in the past and we don't like him. Charles Barkley and Karl Malone both were great players but couldn't bring championships to their teams. Yet Malone is roundly criticized more than Barkley for this. Not a surprise. While Malone generally avoids the jerk label it is not hard to see that Barkley is the more likeable guy.

I'm sure agents wish they could bottle a magic personality formula and serve it to all their athlete clients (although some agents like Scott Borus and Drew Rosenhaus would need a dose themselves). There is always going to be more money, praise, fame, and opportunity for guys that we want to love. I guess that's ok. I wouldn't want it the other way around.

Without football to watch yesterday (I did catch some of the Senior Bowl on Saturday to minimize the damage) my wife had some illusion that I would be an active and full participant in some responsible activities for the day. She forgot that we own an X-Box and I have a penchant for taking out bad guys when I'm depressed.

I think Roger Federer is a great tennis player. Yep, I'm talking tennis today. Let it be known that my high school athletic career didn't just include winning football games with my foot (allright already, so I never won a game, but once I nailed a guy in the nuts on an onside kick and he didn't get up for a couple of minutes. Still a highlight for me) . ---That's right, I was on the tennis team. A wicked forehand and a rush-the net style of play earned me a front row spot in the team picture for the yearbook (unfortunately the lack of a backhand also earned me a resounding defeat every year at the state tourney). So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I occasionally follow the sport and even watch a match from time to time. And I've noticed Roger Federer is very good. But is he too good? Or does everybody else just suck?

Federer just won his 7th Grand Slam title with the Australian Open. He's getting a lot of praise for his dominance and it's looking like he could easily make a run on Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam titles. The only problem with this little fairy tale story is the serious lack of rivals. Bjorn Borg had Mcenroe. And while Sampras was quite dominant himself, even he had an Agassi to occasionally snatch a title away from him. Pete's trouble surface was clay. The French Open kicked his ass on a regular basis. Maybe the French Open will also be Federer's annual gift to other players. Federer is only half-way through his career so it's not a given, but he hasn't won the French yet. In fact he hasn't even made it to the finals there. Still, he has won Wimbeldon the last three years in a row, the U.S. Open the last two years in a row, and the Australian Open two out of the last three years. If he wasn't such a nice guy all this dominance would be very annoying.

Quick, can you name another male tennis star other than Federer or Andy Roddick? Really I'm being generous in calling Roddick a tennis star. If he wasn't American, we wouldn't hear aobut him. Luckily for him he has a few things going for him. He's from the U.S., has a freakishly strong serve, has won a U.S. Open, and most importantly hangs out with hot chicks and dates pseudo-stars like Mandy Moore (personally this one's the star clincher for me). The thing is, he's Federer's bitch. Roger owns Andy with a 10-1 advantage. It's usually not even close matches.

Think of any other tennis stars yet? You're trying to name that Spanish guy that wears chick pants (capris) and won the French Open last year arent' you ? That is Rafeal Nadal. Yeah he might be good. He's good on clay anyway. And he's beat Federer in two out of their 3 career matches. But why the hell can't he wear shorts like everyone else? And anyway, I just don't think he's going to make noise at any other major tournement other than the French Open. It would be nice to have an American who could give Federer a run in the next few years. But right now it's Roger's world. I guess that's why he's always crying. Even he wants a rival.