New England Patriots
GAME REVIEW:New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14
IS THIS THE GREATEST GAME IN NFL HISTORY? QUITE POSSIBLY, YES.
Wow, what a game. The Patriots were denied of the Super Bowl title they thought was theirs for the taking. Eli Manning, the "kid brother" of Peyton, led his team to the world championship title in Super Bowl XLII and got himself the game MVP. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the 18-0 Patriots, who hadn't lost a Super Bowl or a game all season, ate a nice big fat piece of humble pie. Interesting how this happens the moment someone threatens an investigation.
PROPS AND DROPS:
PROPS: ELI MANNING
Incredible endurance, efficiency on third down, he just got the job done.
PROPS: WES WELKER
The only one that was able to keep the Patriots in the game. Had the Pats pulled it out he would've been MVP.
DROPS: TOM BRADY
Looked like he played injured... way off base most of the night.
DROPS: PATRIOTS OFFENSIVE LINE
Manhandled all night.
RECKLESS PREDICTION:
Against the spread, I went up to 3-1 with my pick of the Giants against the spread, as well as nailed the margin of error and points scored by the Giants team (17). However, my lack of faith in the NFL system led to me dropping to 2-2 straight-up. I also correctly predicted "under."
NATIONAL ANTHEM: Generally, a thumbs down. 4/4 time, airy tone (particularly on the lower notes), notes all over the place. But I'm hard to please.
COMMERCIALS: Generally pretty weak and bland. FedEx's was great (as usual), as was Bridgestone's Richard Simmons ad. Bud Light... I usually hate it but I actually got a chuckle out of it.
HALFTIME: Great songs, good music. Personally I think Prince's was better but this wasn't bad. Very classy.
SUPER BOWL XLII FULLERVISION STYLE
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2008, 6:15 PM
UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM, GLENDALE, ARIZONA
(Update: Fixed helmet links. Previous links overloaded the bandwidth, these come from the Internet Archive and thus will not be subject to such blockage.)
THE TEAMS:
New
England Patriots2007 Record: 18-0, Lifetime Super Bowl record: 3-2
Key personnel: Head coach - Bill Belichick, QB - Tom Brady*, WRs - Randy Moss, Wes Welker, LB - Mike Vrabel, CB - Assante Samuel
Team has won three out of four Super Bowls from 2001 to 2004, and have won the AFC East title every year since 2003. They are seeking to achieve the first perfect season in the 16-game era and only the second in the league's history, the other being the 1972 Dolphins. *QB Brady is said to be recovering from a high ankle sprain. He may not play.
New
York Giants2007 Record: 13-6, Lifetime Super Bowl record: 2-1
Key personnel: Head coach - Tom Coughlin, QB - Eli Manning, WRs - Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress, RB - Brandon Jacobs, DE - Michael Strahan
Most recent appearance in a Super Bowl was a 34-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. They will be seeking their first Super Bowl win since the infamous "Wide Right" of Super Bowl XXV. Eli and Peyton Manning would be the first ever brothers to win back-to-back Super Bowls as their teams' starting QB.
New York and Boston. Yankees and Red Sox. Bruins and Rangers. Jets and Patriots. It's safe to say these two cities don't really like each other all that much, and while Giants-Patriots doesn't exactly strike people as a huge part of the rivalry, this year it's going to be bigger than ever. With the Patriots on the brink of destiny, and pro football's world title on the line, the Boston-New York rivalry flares up again. Many thought that a matchup between quarterbacks Brady and Manning would be worthy of a Super Bowl, and this year it happened, except right Brady... wrong Manning. You see, Eli always grew up in the shadow of his brother Peyton. Hyped up as the #1 draft pick in 2004, Manning has been expected to perform, and even through his second straight playoff appearance it's never been enough. Now he gets to redeem himself.
TELEVISION: FOX TELEVISION NETWORK (CTV IN CANADA)
| Market |
Call |
TV |
HD |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York
City |
WNYW |
5 |
44 |
| Buffalo |
WUTV |
29 |
14 |
| Rochester |
WUHF |
31 |
28 |
| Syracuse |
WSYT |
68 |
19 |
| Ithaca |
W16AX |
16 |
-- |
| Watertown |
WNYF |
28 |
35 |
| Utica |
WFXV |
33 |
27 |
| Binghamton |
WICZ |
40 |
8 |
| Corning |
WYDC |
48 |
50 |
| Albany |
WXXA |
23 |
7 |
| Erie |
WFXP |
66 |
22 |
| Johnstown |
WWCP |
8 |
29 |
| Toronto |
CFTO |
9 |
40 |
| Kitchener |
CKCO |
13 |
-- |
50 kW broadcasts: WHAM 1180, WTAM 1100, WLW 700, WSCR 670
Other: WGR 550, WJTN 1240, WACK 1420, WHEN 620, WOFX 980, WGGO 1590?, WPIE 1160, WELM 1410, WENT 1340, WESB 1490, CJCL 590, CKGL 570
Sirius Channel 124*
*WFAN uses the Giants broadcast (Sirius channel 123)
BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA (UNITED KINGDOM)
Sirius Channel 125*
Internet: Fuller Sports Broadcasting
*In addition to WW1 and BBC5, both teams' feeds are available on other channels and two alternate English-language feeds (PA announcer and statistician).
OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
http://www.superbowl.com/
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT (Emcee: Ryan Seacrest)
Pregame: Willie Nelson, Paula Abdul (via video, produced by Randy Jackson), Soulja Boy
National Anthem: Jordin Sparks (American Idol winner)
Halftime: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
ODDS LINE:
New England -12 [54] (ML: NE -440/NY +340)
First half: NE -7 [28] (ML: NE -360/NY +280)
RECKLESS PREDICTION (Record: 2-1, straight up and against the spread):
NEW ENGLAND 20, NEW YORK GIANTS 17