Quick Hits on XL

Three things that I will take from Super Bowl 40:

--Did Mike Holmgren not watch any scouting tape of the Steelers prior to this game? He looked utterly shocked at everything Pittsburgh did. When Antwaan Randle El took the reverse in the 4th quarter with 9:04 remaining, anyone who saw the Steelers' win over the Bengals in the opening round was shouting "pass! pass!"... never mind that Randle El was a quarterback in college at Indiana. Doesn't Holmgren have cable? Did anyone in the building not think "Hines Ward" at that moment?

There he was, wide freaking open. Inexcusable. Embarassing. Holmgren had the Mike Martz look about him all night long. He was flat outcoached.

--Perhaps the worst officiated game in the history of the Super Bowl. Big Ben's touchdown wasn't. Darrell Jackson's catch at the goal line at the end of the second quarter was. His right foot kicked the pylon, for Heaven's sake - why did we not see fourteen replays of that catch? Where is the outrage? Why did ABC drop the ball on that play? I'm still howling about it, hours after the game. An awful non-review. Did Paul Tagliabue call the ABC truck in mid-replay and tell them to shut it down? Did they not have a replay available? Were the tape operators all sleeping at that moment? Why is this not the lead story after the game? That was only one of several obvious boners contributed by the officiating crew, who appeared to be watching a different game from the rest of us.

--The Rolling Stones at halftime of the 2006 Super Bowl are the equivalent of the following: Johnny Unitas playing for the Chargers, Franco Harris playing for the Seahawks, Willie Mays playing for the Mets, Joe Montana playing for the Chiefs, and Dale Murphy playing for the Colorado Rockies. Hang it up, for God's sake. If you don't know your own lyrics without a TelePrompter, it's probably time to retire to that chateau in Bordeaux. And can the NFL break tradition and possibly hire a band that actually recorded a hit in the last thirty years? Wouldn't The Killers have been fabulous at the half? For that matter, it's Detroit -- give me twenty minutes of Eminem, Kid Rock, and Ted Nugent, and I'd be one happy camper.

Other than that, great game. As I predicted on Foxsports.com, the Steelers won. See you on TV.