Super Bowl XLVII Basics+

If you're the type of person who watches the Super Bowl just for the commercials (I must admit I am def guilty of not watching the SB at all during a few of the Niners sucktastic years), here are some tidbits of information to keep you somewhat up-to-date on what happens in-between the commercials:

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The TWO Absolute Things You MUST KNOW:

• The San Francisco 49ers (5 SB Championships) are playing the Baltimore Ravens (1 SB win) in Super Bowl XLVII (SB47) at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans
• John (Ravens) and Jim (49ers) Harbaugh are the first brothers to face each other in the Super Bowl as Head Coaches for each team. People will be calling this game HarBowl, Harbaugh Bowl, Sup-Har Bowl, Super Bro, etc...please don't get confused, we're all talking about the same game

Extra Stuff:

• Ray Lewis (Ravens LB) is retiring after Sunday. He's played in the league for 17yrs and is a future Hall of Famer. Lewis also leads the NFL in the post season with 44 tackles.
• Colin Kaepernick (49ers QB) will be making just his 10th career start, the 3rd fewest starts for a QB in the Super Bowl ever
• Both coaches have pulled some ballsy moves late in the season - The Ravens got rid of their offensive coordinator in December even though their record was 9-5, while the Niners replaced their starting QB during Week 11 even though their record was 7-2-1

Fun Stuff:

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• Alicia Keys is putting a spin on the National Anthem
• Beyoncé (& friends possibly? - Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, maybe even Alicia Keys???) is headlining the half time performance
• Here's a link to the list of SB47 commercial spots
• Did you vote for your favorite Doritos Crash the Super Bowl ad?
• How did this VW commercial cost $10 MILLION?!?

Super Bro Info:

Jim (L), John (Center), & Jack (R) images www.baltimoreravens.com

• John in 15 months older than Jim, but Jim is 3" taller
• Jim is the better athlete, having played 15yrs in the NFL, John is more studious and won the Football Scholar Athlete Award for his 4.0 GPA his last two years of college
• Their dad Jack has coached football for over 40 years
• Both John and Jim helped save their dad's career and Western Kentucky University by actively recruiting prospects in their spare time -- John (assistant at University of Cincinnati at the time) picked out players who didn't quite make the D-1 cut for Cinci and had Jim (star QB w/the Colts) visit with them one-on-one; they resuscitated the program together
• In 2007, Jim wanted John to be his defensive coordinator at Stanfurd (John declined and got a contract extension with the Eagles, then signed on as head coach to the Ravens a year later)
• Jim's son Jay is an intern for the Baltimore Ravens
• John fired his offensive coordinator Cam Cameron this season (see ballsy move mentioned above); Cameron (as an assistant) coached Jim when Jim was playing college football at Michigan 

Super Bowl Info Overload - aka Media Day

So today was Super Bowl media day, where most starters had to sit on a podium for an hour and be available to answer any and all questions from the media -- ranging from the serious (allegations of illegal behavior) to the inane (who's the best locker room dancer?). Niners DE Ray McDonald summed it up best saying, "It’s like Mardi Gras with cameras instead of liquor".

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Here are some things I learned (or was reminded of):

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Randy Moss (49ers WR) has a big mouth - He actually said, "I really do think that I am the greatest receiver to ever play this game". To which Jerry Rice responded, "You have to look at the stats, you have to look at how you impacted the game, and it’s all about winning this right here, this is it, the Super Bowl, and I was fortunate to win three" (Rice = 3 SB rings, Moss = zero). I do like that Moss' confidence is super high going into this game, but just look at the numbers and he's not even close to Rice.


Terrell Suggs (Ravens DE) might have ADD - from belting Meatloaf's I Will Do Anything for Love (I wish there was a youtube clip up of this!) to talking about his film in the Cannes Film Festival (he's a legit writer/producer/actor, yo! Just check out his imdb page) to saying he wants to go to Hogwarts or the lost city of Atlantis, Suggs is def a character.

Joe Flacco's (Ravens QB) dad thinks he's dull - la;skdj fpueadfghljkkdkalfasdjkl...I just dozed off thinking about writing about him. He's boring. End of story. 

Older Har-bro John (Ravens Head Coach) is weird (according to Raven's safety Bernard Pollard) :P The older Har-bro is actually pretty charming and eloquent and I do agree that he is the "teddy bear" of the two brothers. (Don't get me wrong though, I do <3 the fiery charisma of the younger Har-bro)

Alex Smith (49ers back-up QB) is a class act, through-and-through - he was bombarded with questions even though he didn't get a podium and still took the high road. I still feel bad for him...it sucks it took the team so long to actually click before his ability was recognized. I watched this video on him today and have even more respect for him (just a warning, the video is 20+min long, but is really well done and has some great Niners highlights).

Silliest question from media day - "On a scale of 1 to 10, how ticklish are you?" Flacco answered "5" (snore) and Anquan Boldin (Ravens WR) said he's "not ticklish at all"...he also looked like he wanted to eat the reporter who just asked him the question.

SIDENOTE: Today marks the 18th anniversary of the 49ers last Super Bowl victory. Niners won over the Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Woot woot!

Sup-Har Bowl - Ray Lewis/Patrick Willis Spotlight

Three factoids to know for this post to make sense:

1. Jim Harbaugh is the head coach for the 49ers
2. Ray Lewis is a future Hall of Fame linebacker on the Ravens and is retiring after the Super Bowl
3. Patrick Willis is probably the best linebacker in the NFL right now and on the 49ers

Mind partially blown - Jim Harbaugh & Ray Lewis were both on the 1998 Ravens

http://i.imgur.com/uWAlqFD.jpg

Mind actually blown! - Lewis' 1st sack ever was...wait for it...Harbaugh! This happened in 1996 when Harbaugh was playing for the Colts (also the same year Harbaugh appeared on an episode of Saved By the Bell).

Linebacker Love

Ray Lewis : Patrick Willis :: Mufasa : Simba

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/mufasa-and-simba/images/17932601/title/mufasa-simba-screencap

Listening to a bunch of interviews this week I learned that Ray Lewis has been a mentor to Patrick Willis during his career and they call each other "Mufasa" and "Young Lion"...doesn't that your heart melt a little?!

 Patrick Willis baby onesie on Fox's The New Normal

NBC's The New Normal Season 1 Episode 14 - Gaydar

Someone on this show is a 49ers/Willis fan!!! For those of you who don't know, The New Normal is a TV show on Fox about a gay couple and their surrogate. The screenshot above is what Justin Bartha's character (yes, this is the guy from The Hangover) thinks is appropriate attire for his baby's birth announcement. :)

More Willis...

Duracell did a "Trust Your Power" spot about Willis' journey to the NFL; it's really well done and inspiring!

One Last Thing...Lewis/Willis wear the same number! (although not on purpose)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1498026-ray-lewis-vs-patrick-willis-comparing-the-past-present-of-the-lb-position

Lewis and Willis are the motivational speakers for their respective teams and have lots of similarities. Click on the link above if you want to learn more from bleacher report's article on them.

SUP-HAR-BAUGHWL

WOW...the Niners are going to the Super Bowl!!!

Niners 28 - Falcons 24
After allowing the Falcons to score 17 unanswered points, the 49ers rallied and knocked off the #1 seeded team in the biggest come-from-behind win in NFC Championship history. Ack, I still can't believe it!! I watched today's game at Finnerty's in New York - THE Niner bar in the city - and I couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere. :D As the seconds wound down in the fourth quarter I saw people with tears in their eyes, SO happy that our team won. The game was rough at the beginning, but not once did the Niners falter with their verve; they knew they could take this game and they did. This game was definitely a team effort, where everyone executed when they needed to.

Ravens 28 - Patriots 13
Looks like 28 was the magic # for today, as both teams coached by the Harbaughs scored just that to win. This AFC Championship game marks Tom Brady's first loss at home when leading at halftime. Brady made some mental mistakes and just couldn't connect; he def didn't look like the same guy who handled the Texans last week. I hope all his comparisons to Joe Montana stop NOW. Brady was essentially crying like a little girl in the post-game press conference. Just FYI - Niners legend Joe Montana has played in four Super Bowls, won all of them, and was named MVP in three of the games. Brady, on the other hand, has gone to five Super Bowls and only won three (and he was MVP twice). So let's look at this again from a mathematical standpoint -- Montana has 100% success rate in the Super Bowl, Brady has a 60% success rate -- why is there even a comparison?!? 

NFL - Conference Championships

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I'd like to throw it out there that I think Harbaugh-Bowl 2.0 (or HarBowl as others would call it) would be an appropriate Super Bowl match-up. Let;s ponder for a sec...head coach brothers John and Jim duking it out on the national stage...Ray Lewis' last hurrah vs. Colin Kaepernick's dazzling debut...doesn't that sound like good television to you??

Niners - Falcons 3PM
Avenging '99. Fourteen years ago (wow, has it really been that long??), Niners running back Garrison Hearst broke his ankle on the first play from scrimmage during the divisional playoff game in Atlanta. I remember being so devastated watching one of my favorite players go down; it especially stings since this blow essentially marked the end of the Niners dynasty. Fast forward to 2005-2008 where Mike Nolan was the head coach for the 49ers...he was responsible for drafting Frank Gore, Justin Smith, Joe Staley, Dashon Goldson, and Patrick Willis, all five of which are starters in the Pro-Bowl this year. Nolan is currently the defensive coordinator for the Falcons; it would be nice to beat him with the players he hand-picked because when he was the 49ers head coach, the Niners only won 18 out of 55 games, womp. 

Ravens - Patriots 6:30PM
Patriots are 14-3 when playing at home in the post season
Ravens are 5-4 on the road with Joe Flacco as QB
Most analysts say that the Patriots will take this game easily, but I feel like Baltimore has more heart because it's Ray Lewis' last season. Baltimore showed up the Broncos last week in double OT, so they may very well pull another upset!

You can also look at it as Guy Who Wears Uggs

http://www.tauntr.com/content/tom-bradys-new-fashion-statement

VS. This...

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...your call

Manti Te'o - Catfished?!

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Manti Te'o is Notre Dame's golden boy linebacker who is the most decorated defensive college football player of all time, winning eight post-season awards in 2012. Te'o gained a LOT of media attention for playing fiercely in the face of tragedy -- more specifically, the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day. It turns out, however, that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua never existed!! Te'o has supposedly been catfished! 

(for those of you who haven't seen the movie Catfish or the subsequent MTV show, here's the definition from mtv.com --
cat·fish [kat-fish] verb 
To pretend to be someone you're not online by posting false information, such as someone else's pictures, on social media sites usually with the intention of getting someone to fall in love with you.)

It has yet to be determined whether Te'o was in on it the whole time as a media stunt, or if he was really duped by a friend. Allegedly, a friend of Te'o used pictures from a high school friend and created Kekua's online persona. 

My two cents - I find it hard to believe that the #2 college football player in the country can't get a real girlfriend!! Why didn't he ever fly her out to a game? If he never met her in person, why did he talk and tweet about her to anyone who listened? Why didn't he visit her in the hospital if she was dying of leukemia? Did he go to her funeral? If he was in on this stunt, I think it will hurt his draft prospects -- who wants to play with someone you can't trust??

As such a strong presence in the college football world (and since he's a likely top-10 NFL draft pick), his story has been pimped out and covered by every media outlet, memes and all. Check out http://teoing.tumblr.com for posts on invisible girlfriends :P

RaNFLdom

This is probably one of the funniest NFL assemblages ever - watch it now!!
(Adrian Peterson & Jim Harbaugh are my faves)

http://www.csnwashington.com/sites/csnwashington/files/styles/scale_282px_wide/public/uspw_5046682_0.jpg

And, come on Mayor Hancock! Peyton keeps it classy and gave credit where credit was due (see recap pic below). Denver Mayor Michael Hancock is delaying the fulfillment of his bet with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake due to a supposed unspecified injury...smells like BS to me... The mayors made a friendly wager on last Saturday's game; since the Broncos lost, Hancock is required to do Ray Lewis' pregame dance.

Cam Newton - Back to School?!?
Quick bio for current Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton - he won the Heisman Trophy and led Auburn Tigers to win the national championship in 2010, #1 draft pick and rookie of the year in 2011, signed biggest endorsement deal for a rookie ever with Under Armour, oh, and he's the guy in these NFL Play 60 commercials: 

Apparently this isn't enough for him and he's now enrolled in classes at Auburn for the spring semester so he can work towards getting a Sociology degree. I have admitted that I have a thing for over-achieving athletes, so I respect that he values education...but how much can he really get done being who he is now? HE. IS. AUBURN. ROYALTY. I'm sure they'd give him an honorary degree if he asked for it.

NFL - Divisional Playoff Recap

Woohoo!!! This weekend was full of playoff drama. I am still in awe of what happened this weekend. Here's the quick run-down:

• Ravens stunned the Broncos in double OT
• 49ers spanked the Packers with a history-making offensive showing
• Falcons toppled the Seahawks with a mulligan field goal as regulation expired
• Patriots cruised in for the win against the Texans

Ravens 38 - Broncos 35 2OT


The impending retirement of future hall of famer Ray Lewis has really sparked a fire underneath his team to catapult the Ravens into the AFC championship game. Prior to the game Broncos QB Peyton Manning was firing on all cylinders and EVERYONE thought the Broncos would easily take this game, but something got to Manning and he didn't play his best. Always a class act though, Manning waited to meet with Lewis after the game to congratulate him on the win. Ravens media director Chad Steele tweeted this photo capturing the moment.


49ers 45 - Packers 31
All the Colin Kaepernick doubters now have unquestionable proof of his greatness (I still feel bad for Alex Smith tho). Niners QB Kaep set an NFL QB rushing record with 181yds! He ran in for two TDs, threw two TD passes to Michael Crabtree, and handed off the ball to Frank Gore and Anthony Dixon for two rushing TDs. WOW...not bad for his 8th start and 1st playoff appearance :P In my preview I thought these were the keys to the game: 
-- slowing down Aaron Rodgers <-- check, he never got his game started 
-- the return of Justin Smith <-- check, he made his presence known and had 5 tackles
-- Kaep avoiding turnovers and connecting with Crabtree <-- double check! (points for those who got this little jab @ A. Rodg) well, besides that rookie mistake (Kaep's 1st TD pass of the game was to the Packers), Kaep avoided trouble and hit Crabtree twice in the end zone
-- Akers not sucking at life <-- check, he was 1-1 with a 36yd field goal
-- Delanie Walker holding on to the football <-- hmm, this one's a push since he had one reception for 17yds, but still dropped a pass or two (tsk, tsk, Droptimus Prime...)
The Niners are now one step closer on their #QuestforSix (their sixth franchise Super Bowl title).

Suck it, Pete Carroll

http://seahawknationblog.com/files/2011/05/pete-carroll12345.jpg

The Falcons pretty much owned the Seahawks during the first three quarters, and were up by 20 points by the end of the third. The Seahwaks, however, came back with a vengeance in the fourth and took a 1-pt lead with 31 seconds left. Trying to avoid their repeat of suckitude in the playoffs, the Falcons moved down the field to give their kicker Ryan Longwell a slim chance to win the game with a 49yd field goal. As the last seconds of the game ticked off, Longwell muffed the kick to the right of the uprights and all thought the game was lost....BUT Seahawks coach Pete Carroll managed to call a timeout before the play snapped (he also pretended he didn't call the timeout after Longwell missed), so Longwell got his mulligan and was able to adjust to hit the game-winning score.
(FYI - calling a timeout right before the other team kicks is used strategically to "ice" kickers and throw them off...so basically Carroll's plan backfired in the worst way possible, haha)

NFL - Divisional Match-ups

Ravens - Broncos 1:30PM

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2178320640/tt0878804

As I've said before, the Broncos are the hottest team in the league with 11 straight wins. The crucial match-up to watch here is Von Miller vs. Michael Oher, aka cool hipster sack dancer (see my Week 11 recap) vs. the guy from The Blind Side. If you remember the movie at all, Sandra Bullock's character likened football to a family. Oher's job is to protect his family, mainly QB Joe Flacco from being sacked by Broncos linebacker Miller (3rd most sacks in the league). The perfect storm has to happen for the Ravens to upset the clear favorite - Flacco can't go flaccid, Peyton malfunctions with his new gloves (temperature is supposed to be in the low 20's) and can't connect with his receivers, Ray Lewis ignites his team to pull out at least one more W for his last season in the NFL, and in general, the bye week gave the Broncos too much rest and they're not on top of their game <-- ALL of this absolutely must happen for the Ravens to have a chance...

Packers - Niners 5PM

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Packers QB Aaron Rodgers grew up in Chico as a 49ers fan. Niners QB Colin Kaepernick grew up in Wisconsin a cheesehead. As a Cal alum who went to Cal during the Aaron Rodgers years (we chanted "stay in school" and threw blue roses as we rushed the field during his last home game [Big Game #107] GO BEARS!), I must admit that I cheer for him to do well, but only when it doesn't affect my Niners. So as nice as it is to see him back in California, I am definitely rooting against him. When the Packers won Super Bowl XLV, they won all three playoff games on the road <-- They are the more seasoned and tested team. The Niners, on the other hand, have a rookie QB at the helm, but that will hopefully be enough to confound the Packers defense. Here's what I think are the 49ers keys to the game - slowing down Aaron Rodgers, the return of Justin Smith (crossing my fingers on this one), Kaepernick avoiding turnovers and connecting with Crabtree, and Akers not sucking at life...oh, and it would also help if Delanie Walker held on to the football instead of dropping it. NINERS!!!

http://www.49ers.com

Seahawks - Falcons 10AM

I'm going to say it straight up -- I want the Falcons to win for fear of facing the Seahawks again. The Seahawks are a solid, well-balanced team who have outscored their opponents 170-43 in their last four games. They will, however, be without their sack leader Chris Clemons, who tore his ACL last week. 

Although the Falcons are the #1 seed, they are 0-3 with QB Matt Ryan. In order to get his first post-season W, he needs to stay focused and get ample time in the pocket so he can connect with receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones (who are both over the 1000yd mark for the season).

Texans - Patriots 1:30PM

Although the two teams have the same regular season record, the Patriots are heavily favored over the Texans. Back in December the Pats embarrassed the Texans 42-14; I know that regular season games typically don't matter in the playoffs, but this win was without Pats tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronk came back last week after a forearm/hip injury and is Brady's favorite receiver, so expect to see at least one TD from him. Although this match-up probably won't be as lopsided, the Texans have their work cut out for them. The only chance they have of winning is to slow down Brady and force him to go backwards. If they do this and avoid turnovers the might have a chance at upsetting last year's Super Bowl losers.

Is this what happens when you win a Super Bowl??

Let's hope not...(this photo was taken when they were both on the Super Bowl XLVI winning Giants team - DJ Ware now plays for the Bucs)

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NFL - Wild Card Weekend Recap

24 = the number of points you needed to score this weekend if you wanted to win (unless you are the Texans, where 19 was enough)

SATURDAY'S GAMES...nothing too exciting
Bengals 13 - Texans 19 
After starting the season 3-5, the Bengals won seven of its last eight regular season games and were hoping for an upset over the Texans who came into the game having lost three of their last four. This wasn't a pretty game, but the Texans eked out a win despite not being able to finish most of their drives.

Vikings 10 - Packers 24
All I've got to say is that Vikes QB Christian Ponder must have been hurting super-crazy-horribly bad in order for him to not play in this game. Their back-up QB hadn't started one game this season and that definitely showed. The Packers killed the VIkings in this bout, no question, especially since they mostly contained Adrian Peterson, holding him under 100yds (he ran for a total of 409yds in their last two match-ups). 

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Packers-beat-Vikings-24-10-49ers-up-next-4170685.php#photo-3989888

SUNDAY'S GAMES
Colts 9 - Ravens 24 
The return of 17-yr league vet Ray Lewis energized the Ravens D which took away opportunities for Colts QB Andrew Luck. While I'm sure Lewis enjoyed getting a W in the last home game of his career, he and the rest of his team need to step it up next week against the Broncos if they want to have any chance at all. More specifically, QB Joe Flacco needs to be on his A++ game...he's one of the streakiest QBs in the league and doesn't have the nickname "Joe Flaccid" for no reason.

Seahawks 24 - Redskins 14

This game seemed so promising with the Redskins scoring TDs on their first two possessions, but that was all they were going to score the entire game, womp. RG3 came out of the game during the 4th, his knee finally giving out after a low snap. Ugh, seeing RG3 injured hurts! I would have liked to see this epic rookie QB vs. rookie QB battle with both parties healthy, not the lackluster shizfest that happened instead. 

UP NEXT we've got...
Ravens - Broncos & Packers - Niners on Saturday
Seahawks - Falcons & Texans - Patriots on Sunday

Come back Friday for my preview! :)

NFL - Playoff Bracket

On the road to the Super Bowl, all games are critical. Here's a playoff bracket showing you how a team gets to THE game of the season.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/postseason/bracket (ALL TIMES SHOWN ARE EST)

Quick NFL playoff facts for the less knowledgable - 

• There are 32 teams in the league, separated into two conferences - National Football Conference (NFC) & American Football Conference (AFC)...also known as the Average Football Conference :P
• Each conference is split into four divisions - North, South, East, and West
• Six teams from each conference goes to the playoffs - the winningest teams of each division and two wild cards (teams with the next-best overall records)
• Out of the four division winners, the two teams with the best records receive a bye for the first week of the playoffs, whereas the other two teams play each wild card
• Winners of the wild card week go on to play divisional games
• Winners of the divisional games go on to play for their respective conference championship
• Winners of the AFC & NFC championships go on to play the Super Bowl. BOOM!