The worst day on the sports calendar

And with copious amounts of confetti, football season comes to an end. (Photo by Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

Ugh … now what?!?

This is a significantly somber moment here at Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff, which has had the priviledge of typing words in this space about the sport of American football.

The end of football season is met with great consequence. It ushers in a period of time known as the offseason, during which much attention will be given to something called the “collective bargaining agreement,” college football stars entering the NFL Draft — many of whom will not amount to much in the professional ranks — and players who are unsuccessful in staying out of trouble.

Best of the Super Bowls

(Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff has sorted through the aftermath of Super Bowl XLIV. Now, let’s see how it, and its moments, rank among those from the 43 previous Super Bowls by updating Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff’s best of the Super Bowls list …

Best games:
1) SB XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
2) SB XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
3) SB XLIII: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
4) SB XXV: Giants 20, Bills 19
5) SB XXXIV: Rams 23, Titans 16

Best upsets:
1) SB III: Jets 16, Colts 7
2) SB XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14
3) SB XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17
4) SB XXXII: Broncos 31, Packers 24
5) SB IV: Chiefs 23, Vikings 7

Greatest Super Bowl blowouts:
1) SB XXIV: 49ers 55, Broncos 10
2) SB XXVII: Cowboys 52, Bills 17
3) SB XXIX: 49ers 49, Chargers 26
4) SB XX: Bears 46, Patriots 10
5) SB XXXVII: Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21

Best player performance:
1) SB XXIX: Steve Young — 325 pass yards, 6 TD
2) SB XXIV: Joe Montana — 297 pass yards, 5 TD
3) SB XVIII: Marcus Allen — 191 rush yards, 2 TD
4) SB XIII: Terry Bradshaw — 318 pass yards, 4 TD
5) (tie) SB X: Lynn Swann — 4 catches, 161 yards, TD;
(tie) SB XXI: Phil Simms — 22-for-25, 268 yards, 3 TD
(tie) SB XXII: Doug Williams — 340 pass yards, 4 TD;
(tie) SB XLIV: Drew Brees – 32-for-39, 288 yards, 2 TD

Most impressive Super Bowl defensive performance:
1) SB XXXV: Ravens 34, N.Y. Giants 7
2) SB XXXVII: Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21
3) SB XX: Bears 46, Patriots 10
4) SB VI: Cowboys 24, Dolphins 3
5) (tie) SB XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17;
(tie) SB XLII: Giants 17, Patriots 14

Best Super Bowl partier/performer:
1) SB I: Max McGee
2) SB XX: Jim McMahon
3) SB XV: entire Oakland Raiders roster
4) SB XXXI: Brett Favre
5) SB III: Joe Namath

Best signature (NFL Films) moment:
1) SB XLII: Eli Manning somehow escapes the Patriots’ pass rush to complete an improbable pass to David Tyree, who holds the ball firmly against his helmet while being taken down by the Patriots’ Rodney Harrison
2) SB XLIII: James Harrison picks off Kurt Warner on the goal line and goes a Super Bowl-record 100 yards for a touchdown as time expires in the first half.
3) SB XI: Willie Brown returns INT 75 yards for TD to clinch Raiders’ win
4) SB XVIII: Marcus Allen reverses field for 74-yard TD run against Redskins in SB XVIII
5) SB III: “Broadway” Joe Namath runs off the field pointing finger to sky after making his “guarantee” come true

Best clutch play:
1) SB XLII: Manning’s pass to Tyree set up the game-winning touchdown
2) SB XXXIV: Mike Jones tackles Kevin Dyson one yard short of potential game-tying touchdown as time expires
3) SB XXXVI: Adam Vinatieri wins Super Bowl with 48-yard field goal on game’s final play
4) SB XXXVIII: Adam Vinatieri wins Super Bowl with 41-yard field goal with :04 left
5) SB XXIII: Joe Montana hits John Taylor for game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII with 34 seconds left (NOTE: not No. 1 because there were still 34 ticks left)

Biggest choke play:
1) SB XIII: Jackie Smith drops certain TD pass on 3rd down, Dallas forced to kick field goal in 35-31 loss
2) SB XXV: Scott Norwood misses potential game-winning 47-yard field goal on game’s final play
3) SB XXX: Neil O’Donnell throws second INT to Larry Brown in game’s final minutes, sealing Steelers’ loss
4) SB V: Craig Morton tosses interception to the Colts’ Mike Curtis in the final moments, which sets up Jim O’Brien’s game-winning kick
5) SB XXXVIII: After Carolina tied the game at 29-29 with just over a minute left, Panthers kicker John Kasay sent the ensuing kickoff out of bounds to give Tom Brady & the Patriots field position at the 40-yard line for game-winning drive

Best blooper:
1) SB VII: Garo Yepremian’s attempted pass that turned into a Redskins touchdown
2) SB XXVII: Don Beebe chases down Leon Lett and forces a fumble-turned-touchback after Lett struts and holds ball out to celebrate a score prematurely
3) SB XX: 300-plus pound DL William “The Refrigerator” Perry plunges 1 yard for TD in Bears win
4) SB I: Officials re-kick opening kickoff of second half after NBC missed initial kick during sideline interview with Bob Hope
5) SB XXVIII: Thurman Thomas misses first few plays because teammate accidentally grabs his helmet on sideline

Best halftime show:
1) U2 at Super Bowl XXXVI
2) Re-creation of the Battle of New Orleans at Super Bowl IV
3) Tom Petty at Super Bowl XLII
4) Bruce Springsteen at Super Bowl XLIII
5) 3-D show at Super Bowl XXIII

Best Super Bowl postscripts:
1) After Joe Namath and the New York Jets’ stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III the Super Bowl takes on a whole new meaning, eventually becoming the biggest annual sporting event in the nation and a de facto American holiday
2) Days after winning Super Bowl II, Vince Lombardi steps down as Packers head coach. After winning five championships in seven years, it will take another 29 years for the Packers to return to the Super Bowl
3) Following a 30-13 triumph over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his head coach Jimmy Johnson have a falling out. The two parted ways and Johnson was replaced by Barry Switzer
4) Legendary Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway retires after his team wins Super Bowl XXXIII
5) (tie) After winning Super Bowl XXV, Bill Parcells steps down as New York Giants head coach and is replaced by Ray Handley. The next season, the Giants fail to make the playoffs. Parcells does the same to the New England Patriots after taking that team to Super Bowl XXXI, and leaves to coach the New York Jets saying, “If you have to cook the food, they should at least let you shop for the groceries.”

Best Super Bowl quotes:
1) SB III: Joe Namath three days before the game, “We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee you.”
2) SB I: Vince Lombardi after Packers beat Chiefs 35-10, “I don’t think Kansas City compares with the best teams in the NFL. Dallas is a better team. There. That’s what you wanted me to say, isn’t it?”
3) SB XXIII: Cris Collinsworth to Bengals teammate before Joe Montana’s game-winning drive for 49ers, after teammate began prematurely celebrating, “Don’t you see who’s at quarterback out there?”
4) SB XIII: Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, “Terry Bradshaw couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if you spotted him the ‘C’ and the ‘A.’”
5) SB XXII: Reporter to Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, “How long have you been a black quarterback?”

(Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

Best venues:
1) Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
2) University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
3) Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
4) Reliant Stadium, Houston
5) Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Fla.

Best host cities:
1) New Orleans
2) San Diego
3) Miami
4) Los Angeles
5) Tampa

Top five cities we’d like to see host Super Bowls, but know it will likely never happen:
1) Chicago
2) Green Bay
3) Seattle
4) Cleveland
5) Denver

‘The Magic Bean’

With Super Sunday nearly upon us, it’s as good a time as any to relive the awesomeness that is NFL Films’ “The Magic Bean” feature.

So, who do you like in SB XLIV? Here’s our pick!

After reading every single word written about Super Bowl XLIV on NFL.com.

After watching all of the Super Bowl highlight videos now available on Hulu,com.

After seeing Friday’s injury report.

Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff is finally ready to officially make a selection for which team will take home the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy following 60 minutes of football (maybe more?) at Sun Life Stadium, which was formerly known as Land Shark Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Pro Player Stadium and Joe Robbie Stadium.

Wow … 50,000 satisfied visitors and counting!

Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff would like to give a hearty shout out to its loyal fans for helping Greatest Pro Bowls of all time, and other stuff crack the 50,000 page view plateau.

Cheers!

Great tidbit on Garcon

Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times of Racine, Wis. brought up a good point regarding Indianapolis Colts WR Pierre Garcon, writing: “You may have noticed Colts receiver Pierre Garcon caught 11 passes for 151 yards and one touchdown in the Colts’ 30-17 victory over the New York Jets in the AFC championship game Sunday.

“That’s the same Garcon who caught just four passes for 30 yards in Mount Union’s 31-21 loss to UW-Whitewater in the 2007 NCAA Division III national championship.”

Who will meet in Super Bowl XLIV?

“To me, we should be favorites. I mean in the whole tournament. I think we have the best defense; I know we do. I think we have the best rushing attack. I want this football team. If I had a choice to coach any team in this tournament, I would choose this one.” — New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, when his 9-7 team entered the playoffs as arguably the biggest underdogs to reach Super Bowl XLIV.

Pro Bowl hype week kicks off Sunday with the American Football Conference and National Football Conference championship games.

Top 10 conference championship games

“Then run it and let’s get the hell out of here.” — Vince Lombardi to Packers QB Bart Starr, moments before Starr scored the game-winning touchdown in the famous “Ice Bowl.”

On the eve on what is arguably football’s greatest day — conference championship Sunday — it’s appropriate to bust out this list of the top 10 greatest conference championship games played in the Super Bowl era:

Predictions for NFL divisional playoffs

Last week, I missed on a couple wild-card playoff games, and that profoundly impacted my 2009 NFL playoff bracket.

Let’s re-adjust accordingly and make some picks for this weekend’s divisional playoff games and beyond …

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