FROM THE REAL ART SPORTS DESK
DENIED!!!

From the AP via ESPN:

Eli, monster defense power Giants to shocking Super Bowl victory

The Giants, 12-point underdogs, ruined the New England Patriots' quest for a perfect season. New York, which lost six of 16 games in the regular season, prevailed 17-14 at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Quarterback Eli Manning, the game's MVP, lofted a regal, floating 13-yard pass to Plaxico Burress -- over Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs --- to put the Giants over the top with 35 seconds left.

And

Manning, however, engineered a terrific drive as time ran down. The signature play: Manning, ducking and spinning, somehow avoided a severe rush, and Tyree managed to reel in a 33-yard catch -- he initially pinned the ball on his helmet with one hand -- giving New York the ball at the New England 24-yard line. With 35 seconds left, Manning hit Burress with a gorgeous 25-yard touchdown pass, and the Pats' perfect season had congealed, horribly, into the twisted wreckage of a shocking loss.

Click here for the rest.

Of course, there were fifty eight more minutes to this game than simply those last exciting two. Indeed, the whole damned game was exciting, my favorite kind of NFL matchup, a battle of defenses--yeah, yeah, high-scoring shootouts are fun, too, and they definitely have mass appeal, but I always enjoy defenses shutting down high octane offenses, and we got that last night, on both sides of the ball, in spades. And it was Eli Manning, not pretty-boy jock dick Tom Brady, who was able to find just enough openings in his opponents' armor to prevail.

Hot damn, I love football!

Full disclosure: I hate the Patriots. I didn't used to hate them, but this season my animosity steadily grew; from the video-cheating bust at the beginning of the season, and with each successive win, I found myself feeling more and more about the Patriots the way I felt about the Cowboys back in the 90s. Yeah, I hate unstoppable Goliaths. And I just loooove underdog boys with slingshots.

(Disclaimer: Just to be clear, I love underdog boys, rather than underage boys, and that love is very definitely non-sexual.)

Last Friday night, I was hanging out with a couple of buddies from work. One of them used to be something of a bookie, and he was going on and on about how the Giants had no chance. Really, my friend knows his shit, and went on for like a half hour with some pretty compelling arguments as to why the Patriots were going to win by at least fourteen. All I could say was crap to the effect of "...on any given Sunday..." or "the Giants are really on fire these last six weeks or so." I had nothing, and this guy did a good job of making my pro-Giants remarks seem like wishful thinking.

I watched most of the game thinking the conclusion was preordained. When Manning threw his final touchdown to Burress I whooped out a roaring "Ho, ho, ho!!!" Scared the shit out of my cats.

Anyway, Super Bowl 42 is why I watch football. It's easily the best Super Bowl since the Broncos beat the Packers, and definitely one of the best games I've ever watched, right up there with the Longhorns' thrilling Rose Bowl victory over USC a couple of years ago, or their victory over Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 Championship game back in '96, both bigtime upset wins.

By the way, big congrats to the 1972 Miami Dolphins.


Eli Manning miraculously scrambles out of a blitz before making the
decisive pass to Tyree on the Giants' final scoring drive. (AP photo)

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