Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for February 7, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV, XXXI-XXV (31-25).
* Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is named Super Bowl MVP.
* And now the Knicks are reportedly discussing a deal to bring Carmelo Anthony to New York. The NBA trade deadline is February 24th.
* Just call them the Cleveland "Cadavers." The Cavaliers lose their record 24th straight game. They've yet to win in 2011.
* Pitchers and catchers for some teams report in 6 days.
2. Super Bowl XLV
Yes, Aaron Rodgers won the MVP award, but in truth what won the game for Green Bay was the three Pittsburgh turnovers. The single biggest play of the game was the forced fumble by Clay Matthews. And the NFL has been blessed. It's now four consecutive good Super Bowls. Remember all those years when the games were dogs? The only nitpick is that Super Bowls take way too long. More promos, commercials and halftime performers than actual football. But it's all about the money. And now that the game is over, it's still all about the money. Contract negotiations, here we come.
3. Hall of Famer
Why does it seem that the Pro Football Hall of Fame has more worthy candidates each year than baseball? Just look who didn't make it to Canton this weekend -- Curtis Martin. I may be a little biased, but not only was he a "Hall of Fame" player, he's in my "All Class" Hall of Fame as well. Just look at what he Tweeted after losing out out. "I want to thank every member of the voting committee for considering me as a top 10 finalist this year. I think you guys pick(ed) a great class!" The irony is he may go in next year with Bill Parcells who coached him in New England, and brought him to the Jets. Curtis also Tweeted about that. "Hypothetically, if I were to get in next year with Parcells (my mentor), I would be glad I didn't make it this year."
Now that'll be a Hall of Fame "class" in more ways than one.
4. At Last!
The missing link has finally been located. Both CBS and NBC televised Super Bowl I in 1967, but neither preserved the video tape. In fact it was thought that nobody had saved any tape from the telecast, until now. The Paley Center for Media now has 94 minutes from the CBS broadcast, thanks to someone who had it in his Pennsylvania attic for 38 years. The Center restored the tape, which wasn't in great shape. According to the Wall Street Journal, halftime and much of the third quarter is missing. Too bad. It might have shown one of the little known facts in Super Bowl history. The second half kickoff was a do-over. NBC was in commercial, so they pretended the kickoff never happened. Despite the latest discovery, we still don't have video proof that it really did.
5. All that Glitters
OK, not everything was fine and dandy yesterday. Sponsors spent $3 million for a 30 second spot, and while some of the commercials were cute, there were no blockbusters, although the promo for FOX's House, a take-off on the famous Mean Joe Greene Coca Cola commercial, was deviously clever. Christina Aguilera flubbed a line singing the National Anthem. And in a major NFL snafu, several hundred fans with tickets for the game didn't have seats. Those fans got to watch on TV with refunds of triple the face value of their tickets. On the bright side, we did see Cameron Diaz hand-feeding popcorn to A-Rod. But in truth, the game is what counts. So credit the Steelers. They could have been blown out of Dallas. Instead they made it a nail-biter. Good stuff.
Happy Birthday: Phoenix Suns all star guard Steve Nash. 37.
Bonus Birthday: "Bruce Willis' Son," Mr. Demi (48 years old) Moore, Ashton Kutcher. 33.
Today in Sports: Toronto's Darryl Sittler sets the NHL record of 10 points in a game by scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in an 11-4 win over Boston. 1976.
Bonus Event: Over 3,000 screaming fans jam JFK airport to greet the Beatles as they arrive on American soil. 1964.
I'll announce the winner of the Top 5 Super Bowl contest later this week. Thanks to all of you who entered for a chance to win a coveted "Len Berman's That's Sports" hat.
Coming later this month, the Top 5 NCAA Basketball Tournament contest.
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