Arizona Heat

First off, Championship Sunday is better than Super Bowl Sunday.

Why? Championship Sunday gives you two great games, which history tells us, are usually a lot more exciting than the big one. Also, there's less hype and you have a better chance to sit down and actually watch the game. Super Sunday you're stuck at a party with a bunch of amateur fans who are there for the party and commercials.

Going into the NFC Championship game, my biggest question? How is Arizona a 4 point underdog? How can you make the home team an underdog in a Championship Game! Yeah, Arizona played in one of the weakest divisions and everyone thought the Cardinals didn't even belong in the Playoffs. But what about the Eagles? Philadelphia needed a couple of miracles on the final Sunday of the season just to make the playoffs.

The Eagles struggled to beat a mediocre Vikings' team. Than went into the Meadowlands to beat Giants team that limped into the playoffs losing 3 of four. You knew Philly's luck was gonna run out. And not to mention the Eagles' struggle in recent Conference Championship Games.

Another thing, Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in the NFL. He's Randy Moss on LSD. Fitzgerald doesn't even look like he runs full speed. He's carried the Cardinals to the Super Bowl. Heck, he set the NFL record for most receiving yards in the playoffs-419 yards, breaking Jerry Rice's 1988 record of 409.

Fitzgerald set a Conference Championship record with 3 first half touchdowns.

But give Donavan McNabb and Philadelphia a lot of credit. Down 24-6 at halftime, on the Eagles' first possession of the second half, McNabb was sacked by Adrian Wilson and fumbled the ball away to Arizona. The Cardinals were well on their way to a blow out.

Philadelphia kept their composure on the road and scored 19 unanswered points to somehow take a 25-24 lead in the fourth quarter! The Eagles owned the third quarter with 165 yards to Arizona's 4!

But Arizona showed they were the better team by putting together a Super Bowl drive. After losing a 24-6 lead and all of the momentum, the Cardinals put together a 14 play, 72 yard touchdown drive taking 7:52 off the clock.

Of course there were many critical plays on the drive. Arizona faced a fourth and 1(and season) near midfield. Ken Whisenhunt elected to go for it and Tim Hightower ran to the outside to pick up the biggest first down in the Cardinals' history.

Later in the drive, third and 1 from the 15, Hightower ran for another first down to give the Cardinals a first and goal. Three players later, Hightower finished the drive on a screen pass from Warner and found the end zone.

Arizona's defense held on. On 4th and 10, McNabb's final pass (as an Eagle?) fell incomplete to Kevin Curtis. There might have been some contact on the play, but both players seemed to slip and Curtis probably still should have made the catch. And in these types of games, you can't let the refs decide the outcome.

I think I might have been more impressed by the Cardinals' defense than anything else. They were able to shut down the run and get pressure on McNabb. Adrian Wilson came through on safety blitzes and finished with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and a forced fumble. Don't count out the Cardinals in the Super Bowl.

So for the first time ever, on to Tampa and the Super Bowl for the Arizona Cardinals! Congratulations!

Another Giant Victory

If you were not at home in front of the TV, at a sports bar, or at a championship day party, you don't like football, you probably don't like me and there's no way you're reading this. With that being said, You suck along with your miserable boring life. Sunday's two championship games were better than Super Bowl Sunday. You get 2 great games back to back, so of course it's better than the one over hyped Super Bowl game. (This year maybe an exception.)

What better setting for the NFC Championship Game than the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field! Freezing cold weather, a mix of flurries, and hard hitting trash talking football. And yes, The New York Football Giants with little Manning vs. Old Man Winter, Bret Farve and the Green Bay Packers. The only that could hurt this game would be the referees. Yes, the refs seemed to be taking control of this game with bad calls that seemingly affected the outcome. To start the 3rd quarter, the Packers seemed to stop the Giants on third down. I'm not even quite sure what the call was, but the Giants were the awarded a first down and went on to score. On the ensuing drive, the Packers failed to convert a third down, but of course, a yellow flag laid on the field. Sam Madison was involved in some kind of skirmish away from the ball. Even the commentators saw no reason for the flag and maybe the refs should just let the teams play.

I mean, this is for the Super Bowl and emotions are at an all time high. Editors note: Sam Madison is a former Dolphin CB who was known for bonehead plays similar to this one. I believe Trick Daddy sported a Madison jersey on one of his CD covers. "Baby cuz I'm a Thug."
Another question, is Plaxico Burress really this great or is Al Harris completely overrated? Burress quieted a lot of critics with the game of his life. The only setback was the dropped pass inside the 5 yard line, though it would have been a remarkable catch, Burress seemed to be catching everything thrown his way.
The 4th quarter brought more bizarre plays and seemed that luck was riding on the Green Bay's side. First, there was the INT by R.W. McQuarters that may have sealed the deal but McQuarters fumble the ball on the return. Packers get another shot and tie the game. From there on, it was pretty much all Eli and the Giants. Between Green Bay's play calling and Farve's carelessness, the Pack never had a chance. They practically abandoned the run game and the Giants defense could just play against the pass and read Farve's mistakes.
The Giants outplayed the Packers and owned the second half but still needed an extra session to win. The Giants kept the Packers in the game with missed opportunities.

A couple of missed field goals and a great run by Ahmad Bradshaw called back for holding gave the home team a chance. But with the Packers being one dimensional at this time, they didn't deserve to win.
Watch out for The New York Football Giants!