Yeah, it's way late in the week. But I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything with this game lying ahead. It's 25 hours until gametime.

The records first and then the line. I am completely amazed that I hit 9 out 0f 10 playoff games and am utterly disappointed that I couldn't make a run at this back in my BetonSports.com account days.

9 out of 10 and I still haven't shaken Hudale...

9-1: Sonny
8-2: Matty Hu
7-3: Signor, Tony and Dave
5-5: Herrmann, Dame and JB
4-6: Turrible, Dunn

The rules of the contest included two bets on the Super Bowl -- line and over under:

Pittsburgh (-6 1/2) vs. Arizona
Over/Under 46 1/2

(Photo Credit:  AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Hey, remember last week when you really couldn't find a reason to dislike the Cardinals? So many Western, PA connections, The Christian Soldier, a harmless fanbase...well, May I present the reason to hate this team and city. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you..The Golden Cousins.




Seriously, this song makes the "Steeler Ladies" sound like the fucking White Album.

Thanks to TTB reader Big Nick for the link.

Here's to giving the Golden Cousins a Golden Shower on Sunday!!!

(Photo Credit:  Pennlive.com)

Sources within the city say that there will be no parade if the Steelers should happen to win on Sunday.

In other news, the Panthers helped close down the Spectrum by sounding (not on TV) awful in a 67-57 loss to Villanova.

The Pens are looking rested and ready for the second half. They lead the Rangers 3-1 halfway through the third period.

WIWUT was a call at 4 a.m. that I had a 2-hour delay and another at 7 that school was canceled. So, despite the fact that we have to make it up during the summer, I revel in a rare chance to tell you WIWUT on Super Bowl week.

Media Day Videos from CBS and ESPN -- I can't fully decide whether I hate or enjoy media day. I think both. But Super Bowls are always so happy and friendly because the teams aren't rivals. Wouldn't you have loved to see a media day before the AFC Championship game with the Steelers and Ravens sharing a field?

WPXI -- Video of the Arizona mayor and the Cardinal mascot doing mean things with The Towel. Cardinal used it like he was washing himself and Mayor (Oh who cares, I'm not even looking up his name) pretended to sneeze into it. Kind of hard to get angry at Arizona fans. They're like Bengals fans without the rich tradition. He apologized, too. How lame is that?

XXX- It's been 13 years to the day since the Steelers lost Super Bowl XXX. Our only Super Bowl loss is still one of my favorite memories. Suprise onside? Suprise onside!

ESPN -- The World Wide Leader is doing a day-long chat with different Super Bowly people. Among them is Franco Harris at 3:15 and Hines at 5. Oh yeah, Elisabeth Hasselbeck's brother-in-law was on at 10:15....he's probably rehashing how his receivers pushed off and how his linemen held all day in XL.

ESPN Sportsnation -I found it interesting that 60% of the country thinks that Arizona will cover the spread (Cards +7). I can deal with that -- it's a lot of points -- Pennsyvania and West Virginia are the only states willing to lay the points. But this isn't just about the points. The poll on the from of CBS Sportsline.com has simply "Who will win the Super Bowl?" has the Steelers 51% to Cardinals 49%.

PG - Give me a story about a long-snapper and I'm in. Gene Collier did.

Trib - James Harrison ain't too happy about dropping into pass coverage Sunday. Or the idea of Media Day, for that matter.

CBSSPiN -- The author of this post has a column called "The 25 Most Annoying Things About Super Bowl Week". First week for the new bio and mugshot. I always hated school picture day.

Okay, so this is more a question than it is an informative post. But I'm wondering where Mr. First-Round Draft pick is hiding.

Yeah, I realize he is injured. But Charlie Batch is coaching up all the QBs. Yesterday I saw Daniel Sepulveda at Media Day. But shouldn't the big money RB be sponging as much as he can from FWP and Mewelde?

Maybe I'm missing something, but I heard one little snippet early in the year about how he wanted to rehab at home. He's still getting paid, though, right? Wouldn't he want to be in Tampa? And if he doesn't, does that scare everyone else as much as it scares me?

Any tips on his whereabouts gang?

(Photo Credit:  steelers.com)

Yeah, that's about how many minutes remain until the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIII.

Unfortunately, the little widget that counted us down also sabotaged the site. Rumor has it that it was planted by a bitter Ravens fan. Speaking of, I was thinking earlier that McGahee's injury late in the AFC Championship game dampened some of the enthusiasm for what should have been a completely obnoxious "We beat you 3 times AND we're going to the Super Bowl" celebration.

Not that it wasn't fun, but having a guy getting carted out like that doesn't lend itself to unbridled enthusiasm. Glad he said he's feeling alright, though.

Please read on in this post for some early Super Bowl thoughts. And, believe me, they will be coming ALLLLLLLL week long. But first, a couple quick hit links that I found interesting.

AP- Injured Reserve superstar TE Jonathan Dekker was arrested in Alexandria, Virginia for obstructing justice. Rumors that Turrible was helping him flee are completely unfounded and won't be tolerated on this site.

Yahoo - In a Yahoo Sports interview that they touted "advice for the Cardinals", Matt Cassle basically says nothing. He tells Warner to keep doing what he's doing. Notice he doesn't say a word about the Cards defense, which he hung 47 on.

SI - Don Banks concludes that Pittsburgh and Arizona are nothing alike. I agree that Rod Tidwell is the most famous Cardinal ever.

Common Opponents

Comparing NFL team records is impossible because the schedule is so imbalanced. A team only plays 12 of the 32 teams. When you only play about 38% of the league, you really need a tighter snapshot to examine it.

This year, the Steelers and Cardinals played five of the same teams: Philly, N.Y. Giants, Washington, New England and Dallas.

The Steelers were 3-2 against those teams and the Cardinals were 2-3. Interestingly, though, Arizona beat New York and Philly -- the teams the Steelers lost to. And, conversely, Pittsburgh beat Washington, New England and Dallas -- the teams Arizona lost to.

This, of course, provides us with no conclusions.

Warner Rewind

So much has happened since the undefeated Steelers were beaten by Arizona last year that it might take a little refreshing. Arizona won 21-14 at home in a game in which they deployed a weird Kurt Warner/Matt Leinart platoon system. Obviously, don't expect the same Sunday. But Whisenhunt knew they needed a QB that could get the ball out of his hand fast and Mr. Arena League (no, not Tommy Maddox) was that man.

The box score reveals that it was a very even game in terms of yards (282-301) and turnovers (2-2), but Steve Breaston broke out a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown that was the difference. Although, it was Leinart, not Warner who led the game-winning touchdown drive. One overlooked fact is that Polamalu was injured in the game and didn't play most of the second half.

My Amateur Game Film Analysis

Because I was fully engrossed in an AFC Champioship- caliber Tailgate last week, I didn't get the chance to watch Eagles-Cards very closely. Now that I have, I really like what I saw from how the Cards played against the Eagles defense.

In the first half, Philly tried to overload a lot on the blitz. This is usually a tactic reserved for rookie quarterbacks and Warner ate it up. His line picked up the blitz and he found the vacated seam and exploited it.

In the second half, the Eagles, instead, unleashed a more even-handed and steady zone blitz that had Warner rattled. The offense that produced 4 scoring drives in 5 possessions in the first half went PUNT/PUNT/PUNT/TD/PUNT in the second. Of course, that was a big TD, but they weren't the same in the last 30 minutes.

Luckily, it is a little know fact that the Steelers' defense coordinator's given name is Dick "even-handed and steady zone blitz pressure" LeBeau. Check his birth certificate.

Can You Know a Team From The Inside Without Them Knowing You From the Inside?

Much attention is being paid to how well Ken Whisenhunt knows the Steelers. Yeah, okay, I see that.

But why the hell doesn't anyone point out that the Steelers have also have some keen insights into what Whis does? I mean, the moment I saw Warner throw a lateral last week out into the flat and drop back a few more steps, I knew the toss back and throw was coming. Do you think the Steelers will be prepared for a toss sweep reverse and pass ala Ben/Willie/Antwaan/Hines in the Super Bowl.

I understand that Whisenhunt's familiarity with the Steelers personnel may have some effect. But with two weeks to prepare and the magnitude of the game, this is almost certainly a wash.