One game ... in South Florida

As the Super Bowl is poised to return to sunny South Florida for the ninth time in 2007, the game and the festivities surrounding it will reflect its storied past in the locale but also show America how the area has grown since its last Super Bowl in 1999.

South Florida, of course, has a proud history of hosting sensational Super Bowl matchups.

There was Super Bowl III, in which Joe Namath and the AFL New York Jets shocked the Baltimore Colts. Or Super Bowl XXIII, in which San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana connected with John Taylor for the winning, come-from-behind, last-minute touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Those kinds of moments are exhibitive of the theme of the 2006 NFL season -- "One Game. One Dream." "One Game" is the game of football itself, and the game that each team plays each week. As the NFL playoffs beckon, it truly is one game that keeps the "Dream" alive -- Super Bowl XLI.

When its teams and their fans arrive for the game, they will see the excitement that bubbles throughout the region.

South Florida, which consists of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, has undergone a transformation since Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999. In the midst of a local urban renaissance, the region has added thousands of new tourist attractions to its already extensive list.

Parrot Jungle Island on Watson Island in Miami, for instance, has been a hit with thousands of visitors since it opened in 2003. The $47 million theme park is conveniently located in the heart of Miami between downtown and South Beach.

Another well-known attraction is the Miami Beach Convention Center, which spans four city blocks in Miami Beach. Adjacent to the fun and excitement of the Art Deco and South Beach districts, the center -- recognized for its unusual architecture -- is just a short walk to one of America's most spectacular beaches.

The Greater Miami region alone is home to more than 50 new hotels and 30 new golf courses, as well as a new performing arts center set to open in October of this year that has already sparked a flurry of development in revitalized downtown Miami.

"South Florida sells itself," says former Miami Dolphins President Eddie Jones. "We've got everything from sports and fashion to nightlife and tourism."

In keeping with the NFL's 2006 theme, South Florida remains a dream destination for many fans and visitors.

Taken from superbowl.com

Vikings win Pee Wee title in Superbowl

The Pee Wee Vikings claimed the Stafford County Recreation Youth Sports Football League Superbowl in the league's first overtime championship game.

The Vikings, led by Robert Whitehurst, fought off a determined and undaunted Stafford Falcon team. After four quarters of dramatic play that saw the score go back and forth and tied twice, the game went into overtime.

The Falcons, who beat the Wolfpack and previously undefeated Patriots in the playoffs despite a 3-5 regular season, won the overtime toss and tried four plays that they did not score. They were led by Rohan Martin who scored both Falcon touchdowns on two long exciting runs before the overtime.

Then it was the Vikings' turn, after a short gain by Micah Harris, Tyler Baker took a sweep around the left side and ran 19 yards down to the Falcon 1-yard line. The Falcons held on first down. On second down, Robert Whitehurst's 2-yard quarterback sneak sealed the victory.

The victory did not come without controversy, however, as Whitehurst fumbled when he dove with the ball over the goal. Two of the three referees stated he broke the plane and the game was over. The winning touchdown was Whitehurst's third of the game, including a 55-yard punt return.

The Vikings were led on defense by Zac Weaver, Wallace Vanderhoof, Devin McKinley, Genan Davis and Micah Harris. Offensive leaders were Tyler Baker, Zeb Cottongim, Rodney Hill who made a big catch on a fourth down, and Paul Kelly at tight end. The forgotten five on the line included Luke Sarmiento, Nate Mills, Shawn Michael, Doug Sivigny, Matt Eberz, Matt Smith and Christen Abrams who provided key blocks.

The Vikings finished the regular season at 6-2, and then defeated a tough and valiant Pee Wee Eagle team and once-beaten Bronco team before the Superbowl game with the Falcons. Their final record was 9-2.

On List of Best Ever, L.T. Already No. 6 (With Only a Temporary Qualifier Bullet)

When I watch LaDainian Tomlinson, the man who possesses as exactly many letters in his name as he does NFL records, I am reminded of Gale Sayers.

And Eric Dickerson.

And O.J. Simpson, minus the knives and "hypothetical recountings".

Oh, and maybe even Jim Brown, too. Gawd, that's hard to write or even contemplate but contemplate it, I must.

When watching Tomlinson, he is all of these players, and others. He is so much like many of the greats; it is one of the more uncanny things I have witnessed in sports. He possesses the vision and the much smaller nearly the strength of Brown, the grace of Dickerson, the quickness of Sayers, the moves of Simpson. He is all of these men.

Tomlinson reminds us of another era in football's history. Now, mediocrity rules. Few runners truly qualify as great. Tomlinson is the next great running back and is such a dominant player at his position that he already outshines backs that are in the Hall of Fame.

My keyboard didn't stutter. You read that right.

The numbers are part of the reason. Numbers like 100: Fastest to 100 career touchdowns, in just his 89th game.

Or 19: the most touchdowns in a six-game span.

Or 22: the most touchdowns in the first 10 games of a season. That's more touchdowns than the entire Denver Broncos offense and several other teams.

Or 4: Consecutive 4-touchdown games, tying a league record.

Tomlinson is not just rewriting record books; he is re-engineering our thoughts about what a great running back is.

Now, prepare your "Lindell is an idiot" e-mails.

Or just reheat the old ones.

Because I am about to stimulate your outrage glands.

Listing the top 10 running backs of all time is like debating who is prettier, Halle Berry or Tyra Banks. We love arguing over this stuff; some like brawling over this stuff.

My top 10 running backs pre-Tomlinson: Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Gale Sayers, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen and Emmitt Smith.

Tomlinson is already better than Emmitt Smith. Far superior. Tomlinson would also beat Smith on the dance floor.

Tomlinson is already better than Marcus Allen.

Better than Dorsett.

And better than Payton. Yes, Payton.

He is better than John Riggins, Marshall Faulk, Curtis Martin, Franco Harris or almost any other runner you can think of.

Already.

The only runners Tomlinson has not yet surpassed are Brown, Simpson, Dickerson, Sayers and Sanders -- although he is standing right behind both Sayers and Sanders, peeking over their shoulders and figuring what move he'll use to split them burst free.

Assuming none of his knee ligaments head south when he runs north, Tomlinson will end up better than both of them.

Because he is a better blocker than both runners and a superior athlete to Sanders.

Thousands of trees have met their demise and ga-jillions of gigabytes are produced to extol the virtues of Reggie Bush. Tomlinson receives a fraction of that publicity, and he is so much better than Bush it's like comparing a luscious dessert at a five-star restaurant to Klondike bars. And you get production and numbers from Tomlinson without a hint of scandal.

Again, we are not talking strictly numbers, though Tomlinson is shredding his share of records and will continue to do so. It's more than that. His moves, his intelligence, his power, his quickness, his speed put him on par with the greats.

It's as if God were a football fan, and He decided to create the perfect running back by mixing the genome of past greats into one Petri dish and -- poof -- out came Tomlinson.

Please do not counter with the quite old, unimaginative and silly argument that Tomlinson has not played enough games to warrant such hefty consideration. He has played plenty. You can just look at him and tell he's better than all but a handful of runners to ever play the game.

The biggest criticism of Tomlinson, the only one really, is that he greatly benefits from having good skill position players around him. His quarterback is talented, his receivers are solid, and his tight end is athletic.

Players like Brown, Simpson, and definitely Sanders, for the most part had corpses at other skill positions. Players like Smith are penalized because he played with a Hall of Fame quarterback, maybe the best offensive line ever and a wide receiver in Michael Irvin who was one of the top receivers of the 1990s.

What Tomlinson is doing is beyond remarkable. It's eerie. It's eerie because he looks so much like the past greats, and one day, he might surpass them all.

In some ways, he already has.

Analysis: The Super Bowl Champs Are Down And Out

NORTH CAROLINA -- Growing up as a kid in New England, most of my friends, family and classmates were fans of three area teams: The New York Giants, The New York Jets and yes, even the pathetic New England Patriots (at least they were in the 70's and 80's).

I was always different. My friends took Spanish in school, I studied French. All the guys pledged to a particular fraternity, I went to pledge at a different one or as the it turned out, didn't pledge at all. If they went west, I went east, if they went north, I went south, etc.

So naturally when most were cheering for "the traditional area three teams", I was a fan of the current Super Bowl Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tough, rough, strong, and powerful. All words seemingly used when describing the Black and Gold.

Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, "Mean" Joe Greene, John Stallworth, Jack Lambert, Rocky Bleier, Chuck Noll and of course the man who change the face of the franchise when he purchased them many decades ago, the late great Art Rooney.

Through the 80's the Steelers showed some promise but the storied franchise was declining and rebuilding so I spent most of the decade in agony and distress over my beloved Steelers.

Then the decade of the 90's proved to be a time of promise, rejuvenation and even a Superbowl appearance against the hated team with the star on their helmet.

After years of heartache and disappointments, I finally felt MY TEAM would when their first Superbowl since the 1979-80 season, but thanks to Neil O'Donnell, the Cowgirls beat my Steelers, leaving me to cry in my car (yes, a grown man crying in his car because he is a die-hard Steeler fan) and wondering what if after another season without a championship.

Then last year the improbable happens. In a year where the Steelers look like they were not only not making it to the Superbowl, the chances of making the playoffs looked very slim.

Then Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, "Big Ben" Roethlisberger, Joey Porter, Hines Ward and the rest of the team of warriors battled the second half of the second season, winning the games they needed to win and narrowly getting into the playoffs.

Did you say playoffs? After a comeback win against Cincinnati, a dominating performance against the Colts that saw them almost fumble the game away and a impressive victory in Denver, the Steelers were off to the Super Bowl to play the upstart Seattle Seahawks for football supremacy.

Solid defense, trick plays and big plays led the Steelers to their fifth world championships in six trips to the big bowl and all was well and restored in the land of BLACK AND GOLD. As for me, I was in the proverbial "football heaven" and was on "cloud ten", forget "cloud nine". Until week

2.A loss at Jacksonville, followed by a horrible defeat at home to the rival Bengals, set the Steelers on a whirlwind of losses in every which way you can imagine.

At the time of this article, the Steelers are at the mid-way point of the season with a disastrous 2-6 record, with a chance of a defending their title virtually gone and were gearing up to face a surprisingly good New Orleans Saints team.

Many Steeler fans, football fans and media alike have asked the question this year: What's wrong with the Super Bowl Champions? Some want to blame Ben Roethlisberger, others want to blame the head coach Bill Cowher and many other theories have been discussed but I feel their are some key reasons why the Steelers have struggled this year and I think I know why.

Here are the reasons:

1. Turnovers: The Steelers offense has committed 24 huge turnovers in eight games so far this season including 6 in one game twice this season. It doesn't matter if you are the Super Bowl Champions or the worst team in the league, it's extremely difficult to overcome turnovers at home or on the road and expect to win a NFL football game.

Roethlisberger has thrown 14 interceptions including 7 in the last two games at Oakland (two which led to two Raider touchdowns) and at home against Denver in another loss. Strangely, the Steelers offense is ranked in the top 10 in total offense in the league.

2. Poor defense: Of all the reasons for a dismal season, this is the most surprising. The Steelers defense on third down has been abysmal. The inability to get off the field and stop their opponents on third down has continued drives for the opponents and ultimately led to more points and an eventual loss.

The Steelers also only have one fumble recovery on the season which is dead last in the NFL. Lastly, the defense has allowed too many big plays in the passing game which usually occurs on the down they've have trouble with-third down.

3. The offense: Although the offense is ranked in the top ten, the Steelers are not efficient on the ground which is what they like to do best. Coming into the Saints game, Willie Parker is ninth in the league in rushing but has put the ball on the ground on numerous occasions leaving the coaches at the University of North Carolina who didn't play him much in his years there to say "I told you so". The offense line does a solid job in pass protecting overall but are not getting the job done in opening holes for the running backs which makes the offense predictable and one dimensional.

4. No Jerome Bettis: I know he is only one player, but when you lose a player like Jerome Bettis, who was the heart and soul of the team and was the MAIN drive and purpose for the Steelers to play hard to win a championship, it takes an edge from a team who needs one especially after winning a championship and are trying to defend it.

5. Ben Roethlisberger: Ok, everyone wants to blame the motorcycle injury for the poor play from Roethlisberger but really, "Big Ben's" struggles began in the The New York Giants, The New York Jets and yes, even the pathetic New England Patriots (at least they were in the 70's and 80's).

I was always different. My friends took Spanish in school, I studied French. All the guys pledged to a particular fraternity, I went to pledge at a different one or as the it turned out, didn't pledge at all. If they went west, I went east, if they went north, I went south, etc.">Superbowl when he completed only 8 passes. After going 15-1 in his rookie year and eventually leading his team to the big game, Big Ben has struggled to prove he is not only a starter in the NFL but one of the elite quarterbacks and I think that's caused him to really press and question himself.

The motorcycle injury, a concussion, lack of support from the defense, a running game and a overall lack of confidence has caused this sudden "bundle of blunders" and mistakes leading to losses for the team and a huge weight on his shoulders.

6. Bill Cowher: Most of you who know me and/or have read anything I've written about the Steelers knows I am not a big fan of Bill Cowher. Last year's Super Bowl win was because of a DESIRE (We will get back to that later) the players had to win and great play calling by defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. In my opinion, the Steelers won IN SPITE OF COWHER.

Cowher continues to coach not to lose instead of coaching to win. He second guesses himself when he shouldn't and doesn't seem to give much thought to things he should. HE TOTALLY BOTCHED THE SITUATION WITH BIG BEN THIS SEASON LIKE HE DID LAST SEASON. When Roethlisberger was injured last season, he started an inept Tommy Maddox instead of Charlie Batch and when Big Ben was questionable at the start of this season and then a few weeks ago, instead of starting Charlie Batch, who is undefeated in the last two years with the Steelers, he started Big Ben instead which turned out to be disastrous and the absolute wrong move.

Although I think Cowher is a solid coach, he lacks the confidence in himself it seems to make the right call in the face of loyalty and stand firm in the midst of controversy. It also seems his mind is not on the team who employs him in Pittsburgh, but the team who seemingly wants him in North Carolina (i.e. his alma mater, N.C. State).

7. Teams on the schedule are playing harder: Anytime you win a championship in any sports, the teams you face the following season will play harder especially when you are on the road because you are the defending champions. The Bengals, Chargers and Broncos all lost to the Steelers last season and the Bengals and Broncos on the way to the Steelers winning the title so the incentive to play harder to win was emphasized.

The Jaguars, Raiders and Falcons all just want to make a statement to the NFL they are a good football team and they are a good football team that defeated the defending champions. It's amazing how much of the game of football is played because players are looking for an edge or some form of on the field incentive rather than the physical aspect of the game.

8. The lack of desire: How many times have you seen a champion in any sport seem to come out extremely flat in games or a season because the inability to match intensity from their opponent? The Steelers unfortunately fall into that category this season.

The team seems to be out-played, not physical enough and it seems to come from the difficulty in seizing the moment, losing the edge from the previous year because of a championship and no real sense of urgency to win games and win a championship after accomplishing it last season. The desire is lacking in both the players and coaches.

Some Steelers fans will criticize me for criticizing the Steelers and that's fine and understandable. The truth hurts sometimes and it hurts me to face the facts and write the obvious, HOWEVER these are the 2006-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers. The defenders of last year's Super Bowl Championship.

It's going to be a long second half of the season for the Steelers and their fans but their is always next season. When you win a championship, you hope your team comes back the next season utilizing the positive things they accomplished on the field to hopefully win consecutive championships.

Let's hope for the Steelers and their fans most of everything they didn't do on the field this season isn't carried over into next season.

New England Patriots' excellent run of form continued over the weekend against Buffalo and they are now 15/2 to win Superbowl XLI.

Corey Dillon ran for two early touchdowns and Tom Brady threw a pair of scores as New England coasted to a 28-6 triumph over the Bills.

Stan James remain unchanged at 9/1 about a New England win in the Superbowl.

San Diego have drifted to 12/1 after they lost 30-27 to Kansas City.

Lawrence Tynes kicked a career-long 53-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to lift the Chiefs to a dramatic victory.

Denver are now as short as 8/1 with Betfred after their 17-7 victory over Cleveland, while Seattle's 31-13 loss against Minnesota means they are available at 16/1 with Stan James.

Atlanta won a dramatic tussle with Pittsburgh 41-38 after Michael Vick threw for a career-high four touchdown passes, and they are now 22/1 chances in the outright market.

Pittsburgh though, have drifted to 25s.

Indianapolis remain solid 6/1 second favourites after their 36-22 win over Washington, with Chicago, who didn't play over the weekend, unchanged 7/2 market leaders.

Information taken from sportnetwork.com

Future Super Bowl Locations

Super Bowl XL will be the second Super Bowl played in the Motor City. The first Super Bowl played here was Super Bowl XVI, where Joe Montana claimed the first Lombardi Trophy for the San Francisco 49ers. (Detroit info)

Super Bowl XVI -- San Francisco 26, Cincinnati 21 -->

Super Bowl XLI, South Florida -- Feb. 4, 2007 (CBS)

Super Bowl XLI will be the record-tying (New Orleans) ninth Super Bowl played in the Miami area. Super Bowl XLI will be the fourth Super Bowl played at Dolphins Stadium. The other five Miami Super Bowls were played at the Orange Bowl.

Super Bowl II -- Green Bay 33, Oakland 14

Super Bowl III -- N.Y. Jets 16, Baltimore 7

Super Bowl V -- Baltimore 16, Dallas 13

Super Bowl X -- Pittsburgh 21, Dallas 17

Super Bowl XIII -- Pittsburgh 35, Dallas 31

Super Bowl XXIII -- San Francisco 20, Cincinnati 16

Super Bowl XXIX -- San Francisco 49, San Diego 26

Super Bowl XXXIII -- Denver 34, Atlanta 19

Super Bowl XLII, Glendale, Ariz. -- Feb. 3, 2008 (FOX)

Super Bowl XLII will be played in brand new Cardinals Stadium that opened for the 2006 season. The site of the 2008 Super Bowl was decided at the owners' meetings in Chicago on Oct. 29-30, 2003.

Super Bowl XXX -- Dallas 27, Pittsburgh 17

Super Bowl XLIII, Tampa, Fla. -- Feb. 1, 2009 (NBC) Super Bowl XLIII will be the fourth Super Bowl in Tampa, and the first one since 2001, when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV. The first Super Bowl in Tampa was held in 1984, when the Los Angeles Raiders beat the Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.

Super Bowl XVIII -- L.A. Raiders 38, Washington 9

Super Bowl XXV -- N.Y. Giants 20, Buffalo 19

Super Bowl XXXV -- Baltimore 34, N.Y. Giants 7

Super Bowl XLIV, South Florida -- TBA, 2010 (CBS)

The Super Bowl will return to the Miami area in 2010, when it will surpass New Orleans for the most Super Bowls. It will be the fifth Super Bowl played at Dolphins Stadium.