The Super Bowl (can I still type that or has the NFL outlawed typing it too?)

After a couple of weeks of deliberating on the game and countless hours of mild daydreaming about it at work. I've come up with a prediction for the "Big Game" as it is now called.

I have watched a great deal of Steeler football this year and have seen an amazing defense leb by S Troy Polamalou and an offense that is slightly above average. Yes "Big Ben" is a good quarterback and he seems to have a bit of Elway-like magician in him (the man for which he wears that # 7 jersey). His offensive line on the other hand, whle they have been playing better, still seems a bit like a patchwork unit that has some lapses. A limited Hines Ward should prove to be quite a hurdle for Big Ben, as Ward is his undisputed security blanket, this should cause TE Heath Miller to be more involved in the passing game. The defense, while very talented, may be a bit overmatched on the athletic front. While the Steelers played an incredibly difficult schedule, I don't believe they have faced an offense nearly as prolific or talented as the one they will face tomorrow. This should prove to be the difference in the game. I admittedly had not seen much of the Cardinals over this past season until the playoffs, but after watching all of their playoff games…I can tell you, they are good. Look for Kurt Warner to play the part of the cool customer and look for Larry Fitgerald to be lined up everywhere possible to catch a pass. Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley is currently in one of those zones ,as a play caller, like a great shooter in the NBA gets into at times. With the knowledge of many former Steeler coaches at their disposal, they should be one step ahead of the Steel Curtain. I believe crossing routes and bubble screens will be the diet that Arizona feeds the Pittsburgh D. And unlike all of the AFC teams the Steelers beat to get there, the Cards have 3 very formidable options to throw the ball to at WR, and Urban's not bad either. I believe Fast Willie may make a play or two but I just don't think those blitzing LBs from Pittsburgh will be able to get to Warner or be able to cover the athletes of the Cardinals over the middle. The Cards also have some amazing athletes on D, look for #29 ARC to make a play when ARZ really needs it and don't forget about Adrian Wilson on the blitz. In the end I think it will be a great game but I think a great offense can nullify a great defense and that will be the case tomorrow. Arizona wins 38-24 and the former grocery clerk from Iowa gets his 2nd Super Bowl ring.

The Snowboarding…

My buddy Pete n I decided that we needed to celebrate out 29-ness while we still could, so of course trying our hand at snowboarding was the obvious answer. I had never snowboarded b4 and neither had Pete but we were stoked (i can say that now cuz I'm a snowboarder...sort of) Well we bought the gear ie goggles, pants, tights, ninja mask and rented the big stuff and were on our way. This really sweet girl Rachel came along too and helped us out with some pointers and how to stand n stuff but otherwise we were kind of on our own. We literally just hopped in line and just as I was about to be next in line on the lift...I see a sign that says "This Run is for intermediate level skiers and above ONLY. No beginners" and then the chair lift swept me away! So nearly instantaneously I began to freak the eff out!! I wanted to scream but I didn't want the RED CROSS people to come so I was about ready to turn into that guy from "The House of Wax" where he's embalmed but can still cry..anyway I'm wavin my arms and Rachel tries for a minute to console me but then I think she had to turn around so I didn't see her laughing her ass off and Pete was just laughin it up behind me. Anyway, I contemplated jumping from the lift and then decided that was a pain I didn't need to feel, so I just sort of was quietly histerical for what seemed like the 45 mins that it took for us to get to the top of what i was sure was the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Actually it was about a 10 min ride but by the time I reached the top, I remembered, I have absasmurfly no idea how the H to get off of this thing. So the end was fast approaching and I did the only thing I knew to do. I jumped....and fell flat on my face, just receiving a small taste of the kind of pain I was about to feel from this dastardly mountain. We all get to the top and its revealed to me that we are at 12,000 ft!! Our first time snowboarding and we are trying to impersonate those crazy dudes from the Dew Tour. My hysteria has turned to blinding fear and I'm trying to be brave but its not working very well. In my very first attempt to stand ,after I scraped myself off the chair lift face plant zone, I was convinced that both my groin muscles had rolled up my legs like roman shades. I pressed on though and got to my "feet." I was up but now what? Our hosts for this trip Travis and Tori had been waiting for us at the top...they are pretty descent skiers and were there strictly for entertainment purposes, of this I am convinced. Well...I believe I made it about 15 feet and proceded to fall on what most certainly had to be some sort of white concrete. I've never been run over by a city bus before but I believe it must feel something like the pain I felt the first time I BIFFED it on the slopes. Afterward, I told my friends the mountain was tuggging at my soul to quit and I almost listened. Pete seemed to be doing a little better but decided that speed was the name of the game and while I was already contemplating retiring from the sport I love, he somehow decided he wanted to break the land speed record for a 240lb dude. He had some epic wipeouts that may or may not have killed some of the tiny little men that were wizzing by us. Rachel was kind of there to make sure we both stayed alive and she'd stop and laugh at each of us and make sure we were able to continue. After about 5 near death experiences and landings that I can still feel nearly 3 weeks later...I had two crashes that were the end of my snowboarding for the day. The first was one where I hit my right shoulder so hard that it made a sound like it broke off my body and after dusting myself off from that "horrendous crash" (you rule james best!) I got up again and it was either that my shoulder hurt so bad I didn't feel my groin anymore or I was so cold I couldn't feel anythng. But I got up again and made it about 50 yards and I was now ffffffflying down the mountain and decided to try to stear....BAD IDEA...I started facing backward and when i tried to turn back around I caught my edge and did a face plant that would grow faces and slid on said face for a bit and then my momentum was such that I parlayed the faceplant in to a barrel roll 3 or 4 times where upon my stoppage, my binding had broken off and I was now going to have to toboggan down the mountain the rest of the way. Pete went zipping by screaming the unforgettable line from Talledega Nights "I WANNA GO FAST!!" and he did, until he too wiped out...hard. He had to unbury himself a few times he wrecked so hard. Rachel was just kind of enjoying the show I think..she seemed like she could stay upright pretty well and I only saw her bite it once, but it was quite a wreck and she may or may not have left some of her tailbone on the slopes. Anyway we worked our way down in a zoomy 2 1/2 hrs. I couldn't go on cuz my body said no and my equipment was echoing that thought as well. Pete 'n Rachel went up one more time and there were reports that Pete actually spun on his head in what must have been the wipeout of all wipeouts. I think we slowly got better but who knew it was going to be that hard and that it was going to make you question living everytime you bit it. I sure didn't, but Pete 'n I are undaunted and plan on going back and conquering that mountain. Who knows? maybe I'll even make it all the way down with my equipment still in tact next time.

Apparently I live here.

I'm 29. I live in a place where I think, if there were just a bit more open water and baby seals, polar bears could literally flourish, and they'd probably be as happy as those coca-cola ones from the ads a few years back. I get up each morning and I can't believe I live here. There's a grocery store and a Walmart and for some reason a state university. Its so cold here, I've had hat hair since late October and I don't really see a light at the end of my hat hair tunnel until at least later March. One would think that in a place such as this they would be incredibly efficient with snow removal, but if one thought that...one would be horribly horribly mistaken. The other day, I actually had to "dukes of hazzard" (minus the airborness) my way through a snow drift, just to make a left turn into my parking lot. I tell myself I am here because this is where the job was but part of me is really beginning to wonder, if its more to do with the fact that I don't necessarily like myself and I want to punish me for something.... Well, anyway I hope I get done hating me pretty soon so I can get the eff outta here.... until then enjoy sum PB'n J on me!