SUPER BOWL XLI

SEND YOUR COMMENTS

(HIT F5 TO GET THE LATEST CRAPOLA!)

Here it is.  The final act of a glorious five-month epic that culminates in the crowning of a true champion for the ages.

Or something.

At its core, this is just another football game.  But there's just enough hype and pageantry and hoopla and intrigue to make it, on the surface, something much bigger than that.

We get rolling with the Super Bowl XLI Live Blog at the coin toss.  Until then, follow the pregame coverage right here.

OH YEAH!  Let's get this game started.

Who in the hell is Patrick Mannelly?

Bears win the toss.  I just lost $25 bucks.

It was a blessing for the Colts to lose the coin toss, Phyllis Simms says.  Why didn't these guys just wear Colts jerseys?

GAME ON!!!!

WOW!!!  Bears will definitely win now.  Sean Salisbury said so.

Can you say "Ted Ginn"?

Hey, Phil -- are the Colts now happy they lost the toss?

First Super Bowl to ever begin with a kick return for a touchdown.

Jim Nancy acts like he's never heard of the fact that players check the video screen to see who is chasing them.

Reader:  "Salisbury just sent pictures of himself celebrating the Hester touchdown via cell phone to all of his co-workers."

Cool video thing on the player intros.

Wow -- no commercials yet.

Urlacher covering the seam route.

Nice run by Addai.  Where's Tommie Harris?

Phil keeps saying "last week."  Dude, it was two weeks ago.

Nate Vasher was laying on Marvin.

Another false start.  At least Peyton has someone to blame.

Hello, Cover 2.  Safety is deep.  Guy who looked to be wide open isn't.

Was that Doogie Howser throwing that rock?

Was that a gerbil?

A reader says that Peyton is in the parking lot looking for a bus to throw his line under.

Bears pass on first down.  They need to run the ball and move the clock.

Reader:  "The Blockbuster spot was the best of the three commercials.  It only sucked."

That's the Rex we know and love -- throwing one up for grabs.

Bears punt into the end zone.

11:20 to go in the first quarter.

The beard combover?  Terry Bradshaw is getting an idea.

We thought that Salesgenie.com commercial was an SNL spoof of something.  Oh, the humanity.

A reader points out that there are three players in the game from Temple.  (And the reader wants us to remind Ricky Manning, Jr. that it's not that kind of Temple.)

Rain is coming down.

Urlacher read that stretch play the entire way.

Nice catch by Harrison.  First down. 

Peyton had a "heavy bone bruise."  Jim Nancy enjoyed saying that.

Ugly floater to a wide open Dallas Clark.  First down.  Indy 47.

Addai does a nice job to avoid a three-yard loss.

Utecht will be playing for Texas Tech if he keeps dropping passes.

WOW!!!  So much for the Cover 2.  Hello, Reggie Wayne.

That score enabled Jim Nancy and Simms to get past an awkward semi-debate over the proper pronunciation of the word "eschew."  (Sounds like Nantz said, "es-Jew.")

Former "M" players have already scored 12 points.

Bad snap.  7-6, Bears.

We just realized that we can't lose -- either the Bears win and our pick was right, or the Colts lose and Sean Salisbury is exposed as an ignoramus for guaranteeing that if Devin Hester takes one to the house the Bears will win.

Short kick to avoid Hester, Gabe Reid fumbles, Colts have the ball.  Colts have the ball.

6:43 to go in the first quarter.

Fire the special teams coach.  (Oh, wait -- he's leaving for Philly anyway.)

Bears get it right back.  Urlacher almost blows an easy recovery.

Guys, it's wet.  Get down on the ground.

Way to block Alex Brown, Colts.

Long run by Thomas Jones.  52 yards.  Great job by Bernard Berrian holding the safety at bay.

Great point from a reader -- Peyton Manning wussied his way out of harm's way after the fumble.

Great catch by Moose Muhammad.  That fumble killed Indy.  If they could have converted the Reid fumble into a touchdown, the Bears would have gotten very nervous.  As it stands, the Bears' offense will be very confident.

Ugh.  That Snickers commercial was nasssss-teeeee.

Hey, who gets to hold the umbrella over Prince during the halftime show.

Damn it's coming down hard.

Maybe Prince will suck it up, like Diana Ross did.

Simms acknowledges he is an idiot about the rain not affecting the game.

4:27 to go in the first quarter.

Reader:  "My wife says that Snickers commercial helped her diet because she'll never, ever be able to eat a Snickers again."

We didn't particularly like the Chevy commercial, but at least it wasn't "Our Country."

The Mencia commercial reminds us of Stripes:  "Son of bitch.  Sh-t."

Letterman finally shows his face.  Unfortunately, so does Oprah.

Reader:  "We see nothing wrong with that Snickers commercial.  Signed, Bert and Ernie."

Reader on the Bud Light commercial:  "If you're in Louisiana, you say, 'Gimme a beer, you coon-ass.'"

Another one:  "If someone asks you, 'Is Carlos Mencia funny?', you say, 'No f--king way.'"

Bears have the ball.  Great catch by Berrian.

What about the force out?  Simms is a moron.

Another fumble.  I thought wet balls were easier to hold, Joe Theismann?

Good point by reader -- Grossman went after the fumble, unlike Herman Munster.

A reader suggests that an appropriate soundtrack for this game would be the theme to The Benny Hill Show.

Maybe Nantz and Simms will be sharing a Snickers at halftime.

Great defense by Nate Vasher to knock the ball out.

A reader wants to move the second half to Ford Field.

Nice punt.

Some readers are comparing this one to the Fog Bowl.

Arthur Blank, Bob McNair, Bill Bidwill, and Tom Benson are loving this game.

Cedric Benson wishes he'd never bitched about getting more live reps.

Benson's knee got all bent up.

Many readers are calling for the immediate termination of Nantz and Simms for general incompetence.  (We assume they only mean that they lose their jobs.)

Bears punt from deep in their own end.  Colts have it at their own 42.  First quarter nearing an end.

How is it that David Spade can look both skinny and fat at the same time?

End of the first quarter.  14-6 Bears.

Reader:  "Cedric Benson is going to the locker room for some medicinal marijuana."

A reader points out that Puddy and the other guys should have their shirts off with their chests painted to spell out one of the team names.  Maybe they were concerned that David Spade's breasts would get in the way.

Second quarter gets started.  Colts driving.

Nantz says Cedric Benson injured his knee.  If those guys would watch the replays instead of listening to themselves speak they would have noticed the video of Benson getting his leg blown up.

Addai bangs the ball inside the 20.

Nice move running the stretch play to the short side of the field.

Danieal Manning makes a nice tackle of Harrison.  No huddle by Colts; no notice by the sock puppets.

Colts stopped short of the first down.  Vinatieri to try to make it a five-point deficit.

14-9 Bears.  11:17 to go in the half.

Where the hell is Devin Hester?

Peyton is saying some dirty words. 

Now Nantz is digging his head out of his ass -- Hester was hiding up near the 30 in case the short was kick.

Reader:  "You may not like the Simms/Nantz combo, but if ESPN were providing the broadcast we would be getting ready to listen to an interview of Gloria Estefan for the next 20 minutes."

Punt time for the Bears.  Colts have it just over their 40.

Good to see Horatio Sanz got himself a Doritos commercial.

Okay, what in the hell was that Chevy commercial?  Do they really want people to buy their products?

Reader:  "Now I can't eat Snickers or Doritos.  Great."

Reader:  "Who in the hell came up with these commercials?  Liberace and Elton John?"

Some of the cameras are getting fogged up.

Hello to dude who is following the blog from a plane.

Nice effort by Dominic Rhodes to bull through for the first down.

We have a feeling that if/when the Colts take the league, they won't relinquish it.

Touchdown Colts.  15-14.

Okay, more bizarre commercials.  Men slapping each other.

A reader wonders whether, based on the commercials, the advertisers thought that the game would be aired on Bravo.

16-14.  8:03 left until . . . . the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince.

The robot commercial lost our interest.  Apparently the robot tried to kill itself?  Great idea, GM. 

Cedric Benson is out for the rest of the game.

Nantz says "the Colts stick it"; another fourth down for the Bears.

Reader:  "Dear G.M., you've lost billions of dollars, and thousands of American jobs. Thanks for making me feel bad about a laid off f--king robot."

Colts moving again. 

Bears defense suddenly can't tackle.

Two-minute warning. 

Hello, Sprint commercial.  You can see it again right here.

Reader:  "Hey, didn't the new version of PFT get connectile dysfunction?"

Another first down for the Colts.  If they score a touchdown here Tony Kornheiser is going to bed.  (With James Denton.)

Reader:  "If you find yourself connected to the Internet for more than 4 hours, seek immediate medical attention."

Colts fumble, Bears fumble.  Again, if Colts score a touchdown before halftime, this one could be over.

Six turnovers already.

Hello, England, where viewers are suffering through Sterling Sharpe on the TV broadcast.

Nice job by the Bears in keeping the Colts from getting another first down.

Even if Vinatieri makes the kick, Bears are still alive at the half.

A reader predicts that Prince will look like Alice Cooper when his mascara starts to run.

Vinatieri hooks it.  No MVP trophy for you.  Huge miss.

16-14 at the half.

Boomer says there were four turnovers in the first half.  There were seven.  The guy was calling the game for radio.  How does he not know the right number of turnovers?  (Maybe he was distracted by Marv Albert trying to chew on his back.)

Reader:  "Can the NFL stop using Roman numerals for the Super Bowl?  Even the Romans don't use them anymore."

Sharparo:  "In order for Chicago to get back in this ball game . . . ."  They're only losing BY TWO POINTS!

Reader:  "Three Coke commercials so far.  There hasn't been this much Coke at the Super Bowl since Stanley Wilson was playing."

My gosh.  This has become a rock concert with a football game wrapped around it.

Here's the halftime show.

Let's make as much smoke as we can for the second half.

Hey, I didn't know Florence from The Jeffersons could play guitar.

Man, it's raining.

We sure hope all those fans on the field won't leave it a muddy mess for the second half.

Who wants to bet that one of those dancers wipes out?

Proud Mary?  Apparently, Prince doesn't have many songs that the NFL would approve.

Terrence Kiel is waiting for him to sing Purple Drank.

Reader:  "For as hard as it's raining why doesn't it look like Prince is getting wet at all?  Is he God?"

Several readers think the dancers are taller than Prince.

A reader thinks the weather is Seattle's way of exacting revenge for last year.

Here it comes . . . Purple drank, pur-ple drank . . . .

That sheet makes Prince look taller.

Reader:  "After the show, Prince will be making pancakes for the teams."

Well, that officially sucked.

They should have had a cameo from Morris Day and the Time.

Reader:  "The sheet reminded my wife of the tent scene from Austin Powers."

Some readers think that the combination of the sheet was supposed to create the impression that Prince was playing with his, um, guitar.

We're getting some off-color e-mails that we'd love to post.

Reader:  "I just saw five straight CBS commercials.  Someone wasn't able to sell all of their inventory."  (Maybe they should have used Salesgenie.com.)

Bears have no first downs since scoring their second touchdown.

A reader is convinced that Simms' hair is a bird's nest.

Colts have the ball.

As to the off-color e-mails I can't post, here's the reason -- my nieces read this.

Nate Vasher wants to marry Oprah.  (Okay, first thing he has to do is cut off his thingy.)

It's a joke -- Oprah's not gay.  (But she did order a bunch of Snickers bars tonight.)

Reader:  "There goes Vasher's street cred."

Joseph Addai on his way to the MVP as a rookie.  He'd be the first rookie ever to be named Super Bowl MVP.

Hello to our troops in Afghanistan who are following the Live Blog.

If the Colts rookie wins the MVP, will Katie Couric do a story about how when he was growing up the kids called him Joseph "Eat Sh-t and" Addai?

What's Peyton bitching about?  He's the one who threw short of the sticks.

Hello, wasted time out for the Colts.

Reader:  "Maybe now that it is raining at the Super Bowl, they'll finally do something about global warming."

Multiple readers saying God bless our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and thanks for all you do.

Vinatieri almost missed that one.

19-14 Colts.  7:26 to play in the third quarter.

Hello to Mexico, where the Hamburglar is calling the game.

Reader:  "Are the troops in Afghanistan grateful that they didn't get stuck with a visit from Randy Cross?"

Another short kick, and the Bears tried to mishandle it.

It's great to know those folks paid all that money to get soaked for four hours.

Jim Nancy says it has been 56 minutes since the Bears' last snap on offense.

First sack of the game as Booger lays on Rex.

Fumble by Rex and another sack.

Per a reader suggestion, is it time for another Griese to take Miami?  We have a vague recollection of a guy named Griese winning a National Championship at Michigan. 

A reader says that Rex might need that CareerBuilder.com thing before too long.

Rhodes busts one.  This could get ugly soon.

Addai is on the bench because Dungy wants Munster to win the MVP.

A reader regarding the promo for Two-and-a-Half Men:  "With Brooke Shields guest starring, isn't it Three-and-a-Half Men?"

Clark got alligator arms as he was looking for Urlacher to jack him up.

Rhodes down to the two.  Another field goal.

Colts are flirting with disaster on all of these field goals.

22-14.  3:16 to go in the third.

A little late for tonight's drinking game, but a reader suggested that the elbows bend whenever there is a shot of Herman Munster bitching about something/anything.

So Bob Goulet doesn't like nuts?

Maybe Golic was right.  That's three field goals for Vinatieri.

Short kick plus 15 puts the Bears in business.  Griese!  Griese!  Griese!

K-Fed commercial would have been a classic if they had kept a lid on it.

Reader makes a great point -- why not just intentionally kick off out of bounds?

First down Bears.  Imagine that.

Who in the hell was Grossman throwing that one to?

Griese!  Griese!  Griese!

Number 99 for the Colts is eating a hot dog or something.

What in the hell was Grossman thinking when he threw that ball into double coverage?

22-17 Colts.  They are letting this team hang around too long.

We still think Griese should come in.

Great catch by Harrison is overturned.  Looks like a good catch to us.

We agree with the reader who says he didn't maintain possession all the way to the ground.

It's a catch, Corrente says.

Reader:  "Bears probably wish they had Jeff Garcia right about now.  He's much better at handling wet balls."

That's it for the third quarter.  22-17.  Colts.

44 passing yards from the Bears.  That's less than 15 per quarter.  Griese!  Griese!  Griese!

Reader:  "These commercials make the old Bud Bowl look like Citizen Kane."

Bears piss away a time out that they'll surely need.

Nice Budweiser commercial -- actually, there has been a long-standing connection between booze and crabs.

Reader:  "Drink Bud.  Get crabs."

Harrison gets clocked; he really doesn't weigh much and generally does a great job of avoiding contact.

Reader asks, on behalf of Mike Vick:  "Is there also a connection between weed and herpes?"

And there's a holding penalty.

Grossman completes a pass.  For a change.

They aren't chanting "Moose"; they're chanting "chew."

That's all folks.  Grossman floats another one into coverage, and Moose does a crappy job of trying to break it up.

We're also reminded of Sean Salisbury bitching about how he's sick of the criticism of Grossman.  Sean, we're sick of you.

Reader:  "Wow.  Rex Grossman threw a touchdown pass."

We really disagree with the idea of throwing the flag simply because a play is a backbreaker.  How about not acting like your back has been broken and save the time out in the event you turn it around.

By putting in Griese.

Lovie, if you don't put in Griese then we're concluding that you just want your mentor to win a Super Bowl and you're throwing in the towel.

HP's rejected slogan:  "Buy a computer and use it to invade the privacy of your employees and board members."

Now we would definitely buy that game that Shula and Jay-Z were playing.

Hello, Cover 2.  Grossman chucks it and another interception.

Griese!  Griese!  Griese!

Simms, it's okay to blame Grossman for the throw.  Why did it hang in the air?  Phil, grow a pair for crying out loud.

Grossman should shut his mouth from here on out.  The team made it to the Super Bowl in spite of him, and they're going to lose it because of him.

Many readers want to crown Grossman the MVP because he has done more than anyone else to deliver the Indy win.

"He's only off target about 10 yards," Simms said.  Yeah, as if that kind of accuracy is too much to expect FROM AN NFL QUARTERBACK!!!!!

As to the Flomax commercial, a reader writes, "Daddy, what's semen?"

Hello to Thailand, where they also are suffering through Sharparo's big brother.

We have a feeling that Herman Munster will be the MVP simply because no one else has good enough numbers to overcome the pervasive media ass-kissing of Manning.

But maybe the Bears aren't dead yet.  29-17 with plenty of time left.

A reader reports that NFL.com is apparently allowing more than one vote for MVP per IP address.

Reader:  "Marlin Jackson hurt?  Quick.  Put in Tito!"

That's the ball game, Bears.

Manning gets the MVP by default, we think.  Addai would have gotten it if Dungy didn't take him out in the third quarter.

Rhodes could make a case for it, too.

Hey, if sportswriters put Irvin into the Hall of Fame, then you can bet that Manning will be the MVP.

Some readers think that the Colts' entire offensive line should be the MVP.

Reader:  "Looks like the Third World countries will be full of Bears Super Bowl Champs hats and T-shirts."

Reader:  "Is it too late to vote for Edgerrin James as MVP?"

2:00 warning.

We can't wait to see how Sean Salisbury is going to deal with his "if Hester scores the Bears will win" guarantee.  If he has any integrity at all, he'll acknowledge his error.  Hopefully, he'll learn to quit making such broad, asinine statements all in the name of sounding like a tough guy.

Reader:  "MVP = Most Valuable Pouter = Peyton Manning."

Bears get the ball back.  Too late.  And Grossman is the quarterback.

Holding flag on the Bears.  This one is over, folks.

Double bucket for Dungy.

We're betting Dungy retires.  He's in the same boat as Cowher.  Now that he has finally climbed the mountain, it's time to find a new mountain.

It's good that there's an umbrella to keep the rain out of Dungy's hair.

Many readers predict the Cowboys will make a run at Lovie Smith, and that the Bears will let him go.

Reader:  "The Bears will allow Lovie to go to Dallas, only if he takes Rex with him."

Does Marino really mean it when he congratulates the guy who no longer can be considered this generation's Dan Marino?

Sean Salisbury on ESPN just said that "the monkey fell down to his waist" in reference to Peyton Manning and the Colts winning the AFC title game.  We've heard nothing about Salisbury admitting he was dead wrong when he GUARANTEED (at least twice) a Bears win if Hester scores a touchdown.

Reader:  "Marino is happy that he's still the greatest quarterback to never win a Super Bowl."

Reader:  "Will Peyton put his naked butt and rectum on the trophy?"

Don Shula hasn't gotten this much action since he was in the navy.

Where's Paul Tagliabue?

We like Tony Dungy, but this notion that the Lord aligns with one team over another is ridiculous to us.

Jim Nantz's head paint isn't running yet.

Manning is the MVP.  Maybe he'll retire, too.

Folks, that's all for us.  We're not retiring.  We're just getting started.  Stick with us all offseason.  Live Blog returns for the draft.

And thanks to everyone out there who tuned in today, and to those who'll tell all their friends and family members to check out the Live Blog on Monday.