Sports continue to work on evolving.
Everyone is looking for that formula to make our games more exciting, more action-packed and more ESPN highlight memorable.
But when it comes down to it, and all the marbles are on the table, the old ways are still the best.
The teams that usually get to the Super Bowl are usually well rounded, but they are the ones who run the ball more consistently and play the best defense.
Majority rules.
It happened again on Sunday.
New England, which has found every possible way to win games, did it the old-fashioned way in the cold weather.
Laurence Maroney showed flashes of being the running back the Patriots expected with 122 yards rushing, including 116 in the second half (he had been inconsistent and injured in a lot of cases), and the New England defense bothered San Diego’s offense just enough to get by.

Sure, Tomlinson didn’t play and Rivers and Gates were less than 100 percent, but that is part of the game.
New England was spectacular early in the season, blowing out most teams. But in the last half of the season, it has done just enough to win and stay unbeaten. On Sunday, the main objective was to stop the Chargers running attack and force the passing game.
As for the New York Giants, they ran the ball consistently (the two main backs rolling up 130 yards) and used the pass just enough to keep Green Bay’s defense honest. But defensively, the Giants — and the freezing weather — took Brent Favre out of the game.
Favre had become the Packers’ main weapon (no surprise). His success opened up the running game where the Giants’ running success opened up the passing game for Manning.
When Favre’s efficiency waned, primarily because the weather took away the ability to be accurate, the Giants’ were able to take control.
So that makes it the Pats vs. the Giants for the Super Bowl and probably bets on the old-school style of play being the major part of that game might be off.
The weather will be warm in Arizona, which will take away the need to just run the ball. The quarterbacks will have some feeling in their hands and won’t be throwing shot puts downfield. Decent weather will allow the teams to open up the playbook again.
New England probably has more diversity in the skill positions than New York does. And that makes the Pats a heavy favorite.
But don’t forget, the Giants played the Pats at home the first time. This time, it will be in Arizona.
The bottom line? The Super Bowl is supposed to be more entertaining, so more wide-open offense is desired.
Sunday’s playoff games were more dramatic because the cold weather, forcing the teams to play old school football. And in some ways, that’s refreshing.

I’m one of those guys who believe that officials, referees and umpires do not decide the outcome of a game.
Instant replay and camera angles … along with challenges … put their judgements up for constant ridicule. That and fans of losing teams who complain that the call was the reason for the loss.
I’m one of those naive guys who don’t think that’s the case. I don’t believe that an official can plan a split-second decision.
That being said though, I had to wonder if the San Diego Chargers were on an endangered species list on Sunday.
It seemed like every penalty, every call and every challenge went against the Chargers. None of the challenges ended up being all that controversial, but every time San Diego seemed to make progress, there was a yellow flag on the ground.
It almost gave one the feeling that the order was out to make sure the AFC Championship game was going to be an Indianapolis-New England rematch. Almost.
To the Chargers’ credit, they didn’t buy into the “world is against us” philosophy, kept their wits and composure about them and played the game to the end. They didn’t stop to argue, unlike some other teams (i.e. Ravens vs. Patriots).
And that just enhances my belief that games are actually won on the field … for the most part.

I have never met Bill Stewart.

In fact, until the other day, I had never seen him.

He was the new guy on the block as the interim head coach of West Virginia University football team after Rich Rodriguez decided to head north to Michigan.

On Thursday, Stewart’s interim tag was dropped and he was named the Mountaineers next head coach. It happened like a whirlwind after Stewart engineered WVU’s 48-28 victory over Oklahoma on Wednesday in the Fiesta Bowl, a surprise if you believe public sentiment on ESPN’s SportsNation.

It all happened in the eye of a storm named outrage from WVU fans who were upset at Rodriguez’s disappearing act. It happened in the middle of West Virginiagovernor Joe Manchin’s public wish for WVU’s athletic department to hire a big-name, big-hitting, high-profile coach to take over the program.

But WVU athletic director Ed Pastilong went a little against the grain by jumping the public suggestions and hiring Stewart.

Pastilong has known Stewart for 39 years, part of the reason why he felt he made the right choice. I think I saw the reason for Pastilong’s decision in two video clips leading up to the Fiesta Bowl.

The first was at the final Fiesta Bowl press conference before the game. Stewart was asked if he would deserve the job if he won the game. He just smiled and gave the most humble answer he possibly could, saying that he was leaving all the decision making to his superiors and that they would make the best possible decision to keep the great program at WVU on track. And then, he turned to the reporter and said “I thank you for asking that question.”

The second was in the highlights after the game. It was a shot of Stewart catching a WVU player, I think it was quarterback Pat White, leaving the field after a touchdown. Stewart reached up and put both hands on each side of the player’s helmet and looked him straight in the eye to make sure the player got the full impact of the fatherly praise Stewart was giving.

Bill Stewart gives the impression of being something that most coaches have seemed to have forgotten. He is a calm, humble man in a highly competitive field. He’s seems to he an organizer who leaves all the butt-kicking to the assistant coaches while he makes sure every member of the team has a comfort zone.

There will probably be another outcry complaining about WVU hiring just any guy to coach the Mountaineers. He’s no hero like Bob Huggins who came in to take over the basketball team. Stewart seems to be a calm, steadying influence for a team and a program that really needs it.

WVU has been a power for most of the last decade. It has had great athletes and one of the most dangerous offenses in the country. Yet, the Mountaineers always seem to fail to get over the hump on the national stage. In most cases, talent has been sapped by a lack of discipline. (For proof, just look back a couple of weeks back to the Pittsburgh game which cost WVU a chance to play for the national title. The Mountaineers were already counting the victory the week before the game.)

It’s hard to say whether Bill Stewart will be the answer that gets WVU over that hump. He won over Manchin, who said he didn’t think there was a mother or father who wouldn’t be proud to have their son play for Stewart at WVU. Image speaks loudly.

That may not make the difference for the Mountaineers, but if Stewart’s Fiesta Bowl influence in the middle of major discord is any indication, it might be just what WVU needed. Now he has to do the same for an entire season … five of them if he lasts the length of his contract.

But nowadays, it’s tough for a coach to earn the players’ respect. Stewart has that going for him.

In the end, West Virginia got a West Virginia guy to run West Virginia University football team.

That’s more than Michigan can say about its hire.

It makes me want to officially meet Bill Stewart.

I just heard that the Postal Service wants to raise the price of mailing a letter to 41 or 42 cents.
It gave me an idea for a possible promotion. It will be a sort of before-and-after thing.

It will play off how people like collecting stamps.
Before the price increase takes hold, the Post Office introduces a series of stamps commemorating baseball stars in their early days. They could use Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco to name a few in the youth of their careers in a 39-cent collection.
Then, after the price of mail goes up, the Post Office could introduce stamps of the same players from the home run heydays of their careers. They might look bigger and bolder.
Heck, some of them might not fit on stamps.
Somehow, when comparing the stamps, there might be some symbolism joining alleged steroid use with another round of inflation, don’t you think.

Super Bowl XLI should be considered the anti-championship game.
When it was all said and done, the event made a lot of history, but all in things that will be remembered beside the game.
There was Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith becoming the first black coaches to coach in a Super Bowl.
Dungy became the first black coach to win a Super Bowl.
Chicago’s Devin Hester became the first player to return the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
It was the first time the Super Bowl was played in rain.
All are quick snapshots in an album which will be otherwise blank when it comes to historical persepective.
Super Bowl XLI didn’t have that signature play, that memorable video clip or photo, which will live on forever.
Like Joe Namath running off the field with his finger in the air in Super Bowl III.
Like John Elway getting hit and spun around in midair by Atlanta in Super Bowl XXXII.
Like Oakland’s Marcus Allen’s big 74-yard run for a touchdown against Washington in Super Bowl XVIII.
Like Tennessee’s Kevin Dyson reaching for the goal line, only to come up inches short of a tying score against St. Louis in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XXXIV.
There’s not even a photo of failure, like Buffalo’s Scott Norwood’s missed field goal in the final seconds against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV, even though Chicago quarterback Rex Grossman tried.
The closest thing to a lasting image might be the photo of back foot of Indianapolis defensive back Kelvin Hayden after intercepting a Grossman pass and returned it for a touchdown. It would be a reprint of an instant replay call showing that Hayden didn’t step out of bounds before returning the pick for the game-icing touchdown.
But hey, at least it proved the officials got the call right. That’s a change from the controversy that was started in the XL version of the game.
Yes, Super Bowl XLI will be remembered for a lot of great things, but the game wasn’t one of them.

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We have spent the last couple of days paying tribute to the Indianapolis Colts.
They came from being a team with a shoddy run defense on the verge of collapse to put together four big games to win the Super Bowl championship.
We have heard and dealt a lot of credit to coach Tony Dungy, for handling his team the right way and motivating it without using the time-honored methods of berating and belittling.
The same credits go to quarterback Peyton Manning after spending years of being labeled as the best quarterback never to win a title … sort of the NFL’s version of Phil Mickelson. And now both are off that clock.
And there have been various other figures who have earned their respect.
Everyone will be looking closely at the Colts to see what it takes to build a championship team … It happens every year as teams and front offices look for an edge off the champions. (Redskins fans, remember how everyone tried to run Joe Gibbs’ counter trey offense after Washington had its Super Bowl run?)
But while looking at the team, those cities and organizations should look at the city of Indianapolis, too.
The whole town showed what being a champion is all about. Be humble. Be understated. Be rational.
For once, we didn’t get buried with stories about how the winning team returned to town just to see all their fans looting businesses, overturning cars and starting fires just because their favorites won a game.
It seemed like after the championship game in every major sport, there was more damage than when a tornado strikes because fans got drunk and stupid while celebrating a victory in the last game of the year.
Indianapolis was different.
OK … They got drunk. OK … there were guys stupid enough to take off their shirts and run around outside in temperatures lower than kicker Adam Vinatieri’s jersey number.
But by and large, it was peaceful.
In fact, the celebration looked like the Whos in Whoville turning out for Christmas.
It was nothing more than loyal fans coming together for a group hug. This was a moment they longed for and finally obtained.
It was refreshing to see instead of all the senseless violence and distruction.
And they didn’t ruin it. They handled it with the quiet class of Dungy and the cool focus of Manning.
It was a championship performance for fans of the champions.

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It’s funny to watch everyone circling the carcass that was once the Washington Redskins.
The ‘Skins are dead and buried, as far as the playoffs go, and everyone is weighing in on just why it happened to a team that was labeled as destine for the playoffs.
Start the list. Quarterback Mark Brunell, defensive injuries, expectations that were too lofty, underachieving defense, the complicated new offense …. the list keeps growing.
Here’s one …. the Redskins season was over before it even started and it was all because of a tackle that didn’t count for anything.
Washington was done the second that running back Clinton Portis tried to prove his NFL manhood by making a big-hit tackle on an interception return by the Cincinnati Bengals during the first game of the preseason.
It resulted in a shoulder injury which haunted him all season. And it all happened in a preseason game he complained about playing in in the first place.
How did this hit make the difference in the entire Redskins season?
Consider the new offense the Skins were putting in.
They hired Al Saunders to come in an put together a diverse offense, much like the one he constructed for Kansas City. There is a lot of passing and short quick plays to keep the defense off guard.
But think back … who were the key players in the offense for the Chiefs … Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson … their star runningbacks.
Saunders was brought in to help Washington use Portis to his full potential, but never got the chance because he was injured on what amounted to a practice play.
The preseason is to prepare for the season, not to make statements.
Portis missed games and was never the same once he came back. Now we find out he needs surgery to repair the shoulder that had been damaged all season.
With that hit all the planning for the new offense was moot. That’s because the centerpiece player was never there to build around
And without Portis at 100 percent, that made the job for Brunell all the more difficult. Anyone who watches the NFL knows that teams that can’t run or throw the ball consistently don’t have a chance for the Super Bowl, let alone a playoff spot. Teams that can do only one of the two spend Sundays trying to beat the challenges of opposing defenses who want you to beat them with the facet you don’t do well.
One ill-advised move by a player who didn’t want to be playing before the season counted basically helped lead to the downfall of the Washington Redskins this season. And by the way, preseason games are part of the job description … it gives the players the feeling of playing at real speed so they remember how to protect themselves when getting hit … something Portis forgot.
Injuries have a habit of changing the course of the season — and the one to Clinton Portis suffered did in the Redskins.
But if that’s goint to happen, at least make sure the injuries happen when the games count.

Happy holidays

I just woke up from my month-long coma and decided that it’s time to post something.

Is it possible that no other team in the NFL has access to the tape from the Baltimore at Cincinnati game played a couple of Thursday’s ago?

The Bengals put on a clinic proving how to beat the Ravens’ defense. That is three-step drops and short swing passes to get rid of the ball before Baltimore could pressure Carson Palmer. It put the Ravens on their heels and allowed the Bengals to run the ball when needed and control the game.

It wasn’t a resounding victory, but it was enough to win and show the Ravens aren’t invincible.

Ever since then, every single team - including the awful Pittsburgh Steelers of 2006 - have decided to take the ball and try to run it up the middle or try to throw long patterns off seven-step drops, just inviting the Ravens to do what they do the best. Play defense.

The Ravens have had a great season, granted, but their offense is still suspect. They win on defense, turnovers and field position, which allows the offense drives on the short field most of the time.

On that Thursday, Cincinnati showed what can happen when Baltimore’s defense is limited.

But yet, there is no team in the NFL who can see the best way to get pressure is not allow it to happen. Again, it’s proof that football coaches believe in macho over innovation and that teams are programmed for one style of play and can’t work outside of a safe point of reference.

That Bengals tape must be packed away somewhere in the same mysterious vault as the next Paris Hilton hit.

I’m just wondering if there is any thought process involved in picking what games are played at what times by television execs.

This may come off very self-serving, but it made no sense to play the Maryland-Wake Forest game at 7:45 p.m. on Saturday. It did, I guess for ESPN, but not the common fan. Sure, it was for the ACC Atlantic title, but who outside of the ACC cared. It’s not like either team would be heading to the national title game, like say Florida might.
I know, the last thing on TV execs mind is being practical. Ratings mean more than comfort zones and anything outside of the implication of the game isn’t usually considered.

For those reasons, the Terps and Wake played the latest game on the East Coast, which became a logistics nightmare for fans coming to the game.

Consider that the game was played on Thanksgiving weekend, when the later the game the more people that are on the road coming back from their holiday destinations. That’s people traveling to two major cities that are just 35 miles apart with the major university in the middle.

Add to it that it’s during weekend rush hour and throw in early Christmas shopping bargan hunters and it was a real driving mess.

Now for the fans who decided to tailgate and leave like they were shopping for a Wii, things were fine. But for the fans who left at a more reasonable time, it was a nightmare.

I, personally left three hours before kickoff for the 70 mile drive. It took every minute of those three hours to make a trip that usually takes me 1 hour, 15 minutes.

But hey, ESPN was able to make sure people in Oshkosh, de Butte and Ames to get home in time to see a game they could care less about. Face it, the Wake-Maryland matchup for a division title doesn’t carry the marquee clout of some of the other possible matchups.

The game should have been played at 3:30 making it easier for all involved … maybe not television, but everyone else.

But then again, the N in ESPN doesn’t stand for (K)nowledge.