ISO: Sixpack

Super Bowl XLIII kicks off in just over two hours.

The good guys -- aka the Pittsburgh Steelers -- are shooting for a historic sixth Super Bowl championship.

Can they stop the high-powered Arizona Cardinals offensive attack?

Tune in.

And, oh yeah, don't miss the halftime entertainment. I hear they booked a good performer for that.

UPDATE: They won! Congratulations to the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on winning their unprecedented sixth title. In an instant classic contest which featured an improbable 100-yard interception return by NFL defensive player of the year James Harrison, two touchdowns by all-world Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and a rousing Arizona comeback directed by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger topped them all by leading the Steelers down the field in a thrilling two-minute drive to win the game with a touchdown pass to eventual MVP Santonio Holmes with about 30 seconds left in the game. Simply amazing. And Springsteen was fooking awesome.

43

In terms of United States Presidents, 43 is a pretty crappy number.

In terms of National Football League safeties, 43 is a great number.

Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers wears number 43 for the black and gold, and his decisive interception and return for a touchdown clinched a win for the Steelers in tonight's intense AFC championship game against division rivals the Baltimore Ravens.

Next up: a Sunday, February 1, clash in Tampa, Fla. versus the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl ... XLIII, aka -- you guessed it -- 43.

Guess Who's Back?

The Chargers.

Eight weeks after the Steelers prevailed over them in a bizarre contest with an 11-10 final score, the San Diego Chargers return to Blitzburgh -- er, Pittsburgh -- for an AFC divisional playoff matchup on Sunday.

With the Baltimore Ravens having knocked off the AFC's top-seeded Tennessee Titans on the road today, the Steelers would have the home field advantage for their third matchup of the season with the Ravens in the AFC Championship game next Sunday if they can beat the Chargers tomorrow.

But first things first: The Steelers must beat the Chargers tomorrow. The dudes pictured above (the defense, standing behind defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau) will hopefully have a lot to say about that.

UPDATE 1/11/09: The Steelers took care of business, beating the visiting Chargers 35-24 and setting up what promises to be a fierce, brutal battle against division rivals the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday in the AFC Championship game.

Leave Nothing

Tomorrow, my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers square off against the San Diego Chargers.

Can the Steel Curtain defense led by safety Troy Polamalu stop San Diego's running attacked powered by LaDanian Tomlinson?

We'll find out.



(Directed by David Fincher)

UPDATE: The Steelers won one of the weirdest games I've ever seen by an unprecedented 11-10 score, the first time that final tally ever happened in an NFL contest. Polamalu had one of the best interceptions ever seen in football, along with a game-ending breakup of a Chargers last-gasp gadget play that led to a touchdown that was incorrectly waved off after the officials blew the call, preserving the 11-10 outcome.

"Forget it, Jake."

Full slate of weekend activities on tap:

* Attend a double-dip of Polanski -- "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" -- with a buddy and his wife at the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian on Saturday night. Beers to follow.

* At some point, attempt to catch one or all of these: French film "A Girl Cut in Two," Ricky Gervais-starrer "Ghost Town," or Neal LaBute's latest provocation, "Lakeview Terrace," toplined by Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington.

* Golf's Ryder Cup will take up 16 hours of daytime programming on NBC ... although the absence of Tiger Woods take a bit of the bloom off that rose.

* Keep Fox Soccer Channel tuned for much of the weekend: Chelsea host Manchester United in a clash of English Premier League soccer titans, and matches involving three of the four major Italian Serie A squads -- AC Milan, Roma and Inter Milan -- are also telecast.

* Pittsburgh Steelers bid to open the season 3-0 in an intra-state matchup versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

* New episodes of "True Blood" and "Entourage" on HBO.

* Clean the condo, get the car washed, go grocery shopping and do laundry, somewhere in there.

* Finish it all off by watching the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards and rooting heartily for "Mad Men," "Damages" and -- on behalf of the company -- "Two and a Half Men," "Pushing Daisies," Kyra Sedgwick and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Ready. Set. Go.

Weekend Pursuits, Vol. 3

It wasn't pretty, but the Steelers knocked off the hated Browns, 10-6, in a driving rainstorm in Cleveland.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shook off a shoulder injury and hooked up with number one receiver Hines Ward on another TD pass, while running back Willie Parker ground out another 100-yard rushing game.

Nice to see the big three carrying the offense again, as it should be.

The good guys are now 2-0.

Next up: a trip to Philadelphia next Sunday to face the Eagles in a Pennsylvania state championship game of sorts.

"Here we go, Steelers, here we go..."

The NFL season is now upon us, with the New York (Football) Giants opening defense of their Super Bowl crown with a divisional victory over the Washington Redskins on Thursday night.

Today, the first game of real interest to me took place, and my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers got 2008 off to a good start by shellacking the Houston Texans 38-17 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

All the stars were out today, with running back Willie Parker bounding back from a late-season broken leg last year to impress with three touchdowns and more than 100 yards rushing, while quarterback Ben Roethlisberger only misfired on one pass while tossing two touchdowns to the third celestial being of the offense, wideout Hines Ward.

Next up: the Cleveland Browns, next Sunday night on NBC. The Steelers have the NFL's toughest schedule this season, so a victory next week to keep the early momentum going is essential.

In bad news for the NFL and good guys in general, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was injured in today's game against the Chiefs, and published reports on Yahoo! Sports suggest it could be serious enough to cause him to miss the season.

This news also hits home to The Good Fellas, the fantasy football squads run by this blogger. Yes, I picked Brady with my number one pick in both of my leagues.

Bad luck.

R.I.P. Myron Cope

Pittsburgh Steelers fans the world over are mourning the passing earlier today of Myron Cope, the team's colorful longtime broadcaster and inventor of the renowned Terrible Towel.

R.I.P. Myron.

"Bye now!"

Super Bowl XLII

Will the Patriots make history by going 19-0? Will the Giants make history of their own, knocking off the seemingly unbeatable juggernaut in an upset of epic proportions? Super Bowl XLII (that's 42) is upon us.

It's been two years since my beloved Steelers knocked off the Seahawks in XL, putting a fifth Lombardi Trophy on the Rooney family's mantle.

And it's been 28 years (!) since my grandfather, family friend Mr. Patterson, my father and I drove from Las Vegas to Pasadena to watch the Steelers beat the Rams at the Rose Bowl back in XIV. Thanks goodness this year's halftime show (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) is a major improvement over Up With People.

Alright, I'm saying it: Go Giants! Gotta root for the underdog, right?

UPDATE: Pigs fly, Satan is skiing, and the Giants did the unthinkable (to everyone but them and their fans), slaying Goliath and beating the previously undefeated Patriots in an instant classic. Eli Manning scores MVP honors, following up on older brother Peyton's triumph from last season and robbing Tom Brady of joining Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only starting quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls. I suspect Brady will have another chance, and if he doesn't, well, he's got a hell of a consolation prize.