Super Bowl Sunday, Super Tuesday, YahooSoft?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Somehow the New England Patriots were upset by the New York Giants 17-14 today in Super Bowl XLII. Turns out that Plaxico Burress wasn’t too far off with his 23-17 score prediction. I guess a 19-0 season was impossible.
I knew it was over for New England when, on the final Giants drive, on third down, Eli Manning somehow spun away from being sacked by the Patriots defensive line (who even had a hold of his jersey) and flung a pass into the middle of a bunch of Patriots players that backup receiver David Tyree somehow caught against his helmet and held onto. That kind of stuff just doesn’t happen. Seemed rather destined.
And so the Boston-New York rivalry escalates. From The New York Times: “Giants Stun Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.”
Two things bothered me about the outcome of this game:
- I wanted to witness the 19-0 conclusion of one of the greatest seasons in sports history. Though I guess I still witnessed one of the greatest upsets.
- The 1972 Dolphins team can continue to gloat. This L.A. Times columnist wrote my thoughts exactly: “This was a chance for everyone in the University of Phoenix Stadium, as well as those watching TV at home, to be a party to history and do something good for mankind — and forever rid the sports world of those annoying 1972 Dolphins.”
The Giants upset the top three teams in the NFL on the way to their championship. Not bad for a 10-6 team that barely made the playoffs.
Maybe one of these years Peyton Manning’s Colts and Eli Manning’s Giants will play each other in the Super Bowl. The Manning brothers are to football what the Williams sisters are to tennis.
You can watch all of the stupid 2008 Super Bowl commercials at MySpace.
Super Tuesday
I was going to get into a bit of political commentary about the upcoming Super Tuesday spectacular, but I’ve kind of lost interest now, in the wake of the thrilling Super Bowl conclusion. I did like the following article though (it’s what I’ve been thinking for months now): “Obama and Clinton: A Democratic Dream Ticket?”
Here are a couple of useful links: Election Center 2008: Delegate Scorecard and Presidential Poll Tracker.
Microsoft + Yahoo = YahooSoft?
Of course the big news in the technology industry is Microsoft’s hostile takeover bid for Yahoo. Google doesn’t like the idea: “Google Assails Microsoft’s Bid for Yahoo.”
Seems like a desperation move that’s probably not going to help either lumbering behemoth compete with Google. I wouldn’t want to go work for either Microsoft or Yahoo, but especially not if they combine forces. Though it does raise more antitrust issues.
Random notes
This month on Sundays at the Darkside Cinema in Corvallis is the Crossroads International Film Festival 2008.
A duck-like black bird with a white beak, called the American Coot, showed up in our neighborhood recently. Apparently they are really common in Oregon, but we hadn’t seen any around here before. They must be shy.
Here’s a handy item for using iPods with car stereos: FM transmitters that use built-in dock connectors instead of headphone jacks. The dock connector sends line level audio out from your iPod, providing better sound quality than when using the headphone jack. Plus it charges the iPod at the same time. I recently upgraded from a Belkin TuneCast II FM Transmitter I’d had for years to a Kensington 33199 Digital FM Transmitter and Auto Charger (bought for cheap on eBay). It was a good move. Unlike my previous transmitter, the Kensington can even overpower local radio stations without much static, so it doesn’t really matter which station I decide to tune to.
I guess concurrent Boston Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics championships aren’t going to happen this year. That would’ve been something.