Super Bowl of Sports Chowdah Update- NFL Packs it in For the Season;

NFL: As you might've already known, I didn't pay any attention to the pregame hype leading up to the Superbowl all week. Deciding to keep a good thing going, I figured I might as well sit out Bill O'Reilly's pregame interview w/President Obama and Christina Aguilera butchering the national anthem. Hell....at least I didn't get a Super Bowl ticket and travel all the way to North Texas only to be told that I couldn't get in.

Although as it turns out I missed some very worthwhile pregame events like the NFL's tribute to President Reagan's 100th Birthday or a reading of the Declaration of Independence.

But as it turned out, there was a game to be played and it turned out to be a nearly prototypical 'tale of two halves' [and not just because I caught the 1st half on a fading AM radio station and the second half in (sort of) glorious hi-def on a plasma screen- NANESB!].

The Packers got out to a 21-3 lead (two of those the end result of turnovers from Ben Roethlisberger) late in the 2nd quarter before the Steelers were able to find the end zone on an 8 yard Roethlisberger to Heinz Ward TD pass to make it a 21-10 game at the half.

However, the Packers would have to continue in the second half without star cornerback Rod Woodson, who went down in the second quarter with what was initially classified as a 'left shoulder injury' but turned out to be a broken left collarbone.

The Packers would open up the second half by going three and out deep in their own territory, leaving the Steelers with the ball at mid-field on the ensuing punt. From there, the Steelers closed the gap to make it a 21-17 game with a quick-strike drive that relied exclusively on the rushing game.

While the Green Bay offense would continue to sputter, the Packers D would limit the Steelers to a missed 52 yard FG attempt from midfield after Roethlisberger was sacked on a lengthy drive of 4 and a half minutes. Green Bay wasn't able to do much with the ball at midfield other than pin the Steelers deep in their own territory on the ensuing punt.

The two teams would close out the 3rd quarter by trading 3 and outs. Pittsburgh got the ball back in good field position at the very end of the 3rd, but on the first play of the 4th quarter RB Rashard Mendenhall fumbled the ball and Green Bay linebacker Desmond Bishop recovered on the Packer's own 33 yard line (the runback gave Green Bay the ball on their 45 yard line). The Packers took advantage by marching down the field and going up by 6 when Aaron Rogers connected with WR Greg Jennings- this came after Rogers made key completions of 12 and 38 yards on 3rd and 7and 3rd and 10.

The Steelers would come right back with a lengthy drive and cash in on 3rd and 3 from the GB 25 yard line (after picking up 15 on 2nd and 18) before successfully completing a 2 point conversion to make it a 3-point game, with the Packers still on top 28-25 with just over 7 minutes left in regulation.

Green Bay would respond with a lengthy, time consuming drive that took a little over 5 minutes off the clock and put them deep in the red zone before deciding to kick a FG and make it a 31-25 advantage.

Pittsburgh would be assessed a penatly on the ensuing kickoff and have to start from deep in their own territory. Roethlisberger would be able to get the ball out to the Steelers 33 yard line, but that's as far as they would go because after failing to convert on 4th and 5 with 49 seconds remaining in the game.

So the Green Bay Packers come away victorious in their first Superbowl appearance since 1998- when it was Favre against Ellway.

Packers QB Aaron Rogers went 24 for 39 with 304 yards and 3 TDs and was named Superbowl XLV MVP....I'm not sure if they still do the 'I'm going to Disneyworld' thing, tho'.

Pretty good game, all in all. I thought it would be a complete blowout after the first half, but the Steelers made it interesting for a while in the second. The turnovers simply killed the Steelers, with 21 points coming off of turnovers.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NFL: Shannon Sharpe, Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk have been named to the NFL Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee this weekend.

Tom Brady was named the regular-season MVP by all 50 panelists since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league. This is the first time ever a player had been unanimously selected for the MVP award.

NHL: The Bruins were dealt their first loss since the All-Star break on Saturday when they hosted the San Jose Sharks. Sharks netminder Antti Niemi stopped all 26 shots faced while Tim Thomas stopped 16 of 17 shots faced in the 2-0 loss (the 2nd San Jose goal came on an empty-netter later in the game).

Boston's next game will be on Wednesday at home against the Canadiens- this one will be televised on VS at 7PM Eastern, 4PM Pacific. The Habs are coming into TD Banknorth Garden off of a 4-1 loss to New Jersey on Sunday.

NBA: The Celtics didn't do much better on Friday night in Dallas, falling to the Mavericks 101-97 after a late rally by Dallas.

All in all, Sunday afternoon was a pretty good day for the Rajon Rondo, scoring 26 points in Boston's 91-80 win over the Orlando Magic. Paul Pierce had 18 points and Kevin Garnett had 16 on Sunday while Dwight Howard had 28 of his own in a losing effort for Orlando.

The Celtics will travel to Charlotte for a Monday Night tipoff against the Bobcats at 7PM Eastern.