Patriot Games The bashing has begun.

First off, I thought that New England would complete its perfect season, in part because they had destiny on their side. Turns out that destiny jumped off that train. The Giants were the team of destiny, weren't they? Let me count the ways, and just on the final New York drive:

1. Asante Samuel letting a sure interception go right through his hands.
2. Jarvis Green letting Eli Manning slip out of his hands on what will now be on every greatest plays in Super Bowl history list. Eli looked like Custer surrounded by the Sioux but managed to escape.
3. David Tyree managing to hang on to the ball on the back end of said greatest play, while Rodney Harrison was doing his best to separate Tyree from the ball.

The bottom line here is that as bad as New England looked for much of the game, it was the Giants who made them look bad. The offense controlled the ball early, keeping Brady and Co. off the field, the defense was able to get to Brady, harrass him, and sack him five times (the most times he hit the deck in any game this season), and Eli had the poise to direct that 83-yard drive, with 98 million people watching, to take the lead. The Giants won the game. They deserve to be champions, destiny and all.

Other observations:

We as Americans hate juggernauts. They remind us too much of bullies. So it doesn't surprise me how many gloaters have come out of the cracks to stand over the Patriots' carcass and huzzah. But with Belichick and personnel guy Scott Pioli running the ship, there just won't be any dropoff any time soon. Sorry to say.

Speaking of Belichick, the furor around here fueled by the allegation that the Patriots taped the Rams walkthrough the day before SB XXXVI is interesting. I wonder if that tape still exists? In any case, and wrong though it is, I have a hard time believing that "Beli-cheat" invented the idea of using the video camera as a weapon. Those that are old enough to remember when Al Davis was someone to fear and not just a crotchety caricature can picture all the coaches who swore that Al took guerilla warfare to new heights: bugging opposing locker rooms, among other things. Coaches, by nature, are paranoid. Didn't the Rams put up a wall at their practice facility to keep "spies" from gathering secrets from nearby hotel rooms?

Do you think Giants' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has set himself up for a big payday after orchestrating his masterpiece two days before an interview for the Redskins' head coaching job? Dan Snyder sure isn't shy about tossing money around.

Mizzou travels to Kansas tonight to take on the Jayhawks. They had a heroic performance a couple of weeks ago in Columbia, but I don't think destiny (all right, give destiny a few hours off after last night in the desert) will be making the trip to Lawrence. The undermanned Tigers could be in for a long night.

Michael Vick gets to keep his signing bonus from the Falcons, so says a federal judge, because it would violate the collective bargaining agreement. Do you know the Pandora's box that would open if every pro miscreant had to give back money to their teams after being convicted of wrongdoings? The courts would never have time to hear important cases.

Let's end today with some good news (and no, not that tomorrow is Super Tuesday.): Did you see Phil Mickelson and his caddie give a pair of Super Bowl tickets to a young fan and his dad? Phil is a native of the area, the tournament was only 30 miles from Glendale, and so it added up to quite a day for the young man, one he'll never forget. And I'll bet his dad won't either.

Until next time...... ¶ 11:29 AM