Super Bowl 54: Chiefs and J.Lo Score in Miami

It wasn't exactly a comeback for the ages, but the Kansas City Chiefs did score 11 unanswered points on the San Francisco 49ers in the final quarter to erase a ten point deficit to win Super Bowl 54 at Miami Sunday night, 31-20. 

That's because the Chiefs have become accustomed to overcoming big deficits during the AFC playoffs before quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company turned up the volume to 11, as the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans will attest.

Mahomes, who won the game's MVP award with three touchdowns on 286 yards in passing, is going to Disney World.  Coach Andy Reid has his first Super Bowl win in his 21 year career with the Chiefs, and before that the Philadelphia Eagles.  And Kansas City, Missouri AND Kansas, has its first world football championship since 1970, prior to the NFL and American Football Leagues merging the following season.

Halftime

The NFL more than made up for bland shows by the likes of Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 with this year's headliners Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, who turned Super Bowl 54 into Studio 54 (look it up, kids) with energetic dancing, crotch-first slides, pole dancing and wagging tongues.  All in the name of good. clean family entertainment, right?  At least there were no breasts exposed for the duration of the show.

Commercials

The ads for this year's Big Game weren't great, but weren't terrible either.  Here's a few that stuck out.

• It began and ended with pitches for Woman Power, from Demi Lovato singing the national anthem to a woman kicking the game winning field goal in an ad for Secret deodorant, to Olay cosmetics' sending supermodels and an actual female astronaut into space.  It ended with Microsoft saluting Katie Sowers, the first female and lesbian coach of an NFL team with the 49ers.
• We hate to bring up politics, but President Donald Trump bought two campaign spots and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg paid for one, with predictable results.
• Lil Nas X, still riding the gravy train for "Old Town Road", did his schtick for Doritos' Cool Ranch chips with Sam Elliott.
• Bill Murray reprised his role in the film "Groundhog Day" for the benefit of Jeep.
• More ads for Fox's "The Masked Singer", which followed the game, than you can shake a stick at.  Of the 102 million who watched the game, around 24 million chose to stick around for "Masked Singer".
• Planters killed off Mr. Peanut, only to be replaced by a baby peanut.  It would have been so much more dramatic if Kobe Bryant hadn't died in a helicopter crash only a week ago.
• Tide wanted to make the point that its detergent can wash out stains days after it happened.  Which explains the same guy with the soiled shirt walking through every other commercial for different products, only to be told it can wait.
• Budweiser, which usually shows off puppies and Clydesdales in its Super Bowl ads, chose this one to focus on the Average American in a manner that looks like any political campaign commercial you've ever seen.

Kobe Bryant (1978-2020): A Complicated Legacy

The helicopter crash outside of Los Angeles on Sunday that claimed the lives of nine people, which included the pilot, a college baseball coach, a retired NBA star and his daughter, made the world stop in its tracks  The NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando, the Farmers Insurance golf tournament near San Diego and the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles that were held that day were rendered even less significant than normal.  Because the NBA star who died in the crash was Kobe Bryant, who was 41 years old.

Bryant played 20 seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers (1996-2016), winning five NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals for the United States.  He was an 18-time All Star and and the league MVP in 2008.

In the years between Michael Jordan's retirement and the ascendancy of LeBron James, Bryant was the face of the NBA.  The way he played was considered on a par with the all-time greats, and became the inspiration for all those that followed.  But he left behind a legacy on and off the court that could only be described as complicated.

• Bryant went directly from high school into the NBA, having somehow maneuvered himself into a trade with the Lakers from the Charlotte Hornets, the team that drafted him in 1996.
• During his initial run of NBA championships, Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal feuded with each other early and often over who ran the Lakers.  The problem was solved when O'Neal was traded.
• In 2003, Bryant got involved in a sensational trial in which he was accused of allegedly raping a 19-year old Colorado woman that threatened to end his career.  It ended when she refused to testify and Bryant got back his reputation, minus a few endorsements.  Wonder whatever happened to that woman?
• Sometimes Bryant thought he was the game, making great plays by himself.  He once scored 81 points on the Toronto Raptors in a 2006 game, which is 19 points fewer than Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored in a 1962 game at Hershey, PA. against the New York Knicks.  Other times, nearing the end of his career, he was in the entire game though racked with injuries.  But in his final game, he dropped 60 points against the Utah Jazz.

Kobe Bryant is survived by his wife Vanessa and three other daughters.  His name and the way he played will be remembered for as long as there is basketball, but we shouldn't forget the way he has handled his life all these years.

The State of Football 2020

The football season is nearly over.  One team wins a national championship.  Another is in the national spotlight for the first time in decades.  And another looks for answers after another deep playoff run.  These are their stories.

Championship On The Bayou

Louisiana State University won their first national collegiate football championship since 1959 with a 42-25 win over defending champion Clemson Monday night in New Orleans' Superdome, in one of the few College Football Playoffs not to involve the Alabama Crimson Tide. Unless you live anywhere in the Southeast or watch plenty of ESPN, chances are pretty good you might not have noticed.

Quarterback Joe Burrow, the transfer from Ohio State who won this year's Heisman Trophy, and his coach Ed Orgeron led LSU through a successful conference schedule and their Peach Bowl win in Atlanta over Oklahoma, which served as a CFP semifinal.  Clemson, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence, defeated Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona to qualify as the other finalist.

Clemson has already been targeted as the favorite to win it all a year from now, now that the Bayou Tigers have had their One Shining Moment in front of their home fans.  Lawrence will still be slinging footballs for the team also known as the Tigers, while Burrow toils for whichever NFL team chooses him as their first draft pick.

And Alabama might be there, too.

Gophers:  Getting Back to Golden

Coach P.J. Fleck has made believers out of those who thought his University of Minnesota football teams were too gimmicky to have lasting success in the rough and tumble Big Ten conference.  No, they didn't win a division title or earn a trip to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl (it was Wisconsin).  But they were the only Big Ten team to win a New Year's Day bowl game, with a surprising 31-24 win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl at Tampa, Florida.

The Golden Gophers finished second in the West division with a 7-2 record and 11-2 overall, which was their best since the early 1960s when they were winning mythical national titles.  No Michigan or Ohio State, but they did beat Penn State for their "signature" victory.  Significant losses that downgraded their championship hopes came from Iowa and the Badgers, but ESPN did make it to town with their "College Game Day" road show.

So what does Fleck and the Gophers do for an encore?  Well, the coach signed a contract extension, lost two of his players to the NFL draft, signed up some more blue chip talent, and started talking about how great next season will be.

So far as we're concerned, as long as the Gophers keep winning enough games to remain relevant around here, Fleck and his boosters can keep rowing that damn boat as long as they want.

Vikings:  Good Enough to Get By, But Not In Getting a Bye

The questions have been answered concerning quarterback Kirk Cousins' ability to win the Big Game.  The answer is yes, unless it's a Monday night.  On their way to a 10-6 record in the NFC North, Cousins led the Minnesota Vikings to important wins at home against the Philadelphia Eagles and on the road over the Cowboys at Dallas.  Their "signature" losses were twice to the Green Bay Packers (who won the NFC North title) and Chicago Bears, and at Seattle to the Seahawks.  And yes, two of those losses were on "Monday Night Football".

Then lightning struck in the form of an overtime playoff win over the favored Saints in New Orleans, which was reminiscent of the "Minneapolis Miracle" of two years ago.  And just like back then, the Vikings quickly fizzled in their next game at San Francisco, losing 27-10 to the 49ers.

The off season will be interesting, to say the least.  Coach Mike Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman are expected to return.  But two of their coordinators won't be.  Kevin Stefanski has left to be head coach of the Cleveland Browns. leaving Zimmer to hire his fifth offensive coordinator in five seasons.  Defensive coordinator George Edwards is reportedly on his way out.

Other needs include another new offensive line to replace the one that was both too banged up and ineffective to keep Cousins from going horizontal.   They also need to decide if Cousins is worth another couple of years, with maybe using the draft to find a new quarterback.

The Vikings should remain competitive in their division next season, so long as Cousins throws the ball to the right people, and Zimmer and his new staff can avoid stupid mistakes that cost them games.  It's not that difficult to figure out.

Super Bowl Matchup:  

Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers.

The 2010s: Then and Now

Before we dive head first into the 2020s, let's all look back on the decade that was.  We're going to compare and contrast the sports and personalities from the beginning of the decade to the end.  This should be familiar to those of you who have already seen the Bludog Chronicle's take on this (and if you did, we thank you), except that now you're reading the sports version.  So here goes.

LeBron James
Then:  Won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat after ditching Cleveland on live TV.
Now:  Plays for the Los Angeles Lakers after winning a league title for the Cavaliers,

Colin Kaepernick
Then:  San Francisco 49ers quarterback
Now:  Political activist/shoe salesman.

Tiger Woods
Then:  Golf career ruined due to injuries, marital problems, and no major title since 2008.
Now:  2019 Masters champion.

Alex Rodriguez
Then:  Suspended for one season by Major League Baseball for steroid use.
Now:  Entrepreneur, TV baseball analyst, and Jennifer Lopez' fiance.

Lance Armstrong
Then: Tour de France champion several times over.
Now:  Banned from cycling for drug use.

Men's and Women's Tennis
Then and Now:  Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Drake
Then:  Million-selling Canadian hip hop star.
Now:  Celebrity hanger-on for the Toronto Raptors.

Women's World Cup
Then:  Japan
Now:  United States (twice)

Men's World Cup
Then:  Spain
Now:  France

Major League Baseball
Then:  San Francisco Giants
In-Between:  Chicago Cubs
Now:  Washington Nationals

National Football League
Then:  New Orleans Saints
Now:  New England Patriots

National Basketball Association
Then:  Miami Heat
In-Between:  Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors
Now:  Toronto Raptors

WNBA
Then:  Seattle Storm
In-Between:  Minnesota Lynx
Now:  Washington Mystics

National Hockey League
Then:  Chicago Blackhawks
Now:  St. Louis Blues

College Football
Then:  Bowl Championship Series
Now:  College Football Playoff

Passed in 2019
Harry Howell, Julie Ruth Stevens, Dan Jenkins, King Kong Bundy, Ted Lindsay, Don Newcombe, Gene Littler, Frank Robinson, Bob Friend, Mel Stottlemyer, Al Bianchi, Zeke Bratkowski, Charles Rogers, Ron Fairly, Willie Brown, Hopalong Cassady, Jack Whitaker, Cliff Branch, Rosie Ruiz, Nick Buoniconti, Pumpsie Green, Pernell Whitaker, Walt Michaels, Hayden Fry, Jim Bouton, Pat Bowlen, Bill Buckner, Bart Starr, Niki Lauda, Red Kelly, Gino Marchetti, John Havlicek, Forrest Gregg.

The 2019-20 Owljock Bowl Board

Welcome to this year's edition of the Owljock Bowl Board.

There are 40 scheduled NCAA-sanctioned this season, with almost as many title sponsors representing everything from financial services to breakfast food.

Clemson, the defending national football champion, will be going for its third title in the last four years.  The Tigers will join Louisiana State (ranked #1 this year), THE Ohio State University and Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff.  Atlanta and Glendale, AZ will host the semifinals on December 28.  The finals will be in New Orleans January 13.

Without further stalling, here's our schedule.  They include the name of the bowl, who's in it, where is it, when is it, who televises it (mostly ESPN's Family of Networks), and--most importantly for our purposes--a brief description of what the title sponsor is known for.  Here goes . . .

Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl:  Buffalo vs. Charlotte (Nassau, Bahamas 12/20)  ESPN
An industrial park in Elk Grove Village, IL.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl:  Utah State vs. Kent State (Frisco, TX 12/20) ESPN2
Restaurant chain.  Formerly DXL Bowl.

Celebration Bowl:  Alcorn State vs. North Carolina A&T (Atlanta, GA 12/21) ABC

New Mexico Bowl:  Central Michigan vs. San Diego State (Albuquerque, NM 12/21) ESPN

FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl:  Liberty vs. Georgia Southern (Orlando, FL 12/21) CBS Sports Network
Mortgage lender.

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl:  Southern Methodist vs. Florida Atlantic (Boca Raton, FL 12/21) ABC
Energy drink.

Camellia Bowl:  Florida International vs. Arkansas State (Montgomery, AL 12/21) ESPN

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl:  Boise State vs. Washington (Las Vegas, NV 12/21) ABC
Auto manufacturer.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  Appalachian State vs. Alabama-Birmingham  (New Orleans, LA 12/21)  ESPN
Shipping firm.

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl:  Central Florida vs. Marshall (Tampa, FL 12/23) ESPN
Lawn mowers.

SoFi Hawaii Bowl:  Hawaii vs. Brigham Young (Honolulu, HW 12/24) ESPN
Financial services.

Walk-On's Independence Bowl:  Louisiana Tech vs. Miami (Shreveport, LA 12/26) ESPN
Sports-themed restaurant chain.

Quick Lane Bowl:  Pittsburgh vs. Eastern Michigan (Detroit, MI 12/26)  ESPN
Auto care shops.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman:  North Carolina vs. Temple (Annapolis, MD 12/27) ESPN
Defense contractor.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl:  Michigan State vs. Wake Forest (New York, NY 12/27) ESPN
Sports apparel.

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl:  Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M (Houston, TX 12/27) ESPN
Sporting goods retail chain.

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl:  USC vs. Iowa (San Diego, CA 12/27) FS1
San Diego-area financial services.

Cheez-It Bowl:  Air Force vs. Washington State (Phoenix, AZ 12/27)  ESPN
Snack crackers.

Camping World Bowl:  Notre Dame vs. Iowa State (Orlando, FL 12/28) ABC
Camping and RV supplies.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic:  Penn State vs. Memphis (Arlington, TX 12/28) ESPN
Car and truck tires, blimps.

Playstation Fiesta Bowl (CFP Semifinal):  Ohio State vs. Clemson (Glendale, AZ 12/28) ESPN
Videogames and consoles.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal):  LSU vs. Oklahoma (Atlanta, GA 12/28) ESPN
Chicken restaurant chain.

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl:  Western Kentucky vs. Western Michigan (Dallas, TX 12/30) ESPN
Disaster cleanup service.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl:  Mississippi State vs. Louisville (Nashville, TN 12/30) ESPN
Financial services.

Redbox Bowl:  California vs. Illinois (Santa Clara, CA 12/30) Fox 
Movies and game rentals.

Capital One Orange Bowl:  Florida vs. Virginia (Miami Gardens, FL 12/30) ESPN
Financial services.

Belk Bowl:  Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky (Charlotte, NC 12/31) ESPN
Regional department store chain.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl:  Florida State vs. Arizona State (El Paso, TX 12/31) CBS
Kellogg's Frosted Flakes mascot.

Auto Zone Liberty Bowl:  Navy vs. Kansas State (Memphis, TN 12/31) ESPN
Auto parts and supplies.

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl:  Wyoming vs. Georgia State (Tuscon, AZ 12/31) CBS Sports Network
Mortgage lender.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Utah vs. Texas (San Antonio, TX 12/31) ESPN
Energy company.

Vrbo Citrus Bowl:  Michigan vs. Alabama (Orlando, FL 1/1/20)  ABC
Vacation rental and travel website.

Outback Bowl:  Minnesota vs. Auburn (Tampa, FL 1/1/20) ESPN
Steak and seafood restaurant chain.

Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual:  Oregon vs. Wisconsin (Pasadena, CA 1/1/20) ESPN
Financial services.

Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Georgia vs. Baylor (New Orleans, LA 1/1/20) ESPN
Insurance and financial services.

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl:  Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Birmingham, AL 1/2) ESPN
Online ticket exchange.

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl:  Indiana vs. Tennessee (Jacksonville, FL 1/2) ESPN
Online tax preparation.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Ohio vs. Nevada (Boise, ID 1/3) ESPN

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl:  Southern Mississippi vs. Tulane (Fort Worth, TX 1/4) ESPN
Defense contractor.

LendingTree Bowl:  Louisiana vs. Miami of Ohio (Mobile, AL 1/6) ESPN
Online lending marketplace.  Formerly Dollar General Bowl.

College Football Playoff National Championship (New Orleans, LA 1/13) ESPN

Sour Cherry Talks Way Off "Hockey Night".

"Hockey Night in Canada" has been on CBC television since 1952, ruling Saturday nights as the premier showplace for the National Hockey League north of the border.  Its most popular segment between periods was "Coach's Corner", where for nearly four decades co-hosts Don Cherry and Ron MacLean pontificated on hockey highlights, what Cherry thought was the "right" way to play the sport, and whatever else was on his mind.

It's that last part that's gotten Cherry, a former NHL player and coach, in trouble with network bosses and many Canadians over the years.  While extolling the virtues of his country's hockey players, he's also exuded contempt for those who hailed from Quebec, Europe and the United States.  He's advocated violence on the ice at a time when the NHL is trying to cut back on fighting and concussions.  Cherry's maple-leaf-on-his-sleeve approach served him well when saluting Canada's armed forces, sick kids who happen to be hockey players, and other topics that make him sound like a Republican politician from the States.

What finally got Cherry fired was his comment during a November 9 "Coach's Corner" broadcast about Canadian immigrants who couldn't be bothered to buy poppies as a tribute to dead soldiers on Remembrance Day (known as Veterans Day in the U.S.), then wondered why they couldn't appreciate how good they had it in Canada.

Rogers Sportsnet, which owns the Canadian TV rights to NHL hockey (but still shows "Hockey Night" on CBC), chose Remembrance Day to show Cherry the door.  They, along with MacLean and "Coach's Corner" sponsor Budweiser have apologized.  But Cherry has not.

Don Cherry, until recently, has been a beloved figure in Canada with the loud wardrobes he usually wore on TV and in public.  But he's also 85 and has to realize that the world--and Canada-- has changed on and off the ice.  It's hard to know what he'll do with the rest of his life at this point, but maybe it'll be something other than yelling at ice clouds.

World Series: Champions On The Potomac

The last time a Washington, D.C.-based baseball team won a World Series was in 1924, when Walter Johnson pitched the Senators to the title.  Almost a century later, after two different Senators teams left town (one to Minnesota in 1961, another to Texas in 1972), a 33-year gap of no baseball, and the arrival of the Montreal Expos to the nation's Capital in 2005, the Washington Nationals are the new champions of baseball.

The Nationals defeated the Astros 6-2 in Game 7 at Houston, in a series where the road team won every game--something that has never happened in pro sports championships.  Howie Kendrick and Anthony Rendon hit home runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and never looked back.  Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg were the pitching aces that brought the Nationals back from a 3-2 deficit in games.

This was an eventful series all right, and sometimes for the wrong reasons:

• The Astros fired their assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for being a little too exuberant in his praise of closer Roberto Osuna toward a group of female reporters following the team winning the American League Championship Series.  Osuna, you see, had been suspended by Major League Baseball for 75 games for violating its domestic abuse policy.

• President Donald Trump attended Game 5 at Nationals Park in Washington, only to find that the reception he got when his face was shown on the Jumbotron was anything but the kind he usually gets at his rallies.  In fact, he was booed unmercifully.  Under normal circumstances, a President should be greeted with respectful applause by friend and foe alike.  This President, however, hasn't done much to earn the respect of his constituents outside of his loyal base.  As for those who exercised their First Amendment right to make a sound associated at this time of year with ghosts, we're reminded of something Trump's predecessor Barack Obama once said:  Don't boo. Vote.

In the two decades since the 21st century began, the Chicago White Sox, Cubs and Boston Red Sox were baseball teams that have had long histories of being lovable losers before finally winning the Big One.  Now it's the city named for George Washington's turn.  First in war.  First in peace.  First in Major League Baseball.