Alright, here's my pick for the Super Bowl.

Da Bears. Why? Simple. I know everyone's all but handed Peyton the trophy and filmed his "I'm going to Disneyland" spot. I know we're all but bound to hear about how Dungy's overcome SO MUCH over the past 12 months to get here and all that and hey, they can sell the movie rights to Disney for a pretty penny. But that's not gonna happen and here's why. A) Peyton can't win The Big Game. What? He just won the Big Game. Really? Since when did you get the Vince Lombardi trophy for winning the AFC Championship? In his career, Peyton's hit the big oh-fer
in big title game situations. He never beat Spurrier and the one shot he got at a national title in 1997, he was beaten like a redheaded stepchild courtesy of the Cornhuskers. The truth, which has been lost over the euphoria which has set in for Peyton is this. He won A big game two weeks ago, he still hasn't won THE Big Game. And what's odd about this is two fold.

1) He has to do so where Dan The Man used to play his ball, Miami.
2) He has to face one of Spurrier's QBs to do so and this guy, has to be the single most disrespected guy I've ever seen make it to a Super Bowl,
"Sexy Rexy" Grossman.

Peyton's made the past week seem like nothing other than another game.
He has tried to downplay the importance of this game in the hopes that if everyone falls for it, we won't see how nervous he really is. Well I got news for ya Peyton, I see through it. Kool-Aid runs through your veins and tonight, on the biggest stage, you're gonna get drunk till glass is the only thing we see. I want Lovie to win this so that he and Rex can sit back riding the train in Orlando, laughing at every last person who called for Rex to be a pine cone and for Brian Griese to be playing. I want Rex to outshine Peyton so that Peyton can be exposed to the world as a lovable loser outside of the Cubs organization. And Football God willing, it'll be Da Bears tonight. Alright, main event time. Ever since 2003 when this guy entered the league, I've long believed that the Association and all of its important folks within it have had it in for this guy. In 2003, he was the rightful ROTY, but the thing was practically
handed to LeBron when Adolf Stern shook his hand on draft night. Since then, all this guy has done is guide his team to the playoffs every year while LeHype has basically thrown down every dunk we've seen done by 14073587 other folks in the league and barely elevate his team beyond the Mendoza Line in the JV league posing as the Eastern Conference. But just when I thought they really couldn't get any lower with it, just when I thought the Association had hit the watermark for hating on this man, they snub the man for the All-Star team. In case y'all haven't picked up on who this mystery man is, I call him "My Boy Melo" the rest of the world refer to him as Carmelo Anthony. If Adolf Stern does the unthinkable in the next few days, Carmelo will forever be linked to the one sports trivia question you DON'T want to be the answer to.

Who was the only leading scorer in NBA history going into the All-Star break to not be named to the All-Star team?

I mean, look at this for a minute people. Yeah, he got 15 games for landing a love tap to the jaw of Mardy Collins in January. He paid the price and is STILL the league's leading scorer. KG threw a ball at someone and got a single GAME. Just one. Kobe barely touched Ginobili last Sunday and he gets a game, a game they inevitably lose to the Knicks which is inexcusable when Miami's C-squad posing as an NBDL team ran off 27 consecutive on them a few weeks back. LeHype just took Wade's head off with a Clothesline From Hell on Thursday night and well, I guess Stu and the rest of the Disciplinary Gestapo weren't watching. So it's not enough that the clown gets an award four years ago he didn't deserve, has barely done anything other than keep his crap team in the national spotlight it truly doesn't deserve, but he can get away with taking a shot at someone and not a thing happens to him. Kobe barely touched Manu and had to sit out a game. Carmelo though, I'm rapidly becoming convinced they truly hate this guy. I'm talking flat out, Ron Artest hate this guy and what's funny is, he didn't set off a riot or what have you. He came to the defense of a teammate and yeah, he did so when things were calming down. Fine. He did his time, he didn't fight it and his reward is getting screwed out of an All-Star game he rightly deserves a spot in? Bull.

Now, I get that fans have the collective IQ of a crate full of plums. I get that the average fan probably knows next to nothing about the game of basketball [how else can you justify Shaq starting for the East and the league's leading scorer needing a pass from the Commish in order to come in off the bench?] has control over this glorified popularity contest.
Last year, in his own city, Carmelo was passed over. Not his fault, he's in a forward populated conference while the Hand Me One known as LeHype is in the Least-ern Conference. This year, Carmelo's done his thing all year long. Hell, take it back to the summer in Japan and he was the lone shining light on an underachieving USA squad. Carmelo's been on a mission and save for his one mental meltdown in New York, has done everything short of petition to be in the game. But, because he isn't a billboard on two legs [never mind the fact he's gonna grace the cover of the newest NBA Street game] like some folks and can actually carry a team to the playoffs on a consistent basis [only D-Wade can claim this and nobody go there with the 'he's got Shaq' excuse]. Carmelo is hands down the Rodney Dangerfield of the Association. No matter what he does or how he does it, he'll never get respect for it. He's proven to be more clutch than LeHype, more of a legitimate "Franchise Player" and all he's done is succeed consistently while his team has enjoyed its best stretch of basketball in franchise history. Yet, he's not an All-Star and well, it won't be before Nash retires before he's even got a shot at MVP. That is of course, unless Adolf Stern decides to rig this year's balloting and hand it to the Hand Me One like he did the Rookie of the Year award four years ago.