myerstownherald.com

By ERIC FISHER
In honor of the exciting NFC and AFC championship games, we’re going to use a hurry-up offense and execute our two-minute drill.
BLOWN OPPORTUNITY: All the attention focused on Brett Favre’s interception at the end of regulation has obscured some truths from the NFC championship game.
Truth No. 1: The Vikings didn’t lose to the Saints because of Favre. They lost because of lost fumbles, including two inside the 10-yard line, and an inexcusable penalty for 12 men on the field on the play before Favre’s interception, turning a running down into a passing down.
Truth No. 2: The Vikings never would have made it to the NFC championship game without Favre. It’s as if the interception brought all of Favre’s critics back out from under their rocks, as if that one mistake justified their opinion that signing Favre was a mistake. Wrong!
HATIN’ ON PEYTON: Speaking of wrong-headed critics, it’s unfathomable that there are still people out there who don’t consider Peyton Manning one of the greatest quarterbacks in history. Manning has won four MVP awards and has reached his second Super Bowl. But you don’t need statistics to understand Manning’s greatness. Just watch him play.
SPLIT LOYALTIES: Which team will Archie Manning root for in the Super Bowl? I suspect he’ll be rooting for his son and the Colts, but there has to be a part of him that would be pleased if his former team, New Orleans, wins its first Super Bowl.
THE NOT-SO-SUPER BOWL: The Pro Bowl has been moved to this Sunday, one week before the Super Bowl. Eagles fans who want Donovan McNabb run out of town may become furious seeing McNabb participate in the Pro Bowl – if anyone actually watches the Pro Bowl. McNabb, added as an alternate due to the withdrawal of Favre and Drew Brees’ preparation for the Super Bowl, will join Dallas’ Tony Romo as backups to Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.
The starting quarterback for the AFC will be Houston’s Matt Schaub, a West Chester East graduate.
BOWLING FOR STARS: The Pro Bowl is the worst of the four major sports’ all-star games. You simply can’t play football half-speed and make it entertaining.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!: There was a time when fans voting a player as undeserving as Allen Iverson into the starting lineup of an all-star game would have bothered me. Not anymore. I’ve come to realize that all-star games, especially the NBA All-Star game, are all about entertainment.
A.I. is certainly entertaining. If the fans want entertainment, give them what they want!
FAILING THE FUTURE: Iverson’s presence in the NBA All-Star game doesn’t bother me, but his presence with the Sixers does bother me. Iverson hasn’t done anything wrong. In fact, I’m happy for him. However, there is no long-term benefit in having Iverson play crucial minutes while Lou Williams sits on the bench.
MIND GAMES: The first person who can explain the logic behind Sixers coach Eddie Jordan’s ever-changing rotation should receive a prize – possibly a Nobel.
IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLE?: Jordan, of course, must work with the roster he’s been given. The Sixers have talent, but they’re like a jigsaw puzzle where all the pieces don’t fit together.
TRADE WINDS: Now that the Flyers have surged back into the playoff picture, it’s time to start thinking about what they must add before the March 3 trade deadline to challenge for the Stanley Cup. With Danny Syvret still sidelined with a shoulder injury and Ryan Parent having had back surgery Monday, it wouldn’t be surprising if general manager Paul Holmgren goes shopping for a defenseman.
Calgary has a nice stockpile of quality defensemen. The Flames’ problem is they can’t score. The Flyers, who traded Joffrey Lupul and lost Mike Knuble in free agency, don’t have an excess of big scorers. Perhaps the Flyers could involve a third team with expendable offensive talent – the Atlanta Thrashers? – in order to acquire one of Calgary’s defensemen.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES: The best sign I saw this past week was at the Australian Open. Numerous fans held up signs stating, “I’ve been with Tiger.”
The runner-up for best sign wasn’t even a sign. It was a T-shirt, spotted at a Flyers game, which read, “You can’t spell Crosby without cry.”
PREDICTIONS: The winner of the Super Bowl will be … you’ll have to wait until next week. But I don’t want to leave you without a prediction for this weekend. I refuse to predict a winner in anything as worthless as the Pro Bowl. Instead, I’ll select dark horse Chris Jericho to win the WWE’s Royal Rumble.