Monday, February 06, 2006

Super Bowl XL champions

Congratulations to the Seattle Seahawks, who defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers last night 20-17, winning their first-ever Super Bowl title. The Seahawks had some clock management problems at the end of the first half, but they won the statistical battle and the game.
Seattle set the tone early with a first-quarter touchdown reception by Darrell Jackson to make it 7-0. Though replays showed Jackson giving his defender a little stiff-arm, the officials never considered nullifying the reception with an outlandish pass intereference call.
In the second quarter, the Seahawks responded to a Pittsburgh first-and-goal with a great defensive stand. On third down, Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger ran left and tried to muscle the ball over the goal line, but was unsuccessful by a fraction of an inch. The officials reviewed the play upstairs, but couldn't come up with enough evidence to overturn the ruling. Pittsburgh had to settle for a chip-shot field goal and trailed 7-3.
As time expired in the first half, Seattle kicker Josh Brown nailed a field goal in perfect, windless dome conditions for a 10-3 Seattle lead.
Pittsburgh tied the game at 10 on a 75-yard touchdown run by Willie Parker in the third quarter, the longest TD run in Super Bowl history. But the tie was short-lived.
The next Steeler series, with the Seahawks once again pinned against the goal line, Seattle corner Kelly Herndon plucked a wobbly Roethlisberger pas out of the air and raced 76 yards. The interception set up Seattle's second touchdown to make it 17-10.
Brown later followed with another dead-red field goal in those climate-controlled dome conditions, a 50-yarder to extend Seattle's lead to 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck was later picked off deep in Steeler territory. On the ensuing drive,The Steelers reached into their grab bag for a gadget play, trying desperately to stay afloat as their championship hopes began slipping away.
The reverse TD pass from Antwaan Randle El to Hines Ward drew the Steelers to within three at 20-17, but time was running out. Seattle began using the running tandem of Shaun Alexander and Mack Strong to wear down the clock. Pittsburgh got the ball back for one last heave, but a Roethlisberger hail mary fell well short of field foal range on fourth down.
Hasselbeck took a knee to seal the Seahawk win. Jubilant owner Paul Allen joined coach Mike Holmgren and MVP Hasselbeck on the dais at the 50-yard-line.
"This is a great moment for the city of Seattle, and for the entire Pacific Northwest," said Holmgren as he hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy high over his head. Holmgren becomes the first coach to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.
In the Steeler locker room, Joey Porter racked up an unprecedented $325,000 in fines as he lit into the refs, calling them "blind old farts" who "should either be dead or in a nursing home," among other things we can't print here.
Outside Ford Field, drunk tanks began filling up with irate Steeler fans who had started throwng half-full cans of Iron City Beer at anything that even remotely resembled a windshield.
And in Cleveland, we all slept well.

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