The Sports Monitor

Random thoughts from Sunday's championship games: The New Orleans Saints have faced two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in back-to-back rounds and still won. They beat up, battered and bruised Brett Favre and the Vikings in the NFC title game and did the same to Kurt Warner and the Cardinals. It's looking more and more likely that the Saints sent both Warner and Favre into retirement. Up next, another Hall of Fame QB, Peyton Manning. I don't think that'll be his last game. The Jets still had a chance to win the AFC title game until Reggie Wayne recovered his own fumble in the fourth quarter. Had the ball bounced the other way, the Jets could be making travel plans for Miami. The Vikings got too cute at the end of regulation trying to confuse the Saints and got burned. The 12-men-on-the-field penalty cost them the game. Well, Favre's interception didn't help either. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson looked like former Steelers RB Tim Worley carrying the football. If I...

Brett Favre just loves to gamble. With a trip to the Super Bowl, a shot at redemption and a chance to rub it in the faces of Green Bay Packers fans, Brett Favre couldn't help himself and be Brett Favre. He tried to make a play with the game tied at 28 in the NFC championship game. The grizzled veteran who was supposed to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the Super Bowl instead made a rookie mistake. Favre threw the football back across the field and the New Orleans Saints' Tracy Porter picked it off. So much for a chance to win the game at the end. Favre could have thrown it away, leaving a long 56-yard field goal. He should have run the ball, which would have picked up at least 5 yards, maybe more. Nope. Favre wanted to be the hero. Now, he's the goat. In a game marred by turnovers, Favre's was the costliest. But we shouldn't be surprised. If Favre throws enough, he'll get burned. Just like he did Sunday night. He should have known better than...

After going out and celebrating the Steelers' 27-17 win late Sunday night, I turned on a national talk radio show. I wanted to hear what they were saying about the Steelers' win. It turned out, the host wasn't all that impressed. He kept saying there was something missing from this Steelers team. Maybe he didn't watch the game. He could be going on accounts from stories or highlights. There wasn't much missing Sunday from the Steelers' win. In fact, it looked like their wins against the Chargers and Cowboys last season. Those were victories triggered by huge defensive plays. Their win against the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game had one too, if I remember correctly. The point is, the Steelers defense provided the signature moments throughout the 2008 season, except for that brilliant catch by Santonio Holmes in the Super Bowl. But the defense is back. The Minnesota Vikings have one heck of an offensive line, but the defense got pressure o...