FIVE MO' THINGS, 2/4/13
1) Ray Lewis and the Ravens won because God wanted them to. 
I'm no theologian, but I really never thought that God, with so many other things to worry about, spent that much of his/her time focused on professional football, and it never occurred to me that his rooting interest lied solely with Baltimore's NFL entry. After listening to Ray, I'm now convinced that God hates the 49ers (we have that in common) as well as the other 30 NFL teams. I'm not yet sure if he had a hand in killing the lights at the SuperDome last night.
2) The wrong guy was chosen as the game's MVP. Joe Flacco was good last night, but he wasn't Baltimore's most valuable player. That title would go to Jacoby Jones. Jones' 56-yard TD catch was the reception of the game, and the 108-yard kick return for a TD was the play of the game. The catch was on one of Flacco's poorer throws of the night, and the kick return, at the time, felt like a knockout blow. I don't care that Jones only had one catch. The Ravens don't win without him.
3) A very entertaining football game, and yes, that was pass interference. I know, I know, officials are going to hold the flag late in close games, especially ones that decide who wins trophies. But Michael Crabtree was held, well outside the legal five yards, and the foul was blatant enough, even at that stage of a very important game, to justify a flag.
And yes, I was rooting for the Ravens.
More important than the non-call was 'Frisco's playcalling near the goal line. If Frank Gore was too gassed for the 49ers to use him, they should have used a timeout. Gore was nearly unstoppable in the second half, to not use him once with the season on the line, especially with Haloti Ngata out of the game was inexcusable.
The fourth down fade was an audible by Kaepernick. It was a play, that despite the non-call, that looked doomed from the beginning. I understand the argument against calling a timeout to have a last-chance opportunity if case they didn't score, but realistically the 49ers' only real chance as going to come on that fourth down play. They should've taken some time to think about it.
4) The real losers during the power outage was CBS, and thus their viewers. Yes, it's difficult to adjust on the fly during such unseen circumstances, but CBS couldn't have appeared more unprepared. James Brown, normally as good as they get, looked terrified, and they made a huge mistake going into analyst mode with Cowher, Sharpe, and Marino. The only thing that mattered at that point was why the power was out, and how long until it would be restored. And yet, with three sideline reporters (I did feel bad for Steve Tasker), and numerous resources as an NFL TV partner, they couldn't get anyone to tell us what was going on. Major fail.
5) Commercials. Your best three....
How do you not love hearing Paul Harvey's voice?
Letterman.
Years from now, "Leon Sandcastle" will be an awesome reference....
...But Wait There's More...
-If you like Beyonce, you liked the halftime show. If you don't, you probably didn't. I enjoyed how quickly the other two Destiny's Child members were blown off stage, and I enjoy looking at Beyonce.
-Big weekend for the Bearcats...
A) A critical win over Seton Hall. Come to accept that this team's lack of offense is going to frustrate the hell out of you. Come to accept that they'll go through stretches where they seem incapable of running the most basic offensive sets. But they'll overcome it with elite-level defense, and some grit. Beating the Pirates might not seem like much, but UC is quickly running out of chances for bad losses (Providence at South Florida still remain) and they're hanging in there amid a crowded pack of teams in the Big East's top half.
Oh, and they're 18-4.
B) They got a commitment from this guy.
I wouldn't know Jermaine Lawrence from Vicki Lawrence, but whenever a guy committing to your program has your program among the headliners on ESPN....
...that's a good thing.
C) Carc made it to San Diego. I know you were worried.
-Speaking of the Bearcats, we're watching them play Providence at the Holy Grail downtown Wednesday night. Here's the artwork....
-Indiana v. Michigan. I've griped a lot about college basketball's unwatchablity this season. Hoosiers/Wolverines was at the exact opposite of that spectrum. Fun game, great atmosphere, and anticipated rematch, and IU confirming my belief that they're the best team in the country. They're underrated defensively, balanced offensively, and as unselfish as anyone in the game.
-After watching Xavier v. Richmond, I don't know what a foul is anymore in college basketball. That might have been the worst officiated game of the season.
-The UD Flyers were so blatantly non-competitive Saturday that I can't help but wonder if they quit against St. Louis.
-More later, including today's radio show rundown. Here's some Baltimore "civil unrest." I want to experience this just once...
