The Indianapolis Colts never had a chance.

The Who Dat Nation and the New Orleans Saints were not to be denied on Super Bowl Sunday. Call it fate, destiny or whatever, but something intervened. This was the Saints’ Super Bowl. The Saints reaped the benefits of every break, hit a bit harder and seemed to want it more. But most importantly the Saints were clearly willing to risk it all in order to win sports biggest prize.

Nearly five years after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans continues to fight back. And the Saints march to the Super Bowl has come to embody the heroic struggle that many New Orleans residents have dealt with and some continue to deal with. How our country has responded to New Orleans and the other nearby hard-hit areas in the aftermath of Katrina speaks to the best of America.

As such the Saints victory over the Colts means everything to New Orleans and it seems it means a lot to an entire country except maybe the state of Indiana.

Try as they might to dismiss it, the 2009 season for the Colts may forever be symbolized by management’s decision in late December to rest players and play the subs rather than go for an undefeated season. That decision still does not sit well with many Indianapolis fans, who now must deal with the empty feeling that comes with being the Super Bowl loser.

A headline in the Indianapolis Star screamed “The Football Gods Get Their Revenge on The Colts”.

We’ll never know for sure if resting players took the Colts edge away. But what we do know is that the game was won on the field by a hard charging Saints team that clearly knew that a Super Bowl victory meant more than just taking home the Lombardi Trophy for the team.

And when Peyton Manning, arguably football’s best quarterback, throws a pick six interception while driving for the game tying score in the closing minutes… you know the game is over. Tracy Porter the defensive back who picked off Manning’s pass and ran it back for the score said he saw the ball coming all the way. It was meant to be for Porter and the Saints. There were no similar mistakes for Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who certainly moved up a couple of notches in the best quarterback discussions.

The way I see it, for now the Saints are the real America’s Team. Congratulations to the Saints and New Orleans. For Colts fans like me, there is always next year.

This year the Indianapolis Colts never had a chance.

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In many ways bowling is the most egalitarian sport there is. Literally anyone – even a caveman – can get a strike once in awhile. And everyone can roll the ball in the gutter. Mastering bowling means understanding how to navigate in between those extremes. You must be consistent and focused, willing to be boring enough to do the same thing over and over again, exactly the same way. If you can do that you have a chance to be a good bowler. But to be a pro bowler… well not just anyone can do that.

And to actually win on the pro tour (not many at all have taken home a PBA championship trophy) is even harder. And until Sunday never in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association had a women ever won a PBA Tour title. Remember the name Kelly Kulick.

Kelly Kulick won the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. She not only beat one-time bowler of the year, Chris Barnes in the final, she crushed him by 70 pins, 265 – 195.

To get to the finals Kelly had to win and score high all week long. And then in the televised Sunday match Kelly had to win one match to make the finals. She beat a guy named Mika by getting a strike in the last frame to advance to title match. She then faced off against Barnes.

This match was never close. Only an unlucky 7-10 split ruined a nearly perfect game. Kelly closed out Barnes with 7 strikes in a row.

I know this is “only” bowling, and to most people it is not a real sport. But any time a lady can beat men on equal footing in a legitimate competition it is definitely worth noting. With her win Kelly gets a two-year exemption from qualifying on the men’s tour and $40 thousand dollars. This is especially significant considering there is no longer a formal women’s pro tour.

With her wireless mike attached as she bowled the final frame she said aloud, ”history has been made in the world of sports…“

Yes, history was made, and it is important, even if it is bowling – I’m serious!

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I’m worried like I always am before an Indianapolis Colts playoff game. Somehow I’ve come to think that the New York Jets can actually beat the once undefeated Colts. I don’t really believe that do I? Still the last time the Jets played the Colts in a playoff game the score was 41 to nothing – Jets win. And even though that game was seven years ago, for a worrier like me it might as well have been last week.

Those of us who come from Indianapolis are used to being disappointed. I grew up in a city that never seemed quite worthy of, or comfortable with, top tier status. As such we natives have historically both derisively and proudly called the city Naptown, a place where not much happens, but is nonetheless a great place to raise a family. But its kind of like having to kiss your sister – not much joy in that.

But things have changed quite a bit in my hometown over the years and so has my perspective and reality. So now as a grown man I’ve spent a lot of time defending the Circle City (the better nickname) and extolling its virtues.

This is as good as it gets in Indianapolis. It is a city that remade itself by meticulously developing an enviable reputation as an international sports capital. And as a bonus Indianapolis now has one of the NFL’s best teams, it’s best quarterback, and a beautiful retractable roof stadium to play in. But perhaps the best and scariest fact of all is that the Colts are again the favorite to win the Super Bowl. The Colts help make Indianapolis mean something.

The rational me believes that if the Colts play their best game Sunday they should easily beat the Jets, who ironically thanks to the Colts, backed their way into the playoffs. But like many of the folks back home – the skeptical me is unduly focused on the fact that it was the Jets who a couple of weeks ago ended the Colt’s improbable bid for an undefeated season.

So will the Colts beat the Jets on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl? I certainly hope so but I’m not sure yet. I’m from Indianapolis and I’m still worried.

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It would be easy to say that the Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas is an idiot, a manchild who has not come close to growing up. But that overlooks troubling issues and many unanswered questions.

Understandably the hammer had to come down on Arenas, who was suspended indefinitely without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern on Wednesday, ironically on his 28th birthday. Arenas was suspended for admittedly bringing several handguns into the team’s locker room, storing them there, and perhaps according to some accounts, pointing one of them at a teammate.

Now, according to a report in the Washington Post, that teammate, Javaris Crittenton, also brought a gun into the locker room and actually loaded it in front of several other Wizards players.

Some questions: Why did it take so long for Wizards’ management, coaching staff and players to acknowledge the incident that happened last month in front of numerous witnesses? Where was the coach and general manager in all of this? Why did the NBA only suspend Arenas and not Crittenton? What about the thousands of dollars in gambling on the team plane that apparently precipitated this?

That said, Gilbert Arenas showed his immaturity in numerous statements, tweets, and ill-advised actions on the basketball court over the last week. Arenas initially made jokes about the incident. Only when the authorities got involved did Arenas, team and league officials appear to take what happened seriously.

But before we get all crazy about this, the fact is no one was hurt – thank God for that. So let’s not lose perspective about what’s really at stake and the much larger issue of players feeling that they must be armed wherever they go, apparently not understanding the consequences of their actions.

This is not just a Washington Wizards issue and it is not just a sports issue either. This is also about a society that often cherishes the right to keep and bear arms without proper controls in place. And it is about foolish young men who despite wealth and fame feel empowered to do whatever they want, when they want, without concern for decorum and decency.

And yet – we fans often cheer these guys on if they play for our team, but vilify them when they play for the opposition. The hypocrisy is appalling.

The Reverend Al Sharpton was harshly critical of the NBA, African-American leaders and others who he believes have tolerated the behavior of boorish, foolish athletes for far too long. He called for a harsh penalty to be levied against Arenas. While I do agree with Sharpton that more has to be done to police players, all of us need to take some responsibility for this too.

The athletes we cheer on one moment and revile the next, take most of their cues from us – the fans.

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He leads one of the NFL’s best teams. But we barely know who he is.
What does this brother have to do to get some love?

His team remains undefeated which means he’s now 14 and 0 – the best record ever for a first-year NFL head coach. But all we seem to know is that he’s the guy who replaced the noble legend Tony Dungy.

He apparently blends in so well that the commentators never give him his due for his leadership and knowledge.

Even though he’s not publicly complaining, it’s got to be tough being virtually anonymous despite so much success. No one is calling him a genius even though he replaced an icon and actually improved on his team’s brand. One game at a time is the way he looks at it. But don’t lose sight of the fact that every win means he’s extending his own record breaking victory streak.

He’s on the road to 19 – 0 and the Super Bowl. One day the masses will notice he’s a very good coach, maybe they’ll notice in February.

Who is this unassuming, under-appreciated man? His name is Jim Caldwell, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

The way I see it he’s the NFL’s coach of the year. He deserves the love.

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Bryant Gumbel can really rub you the wrong way. There is something not quite right about him at times. Maybe its the arrogance he sometimes exudes. Despite that, he is also celebrated as one of the most well-prepared and brilliant interviewers of our time.

On Regis and Kelly the other day, Gumbel, the erudite TV pro, showed another side of himself – humility and vulnerability. He announced on-air that he is fighting lung cancer. But surprisingly he looked at peace.

Gumbel sometimes comes across as smug and self-important. He really angered me a couple of years ago, because of a commentary on his HBO show, in which he cruelly belittled and mocked the late Gene Upshaw. A Hall of Fame player with the Raiders, Upshaw gained even greater fame as the longtime executive director of the National Football League Players Association. I thought Gumbel was way out of line.

On the other hand it’s just as important to recognize that Bryant Gumbel is a valuable trailblazer. Gumbel was a role model for me and millions of others. I always admired his preparation as well as his command and elegance.

Ironically, Gumbel shared his battle with cancer as Tiger Woods continues to dominate the headlines. If anyone can understand what Tiger might be going through it is Gumbel. Gumbel also had to deal with tabloid allegations of infidelity and a humiliated wife. Tiger should call him up. Tiger might hear what we witnessed as Gumbel revealed his cancer fight. An older, wiser more humble man, who might be able to help him.

Life hands out lots of lessons. And Gumbel who always seems cool under pressure, appears to have learned his.

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Almost every year I get angry the second week of December. That’s when the Heisman Trophy winner – symbolizing the nation’s best college football player – is announced. It’s rarely the right guy. I’d be shocked if the right guy gets handed the trophy on Saturday.

The politics of major college football are often infuriating and insulting. We all know that the BCS, the cartel which controls the alleged national championship game, the bowl system and more importantly the money, should only have two letters – BS.

But the Heisman Trophy selection process makes the BCS look absolutely democratic.

The five finalists for the 2009 Heisman Trophy were announced on Monday. They are:

Toby Gerhart – Stanford running back
Mark Ingram – Alabama running back
Colt McCoy – Texas quarterback and last year’s runner up
Ndamukong Suh – Nebraska defensive tackle
Tim Tebow – Florida quarterback and 2007 winner

To me the Heisman symbolizes everything that is wrong with college football. I’m not a mathematician like my father was, but by my count there are 22 guys on the field, each playing different positions, 11 on offense and 11 on defense, all contributing to this thing called TEAM. But the Heisman Trophy is apparently reserved for players at only 2 or 3 positions. This statistical anomaly is why I consider the Heisman Trophy the biggest joke in football. This is absurd.

Of the 74 times the Heisman has been awarded since 1935, a total of 41 running backs and 26 quarterbacks have won the award. That means 67 of the 74 Heisman recipients have played only one of two positions. That’s bad enough, but worse is the fact that only once has a defensive player ever won the award – defensive back Charles Woodson of the University of Michigan won it in 1997. Are you kidding me?? One defensive player – One. And Woodson was helped in his win because he occasionally played spectacularly at wide receiver and kick returner.

The best college football player hands down this year is the University of Nebraska’s all-world defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. He is an absolute beast. Suh is the closest player I’ve seen to the late, incomparable, Reggie White.

Suh is so strong, so fast and so dominant, that I can’t imagine another player who is better than he is. Suh tossed around last year’s Heisman runner-up Colt McCoy like a ragdoll in Nebraska’s heartbreaking loss to Texas the other day. The right guy for the Heisman this year is Ndamukong Suh. He is one of the best college football players I’ve ever seen.

But the numbers don’t lie. Suh has as much chance to win the Heisman as I have of becoming the next coach of the Washington Redskins. And that’s a shame. It is an embarrassment to college football.

Wouldn’t it be great if the Heisman voters stop laughing at us and end the biggest joke in football by doing the right thing.

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For many other players it would have simply been a happy homecoming. Another feel good end of a career story. But we’re talking about Allen Iverson. Iverson is one of the greatest one-on-one talents to have ever played the game of basketball. If there was a pound-for-pound, inch-for-inch crown, the 6 foot tall 175 pound Iverson would wear it as the undisputed champion of basketball.

But the light is dimming on his career. And sadly on his reputation. Coming home is one last chance to change minds. To regain his pride. To get back into the starting lineup.

Maybe that’s why Allen Iverson cried so emotionally when he announced his return to the Philadelphia 76ers. The tears were real. Iverson’s pain remains deep.

Allen Iverson is the original hip-hop basketball superstar.

He became a man in an era when you were deemed soft if you smiled too much. Allen had the tats, the cornrows, the attitude, and the skills, but most importantly he was a hero who never left the hood. He was still hard. That was the upside for Iverson for a lot of years as he often led the league in scoring and spectacular plays.

But when he was traded to Detroit from Denver last season something changed. Yes, he got hurt, but there were other pains as well. For the first time he seemed irrelevant. A high scoring loser playing out the last days of a forgettable career. He deserved better. But he has mostly himself to blame. And he knows it.

Allen Iverson is struggling. At 34 years of age he is grappling with who he is as an athlete, and ultimately who he is as a man.

This season playing for Memphis, he wasn’t willing to come off the bench. So he quit. For a minute it appeared he had retired. But mostly he was mad. Of course he can still play. He was the best player on the Grizzlies as he would be on most teams. But for Iverson, his reputation as a me-first, shoot-first player, had lost it’s appeal.

Right now Iverson is feeling every possible emotion.

You can’ t always shake the image that people have of you. But you can change the image you have of yourself.

It’s up to Allen now. He’s home.

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As malicious as the tabloids can often be, there is sometimes a grain of truth in those stories. Sometimes there’s a huge grain of truth. And today Tiger Woods came as close to admitting to the affairs alleged by the tabloids as he ever will. He said in a statement released on his website that he let his family down and that he regrets “transgressions.”

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No, it wasn’t a full blown “confession” but his words make it vaguely clear that not everything being speculated about the SUV accident and his alleged infidelity is untrue.

Tiger Woods Statement: I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

So once again the tabloids appear to get it right. And thanks to them, as of now, at least two women have claimed to have had affairs with Tiger Woods. One of the women has a voice mail recording from a man whose voice sounds a lot like Tiger’s.

But do we really need to know more? Will we ever get closer to the truth of what is now obviously a marriage in trouble? Probably not. Or will we learn with even more certainty that golf’s greatest immortal is actually a mere human? This story is about as true as its going to get for the curious among us.

I suppose all we need to know is that Tiger messed up and then sort of manned-up. That’s a lot more than most celebrities could or would do.

But sadly that isn’t saying much.

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The Drive now belongs to the Tennessee Titans’ Vince Young.

With the clock running out on Sunday, Vince Young drove his Titans down the field 99 yards in 18 plays, overcoming three 4th downs, and won the game against the Arizona Cardinals. Final score, Tennessee 20, Arizona 17.

The play that ended it was a touchdown pass in the end zone as time expired. It does not get any more dramatic than that.

The drive is a defining moment for Vince Young who less than a year ago was considered by some at best immature and quite possibly unstable. A run-first quarterback who glowed briefly but quickly flamed out. While yesterday’s remarkable game winning march down the field is a statement for Young it is also a parable about patience and redemption.

Tennessee which began the season 0 – 6, has now won five games in a row, and is not ruling out the playoffs anymore. And off the bench after reflecting on his mistakes and learning the finer points of team leadership, Vince Young has won all five of those games.

And now he is starting to look like the player he was in college, when he led Texas to a national championship with what may be the greatest performance in college football history.

Like that game nearly four years ago, or yesterday’s final drive, most of us watch football hoping that we will see a Vince Young dazzle us at his best.

There is nothing like seeing a player give his all and do it in an unforgettable way.

That is what Vince Young is capable of. But unrealized potential is why he has disappointed so many of us until now.

Perhaps the lesson we can learn from Vince Young’s saga, is that sometimes we must be willing to wait awhile for those who still need to mature and grow. Some of them deserve our patience and understanding, which if given can be generously rewarded.

I’m sure the Titans and their fans are glad now that they didn’t give up on Vince Young.

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