Final Numbers and Final Thoughts Before Super Bowl XLIV

By Scott Taylor

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – As Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the Barenaked Ladies and O.A.R. rocked the beach at Super Bowl Saturday Night, the ticket scalpers and bookies did what it is they do.

Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning

The 44^th Super Bowl game for the championship of the National Football League will be played at 6 p.m. (EST) on Sunday evening as the NFC champion New Orleans Saints take on the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts. It’s Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning. It’s 4,388 yards vs. 4,500 yards. It’s the No. 4 offence in the NFL against the No. 2 office in the NFL.

Taking everything into consideration, the Colts should win this football game. They have the better offense, the better defense (18^th vs, the Saints at 25^th) and, of course, Manning at quarterback.

And while we’ve selected the Colts to win by two touchdowns, we do have some concerns.

Scott Greene to Referee Game

As we pointed out earlier this week, Scott Greene was named the head referee for this game. He’s been known to tinker, shall we say, with the outcome of games. The officials will play a major role in the game’s outcome.

As well, Vegas will have a say.

Clearly Vegas wants a close game. The point-spread runs from Indy minus-4 to Indy minus-5. So far, 70 per cent of the money bet on this game has been bet on the Saints. If the Colts win the game, but fail to cover the spread, Vegas stands to make a bundle.

As www.therunningback.com’s Las Vegas gambling expert, Fort Rouge Ted, pointed out yesterday, “The Vegas books get to keep all the M/L wagers on the Saints (70 per cent) and P/S wagers on the Colts (66 per cent) and only pay out 30 per cent & 34 per cent respectively, all the while keeping their vig.  And if the defenses keep the score under 56 (that’s the current over-under), Vegas will make hundreds of millions of dollars.”

If the boys in Vegas want a close game and the head referee has been know to “keep it close,” in the past, it might not matter how much better than Colts are. This game just might be close.

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Micheal Irvin and Warren Sapp

TWO NFL LEGENDS IN TROUBLE AT WORK

Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp are having a bad weekend.

On Thursday, Irvin was charged in a civil law suit with the alleged rape of a woman at the Hard Rock Casino near Fort Lauderdale. It is not a criminal charge, but it was enough to force ESPN to dump Irvin from his radio show at ESPN 103-3 in Dallas.

He’s still working with the NFL Network and has filed a $100 million countersuit in Dallas County, Texas.

Meanwhile, another NFL Network star, former Tampa and Oakland defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and questioned by Miami Beach in an alleged domestic violence case at a Miami Beach hotel.

Sapp will not appear on the NFL network until network brass “review the matter.”

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