Super Bowl XLV Pick: Nobody cares about the weather

I guess that when it was first announced that this year's Super Bowl would be held in Dallas, many people immediately worried that it could end up being the Cowboys playing in the title game at The House Jerry Built. But I highly doubt many of us were thinking that instead of having that nightmare scenario, we'd instead end up with sportswriters complaining about having to put up with—prepare yourself!—snow.

Oh, the horrors of covering the Super Bowl in weather not ideal for golfing! Seriously, Yahoo's Les Carpenter is one fine example of these bitches, and if he can't endure a little bad weather then let him never cover any game again.

Most of us average types are of course more interested in watching the actual game than whining about the lack of sunshine, so let's get back to talking about what actually matters tomorrow.


I was among the half in the pool that had one of the two picks right last weekend—the bottom half that is:

And so I now find myself destined to either finish in second or third:

I did finish first out of the two people that submitted picks in the PoolHost league though:

Which makes those standings look like this:

Going .500 on my picks last week means I'm .500 thus far in these playoffs and makes the Super Bowl determine whether I finish with a winning or a losing record. But for the sake of comparison, here's how all the other "experts" have done:

1. (1) Brian Burke, The Fifth Down: 7-3
1. (1) Chris Mortensen, ESPN: 7-3
1. (1) Pro Football Weekly Editors: 7-3
1. (1) Mark Schlereth, ESPN: 7-3
1. (1) Wunderdog: 7-3
6. (8) Les Carpenter, Yahoo: 6-4
6. (1) Ron Jaworski, ESPN: 6-4
6. (1) Adam Schefter, ESPN: 6-4
6. (8) Michael Silver, Yahoo: 6-4
10. (13) Eric Allen, ESPN: 5-5
10. (8) Jason Cole, Yahoo: 5-5
10. (8) Mike Golic, ESPN: 5-5
10. (13) Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 5-5
10. (13) Yahoo Users: 5-5 
10. (8) YOURS TRULY: 5-5
16. (13) Merrill Hoge, ESPN: 4-6
16. (13) Seth Wickersham, ESPN: 4-6

And here's everybody's final pick for the year:

Les Carpenter, Yahoo
Jason Cole, Yahoo
Michael Silver, Yahoo
Eric Allen, ESPN
Mike Golic, ESPN
Merrill Hoge, ESPN
Ron Jaworski, ESPN
Chris Mortensen, ESPN
Adam Schefter, ESPN
Mark Schlereth, ESPN
Seth Wickersham, ESPN
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
Pro Football Weekly Editors
Yahoo Users
Wunderdog
Brian Burke

Which just leaves me, I guess:

Green Bay Packers (13-6) over Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4)

+47/0 : +35/33/+68 : +68/-12

I've gone with the numbers the entire way this season, but I liked the logic I heard about going with whatever your first instinct was when you first realized the matchup. And mine's always been Green Bay ever since Championship Sunday wrapped up. It's a pretty even matchup, both teams boasting strengths on either side of the ball. But the injury to Maurkice Pauncey doesn't help Pittsburgh's case any, and this looks to be the beginning of what could possibly be multiple Super Bowl appearances for Aaron Rodgers and the Pack. They'll be contenders for years to come, and I'm saying that they come back next year as defending champions.