Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
My Neice Holly: Cheer championship : Corpus Christi Caller-Times
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My neice Holly is in the back left, with the glasses. She is one little bundle of energy!
Members of the Corpus Christi All Star Mako Sharks show off their skills during Sunday's American Cheer Power South Texas Open Championship at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
How to Survive Valentine's Day: Forget the Gifts - Raina Kelley
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Ditch the Flowers and Diamonds
Why everything you think about Valentine's Day is wrong.
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Valentine's Day is stupid. I don't care what gender you are or how romantic, everybody is either stressed out or offended by Feb. 14. Seriously, just think about it for a minute—if you are in a relationship, you are obligated to show your love through flowers, candy, and canned romance or risk being labeled a crank, a grump, or worse. If you're not in a relationship, you're made to feel bereft or relieved. Not to mention that it's scheduled right at the moment you've finally dug out from all those Christmas and Chanakah bills, so the minute you have money, it's gift-giving time again.
Why do we put up with this state of affairs? I love giving presents and I have never, regretfully, turned away candy. But it's hard to put a lot of thought into a day that most men think has been pushed upon them for the express purpose of getting them into trouble. Every year my husband loudly panics about what to get me for Valentine's Day. As if I am actually going to use my gifts to measure his love for me and how it changes from year to year. I don't know where this pressure comes from … oh, wait, I do! Every channel is chock full of commercials showing men tenderly wrapping their wives into their arms and expressing their undying love with heart-shaped diamonds and home-cooked soufflés. You can't escape it—DVR doesn't help, it's just the same Zales commercials at a faster speed. But jewelry is no good as a V-Day present anymore and deep down everybody knows it. Thanks to Tiger, Kobe, and all the other cheaters out there who think diamonds are the way to redemption, a little blue box now screams: "I'm obsessively cheating on you." Or, even worse: "I think you're one of those women whose love can be bought with jewelry."
And don't even get me started on flowers. Cut flowers are bad for the environment. Potted flowers are a waste of money unless you have a greenhouse or live in Hawaii, especially this February when even the South is getting blizzards. And here's a news flash … most women don't like to get flowers delivered to the office … it's too showy, too girly, and sends a weird message that goes a bit like this: "I'm obsessively cheating on you but here are some flowers to make the people at work think we're like those people in the diamond commercials who can be bought with overpriced roses that are killing the planet."
But I'm a fixer and I have the solution to putting the zing back into Valentine's Day. (I fixed Black History Month last week and Mother’s Day last year so don't doubt me.) The trick to an amazing Feb. 14 is escapism. In the early stages of a relationship, mystery and sex are the glue that holds you together until you get to know each another. It's an exciting time when you're not quite sure what you're getting yourself into but you really like it. That's the feeling people want for Valentine's Day—not a book or pink earrings. Anything that brings that excitement, those goosebumps, back counts as success. For me, the best V-Day is 24 hours where I feel like a girlfriend instead of a wife. I want to be swept away into nostalgia. Everybody is different, but for me, the perfect celebration would be a night at Mohegan Sun playing craps and pretending I'm Sharon Stone's character from Casino. It's the ideal place to eat dessert first and go get a steak at 3 in the morning. I can dress up and walk around without a purse and drink sidecars. It's an evening to be (until we pick up the baby from his grandparents' the next morning, that is) the kind of people who drink champagne in the bathtub. But that's just me—another woman might want a weekend in Miami or a sky-diving lesson. It actually doesn't matter what you do as long as it evokes that frisson of romance and endless love at the heart of every relationship. I know a couple who are just going for a walk in the snow. It's free and there won't be a single flower around but it's what they did when they first met and it reconnects them with why they're together now.
And while I'm not going to talk about sex in too much detail since my biggest fan is my mother, let me just say this: make out the way you did when you were teenagers (only not in public, I hate that). It'll create all kinds of chemistry and give you a dopamine boost. Most important, it'll keep your mind off the fact that between work and toddlers and grocery shopping, sex is harder to schedule than a haircut with Ken Paves.
John Lennon wrote that "Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear." That's what I'm talking about. So throw away the treacly cards and the candy and forget about the jewelry store. Ignore the pressure to do what everybody else is doing and stop treating Valentine's Day like any other gift-giving day. Give goosebumps and dopamine instead. Trust me, it'll work.
© 2010
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Hey! I just asked Aardvark (http://vark.com) "how can I suprise my wife for Valentine's Day?" !!!
Sunday, February 07, 2010
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts - Recap - February 07, 2010 - ESPN
Saints overcome early deficit, stop Colts late to seal victory
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Team Stat Comparison 1st Downs 20 23 16 16 3 6 1 1 3-9 6-13 0-1 1-2 Total Plays 58 64 Total Yards 332 432 Passing 281 333 32-39 31-45 7.2 7.4 Rushing 51 99 18 19 2.8 5.2 Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-3 2-3 Penalties 3-19 5-45 Turnovers 0 1 0 0 0 1 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 1 0 Possession 30:11 29:49
Air/Ground Leaders
New Orleans Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Brees 32/39 288 2 0
Indianapolis Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Manning 31/45 333 1 1
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER NOR IND FG 07:29 Matt Stover 38 Yd 0 3 TD 00:36 Pierre Garcon 19 Yd Pass From Peyton Manning (Matt Stover Kick) 0 10 SECOND QUARTER NOR IND FG 09:34 Garrett Hartley 46 Yd 3 10 FG 00:00 Garrett Hartley 44 Yd 6 10 THIRD QUARTER NOR IND TD 11:41 Pierre Thomas 16 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Garrett Hartley Kick) 13 10 TD 06:15 Joseph Addai 4 Yd Run (Matt Stover Kick) 13 17 FG 02:01 Garrett Hartley 47 Yd 16 17 FOURTH QUARTER NOR IND TD 05:42 Jeremy Shockey 2 Yd Pass From Drew Brees (Drew Brees Pass To Lance Moore For Two-Point Conversion) 24 17 TD 03:12 Tracy Porter 74 Yd Interception Return (Garrett Hartley Kick) 31 17 Greg Garber
ESPN.comMIAMI -- Many football fans, leading with their head, viewed the Indianapolis Colts as the better team coming into Super Bowl XLIV.
But when all the multi-colored confetti had rained down on Sun Life Stadium, after the New Orleans Saints took down the favored Colts 31-17, the game turned out to be about heart.After the Saints won their first National Football League championship -- 43 years after they played their first game -- they talked about the once-ravaged city they represent."We play for so much more than ourselves," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees with his brown hair matted to his forehead. "We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way."Brees referenced trying to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina -- and a football franchise, too. Burn those bags. Put the S back in front of those Ain'ts. These Saints, finally, are Superb."It means everything," Brees said. "We're here because of their strength and everything they fought through here the last few years. They've given us so much support, so we owe it all to our fans."More from ESPN.com
That Drew Brees outplayed a quarterback legend in Peyton Manning is just one of the things we learned about this Super Bowl, writes John Clayton. Story
It was the uncannily accurate Brees and the ability of his receivers to break open that made the difference in the end, writes Len Pasquarelli. Story
XXXXXXX, writes Gene Wojciechowski. Story
--> • Yasinskas: Huge gambles
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• Graham: Colts look unprepared
Peyton Manning may have been the regular-season MVP, but on this given Sunday, Brees was better. Lifting his team from a 10-point deficit, Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns to tie the Super Bowl record for completions on his way to winning the game's MVP honors.We have seen Manning and Reggie Wayne make so many plays over the years, at first it was hard to grasp what had happened when cornerback Tracy Porter stepped between them. Hurried by the Saints' blitz, Manning fired a pass to the slanting Wayne, but Porter broke first. He gathered the ball in and sprinted toward the goal line as the pro-Saints crowd roared. Manning, the only one who could have stopped him, gave a half-hearted effort.It was a resounding 74-yard interception return with 3:12 left to seal the Saints' victory."Made a great play," a red-faced Manning said after the game. "Made a great play. Corner made a heck of a play."Later, when the interception was raised again, Manning was similarly terse."Certainly disappointing," he allowed. "Very disappointing. Disappointing."Porter's interception was the finishing blow, but head coach Sean Payton's bold call for an onside kick to open the second half might have been the play that changed the game."We were really excited when he made the call," said linebacker Jonathan Casillas, who was on the field when teammate Chris Reis recovered the ball. "That changed everything."The ball, kicked expertly by Thomas Morstead, bounced off the hands of the Colts' Hank Baskett to set up the Saints' offense."We're going to be aggressive, Payton said. "We'd seen the onside kick all week and guys executed it well. It turned out to be a big change of possession."Instead of defending against Manning -- who finished the game completing 31 of 45 for 333 yards -- the Saints drove 58 yards for a touchdown. Running back Pierre Thomas caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Brees and, very suddenly, the Saints had their first lead of the game.The Colts are perceived as a one-man team, and the fact that their running game was ranked dead last in the NFL this season only underlines their dependence on Manning.But nursing a tenuous 3-0 lead in the first quarter, the Colts put together a muscular drive worthy of a champion. Starting on their own 4-yard line, Manning went not to Wayne or Dallas Clark, but to running backs Donald Brown and Joseph Addai.Brown caught a short flip from Manning and turned it into an 11-yard gain. Addai roared through a huge hole and went 16 yards, and after an incomplete pass, another 11. On third-and-1 at the Saints' 49, Addai broke a would-be tackle by linebacker Jonathan Vilma and made safety Darren Sharper look silly. Twenty-six yards and three plays later, Manning hoisted one to Pierre Garcon for a seemingly simple 19-yard touchdown.Most CompletionsCool Brees
Saints QB Drew Brees completed 32 of his 39 passes for 288 yards with two TDs. His 32 completions are tied for the most in Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl History Drew Brees, NO XLIV 32* Tom Brady, NE XXXVIII 32* Peyton Manning, IND XLIV 31 Kurt Warner, ARI XLIII 31 Jim Kelly, BUF XXVIII 31 Donovan McNabb, PHI XXXIX 30 * -- Won gameActually, it was vintage Manning.Cornerback Jabari Greer, hurt on a previous play, was on the sideline. Garcon turned backup safety Usama Young completely around and floated into the end zone with a comfortable margin. The Colts, who tied the longest scoring drive in Super Bowl history, led 10-0 with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.The Saints came back with a spirited drive and a 46-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley. It might have been more, but Dwight Freeney reached out and touched Brees on third down, forcing the Saints to kick. Freeney's right ankle, the subject of rampant pre-game speculation after a week of zero practice, was not enough to render him ineffective. He bullied left tackle Jermon Bushrod, pushing him backward, then snagged a handful of Brees' jersey for a sack.Squandering a first-and-goal at the Colts' 3, New Orleans failed on fourth down. After stopping the Colts with a three-and-out, the Saints stabilized the game when Hartley drilled a 44-yard field goal to make it 10-6 as time ran out. The expected shootout was developing into a surprising defensive standoff. Naturally, the second half began with an onside kick. Payton, after getting wrecked on two conservative goal-line run calls, went for the trick play out of the box and with just over three minutes into the second half, after Thomas' touchdown, it was a very different game -- 13-10, Saints.But, of course, Manning is Manning. Completing two critical balls to tight end Clark along the way, Manning presided over a terrific drive. Addai, spinning a full 360 degrees, ran 4-yards for a score with 6:15 left in the third quarter to put the Colts back on top 17-13.Game on.The Saints came right back and Hartley's 47-yard field goal closed the gap to one point.Indianapolis moved down the field, picking up a fourth-and-2 at the Saints' 46 when Wayne caught a 14-yard slant. But just when it looked like the Colts would distance themselves, Vilma (seven tackles, two for losses) made two terrific plays -- a tackle for a loss followed by some deft coverage of Colts wide receiver Austin Collie down by the end zone. Matt Stover's 51-yard field goal attempt was wide left.Brees was again masterful, moving the Saints down the field. He hit tight end Jeremy Shockey with a two-yard touchdown pass on the right side to give the Saints a 22-17 lead with 5:42 to play. New Orleans was then compelled to go for two. Lance Moore had the ball in his grasp over the goal line momentarily before it came loose. The play was called incomplete, but Payton challenged the call and replays showed the catch was good for a two-point conversion, and the Saints had a seven-point lead.With the Colts driving, Porter made his game-changing play and the team that once trailed by 10 was up by 14 -- for good. The Colts drove, but Manning's last-gasp pass, a seemingly quite catchable throw, glanced off the hands of Wayne near the end zone, and the Colts were formally done.Some 700 miles away from Sun Life Stadium, it was All Saints Night on Bourbon Street as the French Quarter rocked with something approaching Mardi Gras intensity. "Just to think of the road we've all traveled, the adversity we've all faced," Brees said. "It's unbelievable. I mean, are you kidding me? Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? Eighty-five percent of the city was under water. Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back."We just all looked at one another and said, 'We're going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.' That's what we've done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief."Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.Most PostseasonPassing Them By
Colts QB Peyton Manning went 31-for-45 with 333 yards a TD and interception, falling to 1-1 in Super Bowls and 9-9 overall in the postseason. Manning did become the third QB in postseason history to surpass 5,000 postseason passing yards.
Passing Yards Brett Favre 5,855 Joe Montana 5,772 Peyton Manning 5,164 John Elway 4,964
NFL Game Center: New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts - 2009 Super Bowl
Saints overcome slow start to capture first Super Bowl title in franchise history
Associated Press
Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com Coach Sean Payton celebrates the Saints' triumph in Super Bowl XLIV.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The ultimate underdogs, they ain't. Not anymore. The Saints are Super Bowl champions now.
Who Dat? Try Drew Brees, Sean Payton and a team that has reversed its embarrassing past, carrying an entire city to the top with it.
Put away those paper bags forever.
Brees and the Saints rallied to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football's most thrilling title games.
"We just believed in ourselves and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us," said Brees, the game's MVP. "What can I say? I tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time, and it's better than expected."
But not something many expected from these descendants of the hapless Aints, who were five-point underdogs.
"Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water from (Hurricane) Katrina," Brees said. "Most people not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back or if the organization and the team would come back. ... This is the culmination of that belief and that faith."
Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions, the last a 2-yard slant to Jeremy Shockey for the winning points with 5:42 remaining. He was 32 for 39 for 288 yards.
A surprise onside kick sparked the Saints' second-half comeback. Their 25th-ranked defense made several key stops, and Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return touchdown on a pass from Manning clinched it.
Manning tried to give chase, but was blocked by Saints DE Will Smith and fell awkwardly as the cornerback raced by. The four-time NFL MVP forlornly walked to the sideline as the Big Easy celebrations began.
"It's time for the Saints to celebrate," he said. "It's their field and it's their championship."
An NFL also-ran for much of their 43 years, the Saints' football renaissance, led by Brees and Payton, climaxed with Shockey's touchdown and Lance Moore's two-point conversion catch, originally ruled incomplete but overturned on Payton's challenge.
Porter's pick, just as dramatic as his interception of Brett Favre's pass to force overtime in the NFC title game, was the game's only turnover. It's one Manning will forever regret.
The Saints (16-3) won three postseason games this winter after winning only two in the previous 42 years. They beat Arizona, Minnesota and Indianapolis (16-3) -- all division winners -- for their first title, scoring 107 points and allowing only 59.
"We weren't the Aints," Porter said. "We were a team of destiny, a team that can make big plays."
The championship came 4 ½ years after Katrina ravaged New Orleans, making the Saints nomads for the 2005 season. There even was some doubt they would return, but the NFL refused to abandon the city. The Superdome was repaired and the Saints won the NFC South in '06, their first season with Brees and Payton.
That was the season Manning won his only Super Bowl. He got the Colts off to a quick start and had them in front for much of this one, but New Orleans' league-leading offense, which scored 510 points this season, outscored Indy 31-7 after falling behind 10-0. That matched the biggest comeback in a Super Bowl.
Payton held the Vince Lombardi Trophy high over his head and ran into the end zone toward several hundred fans chanting the Saints' rally cry: "Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?"
Nobody can say it now.
"Everybody back in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy," he said.
"I think I could kiss him," owner Tom Benson said.
Before many of the 74,059 fans got settled following the Who's halftime show, the Saints worked a little football voodoo. Garrett Hartley's onside kick was touched by the Colts' Hank Baskett, then recovered by Chris Reis at the New Orleans' 42.
"I just told our guys you've got to make me look good on this," Payton said. "That really becomes like a turnover."
Looking like the NFL's most potent offense, the Saints seized the opportunity to take their first lead. It came on Pierre Thomas' brilliant 16-yard run with a screen pass, capped by a dive into the end zone.
Manning simply shrugged, found Dallas Clark for 45 yards on a 76-yard drive, and Joseph Addai used a spin move a figure skater would envy to score from the 4.
But that was it for Indy.
"I certainly know how it was three years ago when we won," Manning said. "I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints have that same feeling right now."
Hartley, the hero of the NFC title game with his 40-yard field goal in OT, made a 47-yarder later in the third quarter. After Matt Stover was wide left on a 51-yarder early in the final quarter, Brees led the biggest drive in Saints history.
"We really felt as underdogs we had the better team," Payton said. "To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in."
Special to NFL.com Click here to purchase the exclusive stadium collection version of the Super Bowl XLIV game program. Manning looked sharp on the Colts' first two series, taking them 53 yards to a 38-yard field goal by Stover, at 42 the oldest player in Super Bowl history.
Then Manning led a 96-yard, 11-play drive that appeared almost routine, even though it tied the longest march in a Super Bowl. Addai rushed for 53 yards on the series, and Manning found Pierre Garcon behind backup cornerback Usama Young for the 19-yard score on third down.
New Orleans couldn't match that, but did get a 46-yard field goal by Hartley to make it 10-3. Brees was sacked on third down by All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney, who sure looked frisky despite ligament damage in his right ankle that made his availability uncertain for two weeks.
Then Indy's defense, ranked 18th during the season but staunch in the playoffs, really showed some power. After the Saints marched 71 yards, including 40 yards on two receptions by Marques Colston, New Orleans had third-and-goal at the 1. Mike Bell slipped trying to run right behind All-Pro guard Jahri Evans, and Thomas was stacked up at the line by Gary Brackett and Clint Session on fourth down.
But the Colts ran three times and punted after getting the ball back, leaving 35 seconds for the league's most prolific offense to get in position for Hartley's 44-yard field goal and a more manageable 10-6 halftime deficit.
Shootout? More like a slowdown. Indy had two three-and-outs and New Orleans had one.
But the points came quickly after halftime -- mostly for the Saints.
"Look around the stadium," linebacker Scott Fujita said. "It was like 6- or 7-to-1 (Saints fans). The black and gold just poured into Miami.
"The whole world was behind us. This was bigger than just a game for the Saints. We are the world's team."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
via nfl.com
I am SO proud of the Saints and the city of New Orleans and Drew Brees-- they are all class acts. GEAUX SAINTS!!!
NFL Game Center: New Orleans Saints at Indianapolis Colts - 2009 Super Bowl
Saints overcome slow start to capture first Super Bowl title in franchise history
Associated Press
Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com Coach Sean Payton celebrates the Saints' triumph in Super Bowl XLIV.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The ultimate underdogs, they ain't. Not anymore. The Saints are Super Bowl champions now.
Who Dat? Try Drew Brees, Sean Payton and a team that has reversed its embarrassing past, carrying an entire city to the top with it.
Put away those paper bags forever.
Brees and the Saints rallied to upset Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night in one of pro football's most thrilling title games.
"We just believed in ourselves and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us," said Brees, the game's MVP. "What can I say? I tried to imagine what this moment would be like for a long time, and it's better than expected."
But not something many expected from these descendants of the hapless Aints, who were five-point underdogs.
"Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water from (Hurricane) Katrina," Brees said. "Most people not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back or if the organization and the team would come back. ... This is the culmination of that belief and that faith."
Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions, the last a 2-yard slant to Jeremy Shockey for the winning points with 5:42 remaining. He was 32 for 39 for 288 yards.
A surprise onside kick sparked the Saints' second-half comeback. Their 25th-ranked defense made several key stops, and Tracy Porter's 74-yard interception return touchdown on a pass from Manning clinched it.
Manning tried to give chase, but was blocked by Saints DE Will Smith and fell awkwardly as the cornerback raced by. The four-time NFL MVP forlornly walked to the sideline as the Big Easy celebrations began.
"It's time for the Saints to celebrate," he said. "It's their field and it's their championship."
An NFL also-ran for much of their 43 years, the Saints' football renaissance, led by Brees and Payton, climaxed with Shockey's touchdown and Lance Moore's two-point conversion catch, originally ruled incomplete but overturned on Payton's challenge.
Porter's pick, just as dramatic as his interception of Brett Favre's pass to force overtime in the NFC title game, was the game's only turnover. It's one Manning will forever regret.
The Saints (16-3) won three postseason games this winter after winning only two in the previous 42 years. They beat Arizona, Minnesota and Indianapolis (16-3) -- all division winners -- for their first title, scoring 107 points and allowing only 59.
"We weren't the Aints," Porter said. "We were a team of destiny, a team that can make big plays."
The championship came 4 ½ years after Katrina ravaged New Orleans, making the Saints nomads for the 2005 season. There even was some doubt they would return, but the NFL refused to abandon the city. The Superdome was repaired and the Saints won the NFC South in '06, their first season with Brees and Payton.
That was the season Manning won his only Super Bowl. He got the Colts off to a quick start and had them in front for much of this one, but New Orleans' league-leading offense, which scored 510 points this season, outscored Indy 31-7 after falling behind 10-0. That matched the biggest comeback in a Super Bowl.
Payton held the Vince Lombardi Trophy high over his head and ran into the end zone toward several hundred fans chanting the Saints' rally cry: "Who dat, who dat, who dat say gonna beat dem Saints?"
Nobody can say it now.
"Everybody back in New Orleans gets a piece of this trophy," he said.
"I think I could kiss him," owner Tom Benson said.
Before many of the 74,059 fans got settled following the Who's halftime show, the Saints worked a little football voodoo. Garrett Hartley's onside kick was touched by the Colts' Hank Baskett, then recovered by Chris Reis at the New Orleans' 42.
"I just told our guys you've got to make me look good on this," Payton said. "That really becomes like a turnover."
Looking like the NFL's most potent offense, the Saints seized the opportunity to take their first lead. It came on Pierre Thomas' brilliant 16-yard run with a screen pass, capped by a dive into the end zone.
Manning simply shrugged, found Dallas Clark for 45 yards on a 76-yard drive, and Joseph Addai used a spin move a figure skater would envy to score from the 4.
But that was it for Indy.
"I certainly know how it was three years ago when we won," Manning said. "I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints have that same feeling right now."
Hartley, the hero of the NFC title game with his 40-yard field goal in OT, made a 47-yarder later in the third quarter. After Matt Stover was wide left on a 51-yarder early in the final quarter, Brees led the biggest drive in Saints history.
"We really felt as underdogs we had the better team," Payton said. "To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in."
Special to NFL.com Click here to purchase the exclusive stadium collection version of the Super Bowl XLIV game program. Manning looked sharp on the Colts' first two series, taking them 53 yards to a 38-yard field goal by Stover, at 42 the oldest player in Super Bowl history.
Then Manning led a 96-yard, 11-play drive that appeared almost routine, even though it tied the longest march in a Super Bowl. Addai rushed for 53 yards on the series, and Manning found Pierre Garcon behind backup cornerback Usama Young for the 19-yard score on third down.
New Orleans couldn't match that, but did get a 46-yard field goal by Hartley to make it 10-3. Brees was sacked on third down by All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney, who sure looked frisky despite ligament damage in his right ankle that made his availability uncertain for two weeks.
Then Indy's defense, ranked 18th during the season but staunch in the playoffs, really showed some power. After the Saints marched 71 yards, including 40 yards on two receptions by Marques Colston, New Orleans had third-and-goal at the 1. Mike Bell slipped trying to run right behind All-Pro guard Jahri Evans, and Thomas was stacked up at the line by Gary Brackett and Clint Session on fourth down.
But the Colts ran three times and punted after getting the ball back, leaving 35 seconds for the league's most prolific offense to get in position for Hartley's 44-yard field goal and a more manageable 10-6 halftime deficit.
Shootout? More like a slowdown. Indy had two three-and-outs and New Orleans had one.
But the points came quickly after halftime -- mostly for the Saints.
"Look around the stadium," linebacker Scott Fujita said. "It was like 6- or 7-to-1 (Saints fans). The black and gold just poured into Miami.
"The whole world was behind us. This was bigger than just a game for the Saints. We are the world's team."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
via nfl.com
I am SO proud of the Saints and the city of New Orleans and Drew Brees-- they are all class acts. GEAUX SAINTS!!!
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