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It was one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. The Arizona Cardinals come from 13 points down to take a fourth quarter lead.

The Steelers answer with a game winning touchdown drive. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hook up on the game winning six yard reception with :35 remaining.

The game was great. The teams were not.

Think about it. Arizona was a 9-7 team that stumbled home in December. A team that lost 47-7 in December on the road at New England was within a whisker of winning a Super Bowl title.

The Steelers are good, but not great. Their offensive line is average, their running game subpar.

As I watched Super Bowl XLIII , I thought this: neither one of these teams could hold a candle to the great clubs of the 80's.

The '85 Bears pummeled the Patriots. The Redskins won a pair of titles in the 80's. The 49ers won 4 in the 80's.

Even the Saints teams of the late 80's, real good but not good enough, would be good enough to compete for a title in the era of free agency.

Last night's game was compelling stuff. Great game, the teams? Good , but not great.

Why has John Curtis' Kenny Cain chosen TCU over Tulane? I think two things. One, TCU is an excellent football team in a very good league (Mountain West). Two, he wanted to get away for school.

Here's what Cain and Coach JT Curtis told me today:

Curtis, "I think he wanted to get away. He said to me it (TCU) is a lot like what's he come from (Curtis). TCU led the nation in defense, and a lot of people don't understand that."

Cain was highly complimentary of head coach Bob Toledo and assistant coach Greg Davis:

Cain on telling Tulane no, "That was probably one of the toughest things I had to do. I respect Tulane to the fullest. He's (Bob Toledo) a great guy."

Bottom line , the Tulane coaches are recruiting well. More and better players are on the way to the Wilson Center, in this class and those to come.

Cain will play linebacker for the Horned Frogs.

Ed Daniels
Tuesday Feb 3 2009

Two of the classiest acts on signing day occurred this morning. At the St Charles Parish satellite center, Hahnville head coach Lou Valdin stood up and congratulated his archrivals from Destrehan. Valdin congratulated the Wildcats on back to back 5A state titles, and Destrehan coach Stephen Robicheaux for being selected coach of the year. It was great stuff.
This morning, Tulane head coach Bob Toledo called and wished running back Kenny Cain, well. Yesterday, Cain chose TCU over the Green Wave.
Signing day and college football recruiting is often a very rough and tumble business.
Today, in two spots, I saw the other side.
It was terrific.

Ed Daniels

I am often asked by Tulane football supporters, "why can't we win in Conference USA?"

The perception of the league is this: that of a mid-major league that should be much easier to win in than a BCS league. But, the truth of the matter is: Conference USA academic standards are often more lenient than the SEC.

Schools like Rice and Tulane, outstanding academic institutions, don't allow junior college players. But, every Saturday they play against schools that do.

A quick check of the C-USA class of 2009 shows 39 junior college players signed with league schools. Memphis and UAB had the most, tied with 7. Southern Miss, who returns to the Tulane schedule in 2009 signed 5.

When Southern Miss has a mid-season injury, they can plug the hole with an experienced player. Bob Toledo and his staff often don't have that luxury.

And, the results on the field show. I know Tulanians point to the recent success of Rice. My response: when quarterback Chase Clement and wide out Jarrett Dillard are gone, let's see just how successful Rice is.

SMU, a school of Tulane's genre, signed 2 jucos. This is a route that Tulane should consider.

Below is the Tulane football schedule for 2009:

Away- LSU, Army, SMU, Rice, Southern Miss, Central Florida
Home- BYU, Mc Neese, Houston, Tulsa, UTEP, Marshall

Ed Daniels
Thursday February 5

It was a win over a 17-32 basketball team, but Sunday night's win over Minnesota was one of the Hornets better wins this season.

The Hornets overcame much: David West was ejected late in the second quarter after a flagrant two foul on Minnesota's Mike Miller. The Hornets were also outrebounded by 13. New Orleans made only 3 of 15 three point field goals. Peja was oh for 6 from three point land.

The Hornets got a huge contribution from Sean Marks. He played his best game as a Hornet, scoring 18 points in 24 minutes. His ability to step out and make jump shots, and take the ball hard to the basket was a huge asset for an undermanned Hornets club.

Ed Daniels

Give Alex Rodriguez credit for coming clean about his use of performance enhancing drugs. But, did A-Rod really have any other choice?

He's witnessed what repeated denial has achieved for slugger Mark McGwire and pitcher Roger Clemens. Clemens could one day faces accusations of perjury by the Justice Department. McGwire, who danced around the issue before Congress, will likely never be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It is Cooperstown, that I think Rodriguez had in mind, when he came clean in an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons.

Rodriguez has Hall of Fame credentials right now. His 553 home runs place him 12th on the all time list. He is within reach of Barry Bonds' 762 career home runs.

I would say A-Rod is a long shot for induction into the Hall of Fame. 14 months ago, in an interview with 60 minutes, he denied steroid use. And, in the last 8 years, since 2001 A-Rod has hit 364 homers, an average of 45 per season.

It was in 2001, as a member of the Rangers, that Rodriguez said he began used PED's. He said he used them into 2003.

In the meantime, I laugh when people say baseball is in trouble. The sport has severe credibility issues. But, in the midst of it all baseball continues to flourish at the box office. We hear so much about baseball's payroll imbalances allegedly leading to domination by handful of clubs on the field.

That isn't so. Since 2000, baseball has had 8 different champs in 9 years. The Red Sox won in 2004, and repeated in 2007.

Baseball is a great game. It will flourish, despite the latest admission by Alex Rodriguez.

In business, tough decisions have to be made, and on the day Brett Favre announced his retirement (again) it is clear that the Green Bay Packers made the correct one in trading Favre to the Jets.

Favre is a certain hall of famer, a top shelf quarterback, but he wasn't in 2008. And, now the Jets have a real problem at the most important position on the field. And the Green Bay Packers have a young talented quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, ready to lead their team for the next 10 years.

Favre's play diminished as the season went on. He finished the year with an alarming 22 interceptions. After an 8-3 start, the Jets finished 9-7 and out of the playoffs.

So while Chad Pennington (cut to make room for Favre) flourishes in Miami, the Jets can now turn to Kellen Clemens?

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. The trade for Brett Favre is one the Jets will rue.

As for Favre, let's hope football is out of his system. The Favre I want to remember is the one who played superbly for years in Green Bay. It is that Favre that will be enshrined in Canton, not the Favre we saw in the final half of 2008 in New York.

Ed Daniels
Wednesday February 11, 2009

As the Hornets comtemplate whether to trade Tyson Chandler in a salary purge, it is once again time to look to the West, to San Antonio, for a guide on how to structure contracts.

Next year, the Hornets have a projected payroll of $76 million, about $4 million over the projected luxury tax threshold. Once a team goes over "the tax" , they pay 2 dollars for every 1.
So, if the Hornets go $4 million over, they pay $8 million. This is a position the Hornets simply can't be in.

Back to the Spurs: next season, their projected payroll is just under $66 million dollars. Or, about 6 million under the cap. This number is accomplished despite paying Tim Duncan, Tony
Parker, and Manu Ginobili a total of $44 million.

The Spurs secret is this: the highest salary after the big three is Bruce Bowen at $4 million per season.

The Hornets have 4 players (Peja, Chris Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler) earning about $49 million.

The Hornets problem is: they have three players coming off the bench (Antonio Daniels, Morris Peterson, and James Posey ) earning $19 million.

In a small market, like New Orleans and San Antonio, you have a few stars, and lots of role players. And those role players must be supremely coached up.

The Spurs way, should be the Hornets way. And, that includes the all important cap management.

Ed Daniels
2 12 09

So, Dan Morgan is making an NFL comeback.

If Morgan gives the Saints one solid season, he is worth it. He's only 30 years old. And, though he suffered an achilles tendon injury, and five concussions, Morgan could be a plus for the Saints in 2009.

He played 1 game in 2006, and 3 in 2007. But, when healthy he was a Pro Bowler in 2004. That year Morgan had 102 tackles for the Carolina Panthers.

In 2000, the Saints got good contributions from veteran free agents. Wide receiver Willie Jackson and defensive back Chris Oldham made solid contributions.

In 2006, when the Saints again won the NFC South, veterans Jeff Faine and Hollis Thomas made huge contributions.

Both were acquired in draft day trades.

Morgan is no risk for the Saints, and he could pay dividends.

Ed Daniels

Now what?

With the void of the Tyson Chandler trade, the Hornets chances in the West (if Chandler can return soon, and healthy) for this season just took a leap forward.

But what about the future? Can the Hornets somehow move Chandler and his big contract this summer? Especially after he failed a physical in Oklahoma?

The Hornets, unless they deal Chandler before today's 2 pm deadline, could enter the summer approximately 6 million dollars over the luxury tax.

In the meantime, maybe we now understand why the Hornets were prepared to move Chandler: his contract was the big issue, but health concerns may have been another.

In the summer of 2005, the Hornets had to decide whether to pay free agent guard Speedy Claxton, or let him walk. Claxton signed a $25 million contract with the Hawks.

A team source said , "he has not one bad knee, but two."

Because of injury, Claxton has been a non factor in Atlanta.

Welcome back Tyson, for now.

Ed Daniels

Chalmette athletic director Dave Brossette said his school will be "more competitive" if a switch to the Jefferson Parish public school league is finalized.

Brossette said his boys played one set of schools, the girls another in district play. That won't be an issue in Jefferson Parish.

There was much discussion about breaking up the "Airline Highway League" ...Destrehan, East St John, Hahnville, Dutchtown, East Ascension and St Amant. But, in the end that league stayed the same.

The three Baton Rouge schools in the league have a tough nut to crack. Destrehan and Hahnville have combined to win 3 of the last 6 5A state football crowns.

Shaw returns to the Catholic league. And, St Charles, thanks to a move down to 2A is where they don't want to be, in the same league with John Curtis.

Curtis beat St Charles in the 2A state football championship game in 2005 and 2006.

Ed Daniels

All I know is this: if Oklahoma City buys out the contract of forward Joe Smith the Hornets should outbid the others to get him. A serviceable big man off the bench is something the Hornets need desperately.

Against Milwaukee, Sean Marks was ineffective, picking up three early fouls. Melvin Ely and Hilton Armstrong are buried on the bench.

The Bucks bench outscored New Orleans 47-14 and almost stole the game. The Bucks, down 21, took the lead on a three point field goal by Charlie Bell with 10 seconds to play.

If Smith (who would have been a Hornet if the Tyson Chandler trade had happened) comes available expect the Hornets to be big players, along with Cleveland and San Antonio.

Smith would be a most welcomed addition.

Ed Daniels