The Official AVS Super Bowl XLIII on NBC HD Smack Talk Topic!  

Back by popular demand!

Although this year's plot may not be quite as compelling as last year's Super Bowl, there are more than enough story lines to keep us churning out the trash talk well into the NBC pregame show 'Today', which starts Super Bowl Sunday morning at 8am. No, I'm not kidding.

Excerpted from ESPN, Philly.com, National Post, Arizona Republic, and myself:

- One of the more interesting aspects - If the Steelers win, they will have a record breaking 6 Super Bowl wins.

- Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach Russ Grimm were both previously Steeler assistants and potentially head coaching candidates when Mike Tomlin nabbed the job two years ago.

- What will Steeler defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau come up with regarding Cardinal receiver Larry Fitzgerald?

- Steelers receiver Hines Ward says he would be able to play even if the game was this Sunday, in spite of the fact he suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee last Sunday in the AFC championship game against Baltimore. This type of injury can typically sideline a player for an extended period.

- What will have a higher rating: this SB or Barack Obama's inauguration?

- Similarly, in Bruce Springsteen's head, what's a bigger deal: playing "We Are One" or Super Bowl XLIII halftime?

- This could be the last Super Bowl called by the Al Michaels/John Madden duo. As such, where do you have them all-time as an announcing pair?

- The Cardinals, as the home team, chose to wear their red home jerseys.

- The Steelers will wear their white road uniforms against Arizona in the Super Bowl, just as they did when they defeated Seattle for the NFL title three years ago in Detroit.

- Super Bowl winners John Elway, Lynn Swann and Roger Craig will take part in the coin toss before the game.

- Joe Namath will participate in the presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation after the game. Suzy Kolber, on the other hand, will be in protective custody, in an undisclosed location until well after the game. Damn, wouldn't it be great if ESPN gave her a one day release to do the trophy presentation on NBC? ( http://video.aol.com/video-detail/jo...all/3936055838 )

Oh, by the way, Steelers are 7 point favorites.

Ain't that the truth.

I'd always heard about Iron City Beer, and the first time I was in a Pittsburgh bar, I tried one. The next one was anything else.

NEW YORK — The updated National Football League injury report for Super Bowl XLIII, as provided by the league:

STEELERS: QUESTIONABLE: LB Patrick Bailey (hamstring), WR Hines Ward (knee). PROBABLE: C Justin Hartwig (knee), RB Mewelde Moore (ankle), QB Ben Roethlisberger (back), T Max Starks (knee), LB Lawrence Timmons (illness).

CARDINALS: QUESTIONABLE: RB J.J. Arrington (knee), P Ben Graham (left groin), DE Travis LaBoy (biceps), DE Antonio Smith (knee). PROBABLE: WR Anquan Boldin (hamstring).

From NBC Sports, Trash Talk by Michael Ventre

QB chess match will be Super

A good plot is always better when it contains an intriguing subplot.
When the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers square off in Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, the chess match within the chess match will take place between Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger. Think Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, only with pads and helmets, and in Tampa rather than Reykjavik.

Both quarterbacks have won Super Bowls. Warner led the Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one after the 1999 season, a 23-16 decision over the Tennessee Titans. Roethlisberger directed the Steelers past the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, after the 2005 season.

This is the first time two quarterbacks with Super Bowl victories under their belts have squared off in the ultimate game since Oakland’s Jim Plunkett and Washington’s Joe Theismann met to decide Super Bowl XVIII in 1984, which was won by the Raiders, 38-9.

The quarterback position is at the center of any football game. In the Super Bowl, it is hugely important. So having two quarterbacks who have been through the media scrutiny and have endured the layoff before the game and the hoopla and the buildup -- not to mention the actual intensity of the game itself -- is priceless.

Also, Warner is 37 and on the downside of his miraculous career, although he’s still playing well.

Roethlisberger is only 26. Can the geezer outfox the punk?

There are plenty of points of interest in any Super Bowl. But in this one the quarterbacks will have a particularly prominent place on the marquee.