By Chris Chase Yahoo! Sports

 

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, it was widely assumed that NFL free agents wouldn't want to sign with the city's NFL team. There was too much baggage, too much drama and too many question marks. But Drew Brees didn't let that deter him when he chose New Orleans over Miami in 2006. On Sunday, his decision paid off when he led the franchise to its first Super Bowl title with a record-setting, MVP performance in Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17.

Brees finished the night 32-of-39 with 288 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game's most valuable player. The 32 completions tied Tom Brady's Super Bowl record. During one stretch of the game the former San Diego Chargers quarterback completed 21 of 24 passes.

In one of the greatest quarterback matchups in Super Bowl history, Brees was lightly overshadowed in the pregame by Indy's Peyton Manning. This was supposed to be Manning's coronation, the second title in the QB's illustrious career. But Brees and the Saints played spoiler, delivering New Orleans its first title in any professional sport.

On that March day four years, Brees told reporters about signing in New Orleans:

"I just felt that energy in New Orleans. From the very beginning, there was a genuine feeling that they wanted me there. They believe I can come back from this shoulder injury and lead them to a championship. They were as confident as I am, and that meant a lot."

The confidence was warranted. The Saints signing Brees was the best free-agent move in NFL history. And it led to one of the best performances ever in the Super Bowl.

Vonn's semi-provocative pose has drawn the predictable ire from those who claim that is objectifies her. She's an athlete, not a sex symbol, the chorus inevitably reminds us.

From womentalksports:

Vonn is first a GREAT athlete, but she also represents norm of feminine attractiveness. The combination of athleticism and attractiveness make Vonn the likely poster girl of the US Olympic Team, and the media hasn't disappointed in constructed her as such.

Not to be left out, Sports Illustrated is featuring Vonn on their Feb. 8, 2010 cover. For those of you who follow SI Covers, know that female athletes are RARELY featured on the cover.

Over the last 60 years researchers have shown that about 4% of all SI covers have portrayed women.

When females are featured on the cover of SI, they are more likely than not to be in sexualized poses and not in action-and the most recent Vonn cover is no exception.

They have a point in taking issue with SI; the magazine rarely features women athletes on the cover (as evidenced by that statistic) and its annual swimsuit issue has been a focus of protests for decades. But Vonn's cover is different.  

The pose at least resembles the tuck stance skiers like Vonn take when barrelling down the hill. It's exaggerated, of course, but not gratuitously so. It's not as if SI put her in a bikini in a Whistler hot tub. 

Also, this is Vonn's moment. If she wins multiple golds in Vancouver, Vonn has the potential to become a major crossover star. She'd be like Michael Phelps, only with better looks and an actual personality. Landing on the SI cover is a good way for her to start the Vonn saturation campaign. It's as important for her as it is the magazine. The pose is suggestive, sure, but it's not objectifying. The headline reads "America's best woman skier ever", for Jean-Claude's sake! Why can't she be both the best skier in the world and really, really attractive too? Tom Brady's a great athlete and a handsome dude and I don't hear people whine when he's shirtless in GQ.

Most importantly, this cover is almost identical to the one that ran on SI's Winter Olympic preview in 1992. That one featured a gentleman named A.J. Kitt and I'm pretty sure nobody complained that it was too provocative. 

                     

Adds TMS: When you really think about, the photo of Vonn is far more technically correct then that of Kitt when it comes to the standard form of a world class Olympics apline ski racer.

Yes, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback handled Super Bowl media day with the same aplomb he shows at the line of scrimmage.

Manning, a four-time MVP and clearly the biggest star in South Florida, spoke on a wide range of subjects Tuesday without revealing a whole lot we didn’t already know. He certainly didn’t provide any bulletin-board fodder to Sunday’s opponent, the New Orleans Saints.

 

 

Heck, that’s his hometown, the city where his father Archie played and still lives. If the Colts weren’t trying to win a title of their own, Manning would’ve been the Saints’ biggest fan. He was certainly happy when they beat Minnesota in an overtime thriller to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl, a game that Manning won three years ago.

“The Saint were my team growing up,” he said. “I was really excited for New Orleans, watching them win that game against the Vikings. It was exciting to see the French Quarter empty in the third quarter and then be packed after the game. I had a lot of friends down there tell me what it was like.”

Manning said he also appreciates the history of the Colts, dating back to their days in Baltimore. In fact, one of his father’s favorite players was Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas (the other: Mickey Mantle).

“I understand the significance of Unitas,” Manning said. “I still feel that connection to Colts history.”

Not long after being drafted by Indianapolis, Manning met Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was then playing at right-down-the-road Purdue.

“He came to see a Colts game,” said Manning, who then quickly pointed out that Brees “paid for his ticket. Everything was on the up-and-up,” apparently in case the NCAA was listening.

Manning didn’t get any offbeat questions, but that didn’t stop him from trying to add a little levity to the proceedings.

“No, I’m not superstitious,” he said. “I’m just a little ‘stitious. OK, that’s a bad joke. Eli gave me that one. I take it back.”

Later, when another reporter broached the same subject, Manning was more revealing. He doesn’t carry around a rabbit’s foot, but he does have a routine he goes through before every game. When he first gets to the stadium, he reads the game program from front to back. Then, exactly two hours before kickoff, he goes out to the field to throw a few balls with receiver Reggie Wayne.

Manning shied away from any questions that might have turned controversial.

For instance, when asked about Lane Kiffin bolting from Manning’s alma mater, Tennessee, to take the coaching job at USC, the quarterback replied, “I’m looking forward when it comes to the situation in Knoxville. I just want to wish the best to coach Dooley,” referring to Kiffin’s successor Derek Dooley.

On other subjects, Manning said:

— He misses former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, who was slain last summer by his mistress in what was ruled a murder-suicide. “There was no tougher player in the NFL than Steve McNair. I’m really proud to have shared the MVP award with him in 2003.”

— The Colts will try to establish their ground game Sunday, even though they ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards during the regular season. “I don’t think you can just drop back and pass on every single play.”

— He believes the league is sincere in its efforts to deal with concussions. “I appreciate what the NFL is trying to do. The game is about being tough, but it’s about being smart as well.”

— The Florida quarterback who’s getting mixed reviews from NFL scouts will do better in the pros than many are expecting. “Any NFL team would be lucky to have Tim Tebow. I think about all the problems we’ve had on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1. He was probably 100 percent in his college career at converting those.”

— It’s too early for him to assess the impact of his career, even though he’s been in the league for a dozen seasons and is one win away from joining the elite group of quarterbacks who led teams to more than one Super Bowl title. “When my career is over, I’ll look back and reflect. But it’s so year-to-year right now.”

During his hour-long session, Manning took just under 80 questions and was often surrounded by up to 100 reporters, photographers and cameramen—all crammed into an area not much bigger than the hotel rooms most fans are staying in this week.

Not surprisingly, putting that many people into such a confined space can cause tensions to rise. Police had to be called to settle a dispute between two media members who jostled for prime real estate even before Manning arrived. But everyone came to an uneasy truce.

Sharper celebrates one of his two INTS against the Jets in Week 4. (Bill Feig/AP Photo)

A year ago at this time, that was the dark cloud following Sharper once it became clear the MInnesota Vikings were turning their back on him. For a player whose tender was creating game-changing plays, his one forced turnover in 2008 spoke volumes. And to the NFL at large, the then 33-year old Sharper’s bank appeared to be empty.

“That was the talk, right?” Sharper said with a Cheshire grin. “… [2008] didn’t go the way I wanted, but yeah, I was surprised at the perception. Someone [messed] up on that one, huh?”

Of that reality, there remains little doubt. Not only is the New Orleans safety coming off one of his finest seasons, he took note that the Vikings sorely missed a playmaker like him this season. In fact, he delighted himself with the thought a few days before the NFC championship game, then promptly went out and helped the Saints deal the death blow to Minnesota’s Brett Favre inspired fairy tale.

This is what nine interceptions, three defensive touchdowns and a career-capping Super Bowl appearance purchases: revenge (the Vikings are feeling it), respect (Indianapolis Colts wideout Reggie Wayne dubbed Sharper “like an Ed Reed who is everywhere”) and a measure of career rejuvenation (if he returns in 2010, Shaper will earn one last healthy chunk of cash as an unrestricted free agent).

For all the talk about Saints coach Sean Payton’s surrendering $250,000 of his own salary to land defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, and the buzz about Williams’ aggressive schemes turning the NFC landscape upside down, it’s Sharper’s ability to create big plays that arguably jump-started the chemistry of the Saints’ defensive remix. As any NFL coordinator will attest, hard-hitting, turnover-forcing, touchdown-producing safeties take scheming to another level.

Or, as defensive end Will Smith put it succinctly, “We lacked a playmaker at the back end, and he’s come in and made a lot of plays – big plays at crucial moments. We didn’t have that last year.”

That’s why when Colts quarterback Peyton Manning began his exhaustive breakdown of Saints film over a week ago for Super Bowl XLIV, he focused more on Sharper than any player on New Orleans’ defense. And it’s why understanding the blitz packages wasn’t enough – Manning had to know in painstaking inches how Sharper reacts in every situation.

“Gregg Williams, his scheme is very complex, but his players make it work,” Manning said. “And Sharper is kind of the quarterback of the defense back there.”

That’s high praise for a player New Orleans signed for a relatively cheap one-year, $1.7 million deal. So while the masses delight in making this Super Bowl about Manning vs. Dew Brees, the more accurate game within the game will be Manning vs. Sharper. Much like facing New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis in the AFC championship game, Manning will likely make his living on offense where Sharper isn’t. Because as Manning has explained in the past, film study is as much about finding out what not to do.

While Sharper has never picked off Manning, the Colts quarterback has seen Sharper feast on his younger brother Eli, intercepting four passes thrown by the New York Giants quarterback and returning two of them for touchdowns. Amazingly, that stat is even slightly merciful – Sharper picked off Eli Manning in Week 6 this season and returned it for a score only to have it negated by a personal foul penalty on Saints linebacker Jonathan Vima.

Maybe that’s what Peyton Manning had in mind when he either accidentally or purposely referred to Darren as “Jamie” Shaper during ESPN’s broadcast of the Pro Bowl on Sunday. Jamie Shaper is a onetime NFL veteran and Darren’s older brother. While it appeared to be a slip of the tongue, it’s not beyond Manning to play subtle mind games, either. Whatever the case, Sharper noticed, at one point jokingly referring to Peyton as “Eli” during Monday’s meet-and-greet session with the media.

Sharper delivers a big hit against former teammate Bernard Berrian.
(Chris Graythen/Getty)

Surely, Manning took note of Williams’ talk of delivering some “remember me” shots on the Colts quarterback – a goal of abusing Manning, an extension of what the Jets tried and failed to do in the AFC championship game. But the Saints have an edge the Jets didn’t in Sharper, whose hitting ability, hands and ball skills far outshine those of anything New York had to offer.

“You always pick and choose [against Manning],” Sharper said. “If you pick one thing to do [schematically], he’ll kill you. He’ll burn you many times. He knows how to change things up and adapt to what defenses try to do to him. You always have to play that little game. Gregg Williams likes to play those chess games. It will be a good one.”

And Sharper could very well be the difference. For all the hype about offenses and quarterbacks and coaching styles, a Super Bowl has rarely passed this decade without a pivotal defensive play. From the 100-yard interception return by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison one year ago, to the strip and forced fumble by Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in 2008, to a litany of other game-changing moments, arguably no other defensive player on the field stacks up to Sharper’s big-play résumé.

As he put it shortly before the NFC championship game, “I was brought here to be a difference maker and make things happen.”

That expectation will never be larger than on Sunday against the Colts.