This is already so weird I can't get over it. In late 2007, a friend of mine named James Shibley got very sick. Perhaps some of you remember him as my cable-access co-host from 2004 on. My wife and I had known him for around 20 years. Anyway he got a horrible blood disorder that resulted in stem cell transplants, etc...a whole new blood system. He battled it through most of 2008 dying in late October at the age of 39. He was a major Steelers fan and I'm a big Eagles fan. The regular season match-up was one of those times where we just reverted to being fans and skipped the sympathy vote. After the Eagles pounded Ben Roethlesburger in a win, I even told him, "I hope Ben was wearing a condom out there because that was the only protection he had all day." I kind of felt bad that I would want the Eagles to win even though he could use any good news at that point, but I rationalized by saying the Steelers could afford to lose much more than the Eagles and boy, was that right. And I do regret trash-talking him about the game but I understand that too. We were under a lot of pressure from all this and it was a relief just to vent a little
like old times.

Anyway, as the year progressed I could see James was not doing well. I used to give him a pep talk about hanging on and just making it to the Super Bowl. "Think of it, your new system will be up and running by then and you'll start to feel better. Obama will surprise a lot of people and win the election, the Bush administration will be over and....the Steelers will be playing the Eagles in the Super bowl." It was pure fantasy. The idea that all this would happen was just fun talk to try and keep him going. We both agreed that it would be pretty cool if that's how it turned out, but so much of it was in doubt. Neither one of us really believed it. Now, to think that it all could come true except the part about him surviving is just too weird. Damn it. Oh well. Anyway, I hope the Ravens upset the Steelers Sunday. Go Eagles. And one thing I really don't need is the Steelers beating the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Who wants to be trash-talked from the After World?

No, Bill. You go with it. Somebody is talking to you from that world right now.

Cardinalz rooool!

U forgots da d on "drooool."

BTW, Bill, you called the past three weekends quite well, while I went down in flames in all three with my picks. I shoulda listened to you.

I thought the Eagles would get to Manning more today but he was clean in the pocket all game. However two 4th down stands in a row by the Philly defense was the stuff of legend.

I blame it on Jimmy Hoffa, who resides at Giants Stadium. He hates being disturbed by playoff games.

Bill,
I don't know you but thanks for the poignant post. I'm an Eagles future bettor with a vested economic stake in the outcome, a Cowboys' fan from the Staubach era and a Steelers' hater from the Swann days on. But your post reminds me of all the utterly weightless, perfectly meaningless, ultimately powerful discussions that I have had around the topic of NFL football over the years. Somehow, guys can talk football but be talking about something much deeper at the same time. It may be twisted and inexplicable, but in my book any opportunity to communicate is a good one. Go Eagles(in this dimension) and go Steelers(Where ever James may reside-I hope he has HDTV and plenty of Iron City beer).

Check out pasuperbowl.com for a vote to see who would win!

Arizona is looking pretty tough and they're playing at home next week. Philly barely hung on even though Eli Manning pretty much handed it to them with a bow on top. Mc Nabb will get intercepted by the Arizona secondary at least twice. Baltimore won't be able to overcome the Roesthlisberger/Hines connection. My bet is that it's going to be the Steelers and the Cardinals in Super Bowl '09.

Thanks for the kind words. I thought Philly did more than barely hang on yesterday considering the wind. One of the uh-oh moments for me was when the ball for the opening kickoff blew off the tee.
I was afraid the Giants ability to run would trump McNabb's ability to pass under those conditions, but the Philly defense did the job. Not having to worry about Plaxico Burris was a huge factor.
We're at the time of the year when you bump into other teams you like and I like Phoenix too. Larry Fitzgerald deserves to be on a big stage, that is for sure.
But I still favor the Eagles to deal on the Phoenix defense, and Kurt Warner could get hit some before he throws.
After seeing so many great playoff match-ups compromised by January weather, it will be awesome to see these teams in a site like this. Go Eagles.

Super Bowl...across Pennsylvania?

Wouldn't that make it the Trans-slyvania Super Bowl?

Red Cross could have a big blood drive. "We waaaant your blooood."

If Boldin is healthy, the Cards will win big. If not, this is still a 50-50 game.

Don't listen to all the talking heads on this. By Saturday morning every football fan knew that the Cards were 0-5 in ET zone and that Carolina was undefeated at home this season. The Cards were the "worst" team in the playoffs and were about to receive their comeuppance.

The result was that the Cards beat the spread by 30 pts!

Their defense shut down the NFL's number 3 (Carolina) and number 2 (Atlanta) rushing teams in consecutive weeks, holding each team to less than half their average.

This week all the same pundits are picking AZ to lose (third time's the charm I guess).

I think this will be a Steelers/Cards SB and the team that shows up healthiest will win.

An all-PA Super Bowl would be great. As a Steelers fan, I'd be excited to see it. I guess we'll know soon enough.

And come on -- you couldn't honestly want the Ravens to have a chance at it, would you? Of course not.

the PaSuperBowl . com site is constantly updated.... it seems very likely that a Pitt vs. Philly super bowl would occur.

I'm tellin you, this is so good for the state. I can't wait for a PA superbowl. http://www.PaSuperBowl.com