Only a remarkable touchdown catch with 35 seconds remaining prevented them from winning the Super Bowl Sunday, but the Arizona Cardinals still haven’t impressed the oddsmakers.
In fact, 17 NFL teams are being favoured ahead of the Cards for next season’s championship.
The 2010 Super Bowl odds, released yesterday, list the Cards as 30-to-1 longshots. The New England Patriots, at 8-to-1, are favoured to prevail, followed by the Dallas Cowboys, at 9-to-1.
Then come the new champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their Super Bowl-winning predecessors, the New York Giants – both at 10-to-1.
They’re followed by the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers (12-to-1), Baltimore Ravens (14-to-1), Tennessee Titans (16-to-1), Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles (18-to-1), New Orleans Saints (20-to-1), and the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets (all at 25-to-1).
• The Cards may command more respect if the oddsmakers were sure 37-year-old quarterback Kurt Warner would re-sign with them. He’s a free agent, hmming and hawing about returning to Arizona, but wife Brenda Warner has publicly encouraged him to retire to devote himself to their seven children and strong Christian faith. . .NBC showed Brenda four times during Sunday’s broadcast, incidentally, so you won the prop bet if you wagered on over the 3.5. . .Santonio Holmes, who made the aforementioned TD catch (in triple coverage) for the Steelers’ last-minute triumph and was chosen the game’s MVP, received a new Cadillac, although financially troubled General Motors asked the NFL to refrain from publicizing the gift. . .And Holmes needs to brush up on his football lore. Twice, he referred to the Super Bowl trophy, named after legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi, as the “Dicky Lombardi” trophy.
• We reported here in December that Eric Lindros’ days as ombudsman of the NHLPA were numbered because of complaints about his behaviour and his work (or lack of same) — and, yesterday, the players’ association officially announced his departure as “a resignation.”. . .There’s trouble, too, in Vancouver – in-fighting, finger-pointing, second-guessing (like, why sign Mats Sundin for zillions?) – and don’t be surprised if Canucks coach Alain Vigneault soon becomes the fall guy, just as Craig Hartsburg was when fired by Ottawa Monday. . .Puzzling me equally these days: Bryan Murray staying on as Senators general manager while good hockey men (John Muckler, John Paddock, Hartsburg) are turned into scapegoats, Craig MacTavish sticking around as coach of the underachieving Edmonton Oilers, and the Toronto Argonauts hiring a bunch of new coaches with virtually no CFL experience.
Marty York is Metro’s national sports columnist as well as an instructor at the College of Sports Media in Toronto. He can be heard regularly on Vancouver radio station CKNW with Sportstalk host Dan Russell. Contact Marty at marty.york@metronews.ca
