COHEN'S CORNER SPORTS

STEELERS 27 CARDINALS 23 Instant classic! In a game that is at the pinnacle of its sport, Super Bowl XLIII did not disappoint, featuring both jubiliation and the gut-wrenching pain of defeat. For a game that was quite dull for the first three quarters with the Steelers holding a commanding 20-7 lead, the fourth quarter captured the attention of America. The Arizona Cardinals roared back to take a 23-20 lead with 2:58 to go in the game. Yes, the Arizona Cardinals were that close to winning their first ever Super Bowl. With 11:30 to go, the Cards finally put it together. Kurt Warner shook the ice off his arm, and Larry Fitzgerald put on his running shoes for this dramatic finish . On first down, Warner hit Steve Breaston for a 13 yard gain to the Cards 26 yard line. On the next play, Warner connected with tight end Jeremy Urban for 18 yards to move the ball to the 44 yard line. Later, Warner hit running back J.J. Arington for 22 yards, and the back scooted to the Pittsbrugh 28 yard lin...

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (14-4) vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS (12-7) 6:30 NBC : Enough with all the pomp and circumstance. Enough with all the media analysis on TV, the Internet and in the papers. Enough with all the sad personal stories; these players are multi-millionaires; they don't deserve our sympathy. Enough with the over-hyped commercials, and the over-hyped pre-game ceremonies. Enough already! It is time to strap on those chinstraps and get ready to smack someone's head off. Finally, Super Bowl XLIII is 48 hours away. ( Look at Arizona stats ). ( Look at Pittsburgh stats ). All the talk over the past two weeks focuses on the miracle season for the Arizona Cardinals. They have exorcised the demons of 61 years of bad memories and a rather mediocre 9-7 regular season to put together an improbable playoff run. Quarterback Kurt Warner has been excellent; running back Edgerin James has done a decent job on the ground, and receiver Larry Fitzgerald has had an historic postseason. That be...

There are only three days left until Super Bowl XLIII, a fitting end to a wacky 2008 season, as the old guard Pittsburgh Steelers take on the surprising Arizona Cardinals. Whenever Super Bowl time comes up, it is really a frustrating holiday for true die hard fans of the NFL. For starters, the NFL tries its best to pander to the casual fans, who know virtually nothing about football, so they, and various other companies, can score big in TV ratings. The die hard's are left out in the cold, forced to listen to people at Super Bowl parties make remarks like "Wow, there is a team named the Cardinals? How many Super Bowl's have they won?" Or, "I hate those Steeler uniforms; why don't they try nicer colors?" Or, "Hey! How about that commercial with Burt Reynolds and Peter Griffin from Family Guy ?" It's enough to make a genuine football fan want to run out of the room screaming! If it were up to me, a true football fan, the Super Bowl would kic...

With Super Bowl winning coaches like Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Mike Holmgren and Tony Dungy all likely to take a year off in 2009, it is now clear that the NFL is entering a new era for head coaches. For the past 20 plus years, fans and pundits alike have considered the names above, as well as the old guards of Bill Parcells, Dick Vermil, Dan Reeves and Jimmy Johnson to be the best coaches in the league. Now neither will be coaching a game in 2009. Thus, the winner of Super Bowl XLIII will be the welcomed in as the next great head coach. This new generation of head coach is younger, more fit, more hip to modern technology, and a player coach who still maintains enough discipline and commands enough respect from his ball club. Mike Tomlin and Ken Whisenhunt are about to enter this fraternity. Tomlin, after taking over for Cowher after the 2006 season as a virtual unknown from Jon Gruden's Tampa Bay coaching staff, has lit a fire under the Steelers. Tomlin's strong...

Usually when faced with a David vs. Goliath type match-up in the NFL either in the regular season or postseason, most consider the pressure to be squarely on the shoulders of the favorite. Last year the pressure was on an undefeated New England Patriots squad that was looking to become the first ever 19-0 team. A loss in the Super Bowl would be devastating to the Pats, who were perfect for so long. Well, that loss did happen, and a year and Tom Brady's gimp knee later, the Patriots were out of the postseason party in 2008. This year, however, all of the pressure is on the David: the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are coming into Super Sunday with a huge fanfare. The little engine that could never get up that steep hill has finally made it, and everyone wants to meet and greet them. A franchise once believed to be a doormat to the NFL is now one step away from immortality. How these young red birds handle the pressure of Super Bowl week will go a long way toward determing how the...

A week from today, America will brace for its annual TV sports spectacle, the Super Bowl, for the XLIII straight year, and, unlike previous Super Bowls that usually carry with it heavy storylines and dramatic subplots, this one that features the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, could easily be the worst matchup in Super Bowl history. In one corner is a perennial winner in the Steelers, owners of five world titles and one of the best run franchises in football. In the other corner is the Cardinals: perennial losers and the NFL's oldest franchise, who's only championship came 61 years ago. During that 61 year drought the Cards have become the NFL's biggest laughing stock next to the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, but it is only now that the Cards have exorcised the demons to get to this game. Sure,the Cardinals history is a great storyline. The matchup of two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks is another, and the fact that Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, who u...

Here are two viedos created by myself on NFL.com highlighting the road to Super Bowl XLIII for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. Keep posted with Cohen's Corner Sports at http://cohenscornersports.blogspot.com/ for more Super Bowl analysis in the coming days. The Steelers highlight viedo covers three crucial games for Pittsburgh, that includes both the divisional playoff game against San Diego and the AFC title game against Baltimore. The Steelers controversial win in Baltimore on December 14 is also covered in the film. WATCH VIEDO NOW ! Make sure you have the sound on on your computer to listen to the music that goes along with the film. The Cardinals highlight viedo covers all three Arizona playoff games against the Falcons, Panthers and Eagles. It was a great run for Arizona and after watching the film, you might begin to think that this year's Super Bowl could be a close one. WATCH VIEDO NOW !

STEELERS 23 RAVENS 14 It was not pretty but the Steelers are on their way to the Super Bowl for the seventh time in franchise history where they will look to become the most successful franchise in NFL history with a sixth Super Bowl title. How did Pittsburgh get back to the Bowl? They beat up the rival Baltimore Ravens in snowy and cold Pittsburgh Sunday night.Offensivley the Steelers had trouble at times navigating through the tough Ravens defense, but they found ways to eat up enough clock with short passes and a decent running game. But the story of the day had to be the Steelers defense. (What else is new!) The Steelers defense dominated the Ravens entire offense, putting tons of pressue on rookie Joe Flacco, who was completely flat tonight. Statistically, Flacco was 13 of 30 for 141 yards and three interceptions, which comes out to a quarterback rating of 18.2. Still, the Ravens found a way to hang around. Entering the fourth quarter down 16-7, the Ravens took advantage of good f...

BALTIMORE RAVENS (13-5) @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS (13-4) It is good thing that this game will be higlighted in prime time on Sunday night, because it is the type of game that you keep the kids away from watching. No the game is not rated TV-MA, but considering the number of bone-crushing hits that are to occur in this one, it might as well have a rating. The Ravens and Steelers hate each other with a passion. It is a rivarly that goes all the way back to when the Ravens used to be the Cleveland Browns, before moving to Baltimore in 1996, as the Browns and Steelers always met to clash for a division title in the old AFC Central. Since the Ravens came into existence, the theme has stayed the same, especially this year. In week 15, the Steelers stood at 10-3 and the Ravens were just a game behind at 9-4. The winner would not only win the AFC North, but would have the inside track on the number two seed in the AFC playoffs. The Ravens had the upper hand for three quarters as they built up a 9...

CHARGERS (9-8) @ STEELERS (12-4): Everyone is going bananas over how hot the Philadelphia Eagles have been the past month, but the fact remains that the Eagles are not the hottest team in football right now, that title belongs to the San Diego Chargers. For the last five weeks San Diego has won ball games with a huge amount of emotion and guts. They have fought, scratched and crawled through each of their games, capturing a divison title at 8-8 and beating up the Colts a week ago. The Chargers success really got going in week 16 on a trip to Tampa Bay. The Bolts who struggled all season on the east coast, not only beat the Buccaneers, they came from behind in the second half and turned that game into a 48-24 laugher. Credit has to go to Phillip Rivers, who has really been the most deserving league MVP. Rivers threw for 4,009 yards and 34 touchdowns in the regular season. He is the heart and soul of San Diego and he proves it each week with one gutsy performacne after another. Darren Sp...