This Day in Sports History - 11/3/2001

Eli Manning throws six touchdown passes, five of them in overtime, as Arkansas outlasts Mississippi, 58 - 56. The game is tied at 17 - 17 before it goes into seven overtimes, during which 80 points are scored. In the last OT, Arkansas takes a 58 - 50 lead on a two-yard touchdown run by Mark Pierce and a successful two-point conversion. The Rebels counter with their own touchdown, but on the two-point attempt Razorbacks linebacker Jermaine Petty tackles tight end Doug Ziegler a yard shy of the goal line. The game consumes 4 hours and 14 minutes and is the first in NCAA Division I history to go to seven OTs.

Super Bowl XLIV Preview

This Sunday, February 7th, is Super Bowl Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts will be playing the New Orleans Saints for the biggest prize in sports; The Lombardi Trophy. So here are 44 things to know that can help you impress your friends. At the end of it I will give you my prediction (which will most probably be incorrect).

1. This is NO's first SB appearance
2. This is IND's 4th SB appearance (2-1 in past 3 SB)
3. This is the first time since 1993 that both SB teams were #1 seeds in their conferences
4. Each team has 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (NO: Malcom Jenkins & Will Smith; IND: Roy Hall & Anthony Gonzalez)
5. Against common opponents NO is 5-0 & IND is 3-2
6. The NFC has won 12 consecutive coin-tosses
7. NO Coach Sean Payton was an assistant to Jim Fassell and the Giants in SB XXXV
8. IND Coach Jim Caldwell is the 5th rookie Head Coach to make the SB
9. IND has 12 Hall-of-Famers while NO has only 5
10. Peyton Maning has 7 career playoff games with 300 yards passing
11. Drew Brees had 7 games this season with 300 yards passing
12. NO back-up QB Mark Brunell has thrown 182 career TD passes
13. Reggie Wayne & Dallas Clark each had 100 catches & 10 TDs this season
14. IND's Linebackers have outtackled NO's Linebackers 263-237
15. IND's Defensive-Lineman have outsacked NO's Defensive-Lineman 24.5-18
16. Dwight Freeny had 13.5 sacks this season
17. Raheem Brock has 28.5 sacks in his 8 year career
18. IND has not given up any 2nd half points in the playoffs
19. NO running back Reggie Bush has 258 combined yards (rushing, receiving & returning) this post-season
20. NO linebacker Jonathan Vilma had 110 tackles in the regular season
21. IND's Assistant Offensive Line Coach; Pete Metzelaars; played for the Bills in their 4 consecutive SB losses
22. Reggie Bush is averaging 7.7 yards/carry in the playoffs while only averaging 5.6 yards/carry in the regular season
23. NO wide receiver Marques Colston was drafted in the 7th round (252nd pick overall) from Hofstra
24. The Saints have 8 defensive TDs this season; 3 of them are on interception returns by Darren Sharper
25. 25 Colts & 4 Saints have played in a past SB
26. Both Manning & Brees have played games at Sun Life Stadium (site of Super Bowl 44) this season
27. Manning is trying to be the 15th player to win the MVP award & SB in the same year
28. Brees is trying to be the 4th QB to win the SB with a completion % of 69 or higher
29. Manning is tied with Colts Legend Johnny Unitas for 3rd all-time with 17 games with 4 or more TD passes
30. Manning has been sacked only 10 times this season
31. NO defensive end Will Smith had 13 sacks this season
32. NO linebacker Scott Fujita has a BA in political science & an MA in education
33. NO has a TO Ratio of +11 while IND's is only +2
34. Since 2007 IND is 19-1 when Dallas Clark scores a TD
35. NO would be the first team to win the SB after losing it's last 3 regular season games
36. NO has lead the NFL in scoring & total offense the last 2 seasons
37. IND has outscored their opponents 416-317 in regular season
38. NO has outscored their opponents 510-341 in regular season
39. IND kicker Matt Stover has a career 83.7 FG%
40. IND defense has given up 10 points per game in the playoffs
41. NO has outscored their opponents 139-48 in the 4th quarter this season
42. 29 of Jeremy Shockey's 48 catches have been for 1st downs
43. Pierre Garcon & Austin Collie have combined for 27 rec. 360 yards & 3 TDs in the playoffs
44. Reggie Wayne has 77 receptions in his playoff career (4th most all-time)

Hope you enjoy these facts & stats. As for the game it's going to be a great one. The possibility of Dwight Freeny not playing probably makes the game closer than it would be if he was healthy. The official prediction for Super Bowl XLIV is Colts 44 Saints 38. Enjoy the game; and remember please drink responsibly.

Shaun O'Hara on ESPN's First Take

Archie and Peyton Manning discuss Eli and the Giant's Super Bowl win

Sportscenter discusses the magnitude of Super Bowl 42

Michael Strahan talks about the Super Bowl and Eli Manning

Amani Toomer on the Super Bowl

Eli Manning named Super Bowl MVP

Super Bowl XLI Preview

This Sunday February 4th is Super Bowl 41. In honor of that I have compiled 41 stats and facts about the Colts & Bears. After that I will give you my prediction for the game.

1. Tony Dungy is 1 of 5 people to have played and coached in the Super Bowl (Mike Ditka, Forrest Greg, Sam Wyche and Dan Reeves).
2. The Bears have 31 Hall of Famers while the Colts only have 12
3. The Bears have retired 13 numbers while the Colts have retired 7
4. The Bears are 1-0 in the Super Bowl; the Colts are 1-1
5. The Bears are 2-2 vs. the AFC this season; the Colts are 3-1 vs. the NFC
6. Nine players playing on Sunday have been in the Super Bowl before, Chicago's Brian Griese, Brad Maynard, Fred Miller, Muhsin Muhammad, Dante Wesley, Indianapolis's' Dan Klecko, Rickey Proehl, Adam Vinitieri, and Anthony "Booger" McFarland.
7. Both starting QB's played in the SEC (Grossman-Florida, Manning-Tennessee)
8. Both Grossman and Manning have had 7 games in the regular season with a QB rating of 100 or higher
9. Manning has started 156 consecutive games
10. Manning is 1 of 22 QB's drafted in 1st round of draft to reach the Super Bowl
11. 3 players named Manning (Peyton, Rickey Danieal)
12. IND. is 5-0 against common opponents, while CHI. is 2-2
13. In the last five games Jim Sorgi has a better QB rating than Rex Grossman
14. Adam Vinitieri's FG % on grass is 73.3%
15. Robbie Gould led all kickers in scoring with 143 points
16. Ron Rivera (Chicago's Defensive Coordinator) is the only coach on the Bears who was on the '85 team.
17. TE Desmond Clark averages 44.2 yards in wins while only 17.3 yards in losses
18. One player on each team played for the Ohio State Buckeyes
19. This season's 3rd down conversion % is 56.1 for the Colts while only 36.8 for the Bears
20. Nick Harper led all Colts players with 3 INTs, the Bears have 2 players with 5 INTs apiece
21. Marvin Harrison & Reggie Wayne have combined for more TDs than CHI's top 6 receivers
22. The Bears have scored 58 points on Defense and Special Teams
23. IND has lost their last 3 games on a grass field
24. IND's Dwight Freeny and CHI's Lance Briggs will be free agents at the end of the season
25. Former AFL player Rashied Davis is averaging 13.8 yards per catch for the Bears
26. CHI averages 5.3 turnovers in their 3 losses this season; 1.5 in their 15 wins
27. CHI defensive end Alex Brown has as many INTs as IND's starting cornerback Jason David (2)
28. CHI has been penalized for 57.7 yards per game while IND has only been penalized for 44.9 yards per game
29. Dominic Rhodes averaged 3.4 yards per carry in the regular season; in the playoffs he's averaging 4.7 yards
30. Dan Klecko has more TD receptions in the playoffs than Dallas Clark, Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai combined (1)
31. Devin Hester has a combined punt & kickoff return yards total of 1137
32. 2 of CHI's 3 losses this season has come against the AFC
33. 4 of 22 passes intercepted by the Bears have been returned for TDs this season
34. Thomas Jones is the 2nd Bear to run for 1300 yards in a season (1st was Walter Payton)
35. IND has given up 73.3 yards rushing per game in the playoffs; during the regular season the gave up 173.0 yards per game
36. Brian Urlacher has topped 100 tackles in each of his 7 seasons
37. Adewale Ogunleye has 46 sacks since 2002
38. Joseph Addai & Dominic Rhodes have combined for 576 receiving yards in the regular season
39. The Bears have allowed 3.7 yards per carry since week 14 when DT Tommie Harris got injured
40. Dallas Clark has 281 yards receiving in the playoffs (Leads NFL)
41. Brad Maynard has averaged 39.8 yards per punt in the playoffs while Hunter Smith has averaged 37.0 yards per punt in the playoffs

So here are some fun stats and facts to impress your friends with while watching the Super Bowl. As for my prediction for the game, the Colts will win 30-28 on a last second, 52 yards field goal by ADAM VINITIERI.