Written by Brian McPeek

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Well, there was no shortage of drama in last night's Super Bowl, a tight contest from the opening gun that ended with the 12 point underdog New York Giants ruining the undefeated season of the New England Patriots.  In "The Weekend Wrap", Peeker weighs in on last nights loss from the perspective of a disgruntled Patriots bettor, and also makes time to hit on Terrelle Pryor's upcoming decision on whether to attend Michigan or Ohio State.  Thud 

Can't wait for the Eli Manning commercials to hit the airwaves.  

Super Bowl 42 couldn't have been more dismal for any football fan that didn't have a rooting interest in the NY Giants or against the Pats. The Giants outplayed and outlasted the Patriots 17-14 on Sunday in Glendale, AZ on a TD pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress with less than 40 seconds left in the game. 

No Manning beat down or bed-wetting. 

No sainthood for Bill Belichik or Tom Brady just yet. 

No Super Bowl/retirement party for Junior Seau. 

In a deeply insightful post-game interview Belichik opened his soul and called the loss "disappointing". You can feel his pain. Disappointing is about how most would define XLII. Perhaps wishfully, most were hoping for just a bit more show.  

All the credit in the world to the Giants. They did outplay the 18-1 Patriots for the majority of the game. But for a game that was decided in the last minute this was a game many will soon forget. And that has nothing to do with this corner wagering the Patriots -11 ½ and Moss +91.5 yards receiving. 

W.C. Fields was Right

"Children should be seen, not heard." 

That's the phrase that early 20^th century comedian and actor W.C Fields used to describe his philosophy on kids. 

W.C. Fields would have hated Terrelle Pryor.  

We all understand the fact that Pryor is an 18 year-old kid with all eyes on him as he narrows his college choices and makes his decision on February 6^th. And we also understand that he may never be in this position again. A position where people actually care about what he's doing, saying or thinking. 

But damn. This kid has done just about everything humanly possible short of doing 6 weeks on ‘Celebrity Rehab' to call attention to himself. The 6'6", 225lb consensus #1 high school football senior is milking this college decision for every single moment it's worth. He has press conferences about upcoming press conferences and announcements that he has not decided when he'll make his announcement.   

Just shut up already. Please.  

Pick your school on your own timetable. That's fine. That's your right. Just let us know when you know. Otherwise, you're not important enough for us to care what you're thinking or doing. And go ahead and involve Charlie Batch to help. That too is your right. Personally, I'd go with a dad, brother or uncle if I was searching for a role model or confidante, but hey, if a mediocre career NFL back up has your ear, run with it kid. Just no need to tell us or expect us to give a rat's ass about the mentoring process. You're making it really, really hard for people to like you. Even if you end up at Ohio State it's going to be hard to like you. Not to mention trust you. The program does not need a ‘me first' glory hound running the offense. And that's how you're coming off; as a diva who craves every bit of attention and adulation she can get. 

All the theatrics and drama and interviews leading up to February 6^th may not end then either. Reports are that Pryor may delay his decision beyond February 6^th so he can take a visit to Oregon and waste even more people's time and money.   

"I'd say it's about 50-50 that I'll push things back," Pryor said.  

So the kid who doesn't think he'd be happy playing in Happy Valley, in his home state mind you, because of it's rural campus setting, is now jetting off to the chic Northwest and the cosmopolitan sprawl of Oregon to see if he'd like Happy Valley if it was 3,000 miles further west. 

Live it up kid. The time is fast approaching when you're nothing but another green freshman at whatever school you end up at getting your ass handed to you in spring drills.  Here's to you finding a little humility on one of the 12-15 campuses still in the running for your services.

Etcetera

• Drew Gooden gets a lot of heat from this corner for his overall lackadaisical play and his lack of basketball IQ. But it is likely that Gooden leads the NBA in at least category: passes off the face.

No one has turned more better-delivered LeBron James passes into turnovers than Gooden. There's almost not a game that goes by that Gooden isn't surprised by a crisp, timely LBJ pass that hits him in the face, shoulders or back of the head and careens out of bounds. Drew, you're dealing with the best passing forward the game has ever known. Most of us haven't played too many minutes in the NBA, but we're comfortable in telling you that you might want to be ready to receive the ball when you're open. 

• Lost in the glory that is a LeBron James season, Zydrunas Ilgauskas keeps marching on and performing well. The fact that ‘Z' is marching at all is unexpected at this stage of his career. Multiple foot surgeries, including a complete restructuring of the foot, cost Z multiple years earlier in his career. But over the past few seasons Ilgauskas has remained healthy and has given the Cavs a weapon on the blocks and in the paint.

The guy is quiet, unassuming and a complete professional and it's nice to see Z dropping in soft 15-foot jumpers and anchoring the paint for the Cavs.

The 32yr-old center is averaging 14 points and 10 boards a night in 30 minutes per game. Unlike Gooden, Z adapted quickly to playing with James. Z also took his share of basketballs off the forehead in the first year James was here, but he's not surprised any longer by seemingly impossible passes to the post. Z has benefited from LBJ opening up the floor as well as from LBJ being able to deliver the ball to Z where he can score it. There's not another Cav on the roster capable of doing that consistently and you can see the appreciation Z has for LBJ's contribution to Ilgauskas's game. 

• 10 days until pitchers and catchers report to Winter Haven, FL for the start of spring training.  Read it again. Feel the warmth.
  
  
• I liked the Indians reaching a minor league deal with Jorge Julio, late of the Colorado Rockies. Julio has always had a good arm but has never been able to quite get over the hump in regard to consistently getting major league hitters out. At 28 and with that good arm, the Indians are getting a cheap, good look and some depth in their pen with Julio. If Julio can stay healthy and harness some of what helped him save 99 games over the past few years with the Orioles, the Indians may have gotten themselves a huge bargain. And if he can't stay or healthy or be productive it's cost them next to nothing to learn it.