Fun in the Sun

Jetted down to California for the weekend to hang out with my wife while she undergoes some training for her new job. I love Canada, but you can't beat the sunshine after so many days of cold in the Great White North.

Couple of things for you as I post this from poolside down in Irvine:

Super Bowl
Great finish to what was shaping up as a lackluster game. Kurt Warner will be haunted by James Harrison in his dreams for years to come; the Cardinals could very easily be gripping the Lombardi trophy today if not for what will go down as one of the biggest defensive plays in the history of the Super Bowl. I thought a couple of the calls during the game were borderline at best (roughing the passer for a little push in the back on a qb as big as Roethlisberger?!?), but I'm glad the Steelers had to make a big play to win it. That grab by Holmes was unreal, and it was worthy of the game that it won.

Commercials
I was a big fan of the Pepsi Max ad where guys were getting hit in the head with golf clubs and being electocuted only to respond "I'm good." I also enjoyed the E-trade commercials with the babies that talk like adults -"Shankopotamous" is entrenched in my vocabulary now. That said, the freaky Conan O'Brien Bud Light ad was outstanding, and I'm going with that as my favorite. I know Doritos won the popular vote, but Conan made me howl with that Swedish commercial spoof. If you missed the Super Bowl ads, go to www.hulu.com and check them out.

Cranky Canucks
Shane O'Brien sounded off after practice today. Apparently he is none too pleased with his role as a healthy scrtach for back-to-back games. Alain Vigneault says he needs O'Brien to cut down on the needless penalties he's been taking. That's reasonable, but O'Brien has a case for himself too - he was +7 in the atrocity known as January in which the Canucks won two of twelve games. Mattias Ohlund was -10 during the same stretch and Kevin Bieksa was -8. Vigneault can sit whomever he wants, but he'd better hope the beaking by O'Brien is just an isolated incident. If more players start voicing their displeaure with their individual roles, start planning tee times. This team has NO chance of winning if they all start worrying about their personal agendas.