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JACKSONVILLE -- He holds the record for the quickest score in Super Bowl history. He did it as a Patriot in Super Bowl XX. He began his career as an Eagle, of course, and once kicked a barefoot 59-yard field goal against the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Franklin was famous for his 60-plus yard field goals at Texas A&M in the late 1970s, and remains the first Patriot to ever register points in a Super Bowl. He kicked five years for the Eagles and four for the Patriots. Oh, and Super Bowl XX wasn't Franklin's first big show, as he was with the Eagles in Super Bowl XV. Franklin booms one way out of the end zone, barefoot and all.
Can we dispense of this Freddie Mitchell nonsense once and for all?
Just put Troy Brown on him and he'll be a total non-factor.
And Rodney Harrison won't need to do anything with him.
Though he probably will.
If Terrell Owens cannot play, it might be that a phone call is in order. Is Nicollette Sheridan free Sunday night? Can she come cheerlead?
The good thing is that she can travel light. A bath towel will do just fine. And if she wants to wave it, that won't be a problem.
Remember, this is the Super Bowl. Showing women's mammary glands are commonplace here. Showing the rest will simply break new ground.
The thing is, if she willingly takes her towel off, is it still a wardrobe malfunction?
Here's our choice for the best Media Day moment in history:
Reporter to Bill Belichick: "If you were starting a franchise and could choose only one...I guess that's a stupid question."
Belichick to reporter: "Yeah, it probably is."
Geek of the Week: What Freddie Mitchell said in that interview the other day was stupefying. Go ask any wideout in the league if they would ever call out Rodney Harrison.
What attention Romeo Crennel was getting in the Media Day session was nothing compared to the attention he will get in Cleveland.
And he can ask his current head coach to verify that fact.
We're not quite sure what that pool table adds to NFL Total Access, other than to bring out the lousy pool playing skills of the players and the host of the show.
Ambience? Natural ambience is much better than contrived ambience. Unless they include the ability to call which pocket you plan to deposit the 8-ball into Sunday's outcome, the pool table has got to go.
We all love Gil Santos, but the Eagles do have a time-honored radio guy of their own named Merrill Reese. You'll still love Gil more, but Reese has done a terrific job for nearly 30 years behind the Eagle mike, and his voiceprint is all over NFL Films as well.
There is no happier Patriot than Corey Dillon.
What's this? Former defensive end Julius Adams is rooting for the Eagles?
Of course. His son Keith is an Eagle linebacker. Enjoy the game, Dad.
If they didn't give Donovan McNabb's mother a booth at Media Day, they should have.
Speaking of moms, whose mom is more famous, McNabb's or David Letterman's?
After watching NFL Game Of The Week do their thing with last weekend's AFC Championship Game, you almost felt sorry for those Steeler fans and players who looked on with horror as their 16-1 season went completely for nothing.
Back to school: How's the recruiting going, Charlie Weis? Your first job at Notre Dame is to produce the next David Givens for your old team.
Of all teams, Eagle owner Jeffrey Lurie has to face the Patriots in his first Super Bowl as owner. Lurie was born in Boston and grew up rooting for all the local teams.
Some complaints about Jacksonville being a lousy host city have been coming in.
Too small. Too boring. No "central gathering place". Ugh.
That's okay, Jax. Wait until next year when everyone starts complaining about the freezing cold and the sobering ghettos of Detroit.
Aside from the Renaissance Center and Oakland County, there is nothing Detroit will offer Super Bowl fans other than the location of the stadium and the fear of walking into the wrong part of town.
And don't forget that the last time the Super Bowl came to southeastern Michigan (Super Bowl XVI; this writer was 40 miles away in grad school at the time), the game was played up in Pontiac, not in downtown Detroit. Huge difference.
Tom Brady will be Tom Brady, but don't be surprised if either Dillon or Deion Branch get game MVP honors if their side wins.
Last time we heard from Joe Buck, the Sox broke the curse. This time, here's hoping he stops using the word "curse" and starts using the word "dynasty".
Buck ought to know "dynasty", especially the family kind. Dad must be proud looking down from above on his talented son.
A talented son who needs to stop doing those stupid commercials.
Remember him: The glory days of the Philadelphia Eagles were 1947 through 1949, though many Eagle fans will say that their glory days are right now. The Eagles won the NFL Eastern Conference in all three of those years, with NFL titles in both 1948 and 1949. Leading the way back then was Hall Of Fame running back Steve Van Buren, who registered his three best rushing seasons during that stretch. He rushed for 1,008 yards in 1947, 945 yards in 1948 and 1,146 in 1949. And this was back when the NFL played 12 games a season. He averaged more per carry in his first three seasons (topping out in 1945 with a 5.8 average). Wilbert Montgomery and Ricky Watters would go on to produce bigger numbers in later years, but Steve Van Buren remains one of the most time-honored Eagles in history.
McNabb has a lot of class, but if he wins Sunday, could you blame him if he thumbed his nose at all the fans that booed him on draft day 1999?
Whomever you root for on Sunday, don't forget our original theme of this game. Patriots and Eagles. The greatest game of the greatest nation. Eat your hearts out, rest of the world.
And remember to get home safely after the game, so that we will all either celebrate or cry together when it's all over.
Celebrate or cry? Time to find out.
A healthy Owens the Eagles won't need.
They got McNabb, that defense and a guy named Reid.
Tom Brady will be watching out for the Freak;
Weis and Scarnecchia will make the right tweak.
If the Patriots are the ones to do the killin',
It will be thanks to their game plan and one Corey Dillon.
He's the one who'll get game MVP
When the Patriots prevail, something like 20-3.
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