Seahawks pass on Super Bowl championship.

[Grizzly]

Did they get to Peter Clay "Pete" Carroll? What was Pete Carroll's part in the USC scandal? Did Charlie Weis out Pete Carroll's grad student affair? Was the half time show a symbolic trojan horse on a chessboard ridden by Katie Parry? Imagine if they many people cared about something that mattered...

Questions, questions...

[82_28]

No. If real it was actually a good play on the ball. He threw the dice because of clock management. You could get an incomplete there and then have Lynch punch it in with little to no time on the clock for the final play and win because they still had a time out. In all honesty it makes perfect sense but that's why they hire players to make plays. A play was made. No way that shit was thrown. Perfectly thrown pass that the DB read perfectly for the interception. It was a very uncanny ending for sure.

[Project Willow]

Hmmm, good point, but I still think it was a bizarre call. Now things go back to the way they've always been, this town never gets any of its teams into the "big game", let alone wins. We're a bunch of book worms and nerds who shy away from company. Last year was an anomaly. It's a relief actually. All is quiet in my neighborhood, no riots, no damage.

Yes, everyone in my circles has been commenting for two years about how to get folks to care about the forces that effect their own welfare as much as they care about "their" team.

Blurggh.

[82_28]

Another thing is that when the seahawks began throwing fisticuffs at the end was a last ditch effort to get a penalty in the seahawks' favor. You could totally tell. Flags can always go either way. Why not give it a try? They gave it a try. Didn't work, but I admire the last ditch effort to somehow fuck with "the victory formation" with a brawl.

[82_28]

Here you have it from the grand ESPN: Exactly my call. . .

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell says the play call that may have ultimately cost his team the Super Bowl was made with the game clock in mind.

The Seahawks had second-and-goal at the New England 1 with 26 seconds to go Sunday, but instead of giving the ball to Marshawn Lynch, Seattle ran a slant route intended for Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in the 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots.

More from ESPN.com

Pete Carroll, the Seahawks' fun-loving coach, made a serious mistake that cost his team the Super Bowl, Ian O'Connor writes. Story

Russell Wilson is known for his spectacular comebacks. But Sunday, instead of finding a way to win, he and the Seahawks found a way to lose, writes Terry Blount. Story

"We were conscious of how much time was on the clock and we wanted to use it all," Bevell said. "It didn't turn out the way I hoped it would.

"Of course I can say now I wish we had done something different. There are 20 different things going through my mind that we can do. If you run it that doesn't mean you would score on that play."

Seattle coach Pete Carroll said the play call was ultimately his and that they made it based on the New England defensive formation.

"I made the decision," Carroll said. "I said, 'Throw the ball,' and we went with the play that we thought would give us a chance to get in the end zone."

Carroll defended their call as a logical choice with the Patriots stacking the box to stop Lynch.

"We were going to run the ball in to win the game, but not on that play," Carroll said. "I didn't want to waste a run play on their goal-line guys. It was a clear thought, but it didn't work out right. The guy [Butler] made a play that no one would have thought he could make."

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY SportsThe Seahawks had second-and-goal at the New England 1 with 26 seconds to go Sunday and ran a slant route intended for Ricardo Lockette that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler.

Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin said the game "shouldn't have come down to that one play."

"I think we all were surprised,'' said Baldwin when asked why they didn't give it to Lynch. "We still had a timeout and felt we should take a shot. I don't know man. I'm just trying to make up an explanation. Everybody is going to want to blame something or somebody."

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said they had succeeded in that position throughout the season.

"I wasn't surprised," Wilson said about the controversial call. "We've done a great job in those situations all year."

The interception came two weeks after Wilson threw four picks in the NFC title game only to rally Seattle to an overtime win over the Green Bay Packers.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll tells Ed Werder about his team's loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, Seattle's play-calling at the end of the game and more.

"It definitely hurts," Wilson said. "I hate the feeling that I'm the one who lost it. I keep my head up, though. I know that I prepare and I get ready. I know I play my heart out."

Wilson finished 12 of 21 for 247 yards and had two TD passes. He ran for 39 yards and was sacked three times. The third-year pro will hear criticism for his final pass throughout the offseason and longer.

"I hate losing," Wilson said. "It was one play that he made a great play on."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/st ... kill-clock

[mentalgongfu2]

The success and popularity of American football is tied to gambling.
The power of the gambling community is something no one talks about now that HST is dead, but when I see games play out like this I can't help but think about the point spread and how each play in the last minutes could make or break a bet.

[mentalgongfu2]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=thompson/041221

[Project Willow]

The Conspiracy Theory Surrounding The Seahawks’ Last Play

http://www.thenation.com/blog/196697/conspiracy-theory-surrounding-seahawks-last-play#

[82_28]

I'm not gonna lie, it was a "grave" miscalculation, but I could see, as I've said, why they made that call as far as running out the clock. Who knows? We'll never really know.

I remember a Broncos Browns AFC championship game (the one following the season of the famous "The Drive") where who was it, Biner (?) inexplicably fumbled the football at the goal line at the very end of the game. Sucks that we have to have yet another "rabbit hole" to throw into the existential mix. Since I do like watching football, all I can say is this will always remain a mystery.

Again, watching that play (again and again, as I live in Seatown), it was perfectly designed and executed -- just that other guy made a better play on the ball. But yes, handing it to Lynch would have been a shoe-in win. I will never get it.

On edit:

Having scored that with Lynch, it would have given the Patriots time to get close enough for a field goal and force overtime.

[82_28]

Here's something I just found:

Prop Challenge, Day IX — Will we finally have overtime in a Super Bowl?

Will there be overtime in the Super Bowl?

Yes: +550. No: -800.

The next Super Bowl to go to overtime will be the first. And undoubtedly, there will be bettors happily taking 11-2 odds with the idea that we’re due for a fifth quarter in pro football’s biggest game.

Also, there’s no denying the “Yes” side of props like this are more fun. What a nice story to have, cashing a ticket on the first-ever Super Bowl overtime. Win a bet like that and you dance to the seafood buffet.

However, history suggests “No” has a lot going for it — and not just because the first 48 Super Bowls have ended in regulation.

According to Pro Football Reference data, only 28-of-413 non-Super Bowl postseason games have gone to overtime since 1967. That’s about one in in every 16 games.

Viewed that way, 5.5-to-1 on the Super Bowl going to OT might seem a touch . . . short.

That said, Super Bowl XLIX is widely regarded as a closely matched competition. The point spread is pick ‘em at the majority of Nevada sports books.

Again, we turn to you. What’s the better bet — no overtime or the first-ever Super Bowl OT?

Aside: could you imagine Super Bowl overtime? The pressure would leave a nation pacing and push every Super Bowl party deeper into the night.

And it would be glorious.

Anyways, cast thy votes and leave thy comments.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... uper-bowl/

Isn't it amazing that a superbowl has never gone into overtime?

[Belligerent Savant]

.
Simply my opinion, of course, but that was just a horrible call. Horrible.
Wholly unnecessary risk given the situation at that point of the game. Lynch can gain 2-3yrds in his sleep.
Also disagree that it was perfectly executed: the ball was placed on the wrong shoulder, which of course facilitated the INT (good play by the Pats cornerback, regardless, of course, but if the ball was thrown to the opposite shoulder instead it would have increased the potential of a catch, or at least an incompletion rather than INT).
Couldn't believe it when I saw it. Good thing I'm not a Hawks fan (though I was rooting for them as a lowly Jets fan).

Guh. F'ing football. LOATHE the league for all it represents, but became a fan of the game over the years, flawed/distractionary as it is... along with just about every other televised sport.

(on EDIT: not sure how throwing it would have taken more time than Lynch running it.. in fact, one can argue that running the ball would have taken more time off the clock, as it likely would have required some pushing and shoving to clear the goal line... either way, the difference in time would have been negligible, and still DOES NOT EXCUSE the horribleness of that playcall in that situation...)

[NaturalMystik]

- sort of Off Topic post -

I couldn't really find a thread I was looking for and thought maybe it was better to post in an already running superbowl thread. If there is a better thread ie: Goddess Worship in the Media or something like that, mods please point the way.

I happened to turn the TV on just as the halftime show was underway and became entranced in the sheer bizarreness of cartoon sharks and beach balls dancing around. WTF? I gotta say though, and I fully accept that I've been watching far too much history channel, it was quite something seeing Katy Perry elevated above her adoring worshippers while she floated around the sky. Was that a halo over her head? (I guess it's just stars, but at the time I thought there was a Halo). Thought it was an interesting example of Venus/Columbia worship. And I'm sure that in each corner she floated to, there was a seat that perfectly aligned with the summer and winter solstice... JK... kinda (who build the stadium?).

[Grizzly]

Conspiracy Theory?

Well, of course that never happens throught out history, theses types things are just not realistic ... Right?

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/f ... inbio.html

Arnold Rothstein's attorney, William Fallon, memorably described his client: "Arnold Rothstein is a man who waits in doorways..a mouse, waiting in the doorway for his cheese."

Rothstein was born in 1882 in New York. His involvement in the world of gambling began at an early age. He lost interest in school when he was 16 and decided to drop out. He worked as a traveling salesman for awhile and then decided to hang out in pool halls. At age 20, he went to work for himself booking bets on horse races, baseball games, elections and prize fights. He also made loans which carried extermely high interest rates.

Rothstein received his nickname, “The Big Bankroll,” because he always insisted on carrying a huge bankroll of $100 bills. He wanted to be able to immediately finance any deals he made. In 1909, he married an actress named Carolyn Greene. 1914 was the year that Rothstein moved into the business of bookmaking. He owned a discount house for wagering and this is where he made his fortune. Rothstein once stated that he was willing to bet on anything but the weather--the weather was the only thing he could not fix.

Rothstein’s role in the 1919 World Series scandal was behind the scenes as a financial backer. His name, reputation and wealth were used to help influence the ballplayers. Rothstein was approached by two separate groups who wanted him to provide the funds to pay off the eight White Sox players. He chose to work with Joseph “Sport” Sullivan because he had a proven reputation in the gambling circle. Most believe that Rothstein placed as much as $270,000 in bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win the world series that year.

When called to testify before the grand jury, Rothstein denied all involvement with the scandal. He shifted the blame to his former associate Abe Attell. Rothstein was eventually exonerated of any wrongdoing.

In September of 1921 Rothstein announced to the world that he was through with gambling. This was an attempt to regain the anonymity he had lost because of his ties to the Black Sox scandal. He ceased all direct ownership of his gambling houses. He did not, however, move away from the world of gambling altogether. Following this move, Rothstein became involved in drug dealing, bootlegging and labor racketeering.

Rothstein was shot in the abdomen and died on November 6, 1928, at the age of 46. He had never been convicted of breaking any law during his lifetime.
--TRACI PETERSON, 3L

Of course not.

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g ... /chapter-4

http://www.shmoop.com/great-gatsby/meyer-wolfsheim.html

"Who is he anyhow, an actor?"
"No."
"A dentist?"
"...No, he's a gambler." Gatsby hesitated, then added cooly: "He's the man who fixed the World Series back in 1919."
"Fixed the World Series?" I repeated.
The idea staggered me. I remembered, of course, that the World Series had been fixed in 1919, but if I had thought of it at all I would have thought of it as something that merely happened, the end of an inevitable chain. It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people--with the singlemindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.
"How did he happen to do that?" I asked after a minute.
"He just saw the opportunity."
"Why isn't he in jail?"
"They can't get him, old sport. He's a smart man."

F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

As Jackson departed from the Grand Jury room, a small
boy clutched at his sleeve and tagged along after him.
"Say it ain't so, Joe," he pleaded. "Say it ain't so."
"Yes kid, I'm afraid it is," Jackson replied.
"Well, I never would've thought it," the boy said.

Chicago Herald and Examiner (9/30/1920)

[Hunter]

I truly believe they didnt want Lynch to be the MVP and wanted Wilson to have the all the glory. Nobody is going to admit that and it may not have even been a conscious decision by anyone but more of an unconscious reflex but that played a role in this on some level.

[Hunter]

It was a bad decision but keep in mind Lynch was 1 of 5 on goal line runs this year, he was not automatic this year on the goal line, still a dumb call but everyone saying handing to him was a for sure win doesnt know the stats or watch much football.