If Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots taught us anything, it’s that regular season records mean nothing and there are no guarantees when it comes to crowning a champion in the NFL.

The 17-0 Patriots looked like a slam-dunk to win the Super Bowl last January. That is, until a rowdy Giants bunch that played perfect football throughout the playoffs shocked most of the world en route to a 17-14 victory. Sound familiar?

No, the Steelers didn’t go 17-0 in the regular season. In fact, they were far from perfect and at times, looked awfully inconsistent. But with their No. 1 defense leading the way, it’s hard to argue that Pittsburgh doesn’t have the better overall talent heading into this year’s Super Bowl against the Cardinals, especially when you consider Arizona finished with a 9-7 record, competed in a crappy division and scored just one more point than they allowed this season.

But as the Giants proved last year, sometimes all it takes is momentum, which the Cards certainly have after soundly defeating the Falcons, Panthers and Eagles to get to Super Bowl XLIII. Arizona has a lot going for itself these days, including a resurgent veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner, a highlight reel playmaker in Larry Fitzgerald, and an underrated defense that is playing its best football of the season.

So who has the edge in Super Bowl XLIII? You can make a case for either team, which is exactly what I did. (Five of them actually.)

Below are five reasons the Cardinals will win on Sunday and five reasons why the Steelers will come away victorious. Contradictory? Sure, but play along – it’ll be more fun that way.

The moment every TSR reader has been waiting for is finally here: It’s time for me to hand out my Super Bowl pick.

I know, I know – you guys have been dying for this blog to come out since the Super Bowl XLIII matchup was set, but I wanted to take my time. I decided to go back and re-watch every single Arizona Cardinal and Pittsburgh Steeler game from this season in order to figure out each teams’ tendencies and therefore make the ultimate prediction.

But when I turned on my DVR to begin re-watching all the games I saw I had a couple of “Reno 911� episodes saved and I got lost in all the hilarity. (That Jim Dangle is one funny S.O.B.)

Needless to say, I didn’t re-watch one game, didn’t find one tendency and therefore my “ultimate prediction� is just going to be a flat out guess. Either way…

This is how I see Sunday’s big game playing out. The game will be tight for almost the entire first quarter, with both defenses playing well earlier on. The Steelers will strike first with a touchdown, then add a field goal to go up 10-0 midway through the second quarter. But thanks to the “don’t prevent the score� defense that every team seems to use right before halftime, Pittsburgh gives up a score right before Bruce Springsteen starts warming up, which in turn gives the Cardinals hope.

Your halftime score: an uneventful 10-7 Pittsburgh lead.

But the second half is where the action starts to heat up. All of a sudden the Steelers begin drumming up pressure and Kurt Warner has zero time to throw. Pittsburgh’s front seven starts suffocating Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower, all the while moving the pocket back so Warner can’t step up and deliver passes in a timely manner.

This leads to multiple sacks for the Steelers, which they turn into great field position. The Arizona defense, which in the first half had played damn near perfect football, starts to cave. Willie Parker starts finding open running lanes, which opens up the passing game for Ben Roethlisberger, who converts several third down conversions that essentially takes the life out of the Cards’ defense. Pittsburgh strikes twice for touchdowns in the third quarter, taking a 24-7 lead into the fourth.

Early in the fourth, Arizona offensive coordinator Todd Haley takes advantage of an overly aggressive Pittsburgh front seven and the Cardinals start attacking the edges and seams of the Steeler defense. All of a sudden, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breatson start to make plays in the open field and Warner gets into a rhythm. The Cards reach paydirt on a 1-yard James touchdown run and with still 11 minutes to play in the game, ‘Zona is still very much alive at 24-14.

Thanks to the offensive resurgence, the Cardinal defense forces a three and out and with the Pittsburgh defense still tired, Warner hits Fitzgerald on a reverse, pitch-back bomb to get the score within a field goal at 24-21 with seven minutes left to play.

But that’s as close as the Cards get to victory. Thanks to Parker, the Steelers drive into Arizona territory, eating up most of the clock. Big Ben then finds Heath Miller in the back of the end zone on a broken 3rd and 7 play to put Arizona away.

Super Bowl XLIII Final: Steelers 31, Cardinals 21.

Not that it matters because everything I just wrote will happen exactly as I laid it out, but feel free to post your score prediction for the game. Remember, only the people who don’t post a prediction are wrong…and those who predict the losing team to win.

The guys from The Love of Sports compiled a top 10 list of reasons to watch Super Bowl XLIII.

4. The Commercials
The Super Bowl’s legendary for some of the funniest and lamest commercials of the New Year. Who could forget Super Bowl XLI’s Pepsi Cola – Sierra Mist: Bearded Comb Over or Chad Johnson’s Super Bowl Party? If the $3 million price tag companies pay for a 30-second spot isn’t enough to watch a commercial or two in these hard economic times, then the anticipation of a potential sequel to the Bearded Comb Over should do the trick.

3. Pick a Side
If your team of choice didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, don’t feel bad when you become a temporary Steelers or Cardinals fan for the day. The game’s more interesting when you can get behind a team and watch them hoist up the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game. Both the Steelers and Cardinals will be more than happy to have one extra fan on the bandwagon.

2. Athletic Performance
Super Bowl XLIII boasts some serious NFL superstars who should have no problem hamming it up on the big stage. Warner, Edge, Troy Polamalu and Willie Parker are just some of the exciting playmakers to grace the television screen this Super Bowl Sunday.

1. It’s Football, People!
The ability to tackle a 220-pound man is something I won’t be able to experience in my lifetime, but I bet it feels pretty amazing to accomplish. The exciting plays, the unbelievable catches and the amazing story lines all contribute to one of America’s favorite sports and one heck of a Sunday afternoon. The only thing you have to do this weekend is ask yourself one question … Are you ready for some football?!?!?

The Super Bowl should be a holiday. Football, Super Bowl squares, food, adult-type beverages, friends – what more could you ask for on one day?

Greg Cosell of SportingNews.com made his Super Bowl XLIII prediction on Thursday and claimed victory for Pittsburgh because the, “one-dimensional Cardinals can’t beat Steelers D.�

He even gave a predicted final score:

After careful deliberation and hours and hours of film study the past 10 days, I have come to this conclusion about Super Bowl 43: Steelers 27, Cardinals 20.

After reading that, one could come to the conclusion that Cosell was being facetious. He didn’t really spend “hours and hours� of film study the past 10 days – he just said that as a light-hearted way to set up the rest of his column.

But then he wrote this halfway through his article:

One of the continuing problems I see on film is that offenses get overly focused on locating and accounting for Harrison. LeBeau understands this and then burdens the offensive line with a lot of movement before the snap, particularly after the pass protection gets set. That creates confusion in many instances, particularly when Harrison and Woodley line up on the same side. Often, another rusher, such as linebacker James Farrior, is not accounted for and has a free path to the quarterback.

Okay, maybe he was being serious about watching hours and hours of film to come to his prediction. That said, does anyone find his predicted score interesting? He spent hours and hours of film study to determine that the Steelers will win by seven and that the total combined score between the two teams will be 47? Wonder where we’ve seen those numbers before? Ah, yeah –those are the exact numbers that oddsmakers gave for the point spread and over/under total for the game.

Come on, Greg. It took you hours and hours of film preparation to come up with the exact same numbers oddsmakers set the lines at? You could do a little better than that.

- Despite the best efforts of Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to keep the story under raps, Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger apparently underwent an x-ray on his ribs on Wednesday. Big Ben suffered the injury in the AFC Championship Game, but there is no indication that he’ll miss the Super Bowl. (Rotoworld.com)

- Hines Ward returned to full practice on Thursday and is on track to start Sunday against the Cardinals. (FanHouse.com)

- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Steelers’ defense won’t let Kurt Warner enjoy a fairy-tale ending to his 2008 season. (Los Angeles Times)

- Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News wrote an excellent piece featuring the top two safeties in this year’s Super Bowl: Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. (Dallas Morning News)

- Need picks for the Super Bowl? Head to our partners at Sports Gaming Edge.com for daily picks & previews from some of the best handicappers in the business. They’ll give you top picks throughout the year.

It’s finally here.

After months of preparation and endless promotion, Super Bowl XLIII will be played this Sunday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6:28 PM, but the pregame show festivities will begin at 10 AM with NFL Countdown on ESPN. If that is too early to begin your tailgating day, then tune into the NFL Network at 11:30 AM for their six and half hour NFL GameDay show. For those who are late arrivals to the party, NBC will begin their coverage of Super Sunday at 1 PM with Bob Costas hosting The Super Bowl Pregame Show that features a cast of thousands breaking down the premier matchup of the season.

All times ET…

NFL
Sunday, 6:28 PM: Super Bowl XLIII — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. (NBC)

NBA
Friday, 7 PM: Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Friday, 9:30 PM: Golden State Warriors @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
Saturday, 7:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat (NBA TV)
Sunday, 2:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)

NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils
Saturday, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins
Saturday, 10:30 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ San Jose Sharks

College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: #22 Notre Dame @ #3 Pittsburgh (ESPN)
Saturday, 1 PM: Michigan @ #17 Purdue (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #23 Georgetown @ #8 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
Saturday, 6 PM: San Diego @ #25 Gonzaga (ESPN2)

Tennis: Australian Open
Friday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Semi-Final (ESPN2)
Saturday, 3:30 AM: Women’s Final (ESPN2)
Sunday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Final (ESPN2)

There are three things a great Super Bowl party must have to be effective. One is the game obviously, and if you can get it on a high def big screen – good…for…you. Two, Super Bowl squares is a must to ensure both guy and girl remain interested in the game the entire time because there is no “B Channelâ€� on Super Bowl Sunday. And the third thing is good food, whether it is your standard pizza and wings or if you do something a little special – you’ve got to have good grub.

Check out these killer Super Bowl Sunday menu items by Mike Farley. And for a sample, below are his directions for slow roasted BBQ ribs.

Slow Roasted BBQ Ribs

Does the thought of making ribs with homemade BBQ sauce intimidate you? I felt the same way, until I watched Guy Fieri and Tyler Florence do it on the Food Network. The key is patience, because the actual cooking process is pretty simple.

4 to 6 lbs. babyback pork ribs
Olive oil
Kosher salt & pepper

Sauce
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
3 slices bacon
1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
14 oz. can tomato sauce
1 jar chili sauce
1/2 of a 6 oz. can of tomato paste
2 jars apricot or peach preserves ( I used Saucy Susan)
1/4 cup hot pepper jelly (you can omit or add hot sauce instead if you can’t find this stuff)
1 Tbsp. paprika
Kosher salt & pepper
1/4 cup cider or malt vinegar
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
2 Tbsp. molasses

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Brush both sides of ribs with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put on a baking sheet and cover with foil, then place in oven. Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, preferably a nonstick one, heat 2 Tbsp. or so of olive oil for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat, then add onion, garlic, thyme, a bit of salt and pepper, and the whole slices of bacon. Sautee for 5 to 7 minutes or until the bacon starts to render its fat. Remove bacon slices (you can chop one up and put it back in if you like). Add remaining sauce ingredients (tomato sauce through molasses), reduce heat to low and cover, keeping on a slow simmer for a few hours. Turn ribs every 30 minutes or so for 2 hours. Then baste with barbecue sauce and turn every 20 minutes, for 2 more hours. Total oven time for ribs should be around 4 hours for maximum tenderness. Remove ribs from oven, and grill over medium-high heat to finish, for about 2 minutes per side (no more than that, or they will burn) to crisp. Slice into 2 to 3-bones-per servings, and serve with barbecue sauce on the side. This recipe will serve about 4 people, so multiply accordingly, depending on how much other food you have.

SPORTSbyBROOKS.com shares info that the city of Pittsburgh will not be holding a parade should the Steelers beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII this Sunday.

According to Pittsburgh’s WPXI CHANNEL 11, the city has decided against another title celebration because of the unanticipated budget overruns it would cause, meaning that the Steel City is choosing to defend public services over jubilant Steelers fans.

That’s probably a smart move by mayor Luke Ravenstahl, but in the short run it’s a scary one to make. Consider just how mental Steelers fans are about their team. WPXI’s Alan Jennings talked to a number of disappointed Steelers fans about what they felt about the potential lack of a parade, and the open disappointment was about what you’d expect, considering the fact that the team’s 2006 victory parade drew some 250,000 fans to the city’s Golden Triangle neighborhood.

Then again, and stop us if you think this is going so far, but could Pittsburgh officials be jinxing their team just be discussing celebration plans before the game? Surely this is a golden example of abject hubris, right? It’s understandable that Ravenstahl would want to set expectations low — if he’s not going to have a parade, it’s easier to weather that blow if you consciously start the process of disappointment early — but the very existence of this discussion has to be the ultimate motivator for the Cardinals.

Either way, having a champion go without a parade seems like a bit of a snowjob to the Steelers, if they were to win. And it begs the question of whether cities may begin to try to pass on the costs of teams’ celebratory needs onto the teams themselves. If this has all been an exercise in Pittsburgh angling to get the Rooney family to pick up the ticker tape check, something tells us it’s not going to work.

How much would a riot cost the city of Pittsburgh if one broke out after a Steelers’ win and no parade? Just sayin’…

- Steelers’ wideout Hines Ward did not go through 11-on-11 drives on Wednesday, but he did catch passes and made cuts on his sprained knee. He’s still expected to play on Sunday. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

- The Cardinals are expected to use rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to shadow Pittsburgh wideout Santonio Holmes. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

- Speaking of Holmes, he admitted to the press on Wednesday that he used to sell drugs as a teenager, but now hopes to help at-risk teens in the same situation he was in growing up to turn the situation into a positive. (Associated Press)

- Former Steeler Rod Woodson believes that Kurt Warner and the Cardinals may go straight into their two-minute offense to start the game so that Pittsburgh’s defense can’t get into their blitz-checks right away. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

- Kurt Warner hopes the young Cardinals can avoid the pitfalls that come with playing in the Super Bowl. (theSpread.com)

- Need picks for the Super Bowl? Head to our partners at Sports Gaming Edge.com for daily picks & previews from some of the best handicappers in the business. They’ll give you top picks throughout the year.

Clark Judge of CBS Sports.com writes that Ben Roethlisberger is one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks in the game.

Roethlisberger had big numbers last season, but that was the exception. Normally, he’s more efficient than he is overwhelming, doing what he must to win. As Fassel said, he’s at his best when his team needs him to be, which it did this season when Pittsburgh pulled off a raft of come-from-behind victories.

But let’s not stop there. When Pittsburgh held off AFC favorite Indianapolis three years ago to advance to the conference championship game, it was none other than Roethlisberger who made a game-saving tackle of Nick Harper after the Colts defensive back scooped up a Jerome Bettis fumble and seemed headed for the go-ahead touchdown.

So why doesn’t he get more attention? I mean, if you talk about what makes the Steelers tick you start with the league’s top-ranked defense, pump up coordinator Dick LeBeau, move over to Hines Ward, shift to the team’s trap running game, the club’s storied history and its stable ownership, then get around to Roethlisberger somewhere before dessert is served.

“Things have worked against him,” said an AFC offensive coordinator. “He has the best defense in the league, so people ask, ‘Is it the defense or is it him?’ He typically has one of the top five rushing attacks in the league. So is it him or the other two?

“But with the combination of the three, he’s a miracle worker. If he had just an ordinary defense or running game, the guy would be unbelievable because he would be forced to make plays.”

Big Ben’s career breeds the perfect debate. On one hand, his numbers aren’t eye-popping and he’s been fortunate enough to have played on good teams his entire career. And if you want to get technical about his game, he holds onto the ball way too long and he’s a bit turnover prone.

But there’s no denying that he’s clutch and he wins. He also played behind an offensive line this year that didn’t gel until the end of the season and one could make the argument that this was the worst Steeler o-line since Big Ben came into the league. So if you can’t appreciate what Roethlisberger has done this season, you’re either a Raven/Brown/Bengals fan, or you’ll never appreciate him.