Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetables—This soup had big chunks of vegetables and a nice, beefy flavor. But the best part was the little burger patties. In this soup’s former life, the burgers were fatty and tasted like it. These patties are lean and meaty, and this soup tastes way better than before.

Beef and Dumplings with Hearty Vegetables—This one is similar to the Sirloin Burger variety, but with lean chunks of steak instead of burger patties. The meat was lean and tasted good, and the dumplings were worth the price of admission. They weren’t those fake ones like in the regular Campbell’s Chicken & Dumplings soup, but like the ones your grandma made…seriously.

Healthy Request Classic Chicken Noodle—The best part about this soup is that it has real chicken flavor and a nice, clean broth with big chunks of chicken and vegetables and hearty noodles. However, some of the chicken chunks had a weird texture and at 40% lower sodium, you’ll be reaching for the saltshaker to add flavor.

Along with 21 other ex-coaches and players, former UCLA and Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Troy Aikman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Former head coaches Lou Holtz and John Cooper were also inducted, as well as ex-players Thurman Thomas and Sam Mills.

Among the others honored Saturday were former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, former Oklahoma State tailback Thurman Thomas, former Army quarterback Arnold Tucker and John Cooper, who coached at Ohio State, Arizona State and Tulsa.

Jim Donnan, who coached at Marshall and Georgia, poked at Holtz for choosing an overseas opponent.
“One thing about Lou, he knows how to schedule,” Donnan said. “Playing the Japanese he has a good chance of winning.”

Holtz and Cooper agreed that the key to their successful careers were great players.

“The difference between a good coach and a Hall of Fame coach is players,” Cooper said. “You win with people. Show me a winning coach and I’ll show you a coach that has good players.”

Check out the entire list of inductees by clicking here.

WFFA Ch. 8′s Joe Trahan asked Newman last week about Troy Aikman’s take that Romo “hasn’t fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about.”

Newman’s reply: “I think that with the situation Tony was in, I think that kind of maybe hurt him a little bit – being a first-year starter, then you have the limelight with his girlfriend and situations of that nature. It’s going to take away from him being a quarterback, being a successful quarterback. He won 13 games and everything was perfect, but now after this past season, it was, ‘Is he doing enough for the team? Is he working hard enough? You know, he’s got this girlfriend, so …’ I think that once he inherited the starting quarterback job and his relationship got into the national media attention, I think that that was something that definitely hurt and took away from Tony Romo being a great quarterback.”

While I don’t disagree with what Newman said (how can I – I’m not a Cowboy and thus don’t know the situation like he does), players have every right to have a personal life off the field. It doesn’t matter if Romo is dating Jessica Simpson or Jessica Nobody – his personal business is his own.

That said, this is at least the third time that Romo has been publicly criticized for his relationship with Simpson. He was hammered by the media for going on vacation with her during the Cowboys’ bye week before a playoff game two years ago, and then came Aikman’s comments, now Newman is speaking out. So maybe Romo does need to be more focused on his football responsibilities. This isn’t to say that he needs to spend every waking hour dedicated to being a quarterback, but obviously there is an issue here because this story won’t die.

Romo’s not a leader. Never has been. Never will be.

Leaders don’t develop. They are born. It’s something in the DNA. You either have it, or you don’t. After showing little interest in leadership his first couple of seasons, Romo is talking about becoming a better leader now. In this case, talk isn’t cheap — Romo signed a $67.5 million contract extension during the season — but it’s still just talk.

He’s singing a different tune from the one he sang after the 44-6 drubbing at Philadelphia, which dropped his career record as a starter in December to 5-8. Minutes after his team collapsed on the field, he collapsed in the shower from a rib injury, then offered this explanation of how he dealt with the loss:

“If this is the worst thing that ever happens to me,” Romo said, “then I’ll have lived a pretty good life.”
He might as well have been one of those talentless clowns who audition for “American Idol.” It was comical and hurt the ears.

That’s what separates Romo from guys such as Aikman, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. They live the game. Losses eat at their intestines for entire offseasons. Romo’s comments suggested he was already over the loss.

Aikman offered up no excuses when the Cowboys went 1-15 with him as the starter. And he didn’t morph into a superhero when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls. He was the same hard-playing, accountable dude during good times and bad times. Romo’s not Aikman. Not even close. And while it’s probably not fair to compare the two, Romo opened up the door when he played the leadership card.
Even a defensive player like Ray Lewis, who had off-field problems early in his career, is 10 times the leader Romo is. He doesn’t have to make any pronouncements about leadership, because his actions make it clear who’s running things in the Baltimore Ravens’ locker room.

Ray Lewis is 10 times the leader Tony Romo is? Gee, way to make a prophetic statement there, Cedric.

He may never be the guy that runs up and down the sidelines like Tim Tebow does or have the gonads to get into the face of his offensive linemen on the bench like Tom Brady, but Romo can lead by example. If he wins, his teammates will follow because in the end, winning speaks louder than any sideline speech that he can give.

Will he ever be Brady, Lewis or Aikman in terms of being a leader? Probably not, but then again, it takes a special man to lead like those guys do/did. What Romo can do is focus more in practice, be more dedicated to the game that has treated him very well the past couple years and start producing in December. If he does those things, people will take notice.

“I think maybe things happened so quickly for Tony in terms of obscurity to all of a sudden national spotlight that he hasn’t fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about,” Aikman said to Irvin. “And you don’t go to Cabo the week before a playoff game. You just don’t do it.

“It didn’t take away from his preparations. I know that. I mean, everything he says is I think accurate. I don’t think that had any bearing.

“But to say, ‘I don’t worry about perception,’ you better worry about perception, because it’s a big part of making it through some very difficult times.”

Romo famously vacationed in Cabo San Lucas with girlfriend Jessica Simpson during the bye week before last year’s NFL playoffs.

I think Romo is at a crossroads right now in his career. He knows he’s talented enough to get by, but seems to lack the focus and drive to take it to that next step. A lot of players want to get by on their talent alone and it’s not until later in their careers when they realize they have to do that little extra in order to become great.

Romo is a very likeable player and outside of playing for the Cowboys (who are shoved down everyone’s throats by the NFL Network every day), he’s easy to root for. Hopefully he takes Aikman’s (who knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl, although I don’t know if he has the right to tell Romo how to spend his personal time) comments in stride and turns this offseason into a positive. If not, he seems to have already hit his ceiling in terms of potential.

Here are six quick-hit observations from the Cardinals’ 32-25 win over the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

1. Just keep doubting them – the Cardinals will just keep winning.
Let’s run through everything the Cardinals weren’t supposed to do this postseason, shall we? They weren’t supposed to stop Michael Turner or beat the Falcons in the first round. They weren’t supposed to win on the road or stop the Panthers’ dynamic running game in the second round. And then even when they did accomplish those things, they weren’t supposed to beat the Eagles because Philadelphia would finally pressure Kurt Warner like he hadn’t been the previous two weeks. Yet the Cardinals did beat Philly on Sunday, and they did so even though adversity stopped by in the third quarter and smacked them square in the mouth. (More on that next.)

2. The Cardinals did something Sunday that they hadn’t done much of all season – battle adversity.
When the Eagles scored a go ahead touchdown with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game to take a 25-24 lead in front of a stunned Arizona crowd, the Cardinals could have easily crumpled in the final quarter. Philadelphia had just scored 19 points in a matter of nine minutes, were starting to pressure Warner with more ease and had seized all momentum. But the Cards answered with a 14-play, 72-yard drive that took 12:07 off the clock and culminated in a Tim Hightower 8-yard touchdown run. They added the 2-point conversation on a pass reception by Ben Patrick and even though there was still plenty of time left on the clock at 2:53, you got the impression that the Eagles were cooked. Granted, ‘Zona benefited from a non-pass interference call on a 4th and 10 attempt to Kevin Curtis on the final drive, but the Cards had already capitalized on the most pivotal moment in the game by taking the Eagles’ best shot and answering back.

3. The Eagles only played 19 minutes of this game…
…had they played the entire game, they probably would have won. Something that got overlooked by many pundits in the week leading up to the contest was that this was the third straight road game for Philadelphia. It’s hard to win on the road as it is, nevertheless three straight weeks. It’s why most sixth seeds don’t make it to the Super Bowl. That said, had the Eagles played the entire game as well as they did in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, they would have won. Granted, that’s an obvious statement since they scored 13 points and limited the Cardinals to –1 yard of total offense in that third period – but look deeper. In that third quarter, Jim Johnson finally was able to dial up the right pressure on Kurt Warner, Andy Reid was finally able to get the tired Arizona defense on their heels and Donovan McNabb finally was hitting receivers in stride and striking for big plays. (None bigger than DeSean Jackson’s wild 62-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth.) The Eagles essentially only executed their game plan for 19 minutes of this game and yes, the Cardinals had a lot to do with that. But Philadelphia also got in its own way more times than not by dropping passes, failing to execute Johnson’s blitzes and McNabb misfiring on a handful of passes. Were the Eagles tired? They didn’t necessarily show it if they were, but don’t overlook the fact that this team had to do a lot just to make the playoffs and then a lot just to get to Glendale on Sunday. And that could have factored into how they played.

4. Larry Fitzgerald.
What else can one say that hasn’t already been said? He’s amazing, spectacular – exceptional. With all due respect to the Texans’ Andre Johnson, Fitz is the best receiver in the NFL and the adjustment he made on Kurt Warner’s under throw on a 62-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was incredible. He’s one of the few receivers in the league that consistently goes up to get the ball at its highest point and never lets it get to his body. He’s the best.

5. Who the hell is Brent Celek?
Non-Eagle fans go ahead and raise your hand if you knew who Celek was before the game. I knew who he was, but I had no idea he could be a game-changer. The second-year tight end out of Cincinnati was the perfect complement to DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis in that he worked the seams and gave Donovan McNabb a solid, reliable target the entire game. He also freed Jackson and Curtis up by clearing out the Cardinal safeties, which had to adjust to him being a legitimate target as the game wore on. What a game by the youngster who has no doubt made Eagle fans forget L.J. Smith.

6. How can you not love Adrian Wilson?
Because the Cardinals have been bad for so long, Wilson has often been known as just an underrated playmaker on a brutal defense. But now that the Cards are heading to the Super Bowl, general football fans can start to appreciate just how good the eight-year veteran is – and how loyal. When Wilson was set to become a free agent at the end of the 2004 season, he could have signed with numerous teams dying for a playmaking safety and a natural born leader. But as Joe Buck and Troy Akiman noted during the broadcast, Wilson never contemplated signing with another team and reached a modest five-year, $21 million contract with the Cards. Now he’s being rewarded for his contributions to Arizona’s franchise by having the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. If you can’t root for a guy like that than you won’t be able to root for anybody.

Troy, Tom Brady is going for his fourth Super Bowl victory and Eli Manning his first. You were a three-time Super Bowl winner – I realize all Super Bowl victories are hard-fought, but was there one in particular that stood out to you as being harder than the rest?

TA: Well, each one got a little more difficult for us and the last one was the most compelling when we played Pittsburgh. That was a pretty tight ballgame and the other ones, you know, we beat Buffalo the first time 52-17 and it was basically over by halftime or early in the third quarter. New England though, the three that they have won, they’ve won all three by only three points, so they’re accustomed to being in tight games. So, they’re going to be well prepared if this game goes down to the wire, too.

There seems to be many complaints from Giant fans that you guys are biased towards the Patriots. Do you feel that there’s any merit to that?

JB: Since I’ve been doing all of these World Series – I’ve done 10 of them – and this is the second Super Bowl, it doesn’t matter what the matchup is or the history of me and that city, or my relation to that city…and I know this is the same for Troy and anyone else that puts on the headset…if you get emotional and get excited during the key moments of a game, you’re always going to be considered by one fan base or the other as being for or against a certain team. I can honestly sit here and tell you that I do not care who wins on Sunday, nor have I cared at any time during the postseason. You just call the game and people are going to hear it the way they’re going to hear it. I get it – if Giants fans are used to hearing their local announcer Bob Poppa get excited or disappointed when the Giants don’t do well…it happens more in baseball because there’s more of a local feel…that people get used to hearing games a certain way, so to hear it from a down-the-middle perspective, they think automatically the (announcer) is against (your team). It’s pretty easy to understand and it doesn’t affect any one-second of what I do on Sunday. And Troy is starting to go through this for the first time this post season. It’s just the nature of the business and it’s been this way since my dad was doing it, (Vince) Scully and everyone else.

TA: Yeah in Dallas, they feel that I’m anti-Dallas (laughing). You know, it’s a small minority of whom we hear from and you know, hey, that’s why they’re called fans. It’s pretty absurd or ridiculous to think that we have a rooting interest in the booth or that we’re calling the game that’s slanted towards a particular team.

Troy, since you were on a team that was considered one of the best Super Bowl teams of all time, where would you rank the Patriots if they prevail on Sunday?

TA: You know, when you get into ranking the best teams or best players, I think it’s obviously very difficult to do. If they’re able to win this week and win four world championships, it obviously puts them in a class with San Francisco and Pittsburgh as far as those dynasties during those decades are concerned. I certainly appreciate what (the Patriots) have been able to accomplish, you know, having been through it myself and knowing how difficult it is to do. The thing that has been most impressive to me is the fact that, you know, this is a team that has gotten better in a lot of areas, as well as gotten younger. And whether it was a team that I was a part of or the 49ers or the Pittsburgh Steelers, the key figures were guys that were on all of those (championship) teams before. Tom Brady is obviously a constant for New England, but I use the example of their offensive line all the time. Matt Light is the oldest player on their offensive line and he’s just 29-years old. There are only two starters on the offense that were starting back in ’01 when they won their first Super Bowl. So, I do think that if they are able to win this week, you could make the argument that they’re the greatest team of all time and it would be a very strong argument considering they haven’t lost this year. As far as being a dynasty and where they rank with the other franchises in the other decades…you could make that argument that they’re the best ever…but I also don’t see this being it for them. I see them being really, really good for a long time.

Joe, is there any difference in preparation from calling a World Series compared to a Super Bowl?

JB: Well, the World Series is so different because it seems like you’ve been there night after night after night…and it used to start with FOX coverage of the Divisional Series and then the Championship Series then you know, you get to the World Series…and you hope that (the emotion) builds during the course of a World Series. Then you get to a Game 6, a Game 7 – we haven’t been that lucky lately but we’ve been there before – and with it being night after night, it’s a machine gun-style way to broadcast. And in the Super Bowl, you prepare for this game in a weekend, but there’s been so much downtime from the last game we did in Green Bay and the game coming up on Sunday that you feel like you’ve got three hours or however long the broadcast lasts – three hours to give it your best and don’t embarrass yourself, and do a good job. And the (World Series) is more a marathon, you know? If you make a mistake, you’ve got plenty of time to correct it and make up for it. Here in the Super Bowl, from my perspective, a mistake is a little more magnified and you hope you don’t make them.

John Madden had this theory that quarterbacks don’t do well in the big games because they have a tendency to have too much adrenaline and overthrow a lot of the passes. What’s your feeling – is there something particular about the big game that makes it harder on the quarterback?

TA: I think it depends on the quarterbacks you’re referring to. I don’t think it was too difficult for Terry Bradshaw or Joe Montana. I don’t think it has ever been too difficult for Tom Brady, either. Good luck trying to get any emotion out of Eli, because he’s been so calm lately. I think people react to it differently and you can’t prepare yourself for the enormity of the event. You know, you tell yourself it’s just like any other game and that’s the approach you take until you hit the field. But it’s not like any other game, at least not initially. You’re aware that this game is special and that’s why you want to be a part of it. I wouldn’t define the pressure being only to quarterbacks, either. Some people handle it differently than others. I think that’s one of the best things about this game – you get a chance to see how quarterbacks, players, whoever it may be, react and respond to being on center stage with so much at stake. And that’s why I’m looking forward to this game and why I’ve always looked forward to the Super Bowl.