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The Scores Report has teamed up with EA Sports to discuss the best Heart Pumping Moments in sports. We thought it would be fun to take a look at the most heart-pumping Super Bowl moments from the 2000s. If you would like to share your most Heart Pumping Moments, leave them in the comments section and we’ll pick five readers to receive a copy of EA Sports Active 2 for the system of your choice! (Check out the rules and requirements at the bottom of this post.)

On to the heart-pumping Super Bowl moments of the 2000s!

1. David Tyree’s “helmet catch.”
Is there a better Super Bowl moment in the past decade than David Tyree’s “helmet catch?” Super Bowl XLII will best be remembered as one of the best upsets in the history of the NFL. The Patriots were looking to become only the second team in league history to finish the season undefeated and all that stood in their way was a Giants team that had been inconsistent before making the playoffs. The Giants were heavy underdogs coming into the game, but their pass rush stifled Tom Brady and held the explosive New England offense to only 14 points. Down 14-10 with only 1:15 remaining in the game, the Giants faced a 3rd-and-5 at their own 44. Eli Manning took the snap from shotgun and immediately had defensive linemen Richard Seymour, Jarvis Green and Adalius Thomas in his face. Thomas grabbed Manning by the shoulder while Seymour had the back of his jersey. Somehow Manning escaped the sack, scrambled backwards and then heaved a desperation pass downfield towards Tyree at the 34-yard line. Tyree, who had to adjust his route because of the Patriots’ pressure, caught the ball with both hands but safety Rodney Harrison had swiped his other arm. Amazingly, Tyree was able to secure possession of the ball with one hand by pressing it against the top of his helmet as both players fell to the ground. Given the situation, it was easily the play of the decade. It netted 32 yards and four players later, Manning hit Plaxico Burress for a touchdown to eventually give the Giants a 17-14 victory. Remarkable.

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A CBS News investigation has raised doubts about the conclusion authorities have come to regarding Steve McNair’s murder-suicide.

From CBSNews.com:

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ESPN.com also reports that McNair was also seeing a second woman besides Kazemi, and SPORTSbyBROOKS.com says there was a third woman as well.

I find it convenient that CBS “uncovered” all of this new information, yet provide zero facts proving that there was another person involved. Despite the evidence they have that the police screwed up the time line of the event, there’s nothing concrete to suggest that this wasn’t a murder-suicide.

CBS is going to have to do better than talk to a bunch of people who were close to Kazemi who claim it wasn’t in her nature to do something like this. People snap all the time and while that doesn’t always lead to murder, there’s no evidence to suggest that there was someone else involved. This just seems like CBS’ attempt to break a new story, when there’s very little here.

This story (from NFL Fanhouse.com) is freaking twisted:

Nothing says Halloween like the fake skeleton of an NFL quarterback murdered by his mistress. At least that was the initial opinion of King’s Island Amusement Park — because, as part of their Halloween Haunt show, a skeleton depicting Steve McNair wearing a No. 9 jersey and holding a Titans helmet with the top blown off was on display, an apparent reference to the two bullet wounds McNair suffered on the night he died. As if that weren’t enough, a skeleton depiction of Sahel Kazemi, McNair’s 20-year old mistress who Nashville police have said murdered the football star in the early morning hours of July 4, 2009, lies across the McNair skeleton’s lap, wearing a piece of slinky red lingerie.

In the display, the McNair figure sits on a couch, assuming the same position in which he was murdered, and the Kazemi figure rests on its lap. At the skeletons’ feet, a gun lies on the ground. The couple are just two of the familiar faces included in the Haunt: A skeleton depicting Heath Ledger is shown surrounded by bottles of pills (Ledger overdosed in January 2008), and a skeleton is dressed like Michael Jackson in pajamas. But it’s McNair’s image alongside his mistress that has the city of Nashville horrified.

George Plaster, the host of Nashville’s highest rated radio show at 104.5 The Zone, reacted with outrage. So did the callers on his show Wednesday evening. “I don’t think the city is going to take it well at all,” Plaster said, “This is a city that prides itself on having some taste and values, and I just can’t see anything about what they’re doing that has any good taste at all. I was shocked and totally appalled, and I think most people in Nashville are as well.”

This is one of the more classless, tasteless and over-the-line displays I have ever read about. I won’t post the pictures, but if you click on the NFL Fanhouse.com link at the top of this post so you can see them for yourself.

How anyone thought that this would be a good idea is beyond me.

Federal agents have arrested the man who allegedly provided the gun that was later used to kill former NFL quarterback Steve McNair.

Adrian J. Gilliam Jr., 33, of LaVergne, Tenn., was arrested Friday morning by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and faces a “felon in possession” charge, a source familiar with the case told ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky.

A criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Nashville says that Gilliam — who was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in 1993 in Florida — admitted he sold the gun to the woman who later shot McNair.

Detectives traced the gun, a 9 mm Bryco/Jennings, to its 2002 sale at a pawn shop, according to the complaint. Gilliam eventually bought it from an individual for $100 about a year ago.

Investigators said Gilliam told them he bought the gun for protection after his home was burglarized, and police reports indicate he did report a burglary about the time of the gun purchase.

According to court documents, Gilliam admitted to detectives he sold the gun to Kazemi for $100.
Kazemi met the person when she was trying to sell her car. She mentioned to him that she was looking to buy a gun and he told her he had one for sale, police said. The sale took place two days before McNair’s shooting.

It’s amazing how easy it is to attain a loaded weapon on the street these days. Reports state that Kazemi was worried about potential financial issues, but for just $100 she was able to buy a gun that took the life of her and McNair.

It’s nice to see that authorities caught the trash lid that provided her with the gun though. Who knows how many other people he’s supplied (or would have supplied) with weapons had police not arrested him.

According to court documents, slain former NFL quarterback Steve McNair didn’t leave a will and therefore a judge in Nashville has ruled that his wife Mechelle will oversee his estate.

Davidson County Probate Judge Randy Kennedy granted Mechelle McNair’s request to administer the estate and gave her 60 days to file an inventory of her late husband’s assets. She says in court documents that she did not know her late husband’s worth, but documents contend it is “of sufficient size to be administered.”

Police say McNair was shot to death on July 4 by a girlfriend who later turned the gun on herself. Nashville police have ruled it a murder-suicide.

Mechelle McNair listed herself and her two sons, Tyler and Trenton McNair, as the heirs to the estate. McNair also has two other sons from a previous relationship.

Without knowing the full details of this situation, it’s not fair for me to comment on McNair’s financial situation. But I can’t help but feel happy that McNair’s wife and sons are now in control of his estate. Nothing will bring back their husband and father, but at least everyone is financially taken care of for the foreseeable future.