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As opposed to almost every other week this year, this is going to be pretty easy. Sunday night's game between the Colts and the Saints was very well officiated. I was most pleased with the fact that the crew let the teams play, as there were only eight assessed penalties for 64 yards.
There are a few plays we'll examine, starting with the one controversial call -- the Saints' two-point conversion to go up 24-17.
On the play, Lance Moore appeared to bobble the football while going to the ground and then completely lose control once he hit. The initial ruling on the field was an incomplete pass. As we have seen all season -- since Louis Murphy's non-catch in Week 1 -- a receiver must control the ball through the ground when he's falling to the ground as he makes a catch. Thus, it would appear the incomplete call was the correct one. Instead, the call was overturned. Why?
MIAMI -- The more the seconds turn into minutes along the way to hours, days and years after the most improbable victory in the history of sports, the more the New Orleans Saints become a living testimony for a higher power.
If you haven't gone to church in a while, you might consider it now. For one, there have been more references to God and faith regarding what the Saints did to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium than during the previous 43 Super Bowls combined,. And for another, well, this wasn't supposed to happen.
Here's something else to consider: no more alibis, please. Just like that, those in charge of traditionally lousy pro franchises and major college programs -- ranging from the Los Angeles Clippers and Vanderbilt football to the Detroit Lions and any baseball team that dares to play in the nation's capital -- have lost the ability forever to blame this or that while ending another season in purgatory.
Sunday evening's Super Bowl between the Colts and Saints -- which the Saints won 31-17 -- has been declared the most watched TV program of all-time. The overnight rating, according to the Los Angeles Times, was a whopping 46.4, which is the largest overnight figure since the Giants and Broncos played Super Bowl XXI all the way back in 1987. Last season's game between the Steelers and Cardinals scored an overnight rating of 42.1, but once the final numbers were released it was revealed to be the most watched game in history -- with 98.7 million viewers.
Now that the final count is in, however, we've learned that Super Bowl XLIV was much more than simply the highest rated Super Bowl. The series finale of M*A*S*H, long-standing record-holder of the most watched program in TV history, drew 105.97 viewers. The Nielson ratings have revealed that Sunday's Super Bowl drew 106.5 million viewers.
As is this isn't insane enough, CBS has released a statement with more details on the event. In the final 15 minutes of the game, the rating score was 50.6, meaning that more than half of the households in the entire country were tuned in. This number also had a 71 share for the audience. Translation: an incredible 71 percent of the televisions in the entire nation were set to the Super Bowl.
New Orleans topped the list in terms of ratings, with an estimated 82 percent of TVs on the game. Washington, Nashville, Indianapolis and Columbus followed.
The feat is much more impressive when you consider all the alternatives. Back in the 1980s, it was pretty easy for major sporting events to garner gargantuan ratings, but nowadays there are literally hundreds of other channels from which viewers can choose -- not to mention the options the internet provides. The fact that there are so many people watching one game in 2010 shows how much of a monster company the NFL is.
As is traditional in these gambling days, the Las Vegas oddsmakers have wasted no time in laying out next season's favorite to win the Super Bowl. This time around, it is none other than the team who lost the Super Bowl less than 24 hours ago. The Indianapolis Colts check in as the best bet to win it all, with 13-2 odds. The San Diego Chargers come next at 8-1. This year's champion, the New Orleans Saints, are tied with the Patriots for next on the list -- at 10-1 odds to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.
A common fallacy among casual fans who don't gamble is that these are actual predictions. They aren't. The aim is to make as much money as possible, thus, the teams most likely to garner the most bets are placed at the top and the teams least likely to garner bets are placed lower on the spectrum (in an attempt to attract action). Thus, teams with huge fan bases like the Cowboys and Steelers are likely to always be toward the top in the odds, while teams with lower fan bases like the Jacksonville Jaguars will generally be lower on the list.
This isn't to say there is no attention paid to how good teams are expected to be, it's just that they find a happy medium in order to make the most amount of money possible.
Here are the complete odds, courtesy of bodog.com.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- With confetti and congratulations pouring down on him after Sunday's 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV ambush of the favored Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton - a guy who likes to celebrate -- said he wasn't sure he would make it to the traditional Monday morning winners' news conference.
He showed up, hair uncombed, bleary eyed, looking every bit like someone who had just spent a sleepless night. Except that Payton did get some shut-eye, with some interesting company at his side.
Holding the Lombardi Trophy in his hands as he faced the cameras one last time before heading back to the Crescent City for what promises to be an epic "Who Dat" victory parade, Payton doesn't sound like a guy who's eager to let it go anytime soon.
"This thing laid in my bed next to me last night," Payton said, holding the NFL's championship hardware like it was a much-loved teddy bear. "I rolled over a couple of times. I probably drooled on it. But man, there's nothing like it."
The sterling silver Lombardi Trophy has a special connection to the Saints' organization. It is named for Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers coach. And Lombardi's grandson, Joe, is the Saints quarterback coach.
Zebra Report is 
MIAMI -- The more the seconds turn into minutes along the way to hours, days and years after the most improbable victory in the history of sports, the more the 
Sunday evening's 
As is traditional in these gambling days, the Las Vegas oddsmakers have wasted no time in laying out next season's favorite to win the 
