Yes, it was too long. It's always too long. I loved it anyway and was smiling a lot during the telecast.

I thought Ellen did a great hosting job, funny and classy. I hope she does it again.

Favorite winner: Alan Arkin, 38 years after his first nomination.

Favorite winner: Helen Mirren, classy and elegant in her glorious dress.

Favorite winner: Martin Scorsese — finally! "Could you double check the envelope?" he asked. The idea to have as the Best Director presenters Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola was inspired.

As were the production numbers: the cool Hollywood Film Chorale Sound Effects Choir; the cooler than cool Pilobus modern dance troupe from Connecticut with their shadow show; the gospel choir in the aisles at the beginning of the telecast; and the writers' and classic foreign language films montages.

Good moments: the Al and Leo show, Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio talking about global warming and Gore's fake almost presidential announcement; Abilgail Breslin and Jaden Smith presenting the "shorts" awards; the directors three presenting the award to Scorsese; and Ellen having Spielberg take a photo of her and Clint Eastwood.

Best Dressed: Helen Mirren, Queen Latifah, Abilgail Breslin, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Hudson (without the bolero), Penelope Cruz, J Lo, Cate Blanchett.

Worst dressed: I agree with Cojo: a rare miss for Nicole Kidman in way too much red.

Nominess for worst everything:

→ Jerry Seinfeld
→ too long speeches/too little correctly timed orchestra playoff
→ too long nominated songs
→ too long telecast
→ inane/ignorant red carpet interviewers and

→ the winner, by a landslde, Jack Nicolson. Year after year, tedious, tiresome, an OGNA (oh, god, not again).

I understand why hosts and the cameras like to go to him — he makes good faces. But enough already. Somebody please pay him to sit somewhere where he can't be found. At the Lakers games too.

"It couldn't happen to a nicer guy" is a cliche, but in the case of Tony Dungy, it really is true. The Colts coach overcame personal tragedy and professional stumbles by his team this season to win the Super Bowl.

How great it was to see him hoisting the Lombardi trophy after the game yesterday, one of those sports moments you'll always remember. He epitomizes in his conduct on and off the field the values and class we wish all coaches had, as does the Bears' Lovie Smith, a protege of Dungy's.

Dungy and Smith made history yesterday, not only as the first African-American coaches to lead teams to the Super Bowl, but also in showing that sometimes nice guys do finish first.

I was waiting for the bus home today in our Artic air and a woman in a car stopped and asked if she could give me a ride home. I didn't know her, but I got in. She said she was worried about me standing there in the cold. We chatted pleasantly on the way home. When we got to my building she wanted to be sure she got me as close to the door as possible so I wouldn't get cold. She said, "thank you for trusting me." Thank you, Tookie, for demonstrating again that Minnesota Nice is real.

"...one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows — ever."

I couldn't agree more; it was the best show I've seen in many years.






0 Malfunction as Prince Rocks Halftime

By Douglas J. Rowe, AP Entertainment Writer 2/4/2007

Phew! CBS got through the halftime show without a "wardrobe malfunction." The Artist Formerly Known as a Munchkin of Wardrobe Dysfunction began by singing Let's Go Crazy, but he didn't.

Prince, who became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-1990s, no longer wears yellow, butt-baring pants as he did at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards (prompting Howard Stern's send-up at the '92 VMAs). The closest thing to a fashion statement Sunday night was an odd kerchief on his head. So the NFL had no repeat of the 2004 Janet Jackson/ Justin Timberlake show, which happened the last time CBS broadcast the game.

The 48-year-old Prince, who rose to stardom in the '80s with his distinctive fusion of R&B, funk, soul and rock, once looked androgynous and produced songs that (lest we forget) drove Tipper Gore nuts (and made her a fat target for anti-censorship types like Frank Zappa).

Musically, the diminutive, erstwhile prodigy from Minneapolis kept it old-school, rockin' the house with Purple Rain and other golden hits.

He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows — ever. Consequently, he didn't come across as a painfully safe choice — or a has-been, the rap against the previous couple of Super Bowl halftime acts, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones.

Press reviews of Prince's Super Bowl performance

"I once asked Carlos Santana who he thought was the most underestimated guitarist he'd ever played with, and was surprised when he said it was Prince."

"But the Purple One's halftime show was one of the best I've seen in the history of the game. It didn't pander; it wasn't pretentious; it was solid rock, played exquisitely. You could even hear it well, which is unusual for TV, although, for all the money they spent covering it, it was surprising to see the cameras blurred by raindrops."

"Prince really showed how he is much different from the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger or Steven Tyler, let alone lesser lights such as Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake."

"Prince showed himself to be a great rock guitarist on a set with two mid-tempo ballads, including the appropriate Purple Rain."

"This wasn't a dancing extravaganza. It was the most musical halftime since U2, and without their sentimental message about 9-11, it was just pure joyful rock and fireworks."

Packers QB Favre Returning for 17th Season


By Morry Gash, AP 2/2/2007

Green Bay, WI — Brett Favre will return for his 17th NFL season, undeterred by his injuries and hoping to lead the Green Bay Packers back to the playoffs.

"I am so excited about coming back," the 37-year-old quarterback said Friday on the Web site of the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. "We have a good nucleus of young players. We were 8-8 last year, and that's encouraging."

Packers general manager Ted Thompson confirmed Favre had told the team he plans to return.

"The Packers are excited by his decision and look forward to a successful 2007 campaign," Thompson said in a statement.

"My offensive line looks good, the defense played good down the stretch," Favre told the Biloxi newspaper. "I'm excited about playing for a talented young football team."

The news came as a surprise to Packers CEO Bob Harlan.

"I hadn't heard it, and I hadn't seen the Biloxi paper — not that I read the Biloxi paper every day," Harlan told The Associated Press on Friday.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the news was great for the league.

"He's obviously been an incredible performer for the NFL," said Goodell, in Miami for Sunday's Super Bowl.

Favre last left the field in an emotional scene in Chicago after leading the Packers to a victory to finish the season 8-8.

He has started 257 consecutive games including the playoffs, an NFL record for quarterbacks. Favre broke Dan Marino's record for career completions (4,967) in 2006 and is closing in on Marino's marks for career touchdown passes (420) and yards passing (61,361).

As he has done in the past several offseasons, Favre returned to his home in Mississippi after the season to deliberate about his future. Last year, Favre waited until late April to tell the team he was returning.

Favre complained about nagging injuries and the drudgery of practice toward the end of last season, then choked back tears as he talked about missing the game and missing his teammates in a television interview immediately after the regular-season finale in Chicago — leading many to believe he intended to retire.

Apparently, he couldn't resist one more chance to try to lead the Packers back to the playoffs after the Packers won their final four games and were in playoff contention until the final weekend of the regular season.

Favre has led the Packers to 10 postseason appearances, six division titles, three NFC Championship games, two Super Bowls and one championship following the 1996 season.

Favre was acquired in a trade by former Packers general manager Ron Wolf after one season as a backup in Atlanta in 1991. He completed his first NFL pass — to himself — on Sept. 13, 1992, catching a deflection and losing seven yards.

The following week, he replaced injured starter Don Majkowski in the third quarter and led the Packers to a come-from-behind 24-23 victory over Cincinnati.

Favre started in place of Majkowski on Sept. 27, 1992, beginning the streak he often has called his biggest personal accomplishment. The 237-game regular-season streak is nearly six seasons ahead of the Colts' Peyton Manning at 144.

Favre's accomplishments include winning three league MVP awards — he shared 1997 honors with Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders — and throwing two touchdown passes in a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots in the 1997 Super Bowl to give the Packers their first championship in 29 years. Earlier in that championship season, Favre spent time in the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kan., battling an addiction to painkillers.

Favre led the Packers back to the Super Bowl the following season, but they lost to John Elway's Denver Broncos 31-24.