Kevin Hart Challenges Draymond Green to Three-Point Contest
Sometimes you need more than a scoreboard to pick out the winners and losers. Here they are, from Super Bowl 50:
Winner: CBS. Analyst Phil Simms was blah and the broadcast lacked a few key replays, but Nielsen ratings indicate it was the third-most-watched event in U.S. TV history, netting 111.9 million viewers.
Loser: Those 111.9 million viewers. Glance at the box score (194 total yards for the champion Broncos), and you"d think the game was played in a monsoon. And that Hyundai ad with the talking Bears contained more drama.
Winner: John Elway. Legendary quarterback made it his business to rebuild the Broncos defense after pedestrian stats in 2013. Plus he had the stones to split with coach John Fox after a 12-4 season.
Loser: Ron Rivera. Twelve penalties, four turnovers, poor tackling, a special teams gaffe on punt coverage the buck stops with a coach who did everything right from September to January.
Winner: Peyton Manning. For choosing the right team to sign with four years ago.
(Sore) Loser: Cam Newton. Sure, his O-line and receivers let him down, but his dab-free night started with a lack of awareness (Von Miller"s strip from his non-blind side), continued with a subpar effort to fall on one of his fumbles (Deion Sanders called it a "business decision") and concluded with a graceless exit from his interview session that was beneath a league MVP and superstar endorser.
Winner: Von Miller. The Panthers had 16 offensive plays in which Miller rushed from the left side. They lost 17 yards on them and fumbled twice. Miller, though, wasn"t satisfied by his MVP performance, saying he "should have had" two or three more sacks.
Loser: The officials. Explain to me again why Newton"s first-quarter pass to Jerricho Cotchery was not ruled a completion after a replay review. There were some extremely unnecessary unnecessary-roughness calls. And the officials allowed a Broncos defender to wrap his arms around Ted Ginn on a third-and-9 in the final quarter.
Winner: Stopwatches. The over-under on Lady Gaga"s national anthem was 2 minutes, 16.5 seconds. Depending on whether you include the second "brave," her rendition lasted either 2:09 or 2:20. Some online sportsbooks paid the over and others paid the under, according to pregame.com.
Loser: The betting public. The line opened at Panthers minus-3.5 (3 in a few books) and was bet up to six points, meaning the bulk of the wagers were on the Panthers. The pro bettors favored the Broncos, gobbling up points to go with a superb defense.
Winner: Lou Canellis. The standard Broncos money line paid plus-185, or $185 for $100 wagered. But the FOX-32 anchor felt so confident in the Broncos, he took the underdogs and laid 7.5 points. The gutsy wager paid plus-475.
Loser: Coldplay. Let me make this clear: I LOVE COLDPLAY. I don"t care if that makes me sound as macho as Justin Bieber, but no artist can look good sandwiched between the immortal Beyonce and funkadelic Bruno Mars. Coldplay took a beating on Twitter, even though "Fix You" was a spectacular backdrop for footage of past Super Bowl performances.
Winner: Little kids. The ones in my house rocked out to the halftime show. Guessing they were not alone.
Winner: Thomas Davis. His Instagram post, thanking the Panthers training staff, and picture of his stitched-up right arm said it all.
Loser: Eli Manning. Social media was all over him for his subdued reaction to his big brother"s victory. The rest of the Manning contingent in the luxury suite roared with approval.
Winner: Aqib Talib. He slipped and wiped out as he was heading to the NFL Network stage for a postgame interview. But the Broncos cornerback emerged smiling, with arms raised.
Loser: Aqib Talib. Committed two personal fouls (though his facemask penalty cost his team less than 2 yards) and took an additional cheap shot after the game, saying of Newton: "There ain"t no Easter bunny, there ain"t no Santa Claus, there ain"t no Superman."
Winner: "Papa John" Schnatter. Manning gave the pizza magnate a smooch on the cheek as he strolled to midfield after the game.
Winners: Kevin Hart and Drake. Hart played an overprotective dad while stalking his daughter"s date in a hilarious Hyundai ad. Drake played along with toolish ad execs in a T-Mobile spot. And thanks to Mexican avocados, we know Scott Baio is alive and well.
Loser: Marilyn Monroe. Her iconic image above a subway grate was cheapened by a candy bar ad.
Winner: Greg Olsen. The former Bears tight end delivered the quote of the night: "We picked a really bad day to have a meltdown."
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-greenstein-super-bowl-winners-losers-spt-0209-20160208-column.html
