Half ends with a Carolina field goal. 14-10 Pats.

:17 2Q: Lordy: nothing happens for the first 25 minutes, then three touchdowns in five minutes. It’s 14-7 Pats and I stick by my sense that they’ll prevail.

1:07 2Q: Figures _ the minute I note how terrible Delhomme’s doing, he starts making some completions, then throws this 40-yard touchdown pass.

###

Early in the game the announcers were finding a hundred subtle ways to say the Carolina Panthers quarterback, Jake Delhomme, is out of his league. By any measure he’s having a terrible game. Good thing his defense is keeping the game close.

3:05: Touchdown, Pats. Finally.

5:15, 2Q: key turnover for the Pats; they’ve got the ball back deep in Panthers territory. First interesting thing to happen in the whole game.

Ouch, the Ali ad was painful. Rare for IBM to miss that badly.

###

Pats’ second field goal try misses. Didn’t I say the chopper flyover was bad luck?

###

Horse farts and toilet paper. Consumer culture at its finest

###

Melissa’s taking a nap right now. I don’t blame her.

###

11:18, 2nd quarter: Carolina has zero yards on offense. Not to be a cynic or anything but this is not the stuff of Super Bowl champions.

###

Mitsubishi ads still have the most rockin soundtrack (Barroom Blitz!). Now if somebody would start buying their cars.

###

The Alamo: Who needs to see all those Texans get killed? Might do some business south of the Border, come to think of it.

Oh, a donkey. Nice try kids.

###

OK, I liked the guy in the kilt doing the Marilyn Monroe over the sidewalk grate routine. Will I ever drink Sierra Mist? Probably not.

###

End of first quarter prediction: A defensive score will make the diffference in this game. It’ll have to, the way these offenses are playing.

###

Hmmm… the best ads must be coming up during halftime. May have to turn to the game for entertainment. Rats.

###

Elephants. What’s next? Whales?

###

Body wax: ouch.

###

Bears! Geeze.

OK, AOL top speed: The biker shop father & son are funny, but who on earth uses AOL anymore?

(sorry, mom).

###

Three creature commercials in a row. Whoah. The Bud Light dog-to-the-naughty bits was a bit predictable, but it made me chuckle. The Fed Ex alien was swell, thought not in the league with the famous helium-snorting munchkin of lore. Dodge needs to get over the Hemi thing.

###

12:03: I’m not going to get into play-by-play but the Pats are already looking too tough for the Panthers.

###

Let’s see what kinda commercials we get.

Hmm, Ford debuts its coolest car since the ’64 Mustang and that’s the best they can come up with? In what gear do you realize it’s time to fire your advertising agency?

Sorry, but a helicopter flyover seems like a bad omen to me.

###

Hey, Beyonce can hit those high notes!

###

Pity the poor Shuttle astronauts … all those advanced degrees, years of training, and to have to put up with “Your Raise Me Up.” Right now I’m rooting for a NASA funding cut. I mean, why put these good people at further risk?

###

Proof there is no justice in this world: Somebody’s gonna get to own one of those Ford GT’s and it won’t be me.

###

OK, I admit it: I love the California Cheese commercials.

###

Christ, Aerosmith is embarrassing itself.

Anything for a paycheck, eh guys?

Wait, now they’re playing a real live blues song.

Please don’t go, indeed.

Parachutists: Maybe it’s the cops enforcing a restraining order.

Had a sneaking suspicion after last week’s Packers-Eagles game that the Eagles could be beaten. Donovan McNabb’s running was the X factor last week, and his rib injury this week made it pretty plain the Eagles had everything riding on McNabb. His inability to run totally defused his greatest threat — forcing defenses to respect that he can run on any play.

Didn’t see the Panthers play all season, so I didn’t know what to expect. They shut down the Eagles in ways that eluded the Packers last week. Have to respect ’em in the Super Bowl.

But, seriously, the Patriots seem like a lock this year. They have momentum like the Bears had when they pounded the Patriots back in the mid-’80s.

Patriots spent half the game looking like the Team of Destiny and the other half reassuring each of their potential rivals in the upcoming Super Bowl that no matter how bleak things look, the Pats’ll give ’em a chance to get back in it.

Gotta give the Colts credit for being good enough to get to the AFC championship and eek out whatever breaks they could scrape up, of course. Peyton Manning can pass up a storm against almost anybody, except the Patriots. And I may as well bring this up again: Manning has had bad days every time I’ve seen him play. It’s like me watching him is a curse. Maybe I’ll call him up and see how much he’ll pay me not to watch any of his games next year. I’ll do it for a reasonable price, say $500,000. (Look, nobody plays for peanuts in this league.)

Summation: Killer pass defense trumps killer quarterback.

0:55: Adam Vinatieri, the kicker, has a chance to put it away. It’s good. And goodbye Colts. 24-14 Pats.

1:16: Field goal try to ice the game. Pats kicker is due to miss one.

1:20: Holy crap, Tom Brady rolls out, fumbles the ball away. Do the Colts have one more chance? Wow, replay shows Brady clearly down before the ball came loose. This call will be overruled.

1:48: Manning can’t find an open receiver on 4th and 10. Barring a miracle, looks lke the Pats are headed for the Super Bowl.

1:51: 3rd & 10 for Manning. Pats defense is gonna come at him hard. Manning pass misfires.

2 minute warning: Manning’s 80 yards away from tying the game. Can Peyton Manning engineer The Drive to keep the Colts alive? My hunch is no.

2:16: Pats intent on keeping the Colts in the game. Troy Brown drops a first down pass he desperately needs to catch.

2:19: Pats need a first down … they need to be aggressive … second down pass batted down.

2:22: Colts need an onside kick to go their way. No luck; Pats recover. Interestingly, the tight end who dropped two touchdown passes may have saved the game by making the catch.

2:27: Manning TD pass to Marcus Pollard. PAT good; 21-14 Pats.

2:57: First and goal at the 10. Manning has a few tricks left.

3:19: Completion to the 25.

4:15: Desperation pass to Troy Walters nets a first down.

4:56: Manning sacked; Jarvis Green nails him for the third time today.

5:30: Colts at midfield; Edgerrin James takes a pass down to the Pats 42.

6:10: Colts can probably score once, but can they score twice? Pats need to stay in the defense that got ’em this far.

6:52: Colts defence finally gets a stop and forces Pats to punt for the first time all day.

8:17: Not that anybody’s following along, but I raised the specter of a Manning Meltdown in the first quarter. Not happy to see it come true, really, because Manning’s one of the class acts of the league, and now everybody’s gonna call him a choker for the next nine months.

8:57: Manning sacked. 4th and 13, Manning picked off again by Ty Law, Law’s third pick of the day.

9:57: Colts first down at the Pats 27.

10:50: 3rd & 2 at the Pats 40. Manning throws incomplete. Colts going for it. Edgerrin James sneaks across for first down.

12:25: Manning gets first down on short pass. Pats defence is giving up nothing deep and Manning’s receivers are not getting open.

13:34: Brady pass intercepted by Walt Harris in the end zone. Colts’ hopes alive, barely.

13:50: 2nd and goal. Tight end drops another touchdown pass.

Opening of the fourth quarter.
Things look bad for the Colts. Troy Brown hauls in a tipped pass. First and goal.

0:45: Brady’s first pass good to the Indy 17. 3rd quarter ends on the next play.

1:06: Rested Pats defense sacks Manning; Ty Law gets another interception on the next play. Wow.

2:15: Pats need a touchdown here. 3rd and goal at the 3. Pass excruciatingly through the fingers of tight end Christian Fauria in the end zone. Another field goal. 21-7 Patriots. Four long drives deep into Colts territory. Bad news for Indy, but the Pats keep the score a lot closer than it should be.

2:55: Nice lofted pass to Troy Brown for the first down.

4:06: Offsides penalty, Pats on the Colts 15.

6:17: Antowain Smith has a big hole up the middle, takes it for 34 yards to the Colts 35.

6:35: Three-and-out for the Pats defense.

7:15: I’ll feel better about the Pats’ chances if they get a defensive stop on this drive. James stopped on first play, second down pass batted down. Hmm…

7:28: 3rd & 10. 8-yard pass obliges the Pats to settle for a field goal, which is good. Pats lead 18-7. Observation: All three Pats’ field goals have been chip shots, which means they’re driving the Colts’ defense deep on every drive. How much legs will the Colts’ defense have left late in the game?

8:58: Another pass to the Colts’ 13. Nothing conservative about this offense.

9:40: First Test for the Colts defense fails: Larry Centers takes a short pass for about 28 yards.

9:49: James rumbles, then reaches over the goal line. Touchdown Colts. PAT good, 15-7, Pats. Interesting halftime adjustment: Colts remember Edgerrin James ran well early in the game; he runs for 32 yards on this drive, taking pressure off Peyton Manning.

10:23: First & goal after after another good James run.

11:11: James pounds the ball to the 9 yard line. 3rd & 3.

12:16: Colts at the Pats 25, Dominic Rhodes slashes to the Pats 15. Colts offense is impressive when it works.

13:40, 3Q: Colts go for it on fourth and short, get first down.

14:00, 3Q: Third and short after two good Edgerrin James runs. Marcus Pollard drops pass.

Opening kick: Colts runner takes it to midfield.