GOT A WIFE AND KIDS IN BALTIMORE JACK ~ Bruce Springsteen held his first press conference in over 20 years yesterday in Tampa to discuss his upcoming appearance as the halftime entertainer during Super Bowl XLIII. Springsteen has never really been a very available guy to the media and it is somewhat surprising that he and his E Street Band would embrace the commercialism and pageantry of the Super Bowl. 

As wide-eyed as a toddler seeing Santa Claus for the first time, WNST’s Nestor Aparicio posed the questions why here and why now to The Boss.

"Really, why we said yes this year was because, we have a new album coming out!'' Springsteen replied. "C'mon. There's a new record in the stores. It just happened to come out this past week. So we have our mercenary reasons of course. Besides our deep love of football.''

Sarcasm dripped from that last quip, something that I’m sure didn’t sit too well with the NFL execs that are paying Springsteen a king’s ransom. That said, here’s a high 4 ½ to Aparicio for representing!

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR ~ The local airwaves are now packed with sports talking heads. Baltimore has 1 ½ major league sports teams to go with 4 radio stations with an all sports format. And now that the only real major league team in town has completed its season, one has to wonder if all four can survive.

Advertising budgets are being slashed all over and it has had a clear affect on print media.  Press Box now publishes its paper only once per month v. weekly; The Sun’s parent company Tribune Co. has filed Chapter 11; and now the Baltimore Examiner is closing shop on February 15.

The sports talk stations that can survive might be those with the best sales forces or those that can manage costs most effectively – or both! This might have something to do with Nestor Aparicio’s return to the airwaves on a semi-regular basis now that Rob Long has moved from a station powered by two coffee cans, a piece of chord and an underappreciated rodent to one powered by 50,000 watts. It might also help explain why a talent like Steve Davis gets the boot while Anita Marks gets a one year extension.

JUST AN ALL AMERICAN BOY…I’VE GOT MY FAVORITE TOY ~ Staying with radio, here are a few thoughts from the 24x7 peanut gallery (that would be me) on the sports radio landscape with all due respect to our Media Watchdog…Let’s start with 105.7 The Fan…Is Bruce Cunningham really that corny or is it just a bad act? From his tee shots down the fairway to his tough guy act to his navigational buoys to his mad love for Baltimore, he is sports talk’s Hee Haw without the laughs – at least not the laughter the “aforementioned Bruce Cunningham” tries to evoke. The show is a train wreck yet it lures me in not because I expect to learn anything, but instead it’s my eagerness to hear the former DJ stick his foot in his mouth. And much to my delight, as certain as a bear does you know what you know where, Bruce delivers again and again…Can’t you just feel Scott Garceau’s pain at times sitting across from the Ultimate Sports Chick?...Props to Mark Viviano and Ken Weinman – smooth, insightful and amiable. 

FREEZE FRAME ~ Back to Bruce Cunningham for a second.  The man deserves kudos for landing the gigs that are currently his given his limited knowledge of sports.  Not only that, he certainly has a knack for luring in sports co-anchors with stellar Q ratings.  From Amber Theoharis to Amy Fadool he now helps usher in the era of Kristen Berset (pictured). Berset is a former Miss Florida USA and finished in the top 10 in the Miss USA pageant. I can hear that Brucie chuckling now.

BARACK THE VOTE ~ Our newly inducted President and his VP are rooting for the Steelers this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII. I hope his constituents in Arizona and here in Baltimore make a mental note of that and reference it in a little less than 46 months.

Hey anyone still ticked off at Daren Stone?

START WEARING PURPLE WEARING PURPLE ~ Some are speculating that Brett Favre could be doing exactly that in 2009 – no not here in Baltimore but in Minnesota as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. The drama queen formerly known as sports hero wearing No. 4 has yet to commit to the Jets and some including ESPN’s John Clayton believe that Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan will and should welcome Favre back with open arms.

Clayton should put the crack pipe down!  Rex would be far better off taking the $13 million cap relief by waiving Favre, augmenting his roster and start the process of determining who will be the future behind center for the Jets. If Favre returns and fails, it will delay the development of a new quarterback and then place the success of the 2010 season at risk.  Should Ryan start his career with two losing seasons, he could be back earning a coordinator’s pay check before you know it. Those words of bravado Rex shared with the New York media could come back to bite him.

THEY SMILE IN YOUR FACE ~ Not sure if he was equipped with copies of his tarnished resume but word is that former Ravens and Browns executive Phil Savage was strolling along Radio Row on Wednesday in Tampa. Rumor has it that Savage is bad-mouthing his most recent ex-employer, Browns owner Randy Lerner. Savage might appear to be a friendly Southern Gent on the surface but don’t get on his bad side.  Just this past season Savage F-bombed a fan in an email, sold the coach he hired down the river and now he’s directed his venom towards the guy still signing his checks. We should thank Cleveland for hiring Savage away.  Not only did they take away a potentially backstabbing employee, the Browns also provided an opening for Ravens Director of Player Personnel, Eric DeCosta who is much more capable than Savage and a more appropriate heir to the throne of Ozzie Newsome.

I WANT IT, I WANT IT, I WANT IT ~ Defendants of Anquan Boldin will tell you that he’s not a self-centered ball hog simply because he wants a new contract and given his animated sideline spat with Cardinals’ offensive coordinator Todd Haley.  And while this might all be true, could you imagine the media coverage of a similar temper tantrum from Terrell Owens?

WHY DON’T WE STEEL AWAY…WHY DON’T WE STEEL AWAY ~ Ok, it’s time for a Super Bowl prediction…The last time the Steelers and Cardinals played was during Week 4 of the 2007 campaign. In that game the Cardinals sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times and intercepted him twice. They also held Willie Parker to 39 yards rushing.  Meanwhile Larry Fitzgerald had a field day and that was before Kurt Warner was playing at an MVP level and it was without Anquan Boldin who was sidelined with an injury. Plus the Cardinals were not running the football as effectively as they have so far during this post season. That said the Cardinals have yet to face a defense as stingy as the Steelers in ’08-’09.

The keys for the Steelers:

1. Exploit a suspect Cardinals secondary.  That might be a challenge without a healthy Hines Ward. Look for the Steelers to turn to TE Heath Miller.  The Cardinals struggled to defend the Eagles’ tight ends and Miller could have a field day. 
2. Get inside pressure on Kurt Warner and force him to move off his spot:  Warner welcomes pressure off the edge. With his poise and quick release, Warner can exploit areas vacated by blitzing defenders.
3. Provide over the top help to the corners: The Steelers corners are average while Boldin is not and Fitzgerald is arguably the league’s best receiver.

The keys for the Cardinals:

1. Protect Warner between the tackles…PERIOD!
2. Contain Roethlisberger: If he breaks containment, Cardinals’ suspect secondary could be easy pickings.
3. Get backs in the passing game: Warner can spread the Steelers secondary if protected with three 1,000 yard receivers.  They will command attention and Pittsburgh might not have the resources to give much attention to James and Hightower out of the backfield.

During Championship weekend I rooted for the Eagles in large part because I believed they would be a more willing victim for the Ravens than the Cardinals.  The Cardinals would have been a bad match up for the Ravens. Many say that the Ravens and Steelers are built similarly and for that reason, I think Arizona is a bad match up for Pittsburgh too. The 2008 season has been heavily characterized by its unpredictability and the unexpected.  That trend continues on Sunday when Kurt Warner becomes the first quarterback to win the Super Bowl with two different teams – Cardinals 26 Steelers 23