by Jerry Keys

The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49'ers were one game away from the Super Bowl last year. Each could make an argument they should have won the Championship Game last year. This year they shook their demons and advanced to the Bowl. Neither the Ravens nor the 49'ers have ever lost a Super Bowl. The Ravens won their only previous appearance (2000 / 2001) and the 49'ers won four under Joe Montana and one with Steve Young. A win for the 49'ers would tie them with Pittsburgh for most wins in a Bowl by one team.

Baltimore has been a perennial playoff team since 2008, under QB Joe Flacco. In years past, the Ravens ran a conservative offense but with new offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, Baltimore exploded under the leadership of Flacco. Ray Rice adds a wrinkle in the offense with smash mouth running and a constant threat to exit the pocket and catch a dump pass for large gains. San Francisco changed QB and, to this point, and enjoyed resounding success. Colin Kaepernick unseated Alex Smith midway through the season with immediate rewards. The 49'ers are able to match the threat of Rice with Frank Gore.

It could be a possibility the Bowl final would be 9-6. (Un)thanks to NFL rules which baby cake the offense, the score should be a tad higher. Yet, touchdowns will be a premium. More points will be from field goals for each team. The key to each team's success will be special teams. Beginning field position will be critical for scoring. The game will start as conservative until the second quarter. A handful of big plays on each side will set up scores. The 1st and goals will determine the winner. Seven points or three points.....will tip the scales.

The game will consist of a moderate amount of turnovers. Maybe one or two in dangerous areas of the field. Field goals will dictate the tempo, but the final score will be by a touchdown. Rice and Gore will receive over twenty carries as each team attempts to dictate the pace of the game and win the time of possession. The final score will be Baltimore 23 - San Francisco 16. Lewis will end his career on top and be remembered as one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL. The Bowl MVP will be on special teams.

With the admission of Lance Armstrong, how does the public perceive sports stars? Many have reservations about stars as Armstrong, along with Mark McGwire, in the view of habitual lying and truth trickling. But the truth comes out only when they are exposed and backed against a wall. Most psychologists will agree, if a spouse is having an affair it is best to own up to it as soon as possible. To a sports fan, Armstrong and McGwire denied culpability as long as they could. Only when it benefited themselves the most, did they have a round table admission.

Three of the four major sports in America saw some type of labor difficulty in the recent years. On top of the fact players and owners are becoming filthy rich at the fan's dime, the dilution of the game's integrity has seen deep cuts. Aside from the profit driven desires of players and owners, many take shortcuts to quicken success and handsome paydays. Heroes in the world of sports today seemed destined to fail. Yet, you can not call it failure when you add in the human conditions.

As a child, I portrayed certain players as heroes and saw them as larger than life. I partially blame myself for this but in my defense, I was young at the time.