It's hard to understand why Seattle, down by 11 points with less than a minute remaining in Superbowl XL, would throw two short passes where the receiver wasn't guaranteed to be able to fall out of bounds and stop the clock. Either take a decisive shot at the end zone, or, if Pittsburgh's defense takes away that option, then throw towards the sideline to advance into field goal range and be sure to get out of bounds. It was Matt Hasselbeck's responsibility to put his receiver in optimal position to do that, and it was Mike Holmgren's job to set up his quarterback for success on the play.

Coaches are motivators, and being able to excite your players is a valuable skill for a coach to possess. But at the professional level, the players should be mature enough to bring their own motivation. What players need is a coach who knows how to prepare strategically, react to the opposition's plan mid-game and, most importantly, manage the clock.

We all love Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher for winning his first Super Bowl in 14 seasons, but John Madden and Al Michaels made a great point with about three minutes to go. They noted how foolish Cowher looked celebrating on the sidelines, his team up 11, as if the game were over. A classless move, not to mention an incredibly stupid one, considering the near-total collapse his team almost suffered three weeks ago in the waning minutes of the divisional playoff against Indianapolis.

Bettis takes the 'Bus' home

So many stars continue their careers way too long after their prime. It seems almost an innate quality of great players to possess an ego incapable of realizing when you have hit your peak. Michael Jordan, Mario Lemieux and Brett Favre come to mind in this regard. It was refreshing to watch a star-and, according to all reports, a model citizen and teammate-Jerome Bettis, end his career in the ultimate style: on football's grandest stage, at his clear career peak, and in his hometown, no less.

Stats don't measure guts

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's Super Bowl statistics were less than stellar: 9-of-21 for 123 yards and two interceptions (a quarterback rating of 22.6). Yet, he left his imprint on the game. He absorbed open-field hits in order to run for one extra yard, and he scrambled out of the pocket brilliantly, highlighted by his long first-half cross-field pass. Can you imagine Peyton Manning diving for Roethlisberger's first half running touchdown, or taking a big hit from a linebacker and falling out of bounds?

Superbowl means (some) super ads

Diet Pepsi spent a load of money on some rather uninspiring Super Bowl commercials. With P. Diddy, Jay Mohr and Jackie Chan on their commercial payroll, you'd think they could do better. Other companies fared well: Ameriquest's "Don't Judge Too Quickly" spots provided a few laughs, with a surgeon swatting a fly with a defibrillator and an airplane passenger mistakenly straddling another. I enjoyed watching a dinosaur and a giant robot quit demolishing a city in order to procreate; the result, of course, was a Hummer H3, which, we were told, is a "Little Monster." Sprint scored points when their man's couch caught fire but fortunately had music on his cellphone for the occasion.

Tiger always on the prowl

Two weeks into his 2006 season, Tiger Woods is reminding us that he is a fundamentally different person and player from everyone else on Tour. Something makes him significantly more clutch than his nearest competitor. Last week at the Buick Open in San Diego, Calif., Tiger birdied his final hole to force a playoff, which he won. This week at the Dubai Desert Classic, he birdied 17 and 18 to force a head-to-head playoff with Ernie Els, who folded shortly thereafter. Most players need to execute flawlessly to merely have a chance to win a tournament. Tiger at his worst can lurk near the top of a leaderboard and never be counted out on Sunday.

But as Tiger played internationally this past week, a new surge of yougsters took center stage. At the Phoenix Open, rookie and Q-School winner J.B. Holmes captured the event by seven strokes at the TPC in Scottsdale while fellow newcomer Camilo Villegas tied for second. Both trampled over experienced veterans Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard and now present the PGA Tour with some serious competition. Joined by first-year Bubba Watson, this year's rookie crop of golfers certainly can smash the ball-and one of them has already proven the ability to win-but only time will tell whether these guys can use their power games to guide them to being competative as well as conquering the ultimate challenge: Tiger.

Knicks' payroll is tops but that's about it

The strangest piece of news in the Anucha Browne Sanders and Isiah Thomas sexual harassment lawsuit story is that both Thomas and Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury are accused of calling Browne Sanders a "black bitch." What does race have to do with anything, even if Marbury and Thomas harbored extreme antagonism towards Browne Sanders?

Speaking of Isiah, the Knicks' general manager traded for talented swingman Jalen Rose last week. They gave up over-the-hill and overpaid big man Antonio Davis, which makes the trade seem like a steal for the Knicks. But Davis' $13,860,000 salary would have come off the Knicks' books after this season, since his contract lasts only through 2005-06. Rose, on the other hand, earns $15,694,250 this year and $16,901,500 next year. The Knicks could have saved money but they chose to take on a heavy contract. Which is fine, as long as your team is a move or two away from winning the championship. The Knicks are not in that position. Their $125,959,263 payroll tops the league by a mile, and Isiah's simultaneous acquisitions of hefty contracts and development of young talent like Channing Frye and David Lee are dumbfounding.