The following are the matchups for this week's Beat The Blogger contest. The games will be a wide variety to test your total sports knowledge so study up and make sure you get your picks in before the start of the first game on Saturday.

For those new to the game, you post your picks and hope your total of correct picks can Beat The Blogger's total and is higher than the rest of the field. The winner will receive an authentic signed 8-by-10 photo of LaDainian Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, Drew Brees, Gale Sayers, DeAngelo Williams or Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes among others.

So read through the matchups and make your selections. Don't forget to include a "Doubler" which allows you to designate the pick your most confident in your "Doubler" and you'll receive a bonus point if that pick is correct. Spread the word to your friends and good luck to you all. Also, don't forget to follow the picks of "Kerrin" and "George Stroesenreuther" who are still battling for the top spot and the $350 prize package from last week's Super Bowl Edition after they tied with 9 correct picks each. I'll post the Blogger picks on Thursday so you know what your up against. Good luck.

Saturday                             YOU MAKE THE CALL
Feb. 7
NCAA Basketball
Syracuse at Villanova
Memphis at Gonzaga
Minnesota at Ohio St.
NBA
Miami at Philadelphia
Chicago at Dallas
Sunday
Feb. 8
NCAA Basketball
Purdue at Illinois
NBA
Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland
More points: Kobe Bryant or LeBron James
NHL
Detroit at Pittsburgh
PGA Tour Golf
Who will finish higher at this week's Buick Invitational?
Phil Mickelson or Padraig Harrington

 

Here are the official results of the Beat The Blogger: Super Bowl Edition contest. We established a new record high in number of participants but we weren't able to establish the grand prize winner just yet. The Blogger posted 7 of 10 correct picks to set the bar fairly high but "George Stroesenreuther" and "Kerrin" bested the competition with 9 of 10 correct picks. The regular contest couldn't produce a winner so we went to the tie-breaker to find our grand prize winner but despite the incredible odds against it, both players picked the Cardinals to win and were the exact same number off (21) when predicting the final score. So it will all come down to how the two fare in this week's Beat The Blogger contest. Whoever makes the most correct picks in this game will be the grand prize winner and take home the $350 prize package, with the second-place finisher getting a signed photo of Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes.

For the rest of us, it will be business as usual. I'll post this week's picks on Wednesday and contestants will then need to Beat The Blogger and post the highest number of correct picks among the rest of the field. The person with the highest total among those that Beat The Blogger will win an authentic 8-by-10 signed photo. So look for the matchups to be posted on Wednesday and spread the word about the contest to your friends so we can stay close to the number of participants we had this past week. Thanks for playing and good luck.

1. The outcome of the coin flip will be: Heads
2. The longest field goal will be: 44 yards or less (21 yards)
3. Hines Ward will have: 5 or fewer receptions (2)
4. There will be more points scored in the: second half (26-24)
5. Kurt Warner's passing yards will be: more than 300 yards (377 yards)
6. Willie Parker's rushing total will be: 96 yards or more (53 yards)
7. The Halftime Show will: not end with "Born in the USA" (Glory Days)
8. How many Steelers will catch a pass: 6 or more (8)
9. Either team will score three times in a row: Yes (Cardinals)
10. Will there be a score in the final two minutes of the game: Yes (Holmes)

Took a little extra time so I could soak up all of the Super Bowl coverage I could because it's not every year your favorite team wins the big game. Well, unless your a Steelers fan like I am, then it's basically every fourth year your team wins the big game, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

While I'm ecstatic Pittsburgh survived the Cardinals second-half rally to win its sixth title, I will admit I was a little worried my team had blown it down the stretch. Even after the Steelers took a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, I knew the high-powered Arizona offense was fully capable of a comeback, so I jumped on the roller coaster and rode it until the dramatic end with my Super Bowl feast threatening to reappear on more than one occasion.

Speaking of the end, I'm still a little pissed that the normal official replay protocol was applied on the controversial fumble/incomplete pass by Kurt Warner in the final seconds. While I do believe the ball was coming loose after the hit on Warner which would make the play a fumble (as it was called on the field), it sure would've been nice for the replay officials to have taken a little more time to review the play and then announce their decision to the millions who anxiously awaited it. Instead, we got a hurried booth review that resulted in many Arizona fans and gamblers alike starting chants of a conspiracy.

Fortunately, I'm a Steelers fan who didn't wager on the game so the play being ruled a fumble and effectively ending the game with the Steelers on top didn't cause me any anguise. But, and this is a big but, if I was a Cards fan, I would likely be a little fired up about the way the final play was reviewed. In a normal review that takes place in the final two minutes of a half, the play is automatically reviewed by the replay official and despite rumors to the contrary, the play was in fact reviewed. The mistake that was made, was that for some inexplicible reason, the decision that would help determine the biggest sporting event in the world came back in record time and then was not announced to the millions who awaited it. Why would the NFL get away from the norm when trying to determine the outcome of the Super Bowl? Still not sure about that one.

The current replay system was put in place to get the call right and I believe they ultimately did do that. But in getting away from the normal procedure, the NFL opened up the flood gates to controversy and all of the conspiracy theorists out there. If only they would have taken the same amount of time they had earlier in deciphering the Harrison touchdown and the Holmes catch, came back and announced that the replay had confirmed the call on the field, everybody would've been OK with the decision made. As it stands now, the rushed decision making leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of Arizona fans everywhere, taints a record-breaking accomplishment made by the Steelers and takes away from one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever.    

First off, I wanted to say thanks to all those who attempted to Beat The Blogger in the Super Bowl Edition of the game. We had a record number of participants and one lucky winner will be taking home the $350 prize package.

Because of the record turnout, I'll need another day to tally up the scores and see who Beat The Blogger to win the prizes. I haven't started to check the totals on all of the entries just yet but I did tally up The Blogger's score and he had 7 of 10 correct so those of you who have more than 7 correct answers, you're still in the running. I will post the official results later today or first thing Tuesday so check back to see if you Beat The Blogger.

Big news in the hobby on Tuesday as long-time licensees Topps and Upper Deck were bounced out of the Basketball card market in favor of Italian-based The Panini Group.

The NBA has signed a multi-year, exclusive licensing agreement with The Panini Group, known best as a publisher of sticker products and comic books overseas. The company, headquartered in Modena, Italy, will create a new subsidiary known as Panini America to handle its domestic trading card business.

The deal has been highly scrutinized by collectors, with many under the false impression that both of the card companies are out of the card making business altogether while others are concerned what will happen to each of the company's exclusive deals with some of the game's top players.

Stayed tuned right here to the 7th Inning Stretch blog and www.tuffstuff.com in general for future updates on this story. Until then, post a comment and let us know what your thoughts are concerning the big news.