North Carolina Wins 2009 National Championship

Matt Pugliese

Tar Heels Win National Championship

They started off as the first college basketball team ever to be the unanimous preseason number one in the nation.  Four months later that is the way the North Carolina Tar Heels ended the season. The Tar Heels defeated the Michigan State Spartans 89-72 to capture their 5th National Championship, and their 2nd in the last five years.

Last year, the Tar Heels went to the Final Four in San Antonio and got blown out by Kansas 84-66. At one point in the game, the Heels were down 40-12. After that game, there were rumors of four key UNC players would move on to the NBA. Well, after consideration, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green all decided to come back and do what they set out to do at North Carolina. Win a National Championship.

This year, they would not be denied that ring. They rolled through the competition going 34-4 and reaching that National Championship Game. The Final Four was held in Detroit, and what a place to have this event. Detroit is going through a tough time right now, so to have the Final Four in Detroit is special. Making it even more special  is  seeing a team from Michigan in the National Championship Game.

For Michigan State, the Cinderella run was over as the National Championship Game was a blowout from the start. Tyler Hansbrough scored 18 points, Ellington had 19, and Lawson led all scorers with 21 points. He also set a Final Four record with 8 steals in the game. At one point, the Tar Heels led 36-13 and from that point on Michigan State didn’t get within 13 points.

Tyler Hansbrough Goes Out in Style Winning a National Championship

“Sounds like I made a pretty good decision,” said Hansbrough regarding coming back for his senior year. “Nothing beats this feeling right here.”

The Tar Heels set numerous records in the game. They scored the most points at the half with 55. They were up by 21 points at halftime, which was also a record. They won every tournament game by double-digits, which hadn’t been done since Duke in 2001.

Head coach of the Tar Heels Roy Williams was emotional during the post game press conference.

“Roy Williams is not that good. But boy, ol’ Roy’s got some big time players. That’s what it takes.”

He later talked about Tyler Hansbrough and what he has meant to the University.

“I desperately wanted this championship for that young man. I know it’s corny, but that’s who I am.”

Head Coach Tom Izzo of Michigan State just stated the facts.

“The best team won. That’s an easy statement to make.”

Lawrence Williams, junior on the Marist Basketball team watched the championship game. “That was one of the most dominant performances I have ever seen. A Championship Game is supposed to be competitive, and that game was over from the opening tip. Great overall game by North Carolina.”

Dave Gentile watched the game and had thought North Carolina was just in a different class. ” The whole year we talked about Carolina and how good they actually are. They were the best team all year and proved it Monday night. That was unbelievable. Michigan State never had a shot.”

This game concludes the 2008-09-college basketball season. Here is a review of the 2009 NCAA Tournament called One Shining Moment.

Marist Women’s Lacrosse Handles Iona; Improves to 2-1 in MAAC

Marist Women's Lacrosse

By: Kevin Traynor

After jumping to a 4-0 lead, the Marist women’s lacrosse team never relinquished their lead on route to an 11-7 victory over Iona. The win improved their record to 2-1 in the MAAC and 7-2 overall on the season.

Out of the gate, senior attacker, Kate Noftsker (Needham, Mass) opened the game scoring twice unassisted and tallied 4 by the final whistle on 6 shots.

However, Iona battled back to pull within 2 with 9 minutes remaining in the first half behind the efforts of Casey Scully and Kerry Thompson. This would be the closest Iona would get for the rest of the afternoon.

Marist answered with goals by Lauren Ciccarello (St. Anthony’s, NY) and Jori Procaccini (West Morris Central, NJ) opening their lead to 7-4 going into halftime.

Nofsker struck again early in the second half to improve Marist’s lead to 8-4, but Iona quickly responded to pull the lead back within 3 after Iona midfielder, Elizabeth Coholan, beat Marist goaltender, freshman, Kelsey Thoms (Newark, NJ).

Marist flexed their lead as they went on a 3 goal run midway through the second half as Ariel Kramer (West Gennesee, NY), Jessica Guarino (Wantagh, NY) and Erin Wilson (Ida, Mich) scored to make it 11-5 with 5 minutes remaining. Kramer and Guarino’s goals were both assisted by senior, Stephanie Garland (West Morris Central, NJ), who finished with 3 assists.

Iona rallied scoring two goals late, but it was not enough to surpass the Red Foxes. Keeper Kelsey Thoms anchored a tight defense while saving 8 shots.

Marist dominated every aspect of the game. They lead in every major category: groundballs, shots, clears and extra man opportunities.

The Marist women’s lacrosse team continues their conference schedule at Fairfield University this Friday at 3:30 pm.

Beyond the Game

By: Joe Walsh

From rushthecourt.net.

For every college basketball team, their conference tournament is crucial to their goal of reaching the NCAA tournament. For every other college student, it’s an excuse to travel, cheer on your team, and of course party.

“Last year, a bunch of friends and I went up to my house near Albany where the tournament was,” Marist College junior Jeff Bode said. “Since it was in Albany again this year, I felt we had to make another trip, so we went up on Friday for the night.”

Marist’s conference tournament for the MAAC took place from March 5 to 9 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. Both the men’s and women’s teams strived for an NCAA tournament bid. The men’s team lost in the quarterfinals to Niagra with a score of 79 to 50, losing their shot at the big dance. The women’s team won the championship against Canisius with a score of 78 to 63. Later, the Marist women were given a 12 seed for the NCAA tournament.

Marist women win the MAAC tournament. From yimg.com.

“Yeah, the guys did lose in the quarterfinals,” said Eric Troiano, a junior at Marist. “The good thing was we got to see them win the night we went up during the first round; we went nuts. The six of us who went wanted to catch the women’s game too since they are sick, but it was too early in the day and two people still had class at that point.”

Troiano was quick to move on from the basketball tournament to his personal experience.

“Bode’s parents treated us like royalty,” he added. “When we pulled up, I just expected to be hanging out there for a while eating chips and drinking soda or something. Little do we know that there is an all out three course meal sitting on the table when we walk in! It was amazing to eat so much great food since I cook for myself mostly, and it’s not that good.”

Michael Maresca, a junior, went to Bode’s last year for the tournament, but is currently abroad in Florence, Italy. He also experienced a quality meal and “great company.”

“I wish I could have come this year,” Maresca said. “Even though the excuse was to go see our basketball teams play, it really wasn’t about that. It’s not like everyone at a Super Bowl party is there for the football. My favorite parts of that weekend were hanging out with my friends in an environment that isn’t like school. We rarely get the chance to all chill at someone’s house which is a lot nicer than the dorm feel of college.”

Recreation of the meal served at the Bode house. From foodstuffs.com.

While the games had a record attendance of 50,820 spectators, it seems that those who spoke to The River Reporter consistently talked about the totality of their time spent off Marist’s campus; not just the two hours of basketball they watched. Probably for good reason. It would seem like a waste to only focus one’s energy on two hours of a trip that lasted over 24 hours.

“I think it’s the most logical time to leave for a bit,” said Ben Thiefels, a junior and RA at Marist. “We have been at school for six weeks straight and mid terms are coming up. It’s a nice way to get your mind off school for a bit to recharge. Pretty much the opposite of the pressure our basketball players were under. Guess I feel bad for them regarding that aspect.”

The “Bode Experience,” as it has been called, provided not only a place for Marist students to sleep after the game, but a bonding experience that coming together over sports provides beyond the games themselves.

“I can’t believe that many people went this year,” Michael Maresca said. “I hope we weren’t the only ones having that good of a time. That would be a shame. Man, I love sports.”

Marist Women Basketball Team Win the MAAC, Men Go Out Early

By: Matt Pugliese

Marist Women Win the 2009 MAAC Tournament

This season has been a tale of two teams. The Marist Men’s Basketball team has been used to winning in the past couple years. This year has been much different.

Coach Matt Brady left the team in the off season to pursue the head-coaching job at James Madison University. Chuck Martin, who was the assistant coach for the national runner-up for the Memphis Tigers, took over for Brady and became the new head coach of the Marist Red Foxes. He looked to lead the Red Foxes to the NCAA Tournament.

The men’s basketball team finished the season at 10-23. They started off the season win a rollercoaster beginning. Exchanging wins and losses, they looked to stop the losing and challenge in the MAAC regular season. There was a tough patch in the season that really hurt this team.

From January 15 to February 9, the Marist men did not win a game. With the season ending, they looked to win their last home game for the fans and for the two seniors. The two seniors on the team are Kaylen Gregory and Ryan Schneider. Marist defeated the Harford Hawks 57-35 on senior night. They now looked to do damage in the MAAC Tournament.

The Marist men were the 10 seed in the MAAC Tournament and would first take on the 7 seed Iona. It was a very

Schneider Becomes Part of Marist 1000 Point Club

low scoring game; in fact, it was the lowest scoring output between two teams since 1985. The previous record was help by Fordham and Manhattan when they put up a combined 86 points in a 44-42 overtime win for the Fordham Rams. The Marist team defeated Iona by a score of 43-40. Ryan Schneider led the way for Marist with 14 points. They now looked to score another upset when they took on Niagara.

The Marist dream of another upset of second seeded Niagara ended abruptly when Niagara defeated Marist 79-50. The Purple Eagles (25-7)  lead wire-to-wire and went on a 10-0 second half run to put the game out of reach. There was some good news to come out of this game however. Ryan Schneider scored 12 points to reach 1000 points in his illustrious Marist career.

Lawrence Williams said that they would look rebound next year from a disappointing season.

” I felt like this was a transition year for us. A new coach, and some new freshmen coming into our program this year it were tough to win games. The conference was at in all time high. We are losing the two seniors in Gregory and Schneider but I feel like we will have a good season next year. “

The Marist women took a different approach to the season. They look to rebound from last years 2^nd round loss to LSU. LSU went on to the Final Four. The women started off the season strong going 3-0 to begin the season. They faced their true tough test of the season very early going to Norman, Oklahoma to face the number 2 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. They would not come out on top, losing 83-57. The season would change dramatically.

After that crushing blow, the Red Foxes went on to win 14 straight games before losing their next game to Fairfield 73-65 in overtime. They finished the season winning six straight games before entering the MAAC Tournament. They were the prohibited favorite to win this tournament and get back into the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.

They started the tournament defeating Loyola 81-27. They allowed the fewest points in their existence of being in the Division 1 of the NCAA. The previous low was on December 10,2006 when they defeated Manhattan 70-30. Rachel Fitz led the team scoring 15 points. There were five players in double-figures for the Red Foxes. Nest challenge was Iona in the MAAC Semifinals.

The Marist women could not be stopped in the semifinals. They wanted to repeat as champions and they defeated Iona 76-69. Again Rachel Fitz was the story in the game. She dominated Iona scoring 29 points and had a career high in rebounds with 18. Julianne Viani also had a great game scoring 19 points and had 4 assists. The only thing stopping Marist from their fourth straight MAAC Championship were the Canisius Golden Griffins.

Viani Named Tournament MVP

Marist defeated Canisius 78-63 to win their fourth straight MAAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The team got 22 points for their guard Viani, who was also named tournament MVP. Rachel Fitz and Erica Allenspach were named to the All-Tournament team. Marist will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in four years.

Marist Sophomore Chris Reynolds is excited to see the women back in the big dance.

“Two years ago, I remember them making noise by making it to the Sweet 16. Last year they played a tough team in LSU. They are now on the map and I am going to look forward to seeing them in the tournament and possibly making it to the Final Four for the first time in Marist history.”

The women finished the season 29-3 and have more work to do to add to their already incredible record.

There is no off-season.

By Kevin Traynor

Marist Football

A bit militaristic, the alarm sounds at cheery 5:30 AM inside L2 in Lower New. Marco Veintimilla stumbles out of bed, puts on his sweats, and treks across the barely lit campus green en route to McCann to grab a lift with the football team.

It’s only Monday.

Along with 30 or so guys, Marco wanders into the basketball gym where the Strength and Conditioning Coach, Coach White, leads the team through dynamic stretches.

“Cocky walk is my favorite,” Veintimilla said. “Although, I’m not really sure what it does for you, but it sounds sweet, and I just get to wave my arms and bounce.”

After stretching, some of the assistant coaches and Coach White set up some drills that build strength and speed. The drills vary from dot drills to tire flips.

“The tire flips are actually easier than you’d think,” Veintimilla said.

The morning is only half over at this point. Now it’s time to hit the weights.

In the beginning of the off-season, Coach White distributes a specific sheet to the offense and defense, which lists the day, the exercise and the repetitions. Each player is responsible for their own sheet and to write down the amount of weight accomplished per set.

To give you a perspective, on Day 1, the defense starts with box squats, OH squats, bench press, seated military press, reverse flys, low pulley external rotation, and then they finish with shoulder pre-hab.

“We usually finish up in an hour or so,” Veintimilla said. “It’s pretty remarkable what you can accomplish in an hour of work. Coach White hassles us throughout the lift to make sure we do each rep, and do it right.”

This trend continues through Tuesday, but obviously with different exercises. However, Wednesday is a different story altogether.

“Wednesday is conditioning day,” Veintimilla said. “We go in the basketball gym again, and do a bunch of cone drills followed by 16 minutes of running.”

The 16 minutes of running is regulated by a coach’s whistle. The team runs for 16 minutes straight. The first whistle means you have to sprint. The second whistle means slow down into a jog.

“Some kids complain about it, but it really isn’t that bad,” Veintimilla said.

Meetings follow Wednesday’s conditioning, but the meetings aren’t all film and rhetoric.

“We do some bonding in those meetings,” Veintimilla said. “Coach makes us get up and talk about ourselves a little bit now and again. It’s a big team, so it’s important to get to know everyone.”

Thursday and Friday is more of the same, as the team continues to stretch, work in the big gym and lift.

To keep the team upbeat and competitive, the coaches provide some incentives. The team is broken down into six teams. They compete in different excercises for the best times and stats. The winners earn dinner at Red Robin.

“People take it pretty serious,” Veintimilla said. “It gets pretty heated. Everyone wants that free dinner.”

Division 1 athletics is not all glamorous. Hard work defines success, and these guys put in the time.

“Sure, it’s hard work, and it can wear on you, but when the Fall rolls around, and the lights are on, it’s all worth it,” Veintimilla said.

Really A-Rod? Really?

By: Kevin Traynor

The first day of the Yankee’s spring training has become a day where the latest Yankee admits and apologizes for using performance enhancing drugs. Last year was Andy Pettitte’s turn. This year, it was A-Rod’s.

“I knew we weren’t taking Tic Tac’s,” said Rodriguez in his press conference in Tampa.

Rodriguez at Tampa press conference

A-Rod admitted to using “Boli” from 2001-2003, which he also claimed his cousin purchased over-the-counter in the Dominican Republic.

However, in an interview for ESPNdeportes.com, Dr. Pia Veras who is an official for a pharmaceutical regulatory agency in the Dominican Republic said that Primobolan or “Boli” was not available during the period that A-Rod claims.

“It is important for us to clarify that such substance has not been registered and is not currently registered for legal sale in Dominican pharmacies—not now and the years 2001-2003,” Veras said.

Unlike Primobolan, a different steroid was available for purchase over-the-counter: Testosterone.

ESPN Deportes went on to identify Rodriguez’ cousin as Yuri Scurat. They called his residence, and his wife identified him as the man referred to as A-Rod’s cousin.

 

Angel Persinal

In addition to the Primobolan confusion, it was discovered that Rodriguez had been working out with Angel Persinal: a trainer from the Domincan Republic who was mentioned in the Mitchell Report for steroid connections, and banned from every Major League ball park in 2001.

According to ESPN, Persinal is connected with many Domincan baseball players including Francisco Cordero, Robinson Cano and David Ortiz.

“This place where he works out is a facility that’s like five minutes away from my house,” Ortiz said, according to the Boston Herald. “It’s like an Olympic place where everyone goes and hits, runs, gets all their work in. It’s like in the middle of everyone’s houses, so we all go down there and work out. He’s a good trainer. He’s the guy that teaches you how to train, how to get your body ready to go. Besides that, I have no idea about any of this.”

Persinal admitted to working out with A-Rod in accordance with the years in question.

A-Rod aimed to clear the air with his press conference, but in doing so has poked more holes in his story. Many fans still remain skeptical as a result.

“I love A-Rod, but he has to stop lying,” said Katie Melia who is a die-hard A-Rod supporter and Johns Hopkins student. “He would’ve been better off if he followed in Andy’s (Pettitte) footsteps, and told the whole truth. We probably would have forgiven him.”

But maybe A-Rod is right. Maybe we should just worry about his career from this day forward.

 

Spud Webb? No, Nate Robinson.

By: Kevin Traynor

Lots of people can catch a football. Even more people can hit a baseball, but not everyone can dunk.

Since 1984, the NBA has annually celebrated their kings of flight during the All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest. Winners have varied in height and notoriety, but the feat still brings crowds to their feet.

“Jordan flew,” said Shaun Dunn, a student at Siena College. “Last year Dwight Howard jumped from the free throw line, but Jordan actually flew.”

1988 Slam Dunk Champion: His Airness

In 1988, trailing with only one dunk left, Jordan looked lost. Then a familiar face offered some advice from the sideline. Julius Erving, the first person to throw down from the free throw line, told MJ to take off from the charity stripe. Jordan won with a perfect score.

Since then, Jordan has become the measuring stick to which every other dunker is held to.

This year did not lack in excitement.

After near perfect scores in the preliminary round, both Dwight Howard and Nate Robinson wanted to bring an extra element to their spectacle.

Howard stormed into a phone booth and re-emerged as his alter ego: Superman. Donned in a cape, Howard proceeded to throw down an alley-oop off-the-glass pass on a twelve foot hoop. Need I remind you that Howard is a casual 6-foot-10?

Robinson’s rebuttal was a thing of beauty. Clad in green, Robinson was the remedy needed to dethrone the reigning champ.

“Wait a minute,” said Tyler Thurston, a Marist junior. “Is he wearing Kryptonite green?”

Krypto-Nate

Anchored in the paint, Howard stood still as Robinson readied for take off at mid court. With the green light from the tower, Robinson darted down the court, and cleanly leaped the foot taller Howard. The U.S. Airways Center erupted.

Did I mention that the ball he used was green too?

Howard had a chance to win, but his two-handed slam from just inside the free throw line was not enough to regain the lead.

Embolden in Kyrptonite green, the small man, Robinson, won 52% of the fan’s votes en route to victory.

This round went to Lex Luther.

 

Kobe and LeBron Stellar Performances at MSG

By: Matt Pugliese

Kobe and LeBron During a Game

The New York Knicks had one of the worst weeks since their existence in the NBA. They let two pf the greatest players in the NBA go on a scoring spree. First, it was Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. On February 2, Kobe had a Madison Square Garden record 61 points in 126-117 Lakers win. Bryant shot 19 of 31 from the floor and shot an astounding 20 of 20 from the free throw line.

The Knicks crowd started chanting, “MVP!” Bryant said, “It’s a blessing to do what you love and to have moments like this.” Bryant passed former Knick Bernard King, who had 60 points, for the most all-time at Madison Square Garden.

Two days later, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers came to New York to face off against the Knicks, and what a show he would put on. James finished the game with 52 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. James was credited with a triple-double, but it was later found that his teammate Ben Wallace grabbed a rebound instead of LeBron. James shot 17-33 from the field, and went 16-19 from the free throw line. The Cavaliers defeated the Knicks 107-102.

James said after the game, “I don’t go out there for the numbers, I just play my game, you guys seen every phase of my game tonight, the scoring, the rebounding, the assists and defensively just trying to attack the opposing team.”

So, whom would you rather have on your team?

“I would rather have LeBron, he’s only 24 years old, and the guy puts up incredible numbers every night, said Tyler DeBari a junior at Marist College. He is just so entertaining. He makes me want to watch the game of basketball.”

David Gentile says, “That is a tough call because both players posses so much talent. I would say this; I would want LeBron for 46 minutes. Then when it came down to taking the final shot to win the game, I would have to go with Kobe. “

The Lakers and Cavaliers played Sunday in what was in epic battle. The Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 101-91 ending the Cavaliers 23 game unbeaten home wining streak. Kobe had 19 points while LeBron only had 16. Both didn’t have their best performance of the season, but the Lakers defeated the Cavs twice this season. This is a difficult question to answer, we will sire find the answer later down the road when these two teams may end up facing each other for the NBA Championship.

Steroids Aren’t a Big Deal, Right?

By: Kevin Traynor

Who is arguably better than that Ruth guy, has a chance to surpass Bonds on the all-time home runs list, and a three time American League MVP, but has allegedly taken steroids? Answer: Alex Rodriguez.

Sports Illustrated has reported that the Yankee’s third baseman tested positive for two forms of anabolic steroids during his 2003 AL MVP season with the Texas Rangers.

 

Rodriguez with the Rangers

The testing occurred during a period when the MLB was in its infancy of deciding whether to implement a league drug testing policy. Although A-Rod failed the drug test, no penalties were issued because baseball had not set up regulations.

Selena Roberts of SI asked Rodriguez for a comment, but he declined.

“You’ll have to talk to the union,” Rodriguez said.

Already amply disliked by the candid crowds found at hallowed Yankee Stadium for his post season performances, or lack thereof, A-Rod now has to battle a whole new batch of insults.

“What are we calling him these days,” said Jim Traynor, an avid Mets fan. “Is it A-Rod or A-Roid? Personally, I like the latter.”

As bad as this is for A-Rod’s image, it has to be worse for Major League Baseball.

It seems that the nation has quickly forgotten Barry Bonds’ days as a Pittsburgh Pirate where he was a wiry kid who led the league in steals. A few years, and  a few pounds of muscle later, Bonds now faces federal perjury charges for his involvement in steroids.

“Since the whole Bonds controversy, A-Rod was supposed to be baseball’s saving grace,” said Nick Romeo, a junior at Marist College. “He was supposed to prove that you didn’t need steroids to put up the numbers. I guess, maybe, you do.”

 

According to the SI report, there are 104 names on the list aside from Rodriguez’. Many of A-Rod’s current and past teammates were already mentioned in the Mitchell Report last year.

 

A-Rod at batting practice with the Yankees

Perhaps we should affix asterisks to the records set during this ‘Steroid Era’ of baseball like we did to the man who had the longest tenure as record holder for single season home runs: Roger Maris.

“Baseball doesn’t need records to be broken in order to be exciting,” said Marco Veintimilla, a junior football player at Marist College. “It needs to exalt players like Ken Griffey Jr. who have put up monster numbers, but have lacked the notoriety that the steroid guys got. We need to talk up the people who did it right.”

For now, we are left with tainted heroes, who despite what the record books say, may not even garner entry into Cooperstown.

The old Yankee Stadium had a section called the ‘Bleacher Creatures’ who sat out in right field, and would chant the names of their favorite players until they acknowledged them. This summer, I doubt they’ll be chanting A-Rod. Maybe they’ll chant “A-Roid!”

 

 

One for the Other Thumb

By Matt Pugliese

And we thought after Super Bowl 42 that no other Super Bowl could ever come close to having the same thrilling conclusion. Well, it only took 1 year until we had another spectacular Super Bowl. In Super Bowl 43, The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23, in an epic battle of two teams that so desperately wanted to win the game. Visit the ESPN overview here.

Santonio Holmes made an unbelievable 6-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left in the game to win their sixth Super Bowl Championship, the most all-time. The Steelers won their second Super Bowl in the last four years.

The Steelers led the game 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see the Cardinals stage an incredible comeback. The dynamic duo of Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald provided a spark for the Cardinals that they desperately needed. Warner hooked up with Fitzgerald for a 1 yard touchdown catch to make the score 20-14. Then with 3 minutes left in the game, the Steelers were penalized for offensive holding in their own end zone, which resulted in safety.

With the score 20-16, not only did the safety result in a change of the score, it also meant that the Cardinals would get the ball back. On the second play from scrimmage, Warner found Fitzgerald for a 64 yard touchdown, making the score now 23-20 Cardinals.

Fitzgerald would have to watch and rely on his defense to win them the game and ultimately make the Cardinals Super Bowl champions. The Steelers on the other hand have a quarterback named Ben Roethlisberger, and he wanted to add another ring to his already fantastic resume.

He engineered a 78-yard touchdown drive to win it all and add another Super Bowl ring to the historic franchise. The Steelers surpassed the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys, to now have six Super Bowl Championships to their five.

David Gentile, a junior at Marist College said, “That was one of the greatest Super Bowls that I have ever seen. Besides last years game, I cannot remember a game that was filled with that much excitement.

The momentum of the game changed when the Cardinals were going into score with only 18 seconds left in the first half. With the score 10-7 the Cardinals were destined to score a touchdown. They got all the way to the 3-yard line, when Warner was looking for a streaking Anquan Boldin in the end zone. He found Steelers linebacker, and Defensive MVP, James Harrison who ran the ball back 100 yards for a Steelers touchdown to end the half and make the score 17-7. This was the longest play in Super Bowl history.

Mike Caiola, a junior at Marist College said, “That was the turning point in the game. If the Cardinals had scored and made it 14-10 going into halftime, they would have had all the momentum and it probably would have changed the whole complexion of the game.”

Pittsburgh looked like the offensive juggernaut to open the game, smoothly driving 71 yards in eight plays. But the 72nd yard that would have given the Steelers a touchdown never came.

It seemingly had when Roethlisberger’s short run was ruled a TD. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt challenged, and the score was overturned, leaving head coach Mike Tomlin his first difficult decision. He took the points; Jeff Reed’s 18-yard field goal was the shortest in a Super Bowl since 1976.

After forcing a punt, the Steelers kept the ball the remainder of the first quarter outgaining Arizona 140-13, getting seven first downs to one for the Cardinals. As Warner and the usually dominant Cardinals’ offense watched, frustrated, from the sideline, Pittsburgh drove it in on Gary Russell’s 1-yard run to make it 10-0.

Warner had enough time to shine, as the newly crowned NFL Man of the Year, hit Anquan Boldin streaking from left to right. He was upended at the Pittsburgh 1, and Warner’s lob to Ben Patrick got Arizona on the board. It was the tight end’s first touchdown this season.

The Steelers denied the Cardinals their first NFL title since 1947 when they were the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals hadn’t played in a championship game of any kind since 1948.

Penalties are what ultimately doomed the Cardinals. They had 11 penalties, which resulted in 106 penalty yards. The Steelers had seven penalties for 56 yards.

Santonio Holmes was named Super Bowl MVP. He finished the game with nine catches for 131 yards and the game-winning touchdown. Larry Fitzgerald had seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

A former Marist football player, Mike Zambrano, said, “Both teams really came to play, and gave the fans a great show. Just when it looked like the Steelers had the Cardinals down and out, the Cardinals came back and proved that they belonged there. Ultimately, the better team prevailed, and the Steelers are a great team. This was truly a great game, and will be a classic for years to come.”