Super Bowl With a Smirk: NFL awards & Hall of Fame picks
The 12th NFL Honors awards show is Thursday night hosted by Kelly Clarkson at Phoenix’s Symphony Hall, because nothing says NFL football like symphonies and Kelly Clarkson.
Here are Smirk’s official predictions for the seven biggest awards, but first our picks for the Hall of Fame — because I think the long wait will finally be over for Dolphins great Zach Thomas. I have been hopeful for Zach before, been disappointed every time and could be wrong again. But as I analyze the 15 modern-era finalists, I like his chances.
The four men I feel to be best bets are cornerback Darrelle Revis, offensive tackle Joe Thomas, Zach the tackle machine and defensive end Jared Allen. I give receiver Torry Holt and ex-Hurricane Devin Hester the nextbest shots, despite the latter having been primarily a return man.
Our picks for the big seven awards:
MVP: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes edges out Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen.
Offensive POY: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson by a nose over Dolphin Tyreek Hill. Defensive POY:
49ers DE Nick Bosa snatches the trophy from Cowboy Micah Parsons.
Offensive rookie: Jets WR Garrett Wilson. Defensive rookie: Jets sweep. CB Ahmad (Sauce) Gardner.
Comeback player: Seahawks QB Geno Smith edges Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey. Coach: Eagles’ Nick Sirianni.
[Note: These predictions were made Thursday afternoon, hours before the NFL Honors show.
Just in case you are reading them Friday and I got them all right, I don’t want you to think I cheated].
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Sportsbetting.ag doesn’t waste any time. Bunched early faves for next season’s SB are Chiefs at 6-1, Bills and Eagles both 7-1, 49ers 8-1 and Bengals 9-1. Miami is tied for 11th at 28-1.
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Odds now out for year’s Super Bowl: Warning: Heartwarming story ahead:
Super mom Donna Kelce
led Super Bowl Week’s heartwarming story stakes until “The Today Show” swooped in with the tale of former Marine buddies John Gladwell (a Chiefs fan) and Billy Welsh (an Eagles fan). Two years ago Gladwell donated his kidney to Welsh, saving his life. Sunday, they will be at the game together. “John is my hero,” said Welsh. Kleenex, please.
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Canes sound to Sunday’s broadcast:
Chiefs backup safety Deon Bush is the only former Hurricane in Sunday’s Super Bowl, but The U will have two major players on the Fox broadcast. In addition to former coach Jimmy
Johnson on the five-hour (!) pregame show, exCanes tight end Greg Olsen and Kevin Burkhardt are now Fox’s No. 1 yakking tandem and will call the game, thanks to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman moving from Fox to ESPN this year.
Signs it’s late in Super
● Bowl Week and the media is running out of stories: NBC Sports just ranked the 57 Super Bowl logos.
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Zoo animals make their SB picks:
Topeka Zoo’s Rudy the orangutan and baby giraffe Bakari of Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, both predicted a Chiefs victory in annual zoo stunts this week. However, groundhog Lady Edwina from the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey, chose the Eagles. (Disclaimer: Lady Edwina is known in zoo circles for a gambling problem and also has undergone therapy over an inability to contain a deep-seated jealousy of celebrity groundhog Punxsutawney Phil.)
Prop bets gone crazy:
● The are as many as 10,000 prop bets available for Sunday’s game, such as Rihanna’s first song at halftime, with “Diamonds” the fave at +250. Smirk’s favorite prop bet? The higher number: Total touchdowns in Super Bowl, or number of first-half corner kicks in Liverpool vs. Everton.
Officials warn of
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counterfeit merchandise: Super Bowl security officials have warned of counterfeit tickets and merchandise associated with Sunday’s game. An example given: If you spent $4,000 from a guy in a parking lot on a Super Bowl ticket that seemed unusually small and read,
AMC Theaters / Black Panther: Wakanda Forever / Admit One — it could be a fake.
Smirk Super-poll
● result: Ouch. Sorry, Rihanna: We asked in a 1-hour flash Twitter poll which you’d choose Sunday evening between the TV commercials or the halftime show if you could watch only one or the other, not both. Sorry, Rihanna! Your halftime show lost to the commercials by 60 to 40 percent.
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‘Taste of the NFL’ switches up the menu:
The annual “Party With a Purpose,” a fundraiser for end-hunger causes, has a new format featuring celebrity chefs but no longer a chef from each NFL city making a dish repping their region. (Bad year to stop that, considering Philly cheesesteaks and KC barbecue are so iconic.) The move away from team-affiliated dishes is traced to a 2016 incident in which the Patriots chef was accused of deflating the souffles of rival cooks
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Super Bowl Party Tip du Jour:
Theme parties are popular. Call your Super Bowl gathering “Fireside Sunday,” with no TVs on or smart phones allowed and all the lights off as your guests gather around an oldtimey radio and listen to the Super Bowl as if it were fireside chat by FDR in 1938.
Greg Cote: 305-376-3492, @gregcote