Beckham coming back to LA Galaxy

David Beckham is coming back to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The English midfielder will return to the MLS team next month as scheduled after his two-month loan agreement with AC Milan ends despite his wish to stay in Italy.

Tim Leiweke, president of Galaxy parent AEG, said Friday the Italian club didn't make a second offer to the Galaxy to keep Beckham so the team will adhere to MLS commissioner Don Garber's Friday deadline to resolve the situation.

The Galaxy had earlier rejected Milan's only offer.

"We didn't receive an offer today," Leiweke told The Associated Press by phone from Colorado. "We will abide by the commissioner's wishes, so we are clear at this point that we don't want to have any further conversations."

Leiweke said he had discussions with Milan officials earlier in the week, but heard nothing from them Friday.

"They clearly were looking at this as a football decision and we were looking at it as a football and business decision," he said.

"I'm not sure they ever quite understood the magnitude of the losses the Galaxy and the league would have had to bear this season. They were very respectful discussions. We're fine. There's no issues here."

Leiweke said he had not spoken directly to Beckham, but that he informed the player's representatives the loan would not be made permanent. Beckham's five-year Galaxy contract is owned by MLS, and he is due in the team's training camp on March 9.

"I know David is emotionally invested, but I don't think Milan really was that interested in spending the money we would have had to receive to compensate us for our losses," Leiweke said.

"We need David to honor the contract and come home and let's stop the distraction."

Leiweke said Beckham will likely be disappointed by the outcome, but added that "David is a professional. He will get his arms around this and he will come back here."

Beckham had said he wanted to stay with Milan in a bid to play one more World Cup with England in South Africa next year.

"He can probably still accomplish that as well by being here in 2009," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said Friday before the resolution was announced.

"We look forward to having him back with the club," Arena said in a statement issued Friday night.

Leiweke confirmed that Beckham has a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave at the end of this year.

"Clearly the risk is we may lose him at the end of the year," Leiweke said. "Our hope is the team surprises him and we're a lot better than last year."

Beckham arrived injured amid much hoopla in July 2007, but he had no goals and two assists as the Galaxy finished with a 9-14-7 record that was third-worst in the league. Last season, Beckham had five goals and 10 assists, but the Galaxy's 8-13-9 record tied for the worst in MLS.

Beckham was injured last season, when he left the Galaxy at various times for appearances with England's national team.

Garber said this week he wanted Beckham's future resolved by Friday or he would not approve any transfer between the two teams.

"The negotiations are over and we move on," Leiweke said. "We look forward to seeing David back in camp. We need to have a good season and we need to live up to a higher expectation."

Leiweke said the Galaxy's sponsors and season ticket holders were clamoring for a conclusion to the saga.

"We heard loud and clear this week from our contractual partners that they wanted an end to this," he said. "We need to pay a little bit of attention to the league and Galaxy now."

The Galaxy opens the MLS season at home March 22 against DC United.

3 Moves to Rev Your Metabolism

3 Moves to Rev Your Metabolism


Blast Fat Faster than Ever Before
Ignite Your Metabolism
Burn Fat All Day Long

This workout from Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S., M.Sc., the owner of turbulencetraining.com, works your entire body in only three exercises. Complete the sequence, rest one minute, and repeat as many times as you can in 15 minutes.

1. Dumbbell Split Squat

Holding a pair of dumbbells with your arms hanging at your sides, stand in a staggered stance, your right foot in front of your left. Keeping your torso upright, lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Raise yourself back up into the staggered stance and complete a total of eight repetitions. Switch legs and repeat.



2. Cross-Body Mountain Climber

Assume a pushup position, your body forming a straight line from your head to your heels. Brace your abs—you'll hold them that way for the entire exercise. Now pull your left knee as close as you can to your right shoulder, without allowing your hips to sag. Return to the starting position and repeat, this time raising your right knee toward your left shoulder. That's one rep. Complete a total of 10.



3. Chinup with Kneeup

Grab a chinup bar with an underhand grip (palms facing your body). Do a pullup so your chest reaches the bar, while also raising your knees to your chest. Then slowly lower your body and return to the start. If you can't complete a chinup, simply raise your knees while hanging from the bar. Complete 10 reps, or as many as you can.

Sergio Martinez D12 Kermit Cintron

Junior middleweight
Sergio Martinez D12 Kermit Cintron
Retains an interim junior middleweight title
Scores: 113-113 (twice), 116-110 Martinez
Records: Martinez, 44-1-2, 24 KOs; Cintron, 30-2-1, 27 KOs

Ladies, gents and Fight Freaks, we have our first serious candidate for robbery of the year. This was no draw. Martinez easily beat Cintron, and he did it twice. The 33-year-old from Argentina first deserved a knockout at the end of the seventh round, which was horrifically overturned by referee Frank Santore in an egregious error, and then he deserved a clear decision against Cintron, a former welterweight titleholder moving up in weight. Between them, Martinez and Cintron had only lost to Antonio Margarito -- Martinez getting stopped by him in 2000 and Cintron getting knocked out by him in 2005 and 2008. Facing each other, they figured to make a good fight, but it turned out to be a bit disappointing and was mired in bad officiating all around.



First, Santore blew the call on the cut Cintron suffered over his left eye early in the fight, ruling it was from a punch when HBO's replay showed it was clearly produced by an accidental head butt. Then, at the end of the seventh, Martinez seemed to score a knockout. He drilled Cintron with a clean left hand, Cintron wobbled backward and went down. With Cintron on his knees, Santore counted, reached 10, waved his arms and declared the fight over. Cintron argued, claiming he was hit by a head butt and Santore bought the nonsense after a delay. The video replays clearly showed there was nothing other than Martinez's left hand nailing Cintron. Amazingly, after a 2½-minute break between rounds to clear the ring, the fight resumed. It became more spirited because Martinez was clearly ticked off to have been robbed of a clean knockout.



HBO's announcers continually talked about the knockout and presented video replays from various angles, but there was not one replay that showed Cintron was clearly off the floor before Santore reached 10. Besides, once a ref says "10," that's it, the fight is over. Look at this as if it were an NFL game and a coach challenged a ruling. In the NFL, without a definitive replay showing otherwise, the ruling on the field stands. Same deal here as there was no definitive evidence that Cintron was up and Santore had ended the fight. Period.



Still, the fight continued and Martinez was outboxing Cintron, 29, who could do little but follow him around the ring. Clearly, he never had a lesson from anyone about trying to cut off the ring. In the 12th round, Santore docked Martinez for hitting behind the head in a ticky-tack call because it was not on purpose, not damaging and he hadn't given him a previous hard warning. That point deduction cost Martinez the fight. This was a highway robbery in every way -- from the knockout that was overturned to the weak point deduction to the horrible scoring.



Martinez, who, as interim titleholder, is the mandatory challenger for Vernon Forrest, deserves his title shot immediately. Cintron showed very little in the fight and promoter Lou DiBella, who also promotes Martinez and was therefore not in his usual volcanic state over the decision, said Cintron would return to the welterweight division, where he could wind up facing Miguel Cotto this summer if Cotto wins his vacant title bout with Michael Jennings on Saturday

Get Abs Fast, A trio of strategies to make your midsection a work of six-pack art.

Sometimes the hardest part about working your abs isn't all the exercise involved; it's figuring out which exercises best meet your momentary needs.
Sculpting the kind of washboard waistline every guy desires doesn't require you to always follow the same road every other guy took to get there. It's hard to stay committed enough to see results if you're not in tune with a program from the start. That's why having a few ab routines to choose from can help you determine the best approach for you.

We asked our experts for routines that address the most common ways men work out. What they gave us were three that cover the gamut.


If you're a gym rat who needs his ab routine to be as tough as the rest of his workout, we've got you covered.
For the guy who likes exercising at home without having to rely on any equipment, we've got that, too.
And if you've tried every possible routine out there and need something new to challenge your abs, then get ready for a three-move plan that may seem more appropriate for a day-care center but will leave you crying like a baby.
Can't decide exactly what category you fall into? Then you've got the best of all options. You can try any of the following routines separately for a total abdominal experience, or create your own by replacing an exercise from one workout with one from another (according to their numbers). Whichever workout you choose, it'll be one custom-made for your abs, and your attention span.

STRATEGY #1: THE GYM
So you prefer holding your workouts amongst iron and steel, do you? Then you probably already know there's no need to worry about becoming too bulky by bringing weights into your ab routine. "The abdominal muscles aren't designed for size; they are designed for function," says Fred McDaniel, master trainer and co-founder of the Human Performance Center in Santa Fe, N.M. That means no matter how hard you try, your stomach muscles may get stronger, tighter and firmer, but using weights will never inflate them.

Weights, especially cables, let you work your muscles through a variety of angles by lessening your reliance on whichever single angle gravity allows you. Sticking with the same body-resistance exercises, such as crunches and knee raises, can be counterproductive, especially as you get in better shape. "The leaner you become, the less resistance your muscles get from your decreasing body weight, leaving you with less results in the long run," says McDaniel. Adding weights can prevent this from happening, so your midsection won't suffer from your sleeker appearance.

As for injuries, "the risks involved using weighted abdominal movements are no different than those that come into play using weights for any other muscle group," says McDaniel. "Going slow, maintaining proper form, and always choosing a weight your muscles can handle are the smartest way to lower your odds and improve your results."

You'll need a few pieces of equipment (a high-cable pulley, a chin-up bar and a light dumbbell), but nothing you wouldn't find in any standard health club.
STRATEGY #2: IN-HOME PILATES-BASED
Working out at home may feel limiting to some, but for others, it offers the greatest amount of freedom. Being away from prying eyes can allow you to try abdominal exercises you might otherwise feel too self-conscious to do in public-movements that may look silly, but are guaranteed to put your abdominal muscles through paces most basic ab moves can never touch.

This at-home routine is derived from Pilates, a series of floor exercises that force you to hold specific positions which develop strength, flexibility, posture and coordination. But as esoteric as these movements may seem, "they're actually more rooted to the real-life use of your abdominal muscles than your average exercise," says Ed Morand, A.C.E., N.A.S.M., Pilates instructor at the New York Sports Clubs/Town Sports International in New York City.

Every Pilates move requires a set of tight, strong abs simply to hold yourself in the starting position. The continual tension on your abs keeps your midsection muscles working overtime to maintain your posture, which lets you reap even more six-pack success from every exercise on offer here.

Morand offers three positions for developing abs of steel without needing anything but a mat, a few minutes to spare, and the dedication of a pit bull.

STRATEGY #3: HOME OR GYM PHYSIOBALL
Maybe it's because you only see women using one, or because it looks like something Toys-R-Us puts on sale around Christmastime. Or maybe it's simply because it sounds like something made by men who enjoy yodeling and find Eucalyptus bearable. Whatever your explanation is for being afraid to use a Swiss ball, you're not alone. Seasoned exercisers share your fears, but for an entirely different reason: Nothing puts your midsection through greater, shape-shifting torture.

Exercising your abdominal muscles with a Swiss ball is one of the best ways a guy can jump-start his routine, for what may seem unique to you is actually quite familiar to your muscles. A Swiss ball mimics movements your abdominal muscles typically do throughout the day. "The abdominal wall's greatest job isn't to curl you off the floor; it's to constantly support and stabilize your body in an upright, balanced position all day long," says Jeff Bell, C.S.C.S., N.A.S.M., A.C.S.M., co-owner of Spectrum Wellness, New York City.

Merely positioning yourself on the ball forces all your muscles (especially your abs) to naturally contract before you even start a movement. "Doing crunches on top of a ball also lets you bend back through a greater range of motion to work more muscle fibers along a safe, supported surface," says Bell. "Trying to arch your lower back on a flat surface to achieve the same effect will only compromise the spine instead of strengthen your abdominals."

SO WHERE ARE MY ABS ALREADY?
When you'll start seeing results depends on your eating habits, your cardiovascular routine and a little nuisance we like to call genetics. But, most experts agree, if you follow a low-fat diet (with no more than 25 percent of your daily calories coming from fat), you should shave off enough body fat to start enjoying all the hard work you've put into the muscles underneath.

If you're under 15% body fat and do cardio 3 times a week, you should see results in 1-2 weeks.
If you're 15%-20% body fat and do cardio 3-4 times a week, you should see results in 2-3 weeks.
If you're 20%-25% body fat and you do cardio 4-5 times a week, you should see results in 4-5 weeks.
If you're over 25% body fat and you do cardio 5 times a week, you should see results in 6-8 weeks.
AB BEGINNINGS
If you're entirely new to ab training, or if this is the first time you've made a commitment to an ab program, use any of the three routines for a complete ab experience. After two or three months, when you're ready to step things up a notch, simply replace an exercise, by number, from one routine to another.

Protein shakes to build a lean muscular body.

Berries & Cream Shake
Ingredients:


1 Scoop Of Vanilla Whey Protein
1 Scoop Of Ice
1 Lil Can Of Pineapple Juice (cook with boiling water)
1 Handful Of Mixed Berries

Blend and enjoy!

Banana Bread Shake
Ingredients:


2 scoops Whey Protein
1 Banana
1/2 Cup Quaker Oatmeal (cook with boiling water)
3/4 Cup Kellogg's Bran Flakes
1 Bottle of Water
Sugar, Brown Sugar or Artificial Sweetener to taste

Blend and enjoy!

Banana Protein Shake
Ingredients:


30g Protein Powder (plain or vanilla)
1 medium to large banana
8 oz. light Soy Milk
1 TBSP Linseed, Soy and Almond Mixture
1 tsp Golden Syrup
Few drops vanilla essence/extract
3-4 cubes ice
1 TBSP low fat natural yoghurt (optional depending on diet)

Throw into blender for several minutes. Solid filling shake with zero fat and PLENTY of energy. Great as a meal replacement or after workout snack.!

Orange Vanilla Shake
Ingredients:


Mix 2 scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder
8 oz. Orange Juice
4-5 ice cubes
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
½ banana
2-3 frozen strawberries
2 packets of sweetener

This will get your taste buds going!

Berry Good Shake
Ingredients:


Mix 2 scoops of Raspberry Yogurt and protein powder
4 strawberries
15 blueberries
16 ounces of nonfat milk
1.2 cup of ice cubes.
It is so good that you should serve it with a little umbrella in it!

Protein-Carb Almond Blast

Ingredients:


Mix 2 Scoops of Vanilla Econo Whey Meal or other protein with
10-12 oz of skim milk
1.2 cup of dry oatmeal
1.2 cup of raisins
12 shredded almonds
1 tbsp of peanut butter.
It's like pudding!

Strawberry Nut Shake

Ingredients:


Mix 2 Scoops of Vanilla Isolean or other protein with
1 cup of fat-free strawberry yogurt
6 shredded macadamia nuts.
Plum Ice Shake

Ingredients:


Mix 2 scoops of Vanilla ON 100% Whey or other protein with
1 ripe plum (pitted) juice of 1 lemon
16 ounces of ice water
1.2 cup of ice cubes.
Peppermint Oatmeal Shake

Ingredients:


Mix 2 scoops of Alpine Milk Chocolate Protein Delite or other protein with
1 cup sugar free vanilla ice cream
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups non-fat milk
1.2 cup water
a splash of peppermint extract!
Chocolate Coffee Shake

Ingredients:


Mix 2 scoops of Alpine Milk Chocolate Protein Delite or other protein with:
1 cup of skim milk
5 ice cubes
1 cup of water
1 spoonful of instant coffee!
Tastes like a gourmet concoction!

Plum-Lemon Cooler

Ingredients:


2 scoops vanilla flavor whey protein powder (Whey Best, Scipro)
1 ripe plum, pitted
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon multi-vitamin powder
16 ounces ice water
1/2 cup ice cubes
Wild Berry Boost

Ingredients:


2 scoops vanilla flavor whey protein powder (Whey Best, Scipro)
8 raspberries
4 strawberries
15 blueberries
16 ounces nonfat milk
1/2 cup ice cubes
Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffle

Ingredients:


2 scoops chocolate flavor whey protein powder (Whey Best, Scipro)
1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
16 ounces nonfat milk
1/2 cup ice cubes
Creatine Catalyst

Ingredients:


2 scoops vanilla flavor whey protein powder (Whey Best, Scipro)
5 Granny Smith apples
5 grams (one teaspoon) Creapureä £reatine powder
1/2 cup ice cubes
Special Thanks To Reformmag.com For These Recipes!

Peanut Brittle Protein Shake

This is a delicious favorite I discovered quite by accident as I sat staring at my "boring" vanilla protein powder and wanting something sweet. This mimics peanut brittle only in taste. It won't send your blood sugar soaring and it's a fun way to get in some healthy unsaturated fat.

Ingredients:


2 scoops vanilla protein
1 tbsp sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding mix, dry
1 tbsp natural peanut butter, chunky
8 oz. cold water or lowfat milk.
3-6 ice cubes
Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender, blend, and serve. I like to add the peanut butter in last so it stays a little chunky, just like the peanut brittle it is replacing.

Nutritional Information for added ingredients (excludes milk & protein powder):

Per Serving:
Calories - 108
Carbs - 6 g
Protein - 4g
Fat - 8 g
Fiber - 1g

6 Foods with Stealth Health Powers

1. Pork Chops
Per gram of protein, pork chops contain almost five times the selenium—an essential mineral that's linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer—of beef, and twice that of chicken. And Purdue researchers found that a 6-ounce serving daily helped people preserve their muscle while losing weight.

2. Iceberg Lettuce
Conventional wisdom suggests this salad staple is nutritionally bankrupt. But as it turns out, half a head of iceberg lettuce has significantly more alpha-carotene, a powerful disease-fighting antioxidant, than either romaine lettuce or spinach.

3. Mushrooms
This fungi's metabolites—by-products created when mushrooms are broken down during digestion—have been shown to boost immunity and prevent cancer growth, report researchers in the Netherlands.

4. Vinegar
Scientists in Sweden discovered that when people consumed 2 tablespoons of vinegar with a high-carb meal, their blood sugar was 23 percent lower than when they skipped the antioxidant-loaded liquid. They also felt fuller.

5. Red-Pepper Flakes
A Dutch study found that consuming a gram of red pepper flakes—about half a teaspoon—30 minutes prior to a meal reduced calorie intake by 16 percent. Plus, new research suggests its active ingredient, capsaicin, may help kill cancer cells.

6. Full-Fat Cheese
This dairy product is an excellent source of casein protein—one of best muscle-building nutrients you can eat. What's more, Danish researchers found that even when men ate 10 ounces of full-fat cheese daily for 3 weeks, their LDL ("bad") cholesterol didn't budge

St. Pierre the new pound-for-pound king...His fitness played a part.

Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre scored a one-sided win in what may have been the closest thing to a true “ultimate fight” in the history of a promotion with that name.

Between St. Pierre and lightweight champion B.J. Penn, you had two of the most gifted champions in company history – St. Pierre the world’s best welterweight and Penn the world’s best lightweight, with both at the peak of their careers.

And while St. Pierre was favored as the bigger man, it was still stunning how he dismantled someone who three years ago he struggled to beat in a controversial split-decision win.

St. Pierre (18-2) was ahead 40-34, 40-35 and 40-34 on the scorecards after turning it on at the end of the fourth round. At first it appeared the end of the round saved Penn. But as soon as the round was over, with Penn taking a bad enough beating that he was taken to the hospital after the match, both Nevada State Athletic Commission doctor William Berliner and Penn’s corner simultaneously decided to tell referee Herb Dean to stop the match.

Aside from the first round, where Penn stopped a few of St. Pierre’s takedowns, it was complete domination as St. Pierre ran his win streak to 14 straight rounds over his last five fights against highly ranked opponents.

St. Pierre came into the fight ranked No. 3 in the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound poll. He was behind middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Affliction heavyweight star Fedor Emelianenko, and one spot ahead of Penn.

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But neither Silva nor Emelianenko has had to face a steady diet of fighters the caliber of what St. Pierre has faced since his 2007 loss to Matt Serra, let alone someone with the all-around skill set of Penn.

“My strategy was that he has small shoulders, which is good for hand speed, so I went to make him carry my weight and cause his shoulders to tire,” said St. Pierre, who earned $420,000 for the win before any extra bonuses kick in off the back end of the pay-per-view revenue. “I wanted to start out and make it a wrestling match.”

St. Pierre said he was about 187 pounds going into the cage, nearly 20 pounds heavier than Penn (13-5-1), who weighed in at 168 pounds and was likely right at that weight going into the cage. St. Pierre was simply too strong and well-conditioned for Penn in a fight the promoters predicted would be the biggest non-boxing event in North American pay-per-view history.

If the event does as expected, it would also be the first time in the history of sports that three pay-per-view events in successive months drew more than 900,000 buys, let alone all from the same promotion.

“It was the craziest thing ever,” said Dana White about the event, which sold out the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with 14,885, paying a gate of $4.3 million. “The MGM Grand wanted more tickets. Other casinos wanted more tickets.”

St. Pierre got off first, winning standing exchanges in the fist round. But if Penn thought he was getting a psychological edge in the first round by stopping takedowns, it was gone early in Round 2. St. Pierre powered Penn down and connected with a relentless supply of punches and elbows. He continually passed Penn’s guard and then threw knees to the body. Penn was worn out by the end of the second round.

“You’ll notice I didn’t rush him right away going for the takedown (his style in his last few matches),” said St. Pierre. “The idea was to cause him to have to hop on one leg and get tired, and push off, having to carry my weight in the clinch. That was the idea in the first round.”

St. Pierre felt when the first round was over that he had already mentally broken Penn.

“I was fighting my fight and that made him uncomfortable, which caused him to get tired faster,” said St. Pierre. “It’s not that he wasn’t in shape.

“This was the biggest fight of my career,” said St. Pierre, ranking it ahead of the night where he captured the championship a second time, beating Matt Serra, in his home city of Montreal.

The fight was not without controversy. Between the first and second round, one of St. Pierre’s cornermen rubbed Vaseline on his back and shoulders, which was caught by ringside officials.

“It didn’t affect the outcome of the fight, but you don’t do it,” said White. “I don’t think Georges knew, but the guy who did it, he should never be allowed to corner another fighter again.”

St. Pierre’s next opponent will be Thiago Alves, who presents a different set of problems. Alves has mastered the art of cutting weight. Alves is far bigger than Penn and also tremendous at avoiding takedowns, plus he’s a more feared striker than Penn.

St. Pierre said it was too soon to give an accurate timetable on when he would want that match to take place, but did say he’d be happy with it being six months. St. Pierre said he was taking a few days vacation and would be back in the gym by the end of the week.

In Alves’ recent win over Josh Koscheck on Oct. 25 in Chicago, he went into the cage at an unheard-of 199 pounds after making 171, which would make St. Pierre the rare smaller welterweight if Alves could do it again.

The win also fueled talk of a potential St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva match, where St. Pierre would move up to face the middleweight champion in an attempt to do what Penn failed to do in this fight – to become the first dual weight-class champion in the history of UFC.

White said he didn’t see doing that fight immediately, but if both fighters continue to win, he talked of it as a match he would like to put together, perhaps in 2010.

St. Pierre said he saw that fight as something he would be interested in as a test, but noted that he would need the extra time to train and add muscle weight to compete with the significantly larger middleweight king.

“I don’t fight for money or for fame, because when I started I didn’t have either,” he said. “I fight for the challenge.” -ys

SUPER SUNDAY......DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS?

Super Bowl 43 preview
10 random things about the Super Bowl.

The Steelers are defensive beasts with a pedigree and a quarterback. The Cardinals -- well, they have a quarterback too......

1. Sunday's game is a classic match up of a historically successful, old-school franchise with a chance to become the all-time leader in Super Bowl victories, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and ... the Arizona Cardinals.

2. The Cardinals can't win. The Steelers are better at everything it's possible for a football team to be better at, with one or two exceptions. The Steelers are favored by a touchdown, and that seems generous to our friends from the desert. Anyone who picks the Cardinals is just dreaming.

3. The Cardinals also couldn't win three straight playoff games to get to the Super Bowl. This was a team that only went 9-7 after being spotted a 6-0 record against its own pathetic division mates, the St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49Er's and Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals lost four times by three touchdowns or more, and three of those came in the last five weeks of the season.

4. This column is picking the Cardinals. So, I'm dreaming.

5. Times are hard, and we all need something to believe in. I believe this preposterous run the Cardinals are on is going to last one more game. I believe the Steelers' superior talent, brilliant coaching and near-home-field advantage, Steelers fans having braved the recession to make their way to Tampa in far greater numbers than Cardinals fans, will not matter nearly so much as a funny bounce or two and a couple of spectacular catches by Larry Fitzgerald.

6. Fitzgerald is one of the things the Cardinals do better than the Steelers. He does what he does -- catch passes -- better than anybody in the game right now. The Steelers have some pretty good receivers, most notably speedy Santonio Holmes and rugged Hines Ward, but there's nobody like Fitzgerald. If the ball's in the air and Fitzgerald is anywhere near where it's going to come down, he's going to catch it.

7. Ward has been one of the stories of the hype period, whether he'll play on the knee he twisted in the AFC Championship Game. Of course he'll play. Everybody will play. Having your team make the Super Bowl is the greatest advancement in health care since the discovery of germs.

8. Quarterback is another thing the Cardinals do better, though Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger is A) no slouch and B) the guy with the better future. But 37-year-old retread Kurt Warner, written off years ago by some fools, toting his memories and his brittle right hand from St. Louis to New York to Phoenix, cut by the Rams and Giants, benched by the Rams, Giants and Cardinals, inserted into the starting lineup in Week 1 by Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, has recaptured his turn-of-the-century glory, something that can't be said for the train of thought in this sentence, and added a triumphant third act to one of the great stories in football history.

9. When the Steelers started winning in the early '70s, they were a lot like the Cardinals, a sad-sack franchise, an afterthought. The best thing the Cardinals had ever done was dither so long over where to move from Chicago in the late '50s that the AFL decided to be born in the meantime and the Cards ended up in St. Louis, which was something like their fourth choice. The best thing the Steelers had ever done was form one of the NFL's early cheerleader squads in 1961.

10. The Cardinals won the 1947 NFL title and lost in the Championship Game the next year. The Steelers lost the first playoff game in their history to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1947. As of the start of the 1972 season, neither team had been back to the postseason since.


Cardinals 38, Steelers 34.

LEAN & MUSCULAR FOR LIFE!

I challenge you to stop being a spectator and participate in your life. I challenge you to thrive rather than just survive. I challenge you to make the most of your free time to complete your “to do” list and actually find some “me” time. I challenge you to do all the things you know you should do but don’t have the energy to do- and enjoy doing them. I challenge you to do all the things you dream of doing. I challenge you to read the articles here at ABFITT every day for two weeks to gain insight, motivate and see how much more you’re capable of accomplishing in your life.

Good luck
Richard