PATS VS. PANTHS: Super Bowl XXXVIII is set- it's the New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers, in a game that, unfortunately for the league and the networks, comes with no obvious storyline. And- lucky for them- this is one of the two-weeks-of-Super-Bowl-hype years.
Had the Philadelphia Eagles not played the worst NFC championship game by any team since the Vikings lost 41-0 to the Giants three years ago, it all would've been different- a veritable East Coast Bias Bowl between the Patriots and Eagles would've been just the third all-Northeast Corridor Super Bowl, after Jets-Colts in the Namath Guarantee Game and the much less exciting Giants-Ravens clash three years ago.
So Patriots-Panthers. I'd like to think of some interesting idea, of some player who's switched from one team to the other, or some coach looking for revenge, or some historical relationship between the two teams, but honestly, I got nothing. Except both start with "P." That's it, "The P Bowl!" Take it away, Don Cheadle!