Hoping for a really super Super Bowl

Which is the Super Bowl matchup you’d most like to see? Which two superstar NFL players would you most like to see battle for the “world championship” of American-style football?

I suspect the teams and names which would come up the most often are the Green Bay Packers (and Aaron Rodgers) and the New England Patriots (and Tom Brady). With Peyton Manning retired and doing commercials, these are clearly the elite quarterbacks of the league, and yet have never met in the Super Bowl. But with the way both teams are playing, I think there’s a better than even chance they might. If so, TV ratings and the sale of Doritos will go through the roof on Feb. 5.

So, assuming that was to come true, who would have the edge? Both players/teams are performing so well now (the Pats are 11-1 and the Packers have won seven straight games) that it’s anybody’s guess. There are a million variables to consider, and the past record is of little help.

Because they are in different conferences, the two teams have never met in the playoffs, and have faced off only once in the Aaron Rodgers era (Brady is six years older, and entered the NFL earlier). In that contest in 2014, the Packers won a close one, defeating the Pats 26-21 in a tight contest. Rodgers threw for 368 yards and two scores with no interceptions. Brady was almost as good, with 245 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no picks.

That’s not much to go on, but it does suggest that both players are sharpest when faced with the most formidable competition. So I’m predicting a Packers-Patriots Super Bowl in That City, and a second Super Bowl ring for Rodgers. Don’t feel bad for Brady. He’s already got four of them!

• High school basketball league play is underway. The Sunset League has started, and the Garden Grove, Empire and Goldenwest leagues will start this Wednesday. Prep sports are always fun to watch because of their innate unpredictability. Two examples from last week come to mind. Huntington Beach’s boys’ basketball team was leading Los Alamitos by 12 points at halftime when it went colder than a judge’s smile and scored zero points en route to being outtallied 24-0 in the third quarter. Los Al went on to win 59-42 in one of the odder contests of the young Sunset season.
• In the other noteworthy contest, Bolsa Grande’s girls’ basketball team defeated Fullerton 48-34 in a non-league contest. But the thing that really stood out was the shooting of the Matadors’ Tiffany Le, who scored 27 points, including seven three-pointers. Bolsa could be tough in the Grove League. The Mats are 8-7 but have won four straight games.
• This week the San Diego Chargers have to decide whether to jump into bed with Stan Kroenke and become a second tenant at his planned Inglewood palace alongside the Los Angeles Rams. If the Chargers decide to remain in SD (and their crumbling stadium), it opens the door the Oakland Raiders to return to El Lay. However, Las Vegas is giving the Raiders the full-court press. So, in addition to all that possible movement, openings are (potentially) developing in three NFL cities: Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis. Think of it: the Las Vegas Raiders. The St. Louis Chargers. The San Diego Jaguars? Stay tuned for the next round of NFL Musical Chairs.