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The Sentinel Picks Atlanta Steelers Prez AGA Estimates Super Bowl
To Win The Super Bowl
The Atlanta Falcons look to win their first Super Bowl ever against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
Refutes Terry Bradshaw, Says Mike Tomlin Did 'Great Job'
ART ROONEY II AND MIKE TOMLIN
Pittsburgh Steelers presi- dent Art Rooney II doesn’t understand Terry Brad- shaw’s point of view after the Hall of Fame Steeler called current coach Mike Tomlin a "cheerleader guy" and not a great coach.
"I didn’t agree with it, obvi- ously," said Rooney when addressing a few local re- porters Tuesday. "I’m not sure what prompted Terry to make that type of a comment. I haven’t talked to Terry about it. Maybe I will at some point. He’s still an all-time great Steeler and still love him for everything he did for this franchise. But he must have had a lapse in judgment."
In December, Bradshaw, a four-time Super Bowl win- ner with Pittsburgh, said on Fox Sports 1's "Speak For Yourself" that he wasn’t sure what Tomlin actually does as a coach. Tomlin said debat- ing greatness is fair game but he didn’t appreciate Brad- shaw’s "cheerleader" line. The coach then joked that he grew up a fan of "Holly- wood" Henderson, a for- mer Dallas Cowboys defender who once said Bradshaw "couldn’t spell cat if you spot- ted him the C and the A."
Rooney praised Tomlin for leading the Steelers to nine straight wins after a 4-5 start. The Steelers lost 36-17 to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game.
“I think Mike did a great job, obviously getting to the AFC Championship Game and being in the final four is a good accomplishment," Rooney said. “We were all disappointed the way the last game went, but as I said be- fore, I think there are a lot of positives we can build on. Every season is its own jour- ney and what it takes to get a team through the season and playing at a high level at the end, I think that’s kind of the test. Having a team that’s im- proving throughout the sea- son, those are the things you look for. How a coaching staff is performing, by and large, we were sort of getting better as the season went on, which is what you want.”
LI To Generate $4.7B In Bets
The federal prohibition on sports betting turns 25 this year, but Americans aren't ex- pected to have any trouble get- ting action on Super Bowl LI.
Americans will stake an es- timated $4.7 billion on Sun- day's game between the New England Patriots and under-
dog Atlanta Falcons, accord- ing to numbers released Tues- day by the American Gaming Association.
It is the equivalent of the es- timated sales by online re- tailer Amazon from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in 2016.
Russell Wilson: Donald Trump May Not Last Four Years In The White House
Some franchises get all the luck. The Atlanta Falcons are still waiting on theirs, as they are among the 13 teams that have never won the Super Bowl. On Sunday, at 6:30 p.m. on FOX, the Falcons face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Perhaps they can take sol- ace by looking at their Super Bowl LI counterparts. Prior to the Brady-Bill Belichick era, the New England Patri- ots were historically a laugh- ingstock. Even when they managed to break the mold and go on a run, they'd come up short, whether it was being the sacrificial lambs to the historic 1985 Chicago Bears or coming up on the short end against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. All the Pats have done since is win four Super Bowl rings, and the franchise will participate in its seventh Super Bowl since 2002 on Sunday.
The Atlanta Falcons look to do what they couldn't do after a great 1998 season, when they lost to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. So here are a few simple question that need
to be asked. How can the Atlanta Fal-
cons, currently a three-point underdog, shock the world and win their first Super Bowl?
They're going to have to play offense like they did against the Packers and get a turnover or two. Their de- fense has improved, but it's not good enough to try to win a low-scoring, grinding affair with the Pats.
Are we the only one who thinks the Falcons should be favored here? They have one of the best NFL offenses we've seen in years, their de- fense has improved by leaps and bounds, and they just ab- solutely trashed the Packers.
Sure, the Patriots have the top-scoring defense in the league, but they also have not played a single top five point- scoring offense all year. In fact, they've only played two top 10 offenses this year in Arizona and Buffalo.
All the Falcons have to do is play the way they've been playing all season, and the Patriots simply won't be able to keep up.
Atlanta-31, New Eng- land -24.
RUSSELL WILSON
During a Facebook Live video, Seattle Seahawks quar- terback Russell Wilson questioned whether Presi- dent Donald Trump will be able to last four years in the White House.
"We go to the LAX airport, and there’s people all over the place fighting for their lives and protesting," Wilson said. "All the protests that have gone on through the African- American community, through obviously the Muslim community too, if we’re going to be a nation that says we’re equal, we have to be equal -- obviously being smart, all that kind of stuff. But you also have to be able to treat people fairly. You have to love every- one. And I know from even my own faith, the Christian faith, we still have to love everybody. We still have to. No matter what our issues are, we still have to find ways to love people and care for people.
"And so I think that’s the thing that’s been crazy al- ready. I don’t know if [Trump's] even going to be able to last four years, in my opinion. You don’t want to wish bad upon anybody, be-
cause if he doesn’t last four years, that means that some- thing went wrong. So hope- fully nothing goes wrong any more than what it’s already doing. But it’s just been a crazy 10 days already."
Wilson, who was getting his hair cut in a barbershop chair during the video, said he voted for Hillary Clinton. At one point, he pleaded for Barack Obama to return, saying that people now are gaining a better appreciation of the former president.
"Despite anybody’s political issues or views, everybody has a right to choose who they want to vote for, but this thing’s getting out of hand," Wilson said. "It’s getting out of hand, people. ... When you think about, it’s only been what, two weeks? Or even less? We’ve got to attack this issue here. When you think about all the negativity that’s happened within a 10-day pe- riod or however many days it’s been, it’s already too much. It’s already crazy. It’s already affecting people’s hearts and souls and lives in such a negative way, in my opinion.
"Now you kind of recognize that people’s feelings are get- ting hurt, people’s lives get- ting changed, people are getting sent back or not let in back home to see their fami- lies for reasons that may not be worthy. Just because you believe in something or you’re from a certain place doesn’t mean that you’re a bad per- son."
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