Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will lead the Packers again next year. Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

The Packers have been tabbed as the team with the best chance of winning next year’s Super Bowl. Not that we put much credence into the oddsmakers, it’s nice they think highly enough of the Packers to place them in that spot.

But let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum. While the Packers are 6-1 odds to win the big game, at the other end are the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars sitting at 100-1. Not far behind are the Minnesota Vikings at 75-1 odds.

Think about all the teams that have gone from worst to first. Think about the New York Giants and the fact they at one point stood 7-7 near the end of last season and ended up winning it all. It happens. Think about the Packers who came out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl in 2010.

So, if you were to pick a longshot team to win next year’s Super Bowl … who would it be?

Take today’s poll and let us know.

The poor quality of the streamed image from the Super Bowl is evident in this photograph, as well as the cluttered screen.

Like the New England Patriots’ receivers on that final drive of Super Bowl XVLI, the effort to stream the Super Bowl for the first time was good effort but fell well short of perfection – at least that’s according to those who attempted to watch the broadcast on their computer.

Not only was the quality of the stream poor for three quarters of the contest, but there were many other glitches that annoyed and eventually forced many who attempted to watch the game over that platform to simply turn it off and seek other more traditional means – such as an actual television.

In a post-Super Bowl story published by www.streamingmedia.com, the reasons for the failed effort are laid out with supporting photographs that clearly support the authors’ points.

More after the jump and  Like Lombardiave.com at Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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When it comes to championship games, it always comes down to the team that plays the best defense – even in this day and age of the quarterback. Just ask Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

That’s why I have to go with the New York Giants over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XVLI.

Final score: Giants 33 Patriots 28

Here’s why: Though the Patriots are the sexier pick as Belichick and Brady go for their fourth ring together and the team is trying to play off the emotion surrounding Robert Kraft losing his wife, the Giants are the better team all-around. They have a running game, dynamite receivers, a top 5 quarterback AND a defense. Matchups make the difference is championship games and the Giants clearly have the upper hand in all categories.

Don’t get me wrong, the Patriots will make a game of it and it could come down to the final two possessions, but the Giants will come up with enough pressure on Brady to turn the tables. Throw in the fact that tight end Rob Gronkowski’s injury will put a dent in the Patriots’ offense and you have enough to give the Giants the edge in this one.

It should be a great game. That’s why everyone is split pretty much down the middle on predicting its outcome.

In fact, here’s the best prediction I could find:

Greg Easterbrook on ESPN.com has this prediction – Confusion about the new playoff overtime format reigns when the Giants onside kick to start overtime and the Patriots recover but run the wrong way. Final score: Giants 2 Patriots 0

After the jump, take a look at some of the picks by the experts … and take the time for a click over to Lombardiave.com on Facebook, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

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The late Max McGee torched the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated

head coach of the juggernaut that was the Green Bay Packers of the 1960.

His team not only won the first two Super Bowls, but they won three straight championships before Lombardi retired (for one year) from the coaching ranks.

What many people don’t know is the backstory of that first Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

The late Max McGee gave all night owls a good name when he spent the night before that first game out carousing and drinking, thinking he would be riding the bench that day.

As his luck and eventual good fortune would have it, starting receiver Boyd Dowler went down in the first quarter with an injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the game. In came McGee, who later admitted he could barely stand, let alone play in a football game.

That didn’t matter. He burned the Chiefs for seven catches, 138 yards and two touchdowns – one of them the famous one-hander that still makes all the Super Bowl highlight reels. The Packers went on to a 35-10 shellacking of the Chiefs.

This infographic illustrates the inner party animals that we have become on Super Bowl Sunday.

What could be better than this mid-winter ball (game) we call the Super Bowl? What makes it so successful and why has it nearly become a national holiday that is close to rivaling the Christmas/New Year’s celebrations?

Well, there are answers to those questions, but those answers aren’t all glitz and glamour as you might suspect.

Cruising the Internet this morning looking for off-beat and interesting stories about the game and how it impacts our social, economic and political landscape, I came across a handful that point to some unusual angles from which to not only look at the phenomenon that is the Super Bowl, but how the game of football has shaped what we have become as a people.

Here’s some NFL-related stories that piqued my interest … and should do the same for you:

• Here’s a story about the crackdown on 307 sports-related domains that were seized by the feds;

• This is a story about the fact that taxpayers have been saddled with the Indianapolis stadium deal;

• This is a fabulous analysis about how corporate America and our society has been shaped by the top-down model as built and promulgated by the NFL;

• Ok, so while the commissioner thinks about expansion of the league, fans have to be concerned about the issue of HGH testing;

• And of course we couldn’t get through the day or the game without a look at some statistics – these showing just how self-indulgent and slobbish we have become; or

• Take a look at the seven most annoying halftime shows.

And while you’re at it, click on over and Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Don't you think Aaron Rodgers would love the opportunity to throw touchdown passes in a Super Bowl played at Lambeau Field? Douglas Etten photograph

Today when the unofficial logo was unveiled for Super Bowl 48, better known as Super Bowl XLVIII, it quickly caught my attention – it’s awesome – especially the snowflake emblazoned front and center.
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