HOT TAKES: Old Macdonald Got a Ring!

Super Bowl LX was probably boring to everyone except the “12”, the fans of the Seattle Seahawks who skull-dragged the New England Patriots 29-13 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score. That said, this was the game I expected. Drake Maye & Co. were very opportunistic during the 2025 season. They were battle tested; road tested and did all the little things to steamroll through the regular season. But then they ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Mike Macdonald’s ravenous osprey.

When the Super Bowl combatants were lined up following the Seahawks victory over the L.A. Rams in the NFC Championship Game, I jumped on DraftKings to see what the opening line would be. I expected Seattle minus 7. What I got was Seattle minus 3 ½. So I snatched it, expecting the line to swell, and it did. The number scooted north to 4 ½ where it sat for the better part of 2 weeks.

Defense Wins Championships

You hear this cliché repeated ad nauseum. But in the end, the speaker of the cliché is just dropping a truth bomb. Defense does win championships, even in the modern era.

• In 2021 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 3 ½ point underdogs to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs won 31-9.
• In 2025 the Philadelphia Eagles were a 1-point underdog to the Chiefs. The Eagles won 40-22.
• In 2026 the Seahawks were 4 ½ point favorites and beat the Patriots 29-13.

In each game the victors protected the football, dominated the line of scrimmage and played great defense. The modern game is engineered to help offenses put up points. Yet seemingly, no matter what rules changes are made to enable an even greater path to scoring, winning in the trenches tilts the game. Maybe Ravens GM Eric DeCosta will see the light and stop building the defense from the back end forward. Time to change direction.

Super Bowl Shutout

At the 12:27 mark of the fourth quarter the Patriots scored to make it a 19-7 game. You know that the Seahawks desperately wanted to pitch the shutout which would have been the first in Super Bowl history. The Patriots managed to produce two touchdowns leaving the Ravens defense as the only defense to ever keep an opposing offense from scoring upon the NFL’s grandest stage. But that doesn’t deny the defensive brilliance of Mike Macdonald’s squad. At one point, New England had more punts (8) than completed passes (7). The Seahawks also had 8 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and they forced Maye into 3 turnovers.

The Sam Darnold Story

Sam Darnold is the first USC quarterback to win the Super Bowl. But clearly, he was along for the ride, at least in SB LX. Twice he failed to see streaking wide receivers uncovered in the same sight line of the check down receiver he ultimately threw to. A few other times Darnold threw into coverage and was fortunate not to be intercepted. Other times his throws were widely off the mark and thoughts of Nuke LaLoosh hitting the Durham Bulls mascot while on the mound danced in my head.

That said, Darnold’s story is compelling but judging from his interaction with reporters after the game, the former Jet-turned Panther-turned 49er-turned Viking-turned Seahawk wasn’t pleased with his performance. He knows that Seattle won despite his efforts and that’s just something he’ll have to live with. Darnold is on his fifth NFL team in eight seasons. He’s the first of the highly touted 2018 QB draft class to win a ring. Messrs. Mayfield, Allen, Rosen (wherever he is) and Jackson still champ at the bit for their first swing at a Lombardi.

The Fast Track

In 2014 Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald was a coaching intern with the Ravens. The following 2 seasons he was a Defensive Assistant under Dean Pees and then promoted to Defensive Backs Coach in 2017. In 2018-20 Macdonald was the Ravens linebackers coach under Wink Martindale and then he moved on to the University of Michigan to be the Wolverines Defensive Coordinator. After 1 season in Ann Arbor, Macdonald returned to the Ravens as DC for two seasons before moving on to Seattle where after two seasons he now owns a 27-10 coaching record and a World Championship title.

Last night after the game I jumped around various postgame wrap-ups of SB LX and landed on one during which one of his players referred to Macdonald as an amoeba. The context of the message felt complimentary, yet I must admit that I’ve never heard someone labeled as such in that context. So, I looked it up on Urban Dictionary. Here’s what I found:

Amoeba

A small group of extremely close friends. Everyone knows that they are besties. They do everything together and join together to form an amoeba. They are most often distinguished as having superior intelligence and/or exceptional looks.

Given Macdonald’s rapid ascent, the amoeba shoe fits. Or should I say the pseudopodia fits?

Bad Bunny

I can’t relate to Bad Bunny at all. I don’t speak Spanish.

Now I’m not judging his talent. I’m not qualified. His salsa flavored music made me think of Mango’s in South Beach. The vibe is cool, for a while. Then it sounds redundant – at least it does to me. Those who I gathered with to watch the game weren’t entertained at all. The most fascinating thing about Bad Bunny’s presentation were the props and how quickly the roadies and stagehands break it all down and move the entire production off the field with lightning efficiency.

This halftime show is supposed to be a celebration for those who support the NFL with their swag, the money spent on tickets, concessions and parking and those who watch regularly, dropping coin on apps and cable packages to observe the product for the better part of 21 weeks. Instead, Roger Goodell, as he regularly does with every breath he takes, uses the platform to expand the NFL’s audience with the end game always tied to more money. Meanwhile, Roger the tough question dodger, tosses into our collective face a genre that doesn’t jive with most of the NFL core audience, AND one that needs an interpreter.

While watching Bad Bunny’s spectacle, I put on closed caption to see if it would be interpreted in English. No such luck. The struggle was real.

One of my friends who I watched the game with, reminded me that the man responsible for the halftime “entertainment” is none other than Jay-Z and his entertainment company, Roc Nation. Jay-Z is said to be the league’s “live music entertainment strategist,” and as such he’s responsible for selecting performers and producing the halftime show. That began with Super Bowl LIV in 2020. Since Jay-Z has overseen music (something my friends ask me to handle), the halftime performers have included per CBS Sports:

• 2026: Bad Bunny with Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin
• 2025: Kendrick Lamar with special guest SZA
• 2024: Usher with special guests Alicia Keys, Jermaine Dupri, H.E.R., will.i.am, Lil Jon, Ludacris
• 2023: Rihanna
• 2022: Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige
• 2021: The Weeknd
• 2020: Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Emme Muñiz

It’s time to shake things up and shake Jay-Z loose.

I’m not even a big country music fan but how about if old Roger passes that “live music entertainment strategist” baton to a country artist with his or her own record label? Better yet why not pass the baton annually to strategists from various genres of music, alternating along the way.

GOOD NEWS

Orioles’ pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, February 10 and the first official workout is February 11 in Sarasota, FL.

A friendly reminder:

The last time the Seahawks won the Super Bowl (2014), Baltimore went on to win the AL East #Birdland pic.twitter.com/cDhD4QFm6i

— SleeperOrioles (@SleeperOrioles) February 9, 2026

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