Hasselbeck's best play came when he nailed Ike Taylor after the cornerback's fourth-quarter pick, and took down the blocker as well, one of the toughest plays you'll ever see a QB make, but this was a game in which no one dared to be great, including back judge Bob Waggoner. He dropped the flag, calling a low block on Hasselbeck and giving the Steelers a nice head start on the drive that pushed the score to 21-10. A heartless call. When you take down a ball carrier, it's a tackle, not a block, even though you might collect a second trophy along the way.

Hasselbeck's worst moment came when he absolutely butchered the clock at the end of the first half, with an assist to the bench as well. No one could quite figure out what to call. The Taylor interception was also pretty bad, since the Hawks were down by only four and were in field goal range. But this was a game in which no one really wanted to seize the moment.

Much was written about the magnificence of Taylor's play, as the journalistic community strove mightily to find heroes. In reality it was just a misfire that sailed over the head of Darrell Jackson, running down the seam, and settled into Taylor's hands.

But you don't have to look very far to find a matching bummer on the part of the Steelers. Early in the second half they had reached Seattle's 7, with a chance to add to their 14-3 lead. Roethlisberger aimed an out-pass toward Cedrick Wilson, a sensible thing to do since the cornerback covering him, Kelly Herndon, was in for the injured Andre Dyson.

But my God, the lack of speed on that delivery. It was the ultimate slowball, and Herndon ran it back 76 yards to set up the touchdown that made it 14-10.

I thought the Seattle defenders played well, better and quicker than the Steelers trying to block them. I wasn't impressed with the Pittsburgh offensive line, or with either team's ability to sustain a drive. But I was intrigued by the defensive schemes of Steelers coordinator Dick LeBeau.

He blitzed and forced the Hawks to max-protect -- to use up receivers as blockers. Then he pulled back, rushed only three and outnumbered the receivers who actually did go out on routes. And on cornerback Deshea Townsend's fourth-quarter sack that essentially closed the door on the 'Hawks, LeBeau unveiled a beauty. It was an overload, against a four-wide receiver set, that sent in LBs James Farrior and Clark Haggans to occupy the right guard and tackle, while Townsend squeezed through the gap, unblocked.

Perhaps the thing I disliked most about this Super Bowl was the almost desperate attempt to create controversy, artificially hyping some pre-game nonsense between Stevens and Steelers linebacker Joey Porter. Trash talk, to me, is the poorest excuse for motivation. I've often felt that guys indulge in it so they won't let down the people who expect it.

It's Wrestle-o-Rama. It's the handlers showing two fighting cocks to each other to get them in the mood. But it always serves to ignite the imaginations of lesser journalistic IQs.

Neither Porter nor Stevens had much of a game. Porter made a few pursuit tackles, but no plays that forced the action. Stevens offset his touchdown catch with those three drops. Listen to how Porter compared the teams during the week: "They don't try to play smashmouth football. They try to trick you, to catch you unawares."

So how did the Steelers get their three touchdowns, or set them up? On what is called a Trick 'em, a flanker option pass. On a 37-yard desperation heave on third-and-28, and on Parker's straight-ahead sprint. Well yeah, sure, they all count, but I didn't see any mouths being smashed. Not even the ones that were doing the trash talking.