Sherman: Best game ‘can’t happen in the snow’

In a piece for SI.com, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman makes a good argument against playing the Super Bowl outdoors in a cold-weather city.

Sherman, who says he’s never played football in snow, writes:

“Snow happens, and that’s fine for a regular-season game or even an AFC or NFC Championship Game. A team in a cold-weather city can and should earn the right to host a game in conditions it’s familiar with. Baltimore and Pittsburgh built legacies and winning traditions on cold-weather football.

Yet the Super Bowl city is decided years in advance, and the game is supposed to be played on a neutral site. Teams that make it that far have played through the heat of training camp, winter on the road and in the comfort of domes. Whether their rosters were built for the snow or not, they probably overcame it at some point in the season. The Super Bowl should be a clean slate that showcases the athletes, not the stadium or the city they’re playing in.”

 You can read the entire column at SI.com.

Weekend wrap

Before fans could file into Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium for Sunday’s Browns-versus-Bears tilt, this had to be done:

Photo: Associated Press

Approximately five to eight inches of snow piled up on seats and in aisles prior to kickoff, and according to team officials, the Browns had more than 150 people working Saturday evening to clear the way for spectators to see their Brownies blow the game fall in dramatic fashion to the visiting Bears, 38-31.

After all the snow clearing, the intensity of the snow storm blew more snow back on to some of the seats before the game, Browns officials claim, forcing some fans to clear their own way as they arrived at their seats.

In other sports weather news, Navy once again rolled over Army, 34-7, with a little snow in the field in Philadelphia. The win is the 12^th in a row for Navy.

Photo: Associated Press

Believe it or not, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has never played in a snow game despite playing college ball at Wisconsin. He told the New York Times he was disappointed the snow stopped in New York – I know it’s actually New Jersey – Sunday before his team thrashed the Giants, 23-0. But, as the article says, maybe Wilson will get another chance to play in the New York snow when the Super Bowl in played in MetLife Stadium in a couple of months.

Photos: Seahawks Instagram

Splitting the uprights while the Earth was splitting

Where the Saints go sloshing in

Do the New Orleans Saints really have a chance tonight against the Seahawks in Seattle?

We know the Saints are Super Bowl contenders as long as they’re playing in their comfy New Orleans dome, but when they venture out of their home city, it’s an entirely different ballgame. We need only to look at their sloppy loss to the hapless Jets in Jersey a few weeks ago for supporting evidence.

Tonight, in Seattle, nothing will be comfy or cozy for the 9-2 Saints. They will be facing a tough 10-1 Seahawks team which has Russell Wilson and his plentiful offensive weapons, not Gino Smith and his stable full nothing.

And, we know all about the noise level in the 67,000-seat, open-air CenturyLink Field. That’s tough on any team that ventures in.

And we all know Seattle has a little history of rain. (You knew I was getting to that, right? After all, this is The Rainout Blog.)

Well, guess what. A slight chance of rain and snow (30 percent) are forecasts for tonight’s Monday Night Football contest with a low temperature around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Winds could be 8 to 11 mph.

Over the past eight sub-40-degrees games, the Saints are an abysmal 2-6, including playoffs.

Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees may actually welcome a wet turf tonight if he finds himself in a situation where he’s running and needs to slide to avoid on on-coming linebacker:

-- rain --

Seattle Snow

But this photo (see below post) may be the best of Sunday's football action.

Seattle may have the most picturesque stadium… ever!

One Good Reason to Love Seattle

SI.com has a neat photo gallery that features NFL cheerleaders from the wild card round last week. The gallery offers a few cool shots of Seattle's Sea Gals cheering in the rain during the Seahawks win over the Redskins. This counts as sports weather content, right? Enjoy. I'm done for the day. Try to get along on this Monday night without football. I hear there's a good hockey game on Versus – Rangers and the Penguins.

T.O., Cowboys and Popcorn Sales Plummet

For all of you disappointed Cowboys fans out there who also are die-hard football fans, look at things this way: At least now you and the rest of us will have an opportunity to enjoy another cold, wintry game at Lambeau Field. Saturday's Pack win over the Seahawks provided some great images, like the one here. We hope Sunday's NFC title game will do the same. Of course the game is still a week away, but early forecasts are calling for a high of 11 degrees, a low of 8 and a 40 percent chance of precipitation when the Packers and Giants kickoff at 5:30 Green Bay time. I can't wait. Get your popcorn ready!

Performance Enhancing Pants

Seattle kicker Josh Brown will be packing heat Saturday… in his pants. Brown and the Seahawks face the Packers Saturday in the NFC divisional playoffs at Green Bay's Lambeau Field, where temperatures are expected be in the high 20s. The kicker said Wednesday on a radio show that he plans to wear the battery-operated heaters in rain pants that he normally wears on the sidelines, not in his football pants. "Not in my uniform. That would be crazy," Brown told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Brown says he's not looking to gain an advantage, just stay warm.