2008 comes out of the gate according to plan. The final season played at baseball's grand Cathedral opened with timely hitting, aggressive baserunning, incredible fielding by the most-underrated firecracker centerfielder in the game, a strong start by Wang and a slam the door in your face closeout by the best bullpen in baseball.

In other news, Pedro Martinez wastes no time proving me right. Neither the Mets nor the Red Sox are making the playoffs this year. You heard it here first.

Bush threw out the first pitch on ESPN's nationally televised Nationals/Braves game last night and was suitably serenaded the way a man of his 'popularity' can only be.

They're not booing, sir.

They saying, "Booo-urns! Booo-urns!"

I'll say it again... if you picked the Patriots (never mind that ridiculous point spread) you are a bigger chump than Tom Brady.

The Giants put that man down and he never knew what hit him. Everything the Patriots looked like they enjoyed all year... the pocket protection... the cocky rainbow passes to Randy "Perennial Loser" Moss were taken from them and they were exposed as the cheap, untested suit the '72 Dolphins squad must have been waiting for the clock to strike midnight on all along.

I thought this Giants team was no better than 4-12 before the season started. With Tiki gone, Strahan holding out through training camp and a coach who seemed to have one foot in the grave and the other on the job security banana peel, I never imagined this. Not after losing to Dallas and Green Bay to start the year. Not after Eli Manning began to once again resemble Rain Man without the math skills.

But holy fuck what a game.

That Giants defense is magic in a bottle and, beyond the great Michael Strahan, they are set to dominate with youth, speed and pain for a long time. They shut down Brady and his vanilla offense for the entire goddamn game, America.

This was no fluke. This was no Cinderella story. The best team on the field won the Super Bowl. The best team this post-season took it home.

After a brief Randy Moss sighting in the fourth quarter (the first I can recall in a long time), Eli Manning led a drive down the field that will rank alongside Joe Montana's heroics against the Cincinnati Bengals so long ago. Ice water coursing through his veins, Kid Manning slipped what looked like a prison rape gang tackle, shook off the lowly Patriots pass rush and arced one incredible long pass over the middle to David Tryee who must still be bending over backwards to catch it with his fingertips.

Get used to hearing terms like "The Drive" and "The Catch" with entirely new meanings now. Greatest completion since Montana to Dwight Clark.

Greatest Super Bowl you'll ever see.

Again, in pretending to some effective degree that the 2001 Super Bowl didn't happen, I've chosen to re-live the glory that was Super Bowl XXV.

I had to work that night, toiling at the neighborhood Carvel, slinging ice cream for the body image-challenged sort that populated the suburban Long Island town I had spent my high school years living amongst. Undaunted, I recall carrying my bedroom television to the store, setting up a makeshift antenna out of aluminum foil that worked a little bit better than awful when one would firmly and repeatedly smack the side of the set, and doing a pretty shitty job selling ice cream sundaes and birthday cakes while the closest Super Bowl in history played out in front of me (along with both the coworkers and loiterers gathered around this flickering, snowy hearth I'd fashioned).

I'll refrain from the recap of the infamous (if you're a Buffalo fan) end. But you can watch the entire final 10 minutes below. Ominously, they talk about Scott Norwood throughout. It always comes down to the kicker in a tight spot. Always seems to, anyway. And they only remember you, as I know they do in Buffalo, when you earn it... for better or worse.

What a game. What a fucking game. Though, if you've been paying attention, this shouldn't surprise you. This team is magic. Ever since that goal line stand in Washington, they've gotten better and better. What's one more road game in two weeks?

If you're a betting man, how do you not take the Giants over the Patriots at this point? They're playing with the house's money right now and thriving. Man, I can't wait to watch this defense take another crack at Tom Brady.

Greatest Giants game since last week's game in Dallas. And they're both two of the biggest in Giants history.

Go Big Blue!