What about Bob?

Bills tight end Kevin Everett, temporarily paralyzed in a Week 1 collision on a kickoff return in the Bills-Broncos game, will be on hand for Super Bowl XLII. Great news.

Everett has confirmed to a Houston television station that he will sit with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Everett has made a remarkable recovery from his injuries, and he is walking again after months of rehabilitation.

Caught a re-run of the Giants' win over the Bills in Super Bowl XXV last night on NFL Network, and thought back to this look-a-like that was all the rage when Levy was the Bills coach. If I'm not mistaken, Paulsen was part of the Rowan and Martin Laugh-in ensemble. I could be wrong on that, but I'm sure there's some baby boomer out there who will know.

(UPDATE: Emma informs us that it was the Smothers Brothers show that Paulsen was a part of ... yes, Hookside, the spelling is Paulsen, not Paulson.)

As expected, Neil Best has been a blogging machine here in Phoenix, laying it all on the line as he emerged from his basement for the first time in three years.

After yesterday's dizzying 30-post production, he is back at it this morning, letting his readers know that he has met WFAN's Craig Carton. And we quote:

"I wished Craig a happy 39th birthday and inquired about his recent tushy problems."

Carton recently underwent hemorrhoid surgery. Apparently, he offered his listeners some rather ... um ... disturbing details of his experience.

Please read Best's blog often today. It is the final day of the month, and he is in a pitched battle to be Newsday.com's best-read sports blog of the month.

Please return here often today, because if I beat Best's page views, I have promised to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

In a Speedo.

With Carton by my side.

You have to love how Patriots quarterback Tom Brady responded to Plaxico Burress' prediction that the Giants would win, 23-17.

"We're only going to score 17 points?" Brady said. Then he chuckled.

"OK. Is Plax playing defense? I wish he had said 45-42 and gave us a little credit for scoring more points."

Perfect.

Laugh it off, just as Giants center Shaun O'Hara did after being accused of being a dirty player by Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman. O'Hara played along, saying he showered every day and even used conditioner every once in a while.

The moment has arrived.

Three days and counting to Giants-Patriots, and it is time to weigh in.

Giants or Patriots. Make your choice. BBiB! remains the official scorer.

We'll wait until a bit later in the day before making our prediction official, although you can probably find it somewhere in our voluminous wall-to-wall coverage of the game in today's special section in Newsday.

In the meantime, you can chew on our five-point plan to beat the Patriots.

Here are the current standings:

Blogger/ Wins/ Points differential

1. BG 5 7

2. Poppy 5 10

3. DC Jets Fan 5 34

4. bigfroe 4 21

5. Karl 4 43

6. tenn tom 3 1

7. Richie G 3 7

8. BNG 3 14

9. Chilkoot 3 22

10. NKR 3 53

11. BBiB! 2 1

12. Best 2 96

13. Chris Mascaro 2 111

14. Hookslide 1 53

Newsday Jets beat writer and video host extraordinaire Tom Rock and former Jerry Springer security guard Steve Wilkos, who now has his own talk show.

Thanks to Joe M. for this brilliant call.

Pats receiver Randy Moss was asked a few minutes ago at the Patriots' press conference in Scottsdale what he thought of the Giants' decision to dress in black suits on their way to Arizona.

The Giants insisted the black suits were their way of showing that they were on a business trip, but some press box wags suggested it looked as if they were dressing for the funeral. Of the Patriots' unbeaten season, perhaps?

Moss cracked: "We'll see who's wearing black on Monday."

Plaxico Burress all but guaranteed a Giants' win by predicting a 23-17 score on Sunday, and he didn't back off from his boast during Media Day yesterday.

We've already received a couple of e-mails from angry Giants fans questioning why we would dare write anything critical of Burress, or any other Giants players, for that matter. One reader suggested it sounded like we were writing for a Boston paper, and not one of the Giants' "hometown" papers

Whoa.

Last I checked, Sam Zell was signing my checks, not John Mara. So pardon the criticism.

Then again, Mr. Mara himself wasn't too happy with Burress "chirping" this week, so we'll see where it goes from here.

On the way to the Giants' presser in Chandler, Ariz., so we'll see how it's going there.

One of the best things about covering the Super Bowl is running into Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers, whose irreverent sense of humor is one of the real treats of our business. Then again, some of the folks he rips with surgical precision and comedic wit might not feel that way, but we've always considered T.J.'s edgy columns a cut above.

Check out his take on Media Day through the eyes of his 2-year-old granddaughter, and you'll know what we're talking about. He even includes a riff from our impromptu 6:30 a.m. chat at Starbuck's yesterday in the column.

Again, the man is a born blogger, even if he'll never indulge in the craft.

Actually, the team's co-owner, Steve Tisch, has also predicted the Giants will beat the Patriots on Sunday in Super Bowl XLII.

Perhaps it doesn't carry quite as much weight as a player of Burress' stature calling for a 23-17 win, but when the boss is guaranteeing a win, maybe you can't blame the players.

You will not be seeing John Mara predicting the outcome, because he's been around too long and would never think of breaking his father's rules about this sort of thing. Wellington Mara said he'd always expect the worst, and hope for the best. Never, ever, ever would he guarantee the outcome of a game.

Again, these people can say what they want, and they can get the Giants as juiced up as they liked. But my preference has always been to show a little restraint before the game, show what you've got during the game, and then thump your chest afterward.

The Giants have become a very likeable team this year in large measure because they have said little and done much, living out Tom Coughlin's catchphrase he printed on t-shirts handed out during the preseason: "Talk is cheap. Play the game."

But all this chatter in the days leading up to the big game run counter to that mindset. Do they still have a chance to win the game? Sure. But why give the opposition something to rally around, especially the three-time Super Bowl winning Patriots, who seem to revel in such verbal salvos.

First, Plaxico Burress predicts to a reporter that the final score on Sunday will be 23-17, just before he and his teammates board a bus yesterday for Newark Airport and their trip to Phoenix.

Back page headline.

But earlier today, Burress only fanned the flames by backing up his prediction with more bold talk about how the Giants shouldn't back down from the Patriots. Not that they should back down, but there might be just a tad less explosive way to say so than to tell a horde of reporters at your podium on Media Day.

"We don't have to take a back seat to these guys," Burress said of the 18-0 Patriots. "We didn't get here by luck. Quiet confidence is one of the best characteristics to have."

But Burress wasn't being so quiet about his confidence.

"Why come here with a negative attitude?" he said. "The goal is to go out and be great. Like [Eli Manning] tells me, 'Let's go out and be great.' I pat him on the buttocks and say let's go out and play."

Burress also accused the Patriots of having "a quiet arrogance."

Asked why he picked 23-17 as the final score, he said, "That was the first thing that came to my mind."

Hmmm. Wonder what's gonna be posted on the Patriots' bulletin board this morning.