Wake-up Call: Al Michaels, John Madden, Kings, Rafael Nadal

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First things first: Running very late today, but was that the best announcing ever last night on Super Bowl XLIII? NBC’s Al Michaels and John Madden proved again why they are the best in the business. No one else is even close, including the seemingly omnipresent Mike Tirico from ESPN. Richard Sandomir of the New York Times nails it in a column today. It’s one thing to watch the game, but to listen to the game with these two behind the microphone takes it to a whole new level. How often do you find yourself talking about how good the announcers are, or how right they are, during a game? That’s what happened last night. Over and over.

Speaking of watching: The Pittsburgh Steelers will be at the heart of a victory parade on Tuesday in downtown Pittsburgh. Yet after seeing the overnight ratings, one can’t help but wonder how many people may be kicking themselves today for having missed what is being talked about as the greatest fourth quarter in Super Bowl history. Last year’s game was amazing with David Tyree’s ball-to-helmet catch with no time left, but Sunday’s ending was something to see -- two rallies in the final three minutes. The Steelers-Cardinals game recorded a 42.1 rating and 65 share in Nielsen’s overnight measurement of the nation’s top cities. Last year’s New York Giants-New England Patriots game, which was the most-watched Super Bowl ever, was 44.7.

Speaking of Tyree: The man who defended Tyree in Super Bowll XLII was Patriots safety Rodney Harrison. He was on the Dan Patrick show this morning to talk about Sunday night’s game. Better finish, last year or this year? ‘This year’s game,’ he said. It’s worth a listen, particularly when Harrison talks about how Tyree didn’t really rate much preparation time on the part of New England’s defense because Tyree was seen as a special teams player, not as a receiver.

Let’s talk Kings: If you like the Kings, don’t miss the posts by Jimmy Fox on this blog. He did them live from Saturday’s game in Montreal and he plans to do the same for Tuesday’s game in Ottawa.

Wrap-up Down Under: Is tennis gaining in popularity? The men’s and the women’s singles matches over the weekend at the Australian Open were must-see television. Those of us here in Los Angeles who weren’t able to stay up in the wee hours of morning had to catch the action on a re-broadcast. But that was OK. When it comes to emotion, Rafael Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer proved to be one of the best.

-- Debbie Goffa

Top photo: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes hauls in the winning touchdown. Credit: Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel

Inset: Al Michaels before Super Bowl XLIII between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Credit: Jamie Squire / Getty Images