Perspective

Bill Lyon of the Philadelphia Inquirer, on the transformation of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson:

“To this point in the season, [he] is the league’s most valuable player. Uh huh. The former Mr. Irresponsible himself is the best player on the team with the best record. He means the most to his team. Thus, MVP. . . .

“Cornrows and tattoos, billowing pantaloons and rocket-powered sneakers, missed practices and kissed-off shoot-arounds, pouts and sulks--all those things that made so many teeth gnash--now recede in the rearview mirror.

“Slowly, but surely, Iverson has reformed himself and refined his game.”

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Trivia time: Who holds the Super Bowl record for career touchdowns?

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Sinking of the Vikings: Skip Bayless in the Chicago Tribune: “As soon as Kerry Collins showed he wouldn’t beat himself, the outcome was predictable. The NFC championship game quickly turned into an exaggerated example of what happens to Dennis Green teams in the playoffs.

“He builds Ferraris without breaks or bumpers. The gas tank is small but flammable.”

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Hometown hammering: Bayless was kind in his assessment of the Vikings’ embarrassing 41-0 NFC championship game loss to the Giants. This from Dan Barreiro of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

“In the playoff history of the Vikings, has a team ever offered a more listless or gutless performance? Absolutely not.

“In the history of the NFL has a team ever been less prepared to play in a championship game? Absolutely. The Washington club that lost to the Bears, 73-0, in 1940.”

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Canadian criticism: David Wells leaving the Toronto Blue Jays for the Chicago White Sox brought this reaction from Tom Maloney of the National Post:

“Wells turns 38 in May. He doesn’t rent Cindy Crawford training videos for the exercise, he went 5-6 with a 4.97 ERA after the All-Star break, back spasms are chronic, the gout flares too, and he has logged 1,118 innings on that golden arm the last five seasons.”

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Future view: David Whitley in the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel: “This day in sports hysteria:

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* “2013: Former President Bill Clinton wins the Masters using 63 strokes and 28 mulligans in the final round.

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* “2525: A team coached by Denny Green wins the NFL championship game.”

Biggest burger: Baltimore Raven center Jeff Mitchell says that defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, whose weight is recorded on truck scales as 360 pounds, “looks like a Burger King attendant.”

Comment from Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle: “To Rich Gannon he probably looks like a Burger King franchise.”

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His preference: Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer says the Super Bowl matchup proves that “God is a soccer guy.”

We hope there’ll be more scoring.

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Looking back: On this day in 1994, the Clippers and Miami Heat combined for an NBA-record 23 three-point baskets. The Clippers set a team record with 11 three-pointers in their 126-124 victory.

Any guesses? From comedy writer Jerry Perisho: “Utah Jazz center Olden Polynice was suspended for one game by the NBA after pleading guilty to charges of impersonating a police officer.

“I’m just wondering how many Salt Lake City policemen are black, 7 feet tall and wear $2,500 custom-made suits.”

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Trivia answer: Jerry Rice of San Francisco, seven in three Super Bowls.

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And finally: Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, on the Giant-Raven Super Bowl matchup: “Leave aside for a moment what such a match will look like. [It] ought to be swell entertainment if Mariano Rivera can just nail down that 3-2 New York lead in the fourth quarter.”