"I'M THE BEST SPORTS BLOGGER ON THE INTERNET!"

Hopefully those of you reading this are all reasonable people, and understand that post title is a), me trying to be relevant, b), me trying to be catchy, and c), obviously an exaggeration. I have neither the experience nor the qualifications to appoint myself the king of this mystical series of tubes that I use to share my opinions on the world of sports, but also to find funny pictures of what would happen if Darth Vader showed Grumpy Cat to Emperor Palpatine. But it raises the question that has been raised 233 million times in the last day or so. Is there a line in the sand regarding trash talking?

Regular readers of mine and those of you who know me personally (a lot of whom are probably members of both groups) know that I played sports for small, private Christian schools. I have a feeling that were I to show up an opponent and talk smack about it postgame to any press that would have happened to be there (i.e. some guy from the Beacon News), I would have been rounded up and, at best, given a stern talking to; at worst, I would have been dismissed from the team and possibly faced further repercussions from the school itself. The philosophy was such that we were representing God every time we took the field/court/whatever (hence the fact that "Christian" was prominent on every team's uniform in some capacity). It's not something I can really argue against, even almost seven years removed from high school.

So needless to say, Don Beebe wouldn't have tolerated Richard Sherman's epic rant to Erin Andrews last night.

Look, I don't personally know either guy or their history. Richard Sherman was quite thoughtful in his self-defense on MMQB today. He wouldn't explain his animosity towards Michael Crabtree, though according to CBS Sports (via the Seattle Times), an alleged incident at a charity event last offseason is the source. Whatever the case may be, his taunting in the immediate moments after his game-clinching deflection to Malcom Smith wasn't called for. No need to do the choking sign to Colin Kaepernick, especially not for the reasons he said he did.

As for the interview? In all the things I've read, I think the thing I agree with most was by an old colleague from my brief time at WROK in Rockford, Matt Nestor, who cohosts the Stateline Sports Hour on Saturdays.

"Say what you will about the interview (I say not the time or place), he eloquently defends himself here. Standing by what he said. I'm sure he wishes he would have done it different, but he said what he felt was true. Can't knock the guy for that. People beg for athletes to speak something other than cliches. Then blast them when someone does."

I agree that it should have been done differently. Matt goes on to say that he especially didn't like the dig at Crabtree (neither do I), but had no problem with him standing by his comments after the fact (neither do I). It was a heated game against their biggest rival with a great play to end it. Adrenaline runs hot and he said things in the heat of the moment. I get it. Other than the dig on Crabtree, I don't have a problem with his interview. If anything, I found it entertaining. I can't call it arrogant, because looking at the NFL right now, he's the best cornerback. He's like Darelle Revis three or four years ago, and Nnamdi Asomugha during his stint with the Raiders. He's someone you respect and be careful with when you do decide to throw the ball his way. Sherman has a big mouth, yes. But he has clearly backed it up with his play on the field. He and his team earned their way to the Super Bowl.

That said, while I'm still formulating my argument for who I would pick both straight up and against the spread, I do have the decision of who to root for. Ultimately, I am rooting for Denver though. You have a generally classy organization with one of the classiest quarterbacks in league history looking to add to his legacy going up against a team that talks a big game (and largely backs it up, in fairness), but also has allegations of drug use (cue the "Seadderal" jokes) and also has a slimebag for a head coach. Oh, and they're the team I have an irrational hatred for because of that game early in the 2012 season even though it wasn't their fault, but a bunch of their guys were a-holes about it (especially you, Golden Tate) and I will probably be bitter about it until utter vengeance is secured because I care too much. Richard Sherman, you're off the hook. For now.