Yes, of course I watched the Superbowl. I’m a football fan. Pro football, anyway. I always watch the Superbowl.

It wasn’t a blowout, as so many Superbowls have been in the past. Looked like it might turn into that early on, when the Packers opened up a big early lead, but the Steelers came back in the second half and for a while it looked as though they might snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

It wasn’t a thriller either. Not one of the great contests. Mediocre play, for the most part. The last few SBs have spoiled us. Kind of a yawner.

But maybe that’s because I had no strong rooting interest. It’s amazing how big a difference that can make. The games that involve me most are those featuring one of my teams, of course… but I can also get pretty worked up by a contest featuring one of the “bad guy” teams I love to hate, like the Cowboys or the Pats. In those, at least, I have someone to root against. The Steelers and the Pack, though… don’t love ’em, don’t hate ’em, so it’s hard to stay emotionally involved.

I do like good play, no matter who’s involved, but there weren’t many spectacular plays in this SB either. Nothing to compare to the Tyree catch or the Santonio Holmes reception.

Even the commercials seemed kind of boring this year. I’ve already forgotten most of ’em.

That being said, I’m sure you Terrible Towel Wavers out there are crushed right now, and all you Cheeseheads are telling each other this was the best SB even. So condolences to the former, and congrats to the latter.

Next year I want Jets v, Giants. Subway Superbowl!!!

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Whether you’re an Ice & Fire reader or a funny book fan or both, I have cool news for you. A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is coming to comics. Random House/ Bantam Books has acquired the rights to do a graphic adaptation of the series, to be published as monthly comics (in partnership with Dynamite Entertainment) and as graphic novels in trade paperback format.

The comics will be scripted by DANIEL ABRAHAM, who should need no introduction to regular readers of this blog… but I’ll give him one anyway. Daniel is the author of ten books and more than thirty short stories, under his own name and the pseudonyms M.L.N. Hanover and James S.A. Corey (with Ty Franck). He has been nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy awards, and won the International Horror Guild Award. Daniel’s previous comic work includes the adaptation of my historical horror novel FEVRE DREAM for Avatar, and the original Wild Cards series THE HARD CALL for Dynamite and DBPro. When not adapating my fantasy series, he’s presently writing his own, THE DAGGER AND THE COIN.

The series will be drawn by artist TOMMY PATTERSON, who won the gig over more than a dozen other artists from around the world who applied for the assignment and submitted samples. With so much top rank talent to pick from, it was a tough choice, but Daniel and I and our editors at Bantam and Dynamite were all knocked out by the character sketchs and sample pages that Tommy submitted.

JON SNOW

Tommy’s previous credits include FARSCAPE for Boom! Studios, the movie adaptation THE WARRIORS for Dynamite Entertainment, and TALES FROM WONDERLAND, THE WHITE KNIGHT, RED ROSE, and STINGERS from Zenescope Entertainment. He holds a BS in Studio Art and also works as a graphic designer. Patterson lives in Western Kentucky with his wife and daughter.

TYRION LANNISTER

The first issue of the monthly comic is scheduled to be published by Dynamite Entertainment in late spring 2011. The graphic novel compilations will be published by Bantam.

*** And yes, for those who were wondering, this was one of the infamous Two Big Announcements that I was originally hoping to make during my visit to Los Angeles in early January, before my holidays in the hospital knocked all my plans off the rails.

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… on the HBO site and YouTube.

The latest installment in the “Artisans” series.

Maisie is amazing. As are Sophie and Isaac, who play Sansa and Bran. The kids haven’t been featured in any of the teasers or trailers to date, but I think you’re going to love them once the show hits the air.

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For all you space opera fans out there, my occasionally loyal assistant Ty Franck and my sometime collaborator Daniel Abraham have a kickass book coming out from Orbit this year. It’s called LEVIATHAN WAKES (not to be confused with Daniel’s short story collection LEVIATHAN WEPT), and it’s the first of a trilogy.

You can see Daniel and Ty talking about it on the Orbit website at

http://www.youtube.com/orbitbooks#p/a/u/2/Yu0xJpCy95o

(Ty is the funny looking one).

Anyway, it’s the best damn book about vomit zombies that you’re ever likely to read. And Ty and Daniel are already halfway done with the second book, which they write on Ty’s day off. I have warned him that if they finish that before I finish DANCE, I’ll have to kill them.

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Over across the water in the fabled British Isles, Sky is getting ready to launch their new “Sky Atlantic” channel, scheduled to debut on February 1. Posters and billboards are going up all over the UK, and in Ireland as well. The ads promote three shows that Sky Atlantic will soon ber featuring: BOARDWALK EMPIRE, MAD MEN, and… GAME OF THRONES.

Billboards have been seen all over London, in Dublin, in Gloucester, Wakefield, Bath… and many more places, I don’t doubt.

One of them popped up ten minutes from where Maisie Williams lives, so Maisie came face to face with Arya, and her mum sent me the picture:

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Life is meaningless and full of pain.

Particularly if you’re a Jets fan.

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Me on MTV. That’s something I never would have figured.

Cool, though. Hey, I always wanted to be a rock star. Or at least a singer/ singwriter. (Why do you think I keep putting “songs” in all my titles?) My complete lack of any singing ability sort of put a damper on that, however. (Although, when plied with sufficient liquor by attractive young women, I can sometimes be persuaded to sing old TV theme songs, or at least as much of them as I remember).

But anyway, here’s me on MTV.

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And just when I thought the night could not possibly get any better, HBO surprised me by showing a brand-new trailer for the series right before the season debut of BIG LOVE.

“The Game Begins,” they call this one. Enjoy.

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Life is magical and full of joy.

What can I possibly say? The game speaks for itself. Rex rules, and the Evil Empire has fallen (this year at least).

Amazing game. Amazing D. Sanchez outplayed Brady (whoda thunk it). All three Jets wideouts made major contributions. Jericho’s long run, that astonishing TD run by Braylon, and of course Santonio’s endzone catch, a mirror image of the one that won the Superbowl for Pittsburgh. (Braylon and Santonio have both proved to be sensational acquisitions).

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Beating Manning and Brady in successive weeks is more than any Jets fan could dare to expect. And now if only we can add Big Ben to the list… get back to work, Rex.

(As an interesting side note, my early 70s story “The Last Super Bowl” predicted a 2014 Superbowl match up between the Packers and the Jets. I also predicted the Jets moving to New Jersey. Of course, everything else in the story was completely wrong, but what the hey… )

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So many painful memories. This one strikes home.

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Will this be the year Gang Green breaks the curse?

We will find out tomorrow at Foxboro.

Meanwhile, two games today. I love the playoffs. Glad I’m here to watch ’em.

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