Cardinals’ Loss Ends Dream Season

TAMPA BAY, Fla.—In one of the most thrilling games in Super Bowl history, the amazing Arizona Cardinals came up short Feb. 1, losing in the final minute to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23.

Despite the tough loss, the Cards may have opened a new door—a winning attitude.

For 60 years, the team had gone without a championship. In fact, this was the second-longest drought in major professional sports. But this season was magical for Arizona and some very patient Cardinals fans.

Football “experts” listed the Cards as underdogs all year long, especially in the playoffs. But led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, the team kept finding ways to win against some of the toughest teams in the NFL.

Opponents couldn’t contain the Cardinals’ awesome air attack that included stand-out receivers Anquon Boldin, Steve Breaston and Larry Fitzgerald. On the ground, Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower were hard to stop. Add to that a defense that learned to bend but not break, and Arizona ended up as the NFC champs!

Super Bowl XLIII pitted the high-powered Cardinals offense against the best defense in the NFL. It ended up being a game of big plays. For three quarters, the Steelers kept Fitzgerald quiet. But in the fourth quarter, Fitz scorched the Steelers defense with amazing catches, including two for touchdowns. On his second score, he turned a short pass into a 64-yard touchdown, giving the Cards a 23-20 lead with just 2:37 left in the game.

But the Steelers roared back with receiver Santonio Holmes, who made a spectacular game-winning catch in the end zone with 35 seconds left.

“It hurts so bad to be so close to being a (Super Bowl) champion,” Fitzgerald said after the loss.

“Obviously, we would’ve loved to have won, but we took the best team in the league down to the wire,” Warner added. “They had to make some huge plays to beat us. I’m proud of (our) team. I’m proud of…how we fought…and how we gave ourselves a chance to win. I’m going to carry that with me.

Arizona Science Center Garners Award

Triumphant Super Bowl quarterbacks aren’t the only ones going to Disneyland to celebrate a big win. The Arizona Science Center will send its president/CEO there next month to pick up a big award honoring the Forces of Nature exhibit.

Chevy Humphrey will accept the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in first-class company—other winners, chosen by the Themed Entertainment Association, include Disney World attractions, The International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and the 2008 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, China.

Forces of Nature is a relative newbie. The gallery made its DEBUT less than a year ago on April 22. Humphrey calls the exhibit “an amazing educational and immersive gallery experience that exemplifies our mission...to inspire, educate and entertain visitors of all ages about science.”

The center is also celebrating the International Year of Astronomy with special events each month. You can learn about the Red Planet and the history-making Phoenix Lander with “Mars, What’s New? Part I” on March 14. Then get to know the Hubble Space Telescope on April 11.

Hands-on activities and solar scoping are part of the Year of Astronomy events and are included with admission. The public is also invited to join astronomy groups that will set up telescopes in Heritage Square from 5 to 10 p.m.

In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama pledged to “restore science to its rightful place.” Ashley Carter, Public Relations specialist at the Science Center, says, “We’re really excited to see what the next four years will bring for science education.”

The Arizona Science Center is located at 600 E. Washington St. For information on hours, admission prices and special events, go to www.azscience.org or call 602-716-2000.

Is Shaq Sinking Suns?

There's a new big man in town; the Phoenix Suns are betting he's the spark they need to win the playoffs.

One of the biggest stars in the NBA universe, Shaquille O'Neal, is now wearing purple and orange. And both Shaq and the Suns have a lot to prove. Shaq, who just turned 36 and has endured knee and hip injuries, wants to show he's still a big force in the NBA. His critics say that the Diesel is too old and too slow for a high-octane, blazingly fast team like the Suns.

During the regular season, the Suns are one of the toughest teams in the West. And while fans love the Suns' exciting and high-scoring brand of basketball, led by two-time League MVP point guard Steve Nash, the team has never won the NBA Finals.

The Suns believe that Shaq is the piece that's been missing. At 7 feet 1 inch tall and 325 pounds, Shaq gives the Suns a true center who grabs rebounds, plays tough defense and passes the ball well. Up till now, Amare Stoudamire has been stuck playing center for the Suns, even though he's really one of the best power forwards in the game. With Shaq in at center, Stoudamire is freed up to do what he does best!

"Psychologically it really helps us out. Guys are much more willing to go to the boards and fight around the basket with Shaq in there," explains Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.

Fans love Shaq's superstar qualities. The big guy has won four NBA Finals and was MVP for three of them! But the Suns have lost their winning ways since Shaq started playing on Feb. 20. In the trade for Shaq, the Suns gave up All-Star forward Shawn Marion, who said he wanted to be traded at the beginning of the season. For years, Marion had been a clutch scorer. As of press time, the Suns have won just two of their last six games and have fallen to fifth place in the Western Conference. Fans wonder whether it's growing pains with the big guy or could it be a bad fit?

'Doomsday Vault' Opens for Business!

SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO, Norway-Imagine a bank that's so far north that polar bears outnumber the people living there! The bank is located on Norway's Svalbard archipelago just 620 miles from the North Pole. As you may have guessed, it's cold there. During winter's around-the-clock darkness, temperatures can fall to -22° Fahrenheit.

The bank was blasted into the side of an arctic mountain and has reinforced concrete walls to help protect its valuable deposits from natural disasters, global warming and even a nuclear explosion. Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault-also called the "Doomsday Vault" by the press!

You can find seedbanks all over the world. Native Seeds/SEARCH is a seedbank here in Arizona. Its mission is to protect the diversity of local seed used in farming and their wild relatives. "We have nearly 2,000 varieties in our seedbank, mainly corn, beans and squash," explains Carolyn Owens, who works on grants for the seedbank. "Just like the seedbank in Norway, the seeds need to be kept cold, so they're stored in a freezer," she says. Seeds for the bank come from southwestern states and northern Mexico.

Seedbanks help protect our food supply from the "what ifs" in life-like what if there's drought; what if a disease attacks a certain kind of wheat, or what if global warming changes what can grow around here?

Modern farming has led to fewer and fewer varieties of crops. This has brought about many varieties of food crops being lost forever, and Owens says it's alarming. "It's just more cost effective to grow a single variety...but you don't know what disease is going to come along down the road," she says. A disease could wipe out an entire variety of a crop, leading to food shortages. But if there are enough other seed varieties, like wheat for instance, one of those types of wheat may turn out to be resistant to the disease.

Owens points out that a lot of seedbanks are in politically unstable areas like Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and have been looted or destroyed. In the Phillipines, a flood wiped out the country's seedbank.

That's why the Svalbard Global Seedbank was created-to protect the diversity of seeds no matter what happens in the world. Countries can "deposit" different varieties of seeds. If a disaster jeopardizes crops, the country can make a "withdrawal" of seeds.

The vault was built by Norway at a cost of about $3 million. Because seeds are so small, the "Doomsday Vault" can hold up to 2 billion seeds!