ShareThisVIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Picking the Super Bowl winner. No sweat.Picking the winner of the NCAA basketball tournament? No thanks.Pat Robertson, founder and chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network, received the Super Sage Award trophy Friday morning on a live taping of The 700 Club TV show. The Award is presented annually to the celebrity who picks the winning team and comes closest to the final score in the annual Scripps Howard Celebrity Super Bowl Poll.Robertson's prediction of the New York Giants to beat the New England Patriots, 20-14, was the closest out of 100 celebrities to the actual final score in Super Bowl XLII of New York 17, New England 14.But when asked to make a prediction for this weekend's men's Final Four basketball games, Robertson demurred."I don't have any idea. That's beyond my scope," Robertson said, laughing.Although he wouldn't pick a winner, he does have a favorite."I've sort of been a North Carolina fan," said Robertson. "I know they've had a basketball dynasty down there. I've always favored them."Robertson, 78, has long been interested in sports. While at Washington & Lee University, Robertson participated in intramural wrestling and soccer. Earlier he played football at McCallie Prep School in Chattanooga, Tenn."I played the position of right tackle," he said. "I wasn't all that great of a football player, but I enjoyed it. I also was a heavyweight boxer. I fought the Golden Gloves."Nowadays, Robertson's involvement in sports is more as a casual observer. Still, that was enough to capture the sixth annual Super Sage Award."I'm not the avid fan that (my son Gordon) is," he said. "He insisted to me that the score was going to be very high, and that I was totally wrong."Robertson joined previous Super Sage winners: golfing legend Arnold Palmer in 2003, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in 2004, actor Dennis Farina in 2005, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., in 2006 and magicians Penn & Teller last year.(David Nielsen writes for Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com. Contact him at nielsend@shns.com)
Super Sage winner Robertson sticks to NFL picks
Submitted by SHNS on Fri, 04/04/2008 - 13:41
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