"I'm biased, but who cares, somebody tell me they're not," said a jubilant Ravens coach Brian Billick, who shilled for his boys all season. "I'll argue it to death."

 Kamikaze linebacker Ray Lewis, with a performance that made him just the seventh defender to be voted Super Bowl MVP, batted down passes, made five tackles and bashed anything in blue that moved.

 Riding that defence, Baltimore finished its mission and an 11-game winning streak by claiming the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

 "We didn't just break records, we shattered them literally," Lewis said. "We dominated. We are the best -- the greatest defence of all time."

 The Ravens shamed the Giants despite their own embarrassing offence that may go down as one of the worst in Super Bowl history.

 No need to remind the Giants. After rolling up 41 points in an NFC championship shutout over the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago, their only points last night came on a kick return.

 Baltimore's first 17 points -- including a Duane Starks touchdown following an interception of a pitiful Kerry Collins pass -- were scored off three of the Giants' five turnovers.

 The opportunistic Baltimore defence, which surrendered just one touchdown in four playoff wins, usually doesn't need help. But Collins handed it to them anyway, equalling a Super Bowl record with four interceptions.

 The Ravens confidently perfected a game plan designed to stuff the Giants running attack and put the game into the hands of Collins, who last night was woefully ill-equipped.

 Both quarterbacks entered the game having endured criticism to the point of ridicule for their deficiencies.

 Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer, who had many long afternoons in Tampa when he was a bust as a Buccaneer, looked ready to throw up rather than throw a football. He alternately under- and over-threw wide-open receivers enough during the first half to lead the Giants to believe they had a chance.

 They didn't.

 All season, the Ravens have bleated about their need for just one big play. Dilfer matched those low expectations with a toss that drifted over the left shoulder of receiver Brandon Stokley and landed between his numbers for a 38-yard touchdown with 6:58 remaining in the first quarter. The Ravens never looked back.

 The expected duel of punishing defences arrived on schedule. In the first 4:52 of the game there were four punts and by the end of the game, a Super-Bowl record 21.

 Before Steven Tyler, Britney Spears and pals took the stage at halftime, the Ravens had added a 47-yard Matt Stover field goal for a 10-0 lead and sheer control.

 The game was essentially over when the teams put on some post-halftime entertainment with the game's only real dazzle. Though ultimately meaningless to the final result, there were three touchdowns in 36 seconds.

 On the play following Starks' touchdown, the Giants' Ron Dixon returned a kick 97 yards for his team's only touchdown.

 Oh yeah? said the Ravens. Jermaine Lewis ran the next kick back 84 yards to set another Bowl record for two kickoff returns for touchdowns in one game.

 With the score 24-7 and the Giants impotent as ever on offence, it was fill-in-the-blanks time to round out the score.

 "Before the game, I looked into my teammates' eyes and we just knew," Dilfer said.

 Presumably he was gazing at the defence.