Goes well with Coffee...

Wow, close call on the oh-fer! Time to eat a few pieces of humble pie...

The Ravens looked like crap in losing to the Colts. McNair did NOT look like the Ravens' "final piece of the puzzle" QB he has been for a last many weeks. Ironically enough, it was the Colts' defense that looked sharp, not the vaunted Ravens. And of course, FOOD FOR CONFLICT is the fact that the Colts' next opponent is...

The Patriots are a winner. I loved David Rivers, but truly I have to give kudos to Tilam for his prediction about rookie quarterbacks. Giving up the touchdown right before halftime was the first domino to fall in a long chain of second half dominance by Brady and the Pats. Tom Brady and Bill Belichik are 12-1, that's TWELVE and ONE, in the playoffs. They are winners, plain and simple.

Not sure where the game went wrong, but the Seahawks looked pretty much average against da Bears. And when the 'Hawks' defense needed to come up with a stop in the 4th quarter, they didn't. So momentum at home shifted to the Bears side of the field (see above, Pats v Bolts). How do you let a middling quality QB like Grossman complete a 30 yard pass over the middle in OT?! As soon as the Bears tied it to send it into overtime and stopped the Seahawks on their opening drive, it was just a matter of time...

THANK YOU Drew Brees. The Saints are the real deal. Years of underachieving at the QB position and they finally got a solid performer in Drew Brees directing them around, and they are showing their talent...

Now, onto next round:

I cannot believe I'm going to say this, but the Colts over the Pats. The Colts defense is feeling pretty good after holding the Ravens to 2 FG, and I think they are really hungry to prove themselves against the Pats. I think the Pats are beatable this year; coming back against a rookie quarterback who's never played a playoff game before is one thing, beating the Colts, who are only gaining confidence and momentum, is a different thing. Colts 24-17

The Bears are barely holding on, frankly. Rex Grossman is a good enough quarterback, but so is a G.E.D. That's called a "Good Enough Diploma". Basically, you can make up 4 years of high school in 6 hours. Not as good as the real thing. The Saints are just too much team for the Bears. I can see the Bears defense holding the Saints to a reasonable scoring total, but they will begin to feel the pressure, make mistakes, and get beaten since they KNOW that Rex Grossman has to play a game that he rarely plays, mistake free and attacking, for Chicago to win. Saints 31-13.

In other sports...

I cannot help but wonder, after some further reflection, that if David Beckham is worth $10M a year and $50M in endorsements as a step-slower "star", how much do you think some of the other high profile quality players might be worth should they decide to jump to the MLs? In a soccer fan's wet dream, how much do you think Ronaldinho would be worth if Becks commands THAT kind of money...I am concerned that this will set a lousy precedent...

Something that passed the world by unless you're a hockey fan, the league's (and history's) FIRST Japanese player made his debut in the NHL this past weekend; Los Angeles Kings goalie Yutaka Fukufuji became the first Japanese-born player in the NHL when he started the third period against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Frankly, with Mathieu Caron injured, it was a sound decision regardless of his nationality: Fukufuji was 2-0-0 with a 1.30 goals-against average in three games at Manchester of the American Hockey League and 3-3-0 with Reading of the East Coast Hockey League.

Is it ME, or is men's college basketball currently a war of attrition? As in "what top ranked team is going to lose today?".

Talk about hyping something new, check out this little PGA blurb...Vijay Singh, coming off a victory last week at Kapalua, birdied his last three holes for a 69. He tied for 34th at 277. The good news for the big Fijian is that he stayed atop the FedExCup points list, with only 32 weeks remaining until the playoffs. THIRTY TWO WEEKS?! Who gives a shit...talk to me when there's 23 weeks left, it's way to early to talk about the FedEx Cup. Talk about building up some free public chatter...