Will The Real NFL Champion Please Stand Up?

So, after 17 weeks of punishing regular season play and 2 weeks of playoffs, only 4 teams are left in the race for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

In the AFC, perennial favourites Pittsburgh host resurgent Baltimore in an AFC North battle which, like last week's Ravens/Titans game, will likely see the first team to hit 10 points win.

In the NFC, the most unlikely of matchups: The 6 seed Eagles, who needed the Bears and Bucs to lose on the last day (to the Texans and Raiders, no less) and to beat the Cowboys just to make the playoffs, visit the worst franchise in the history of professional football for the NFC Championship. The Arizona/St. Louis/Chicago Cardinals franchise took 61 years in between hosting playoff games. They'll now host their second in three weeks.

I'm 4-4, so you have to be impressed with my consistency.

AFC - Ravens @ Steelers: In recent weeks, the Ravens have always seemed to find a way to win, but, with the Steelers winning both matchups this season, I think Baltimore will be hard pressed to knock out the Steelers. Steelers 16, Ravens 12.

NFC - Eagles @ Cardinals: Anyone who said these two teams would meet in the NFC title game at the beginning of the season, let alone when the playoffs began, was either very lucky or very good. Like these two teams, I'm going with the former. Arizona's strength all year has been their play at home, but the Eagles seem like a team of destiny. I planned to pick Arizona all week, but I'm changing my mind. Which never goes well... Eagles 27, Cardinals 23.

Record: 4-4

NFL Divisional Weekend

Okay, so 2-2 isn't all bad for my first round of predictions in a while (of the first round, no less), but I'd still like to improve that this weekend. Say, 3-1?

AFC

(6) Baltimore @ (1) Tennessee: Since the Titans lost at home to the Jets (which seems horrible looking back), Tennessee hasn't really shown themselves against a strong team. Baltimore, meanwhile, showed why defence wins championships. Yes, I still don't trust the Titans. Ravens 16, Titans 13.

(4) San Diego @ (2) Pittsburgh: As soon as the Colts were eliminated by the Chargers on Saturday night, I said to myself: Okay, so now it's the Steelers going to the Super Bowl. Even with Big Ben coming off a concussion and the last meeting between these teams being a 1 point game, I still like Pittsburgh. Steelers 17, Chargers 9.

NFC

(6) Philadelphia @ (1) New York: Say what you want about the Plaxico distraction, the slide down the stretch, and the difficulty of repeating as champs, but New York is still the league's best team, and I don't trust Philly to win 3 straight games against good teams. Giants 27, Eagles 19.

(4) Arizona @ (2) Carolina: The fact that one of these teams is guaranteed a spot in the NFC Championship game speaks to how far back these two were last year. But, alas, here they are. The Cards won't pull it off again, especially with the vaunted Panther running game and the fact that Arizona is horrible on the East Coast. Panthers 34, Cardinals 10.

Record: 2-2

From The End Comes A New Beginning

The NFL regular season is now over, setting up one of the more interesting playoff years in recent memory. With no clear-cut favourite in either conference, this weekend's wild-card (or, if you prefer, "wild card") matchups could produce one or both of this year's Super Bowl finalists.

Last year, the #5 seed Giants won 3 straight road games to reach the Super Bowl; the #6 Steelers did the same thing the year before. Will history repeat itself this year?

AFC

(5) Indianapolis @ (4) San Diego: The Colts have the best chance to follow in the Giants' and Steelers' footsteps and reach the Super Bowl. They've won 9 straight and have the likely league MVP behind centre. The Chargers have won 4 straight, but not against any team as good as the Colts. Colts 41, Chargers 31.

(6) Baltimore @ (3) Miami: The battle of "really, they're in the playoffs?" A lot of people seem to think Miami will simply be happy to be in the post-season and not put up much of a fight against the Ravens, but I disagree. Miami has all the pieces in place to pull off a win here, even if Baltimore did win in Miami this year. Dolphins 17, Ravens 13.

NFC

(5) Atlanta @ (4) Arizona: When it's your first home playoff game in your current state, and you moved there in the 70's, you know it's a big moment. Atlanta may be the more talented team (really, Atlanta? Did I just write that?), but Arizona will be pumped to be at home, where they were dominant this year, and Atlanta has a young team that may falter in the playoffs. It'll be close. Cardinals 31, Falcons 27.

(6) Philadelphia @ (3) Minnesota: Honestly, I can't trust Philadelphia. One week they dominate Dallas, another week they tie Cincinnati. But against Minnesota, they should be able to pull it out. Eagles 23, Vikings 17.

So, We Meet Again...

Okay, it's obviously been a long time since I've posted anything on here, but with full time school and a full time internship (at TSN, no less), it's been hard to find the time to post my thoughts on the world of sports.

So, without further adieu...

- CC Sabathia signed with the Evil Empire today, 7 years @ over 160 mill. Not bad work in today's tough economic times if you can get it. Makes you wonder where that Sabathia to the Dodgers talk on Sunday came from. After weeks of speculation about CC's love of batting and wish to play in Southern California, it turns out in the end that money speaks louder than anything else. Or maybe it's just because pinstripes are slimming.

- With Sabathia and K-Rod (to the Mets) off the MLB free agent list, A.J. Burnett is likely the next big fish to find a new pond. Reports today put the Yanks and Braves 1-2 in the sweepstakes for the overrated right-hander, and it's anyone's guess where Burnett will end up. I'd love to see him join New York, just so long-suffering Blue Jays fans can watch him crash and burn in the Big Apple.

- Speaking of the Jays, a heartfelt goodbye to Ted Rogers. I worked for his company for 6 years, and while I never met the man, the one time he spoke to a group of us on a conference call really picked up the troops. He will be missed.

- While I was writing that, Nicklas Lidstrom won the Wings-Flames game for his team in overtime. And I cheered - not for the Wings win or the Flames loss, but for Lidstrom's game-winning goal for my fantasy hockey team. Sports have a much different meaning now with the advent of fantasy games.

- Was Bills in Toronto a flop? No, no, a thousand times no. Just because the game was garbage doesn't mean the experiment failed. The stadium was full (mostly) and we were able to showcase our city to the United States for something beside hockey. If the Bills hadn't put up a horrendous effort (7 days after another horrendous effort), we'd be praising how strong the experiment was. And to those who a) wanted the dome roof open or b) complained that the closed roof favoured the visiting Dolphins...grow up. Sunday was the coldest days of the year so far, and I doubt 50,000 people would have preferred sitting outside in that just to give their adopted home team a perceived advantage.

- Michael Phelps won the SI Sportsman of the Year. Chantal Petitclerc won the Toronto Star's Lou Marsh Award. It's almost like in Olympic years, no other sports matter.

- Does golf season ever end?

- This year's Winter Classic between Detroit and Chicago from Wrigley Field will get better ratings than last year's game by a mile... and will pass whichever college football game it is up against that afternoon. Mark my words. And if they put it in a Canadian city next year, the ratings will collapse. But put it in Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park...watch out.

- Why is no one talking about the Carolina Panthers for the Super Bowl this year?

- Why is everyone still talking about the New York Jets for the Super Bowl this year?

- There's lots of talk about salaries being cut because of the economic problems, but why is no one talking contraction in leagues? Both the NHL and the NBA have franchises which don't draw nearly enough people to sustain themselves now, and contraction will improve their talent pools immensely. And for the record, those franchises are Nashville, Florida, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Phoenix and the Islanders for the NHL and Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte, and Atlanta for the NBA.

- I'm the first one on board for the "let's get rid of Sean Avery from the NHL" train, but... If there's a belief that Avery needs "psychological help", then why hasn't it happened yet? There seems to be such a stigma in professional sports regarding mental illness, and to me, the perception is along the lines of homosexuality: the law of averages say it's there, but no one talks about it. If Avery does have some sort of mental illness, and he wishes to treat it, then we all need to back off. And maybe, in the long run, something like this will open the door for players to openly admit that they have issues with mental illness.

Top 10 Most Overrated Active Athletes

10) Michael Phelps - Swimming: Yes, 8 gold medals is quite an extraordinary achievement. But guys who finished 4th and 5th were breaking world records in that pool as well. Something tells me if Phelps was Chinese, we'd be questioning his age.

9) Maria Sharapova - Tennis: For all the accolades Ms. Sharapova receives, her domination seems to come only when the Williams sisters are off their game, either literally or mentally. If she recovers from her current injury well enough to beat them at Wimbledon next year, I'll be a believer.

8) Rick Nash - Columbus Blue Jackets: The former 1st-overall pick has only been a plus player twice in his pro career - with a + 5 and a + 2 last year, with no playoff appearances for his Blue Jackets. Add in that his highest point total was last year with 69, and it's easy to see why he shouldn't have a team built around him.

7) Donovan McNabb - Philadelphia Eagles: Too many injuries (only 3 seasons where he started all 16 games) and no ring means he shouldn't be put into the upper echelon like he is.

6) A.J. Burnett - Toronto Blue Jays: It's easy to get a career high in wins when you don't go the distance once all year and baseball's best pen is behind you. Halladay went the distance 9 times, A.J. - 0.

5) Michelle Wie - Golf: This one's hard because it's not really her fault. She's been placed as a sponsor's exemption in second-tier men's events rather than play with her own gender. Thankfully, her success at Q-school is the first step to getting back on track.

4) Francisco Rodriguez - Los Angeles Angels: Also not K-Rod's fault that he's here. His "record" 62 saves are impressive, yes, but playing on a great team helps. Not to mention the rule that even with a 3 run cushion, a save can still be recorded. He'll get a huge offer from a number of teams - the largest from the Mets, I'm sure, after this year's failures from the pen - and a decent number of pitchers could likely set the same record on this Angels team.

3) Brett Favre - New York Jets: It's hard to write this one after his 6 TD performance against Arizona today (although it would have been less had the Cards, you know, covered anybody), but Mr. Favre holds all the bad records for quarterbacks as well as the good ones. That comes with his Ripken-like starting streak and the natural law of numbers. If you play more than everybody else, you'll set more records than they will. He does get points, though, for saying today "Don't book your Super Bowl tickets yet."

2) Tom Brady - New England Patriots: Brady's inclusion on this list is tied to the performance of Matt Cassel, who so far has been good, not great, for the Pats. If Cassel improves as I think he will and leads the Patriots to the playoffs, Brady's mystique is gone forever.

1) Phil Mickelson - Golf: The reason Phil Mickelson is so popular is because of his endearing personality. Everyone loves him, and I think he's a very engaging character. His 34 PGA tour wins help his fame, but after finally breaking through the majors wall by winning 3, Phil has faded. He only has 2 wins this year, even without the omnipresent Tiger Woods over his shoulder. Everyone wants a rival for Tiger, like we have with Federer and Nadal in tennis. The only problem, Tiger has no rival, no equal. He is the best golfer ever, period. And much like Sergio Garcia (who narrowly missed this list), Phil Mickelson is rated higher by the media and by fans because of that desire.

Bartlet Meets Obama

Oh, Aaron Sorkin. Thank you.

Paging Mr. Bledsoe

It was made official today - Tom Brady's knee injury suffered in yesterday's game against the Chiefs is serious enough to make the reigning MVP miss the rest of the season.

The scuttlebutt around the media today is centered around the "other" teams in the AFC, who now have a chance to win the conference - and even the division.

Now, let me take you back to '01. Patriots star quarterback Drew Bledsoe goes down early in the season. Previously unknown 6th-round pick from Michigan (where he backed up Drew Henson) takes the reigns and leads New England to the Super Bowl.

Now, fast forward to today. Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady goes down early in the season. Previously unknown 7th-round pick from USC (where he backed up Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart) takes the reigns and...

Well, we'll see.

If Matt Cassel, who will likely make his first career NFL start against Brett Favre and the Jets on Sunday, can succeed in the Bill Belichick offence and lead the Pats back to the Super Bowl, or at least deep in the playoffs, all discussion of the greatness of Tom Brady must stop.

Forever.

If Cassel succeeds, it will be proven that any quarterback will a head on his shoulders and a decent arm can win in the Pats' system. Now, whether that success is from coaching and match-ups, or from cheating and spying, remains unknown. But a Patriots Super Bowl is not out of the question simply because #12 isn't behind centre anymore.

Certainly there will be a learning curve, as there was with Brady. But Belichick's system is solid, and after a few weeks, Cassel should thrive and bring the Patriots back to the playoffs. And if he does, the cynical members of the media will begin to doubt the merits of whomever New England puts behind centre.

And if he doesn't succeed, and whoever the Patriots bring in fails also, we will know that Tom Brady is worth all the praise heaped upon him.