NFL- The Winners of the NFC and AFC Championship Games Will Be........

I have to hurry and get this posted and get on record for my picks in today's games, the last TRUE football weekend of the season. Super Bowls don't count; it's a day for people who know zilch about football to party their asses off, sort of like New Year's Eve is for "amateurs", as Jackie Gleason used to say.

OK, very quickly.....it's going to be Green Bay over the Bears, 35-17, and the Jets over Pittsburgh, 24-20. The wins will have nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers or Mark Sanchez having great games.

No, they will win because God wants them to. Trust me on this one.

I went to Mass at 12:00PM.....the priest was wearing green vestments. And so was every Catholic priest in the United States, and throughout the world. Think green!

They must have some inside info.....God willing.

Of course, I'm wearing my old #28 Curtis Martin jersey as I type this. And no, the priest this morning had no number on the back of his green vestments.

But he did sound a helluva lot like Rex Ryan.

3,106 People Have Checked My Blogger Profile; Was It Something I Said?

Out of the clear blue I checked my BLOGGER profile to check just what what kind of revealing stuff I posted  way back when.....and I noticed that 3,106 people have checked my profile.

I only have two questions.... (1).How many of you guys are pissed off about something I said?

And (2). Do you live within a 100 mile radius of Central New Jersey? I just want to know if I should be nervous answering the door late at night.


Anyway...my weekly retreat for watching football continues for a few hours more. I was present in Piscataway as my RU Scarlet Knights dropped a 13-10 heartbreaker to Syracuse yesterday, and watched the Jets' OT win against the Browns this afternoon.....I refuse any comment about the Giants-Cowboys; the lights went out in that game before they went out for real in the new and improved $1.5 billion New Meadowlands Stadium.

I'll be back tomorrow with a little piece I'm putting together about America and some of the crazy and erroneous things that too many Americans believe.

Believe it.....or not!

Quick Hits- Stream of Consciousness Edition

It's been a couple of days since my last post, and it's really time for me to say something to my legion(?) of followers....however, I really don't think I want to talk politics (at least not exclusively) or deal with anything of earth shaking substance, unless it concerns the National Football League. So I'll do what I always do in situations like this...I'll revert to QUICK HITS, a "Stream of Consciousness Edition"

(1) As I type this a monument is being unveiled in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium to the late George Steinbrenner. George's family is there, as are many dignitaries, and Joe Torre and Don Mattingly have flown in from Los Angeles. There was only one George...and for every crazy and irrational thing he did there were a dozen wonderful things he did anonymously for others. God bless...and part of him will always live on in Yankee lore.

(2). Lindsay Lohan has a warrant out for her arrest (for drug use while on probation) and Paris Hilton was sentenced today for possession of cocaine. Why am I not shocked by these two events?

(3). Back to the the Yankees and the Steinbrenner Monument....and it is spectacular, a large plaque rather than a free standing monument, a brass bas-relief. with George on the left, and a list of his accomplishments on the right. An awe inspiring ceremony. Kind of adrenaline flowing for the Yankee team, with the Tampa Bay Rays in for possession of first pace in the AL East. The ceremony closes with a recording of Frank Sinatra singing "My Way"....a song that sums up George better than any obituary could.

(4). The recession is OVER...so say the experts. I'll talk more about this in a day or so. You'd think Obama would get more credit for keeping the bus from falling completely off the proverbial cliff....but people want magical solutions to problems large and small. Maybe they should have Criss Angel as president.

(5). Head Coach of Michigan State Mark D'Antonio calls the college football play of the season (so far) with the fake field goal that was a touchdown pass in OT with the Spartans beating Notre Dame 34-31 on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, D'Antonio has a mild heart attack...he was treated, and will be OK. But are you still going to try to tell me that God isn't a Notre Dame fan?

(6). How about those Jets beating the Patriots? What a difference a week makes.

(7). How about those Giants stinking the place up against the Colts? What a difference a week makes.

(8). The one good thing about the Giants being blown out is that I had a chance to watch Boardwalk Empire with a clear conscience to change the channel. I'm sure the folks at HBO were happy for the blowout as well. "BE" was a must see....and watching it you had to ask....what were people in this country thinking by voting in prohibition? All that was accomplished was the setting in motion of the structure of organized crime in America for the next 60 years- Chicago was in the grips of rival gangs in the North and South sides (as was alluded to in the show), and New York had more than a few pockets of government corruption as well. Nucky Thompson was a fictionalized version of Atlantic City boss Nucky Johnson, but Arnold Rothstein, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Big Jim Colosimo, Johnny Torrio, and of course, Al Capone were real life gangsters of the era. And Torrio did order the hit on his own boss, Colosimo.....no one was ever prosecuted for Colosimo's murder.

(9).Madmen- Don and Faye are now an item....Joan and Roger had a relapse into a night of full throttle lust....Peggy and super lefty Abe hit it off, but it fizzles out quickly. Joyce seems to be getting close to Peggy. And I'm just wondering if Peggy, who is slowly turning into a Child of The Sixties, will "get adventurous" with gal pal Joyce? Also....poor Miss Blankenship! Roger hit it on the nose- her obituary should read "She Died At Her Post Taking Other People's Phone Calls". Her death on the job gave the episode a dark comic backdrop....with her body being taken out while the clients at the meeting had no idea what was going on.

(10). Is there any truth that Christine O'Donnell's campaign is dropping "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey as a musical theme for Season of the Witch?

Not even for Halloween?

Really?

Seeya later!

NFL Draft 2010; Just Call Me A Football Geek

I'll fess up- I'm one of those (slightly) overweight middle aged guys who lives for the NFL Draft. Part of this passion comes from following the local NFL teams (Jets and Giants), and also seeing how my brother's teams (Browns and Eagles- he's a Jersey transplant now living in Ohio) make out in this big bucks crap shoot.

The 2010 NFL Draft has really become a creature of television- the first round was broadcast last night, live from Radio City Music Hall (minus The Rockettes) with a slew of potential first round picks on hand to hear their names called- hopefully. In addition, a who's who of NFL greats were on hand, including many Hall of Famers. The place was packed with loud and rowdy fans, and being held in New York there was a heavy presence of Giant and Jets fans...and nobody does loud and rowdy better than Jet fans, with the possible exception of "Agle" fans from "The City of Brotherly Love".

Was it over the top? To borrow a line from a certain former governor, you betcha.

But its a big event and a celebration of America's game. The season never really ends in the NFL. It goes from pre-season to regular season to playoffs to Super Bowl to NFL Draft mock drafts to the REAL NFL Draft to hanging out at the shore in the summer, drinking beer and eating shrimp, and counting the days until NFL training camps open.

And a second reason for watching the draft is to see where my beloved Rutgers Scarlet Knights will end up....and a couple of guys made history yesterday. But I'll talk about that later.

Rounds two and three start at 6 PM today (Friday) and the final four rounds will take place on Saturday. What was once a one day closed door affair in the 1970's is now a three day extravaganza; kind of a Woodstock for football fans.....we must be in heaven man.

Without further ado, here's a few comments about the 2010 NFL Draft.

Sam Bradford- I felt good for the former Oklahoma quarterback and former Heisman trophy winner for his #1 overall pick to the St. Louis Rams. Most people were saying "good for you" when he decided to come back for his senior year, and then many of the same people said "What did I tellya?...he should have come out early" when Sam was injured in 2009, shortening his season and seeing the Sooners fall short of expectations. He'll be tested in St Louis, which should be improved but are a long way from being a contender.

Tim Tebow- There are two trains of thought in the NFL draft. One is you draft your needs, the other is you draft the best player available. Many consider Tim Tebow to be the greatest college football player of all time. There are questions about his footwork and delivery; when he was drafted by the Denver Broncos at #25 overall as the second quarterback taken, many asked why. The Broncos have Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn as their two quarterbacks. Most observers say this....the reason Tebow was drafted is because head coach Josh McDaniels LOVES Tim Tebow. Maybe a guy of Tebow's character and with his leadership skills is just what is needed to finally escape from the large shadow of John Elway's legend. Tebow's a hard kid not to like; call him the "anti Rothlisberger".

Jimmy Clausen and Colt McCoy The question here is why these two quarterbacks were not first round picks, particularly the former Notre Dame signal caller Clausen. Some have said there are personal issues with Clausen; he has been called "a brat" by some, while his former Irish teammates think he's a great leader and love the guy. As for former Texas quarterback McCoy, some question his size....the last time I checked Drew Brees of the world champion New Orleans Saints is about McCoy's size. He seemed to work out, didn't he? Both Clausen and McCoy will be drafted early tonight in the second round.

A Whole Lot of Oklahoma Sooners - DT Gerald McCoy (Bucs), OT Trent Williams (Redskins), and Bradford- that's three of the first five picks from Oklahoma. Add to that TE Jermaine Gresham (Bengals) as #21 overall and that's four Sooners in the top 21. How did those guys ever lose a game?

The Big 12 In the Draft In addition to the four former Oklahoma Sooners, five other Big 12 players taken in the first round, the most notable being Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh going to the Detroit Lions as the second overall pick. For all the deserved hoopla about the SEC being the greatest conference in college football, the SEC landed seven, only second best in the first round. Still, to have half of the first round dominated by these two conferences was pretty impressive. And there will be many more to come over the next two days.

RU Rah-Rah! Two Rutgers players taken in the first round. I've been a season ticket holder since 1990. It wasn't that long ago that Rutgers only had five guys in the NFL. OT Anthony Davis (#11) went to the 49'ers and DB Devin McCourty (#27) was drafted by the Patriots (much to the anger of the Jet fans in attendance). Rutgers had a first round pick for the first time in its history last year with Kenny Britt....and they've doubled it in a year. Watch out Oklahoma....we're making our move.

Jets and Giants The Giants picked DE Jason Pierre-Paul (15) from South Florida, who played only one year of Division 1 football- his first two years were at two junior colleges. He is athletic, and has a huge upside...but could be a gamble. The Jets took Jersey guy DB Kyle Wilson (29) who played at Boise State. Wilson is from Piscataway...and the question was, how did he get away from Rutgers. Today on WFAN Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said that during a recruiting visit Wilson indicated that he preferred to go to college out of state. He seems like a solid pick for the defensively minded Jets and head coach Rex Ryan.

Piscataway High School, New Jersey Yesterday two alums were first round picks, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wilson. And last year fellow alum Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State) was the first round pick of the Saints. Forget these Heartland and Florida and Sunbelt high schools....the "Home Office" of America's High School Football is in Central New Jersey, USA.

Well that's about it....I'm going to take a break, then watch some more draft. And when I'm not doing that, I'll be in my usual spot tomorrow watching Rutgers Spring Game.

Just a football junkie I suppose.

Quick Hits For January 26, 2010; Spanning The Known Universe For News You Can Use (No, Not Really....But Admit It, It Got You Looking!)

After spending the majority of last week (going into this week) first reviewing Avatar and then committing three blog entries to talking about viewer reactions, and the mythology behind it- originally I had 12 pages of notes on a legal pad- its time to move on and talk about other stuff that's been in the news.

Its time for a new edition of Quick Hits

(1) The AFC Championship Game. I know I picked the Jets, but it was heart over head. When they went up 17-6 on the Colts I thought just maybe they could get it done. Then Manning came back with that touchdown before halftime to make it 17-13. And Boomer Esiason was prophetic on the CBS halftime show when he said Peyton Manning had figured out what the Jets were doing on defense.....if the the Jets were going to blitz linebackers and defensive backs to make up for a lack of a bonafide pass rusher, then look for the weak spot on the field and the best matchup for the offense. So don't throw to Reggie Wayne (who was covered by Darelle Revis most of the game), and chuck it down field to Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. From 17-13 at halftime it was all Colts in the second half, 30-17.

The Jets had an incredible run in the playoffs after a roller coaster regular season. Revis has emerged as the best corner in the NFL, and rookie qb Mark Sanchez and rookie rb Shonn Greene have become bright young stars who should shine for years to come.

And what else can you say about the Indianapolis Colts other than they are a special team and Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback of his generation- sorry Tom Brady fans. Brady has more Super Bowl rings but Manning's body of work in the regular season gives him the nod.

(2). In the NFC Championship Game, I lost track of how many times both teams put the ball on the ground, but ultimately it was those lost fumbles by the Minnesota Vikings (3) and interceptions by the Vikes (2) that spelled their doom in the 31-28 win for the New Orleans Saints. The game shouldn't have been as exciting as it was because of all of the miscues by both teams (the Saints lost a fumble and had 9 penalties for 88 yards, Vikings 5 for 32- but all seem to come a critical times in the game).

The game went into OT, and was won by a field goal by Garrett Hartley to win it, sending the Drew Brees and the Saints to Miami to face the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.

You have to wonder...is Brett Favre really done, or will he retire and then unretire for one more season? If he does not retire and gives it one more year, just how much longer can he keep taking that kind of physical pounding at age 40 before his body betrays him? Also, regarding Adrian Peterson- nobody playing in the NFL has his raw ability and breakaway speed....but how long can any team tolerate a player that fumbles as much as he does? How does any coach entrust a game to kill the clock in its late stages to a guy who can't hang on to the ball? He needs to sit down with Tiki Barber, and who had a similar problem with the Giants, and was cured of it through the coaching of Tom Coughlin.

(3). How about those scenes on Bourbon Street in New Orleans during and after the NFC Championship? While the game was being played, it was like a ghost town there, empty streets, only a few tourists walking around. After the winning field goal, it was instant Mardi Gras.

And good for the Saints, the city of New Orleans, and the fans all along the Gulf Coast. The franchise was in the doldrums most of the time since its birth in 1967. And of course, there was the devastation of Katrina in 2005, an event from which some of New Orleans and the surrounding area has not recovered, and may not ever.

The Saints in the Super Bowl....it won't heal all of the area's wounds, but it will help to ease some of the pain still felt there.

(4). On Saturday night at the Screen Actors Guild Awards the veteran Betty White rocked the house with her speech. Betty, who celebrated her 88th birthday the same day, was presented with SAG's LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. And as usual, she managed to steal the show from her costars. And check out what George Clooney said about the onetime GOLDEN GIRL

(5). I missed the news of the death of author Robert B. Parker, and knew nothing of his passing until Saturday. I was listening to the radio in the morning, and Richard Neer spoke about Parker's death last week at age 77. There were few writers as prolific as Parker, who turned out as many as four novels in a year, who wrote ten pages per day, and never knew what his characters would do or where the plot was going until he was in the act of writing. Most famous for his mysteries, he created the characters Spenser and Jesse Stone. In more recent years Parker has turned his attention to the Old West, creating a series of three novels that I fell in love with- Appaloosa, Resolution, and Brimstone. I wondered how life would turn out for the laconic lawman- turned gunslinger- turned lawman Virgil Cole, his partner Everett Hitch, and Virgil's libidinous lady love Miss Allie French. Sadly, I'll never know.

Robert B. Parker wrote 60 novels in a career that spanned nearly 40 years. I miss him already.

(6). The Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien Fiasco- a nations's long nightmare is over. We can all rest again. Amen.

(7). Kudos to all for helping out in the Haitian relief effort. According to The Huffington Post The World Bank and the United States government each made a commitment of $100 million. Last Friday's celebrity telethon raised $57 million. Americans sent $159 million in private donations. It sounds like a lot of money, and it is.....but check out the amount of destruction and devastation, and the byproducts of the quake- homelessness, food and water shortages, and disease.

And here's a sobering thought- look at those dollar amounts in the previous paragraph. When Rutgers University expanded their football stadium from 42,000 to 53,000 the price tag rose to over $100 million. That was just to enclose an end zone and add seating, and put in premium seats near the Presidents box.

That alone will give you an idea of just how much money in needed to even start to rebuild Haiti. Its going to be a long, arduous process.

(8). President Obama's State of the Union Address. I'll watch, even though I'm still angry at that circular firing squad, aka the Democratic Congressional leadership. Sometimes I look at Mr. Obama and I think he's vintage Michael Jordan playing on the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets.

(9). Damages is back! And Glenn Close is as delightfully devious as ever. I wonder how Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) will work her way back into Patty's (Close) life. And we do know this item due to the show's time shifting format, and its the first secret revealed of Season 3....Tate Donovan (as Tom Shayes) will NOT be back for a Season 4.

That is, of course, he has a twin brother that the audience knows nothing about.

(10). Finally....I want to thank the readers of this blog who's numbers seem to be steadily growing. January 2010 is looking to be are biggest month yet as far as new visitors.

And we did it with minimal reference to home shopping hosts, past or present....that's an inside joke, people!

Late Addition! I just corrected numerous typos 10 hours after originally posting this. I'm not nearly as illiterate as some suspect.

NFL Championship Weekend Picks

I'm going to step back from "all things Avatar" for a few minutes to give my picks for today's AFC and NFC Championship games....I'll return with Part Three of the "Avatar Phenomenon" on Monday.

I'm sure you can hardly wait, with "hardly" being the operative word.

Here we go.....

AFC Championship; New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts; What a long strange trip its been for Gang Green. About a month ago even their own head coach thought they were mathematically eliminated from contention. Then came the game when the Colts pulled their starters after taking a lead over the visiting Jets, and New York stormed back to beat Indy and give them their first loss in a previously undefeated season. The Jets then went on to embarrass the Bengals the next week to earn a place in the playoffs. Some will say the Jets backed into the playoffs, I say it doesn't matter how you got there, just as long as you made it. Then in successive weeks the Jets beat the Bengals and Chargers on the road...when you win back to back road playoff games you've earned your spot at the top of the ticket.

The conventional wisdom is "take the Colts". Its payback time against the team that first tarnished a perfect record. They'll be playing at home and have the greatest quarterback of his generation, Peyton Manning, under center. There's Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark to throw the ball to, there's Dwight Feeney and Robert Mathis to terrorize Jet's qb Mark Sanchez, and the underrated Gary Brackett at middle linebacker.

The Jets have the power running of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene, and the incomparable Darelle Revis at the corner. Mark Sanchez has a chance to become the first rookie quarterback ever to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

The Colts are the favorite....but I've been riding a different pony this post season. I'm taking the Jets in a squeaker, 24-21. Decided by a field goal. How appropriate.


NFC Championship; Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints The Saints have been in existence for over 40 years and have spent much of that time at the bottom of the pecking order in the NFL. Peyton Manning's dad, Archie, was a great quarterback on some really bad Saints teams in the 1970's. We all know the story of the Vikings...four Super Bowl trips and four losses, but none since getting stomped by the Raiders so long ago John Madden was Oakland's coach.

Minnesota is an interesting story, with Adrian Peterson at running back and Brett Favre at quarterback, having possibly the best year of his career at age 40. But strangely, I can't help but feel that the Vikings are much like the football version of the Florida Marlins in baseball. The Marlins were built to "win now" on two occasions, only to fall back to mediocrity soon afterwords. I just feel that the Vikings are constructed the same way- this is all for the short term, and I'm not sold on them.

The city of New Orleans is having a love affair with quarterback Drew Brees and this Saints team. Reggie Bush seems to becoming the star all thought he would be. Its a home crowd, and 40 plus years of "wait till next year" will be rained down on the visiting Vikings.

Also....its time for some good Karma for the Crescent City, which dealt with so much pain since Katrina. I pick the Saints, 35-21 .

And that's it.

I'll be back with our new guise as "The Official Unofficial Blog of The Big Game".....(note Commissioner Goodall, I didn't infringe on any copyrights or trademarks).....very soon.

NFL Picks For Divisional Weekend

I'm kind of pressed for time and will be gone for most of the afternoon, but before I exit here's my picks for this weekend's NFL Divisional games.

Ravens at Colts.....love Ray Rice and the Baltimore ground attack, but it looks like Joe Flacco might be a little more beat up than generally known. The Ravens need a passing attack to score more points than Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and the Colts will put up. Colts win 31-14.

Jets at Chargers.....keep riding the crest of the wave into SoCal. On paper it looks like a mismatch, Rivers has had a fantastic year for the Chargers while Sanchez is still taking baby steps in his pro career. But there's just something about the way the Jet's defense has been playing that indicates they just might be able to force some turnovers and win a squeaker. I'll go against the conventional wisdom and take the Jets in a nail biter, 24-21.

Cowboys at Vikings....if you've ever read my pro picks before you'll know what's coming next; ABC- "Anybody But (the) Cowboys". It doesn't matter that Favre and Childress will have a steel cage death match after the season is over, or that Adrian Peterson will fumble at least once. Romo must fall, once again, to the guys with the horned helmets. 21-10 Vikings.

Cardinals at Saints.....Cardinals will win on the road for no other reason but Kurt Warner is playing at an amazingly high level. I agree with most of the smart guys on this; Brees and Warner will give us an old fashioned AFL shootout. Cards win, 42-31.

Then again....I could be (and probably am)....very wrong.

Wild Card Weekend NFL Picks/ Carroll Leaves USC For Seahawks!

OK guys, I'll go on the record and give you my picks for this weekend's Wild Card weekend NFL games. Mind you, I've given up on all sound reasoning on picking pro games years ago, because there really isn't any. And this year was probably even more bizarre than most- I mean, what are the odds of having two teams play each other in the last regular game of the season, only to meet again in the next week during the first round of the playoffs?

And to have that happen in three of the four games scheduled. Albert Einstein once said that "God does not play dice".

There has to be divine intervention at work....when all else fails, either credit or blame The Big Guy.

So without further ado....here's my picks.

Jets 24, Bengals 20....a tight game won by the Jets D and the running of Thomas Jones. And they're the local team- I have to take them. I can't imagine life without one of Rex Ryan's post game pressers. He may not be the best coach in the NFL yet, but he surely might be the funniest.

Eagles 30, Cowboys 21....David Akers kicks three field goals to be the difference for the Birds. Besides, its as simple as "ABC"...."Anybody But (The) Cowboys". And the Eagles are my brother's team.

Ravens 28, Patriots 17.....Because of Pro Bowler Ray Rice. Greatest Rutgers player ever now the best the school has sent to the NFL. Also, Welker is out for the Pats, Brady is beat up, and who knows if Randy Moss is copping an attitude this week?

Packers 35, Cardinals 21.... Because the Cards are only allowed to win playoff games every 50 years. 2060 is a long way down the pike. And I really like the way Aaron Rogers and the Pack closed out the year.

That's it....

But of course.......I could be wrong.


This Just In!!! Pete Carroll to leave USC to take over the Seattle Seahawks! They say the third times the charm. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter its a done deal.



Read more from ESPN.com.....