Mike Vick Gets 23 Months

Yesterday was a pretty good Sunday all things considered. Since there was no Bears game, I could just enjoy watching football without all the hassle of really needing to care. Sure, there's my fantasy football team, but the Swamp Nutz had already wrapped up the division going into the final week of our regular season.

It was a wonderful day.

I wonder how Mike Vick's Sunday was? I hope it was good, because I'm pretty sure his Monday has sucked pretty bad so far.

Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls.

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback could have been sentenced up to five years by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Vick, who turned himself in Nov. 19 in anticipation of his sentence, was wearing a black-and-white striped prison suit.

After Vick apologized to the court and his family, Hudson told him: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you."

"Yes, sir,' Vick answered.

Vick acknowledged he used "poor judgment" and added, "I'm willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for my actions."

That's a long time to spend in prison, for anybody, let alone Mike Vick. It's hard to know if he's going to be able to make a comeback to the NFL after spending two years in jail. As of now, Vick won't be out of prison until October 2009. If he's a good little inmate, he can get out three months earlier in July 2009.

So even if Vick gets out early, he'll still be nearly three years removed from the football field. Most people will have forgotten about Vick by then, so somebody's going to take a chance on him. Whether or not he'll ever even be a shell of what he was before the arrest will remain to be seen, but I don't think he'll ever be a starter in the NFL again.

On the bright side, Vick could have been sentenced up to five years. Still, the 23 month sentence is the longest of the three sentences handed out in this case so far. The two friends who snitched on Vick, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips, each received 18 and 21 months respectively. The third co-defendant, Tony Taylor, won't be sentenced until Friday.

What I'm wondering is, who will be the next athlete to go to jail? I mean, the way things are going in the world of sports right now, it's inevitable that it's going to happen again. Just look at all the big stories taking place off the field.

It all started with Pacman Jones, who gave way to the Bengals and Tank Johnson. Then the Vick story broke, and a few weeks ago Sean Taylor was killed by somebody who broke into his house.

It's not just the NFL either. Barry Bonds is probably the favorite to be the next athlete to do some prison time. Those federal indictments are hard to get away from.

The NBA is getting involved as well, as Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley was involved in a shooting incident over the weekend as well. It's at least the third time Tinsley has gotten into serious trouble with the law over the last year and a half.

It's a pretty disturbing trend in sports right now. Mike Vick is just the posterboy.

Foul Balls

The Colts and Patriots Have Changed Places - I've noticed something over the last few weeks, and with each passing Sunday I become more convinced that my suspiscions are true. Both the Patriots and Colts had an easy time of it on Sunday, with blowout wins of the Steelers and Patriots.

But have you noticed that the Patriots and Colts have switched places?

Remember a few years ago, back in 2003 and 2004 when the Colts were lighting up the scoreboard every week and had us all wondering if they could go undefeated? Obviously, they never did. No instead they would run into the Patriots in the playoffs, the same Patriots team that had spent the season flying a bit under the radar thanks to injuries.

They were still winning, but they didn't get as much attention as the record breaking Colts.

Then the Colts won the Super Bowl last season, I don't remember who they beat, and the two teams switched roles. Now it's the Patriots who are setting offensive records, and the Colts are a team dealing with injuries, but a team that seems to be finally hitting it's stride late in the season.

At this point you shouldn't be surprised if the Colts go into Foxboro for the AFC Championship game and put an end to the Patriots dreams of an undefeated season. I know I won't be.

Kenny's Not Inspiring Much Confidence In Me - My biggest concern about the White Sox going into the 2008 season is not the offense. I know the team hasn't made too many changes to it's lineup, save for Orlando Cabrera, but I really don't think we're going to have a repeat performance of 2007 at the plate.

There's just too much talent in the lineup.

No, the thing that scares the hell out of me is a starting rotation that not only still includes Jose Contreras, and has lost Jon Garland, but it also features John Danks and Gavin Floyd.

Neither of which make me feel safe. Kenny on the other hand, he's pretty sure these two are future Hall-of-Famers.

"These are guys everyone would want and most people in the industry view ultimately as top-of-the-rotation guys," Williams said last week at the winter meetings in Nashville. "Our pitching is not going to be a problem this year. We'll be just fine in that area."

Obviously, Kenny has been experimenting with drugs lately. I want to know who these people in the industry that think Gavin Floyd will be a top of the rotation guy are. They should immediately be fired, because it's obvious they know nothing about baseball.

I only say it about Floyd because even though I don't have the same expectations Kenny does, John Danks could develop into a solid #3 starter eventually if not this season.

Slow Starts Can Kill A Team

The biggest reason I was excited about this Bulls season getting started was that there would finally be something to say about the Bulls that didn't have something to do with Kobe Bryant. After watching this team play it's first three games, I think I'd rather talk about Kobe again.

I know the Bulls are notoriously slow starters under Scott Skiles, but losing to Philly at home? Losing to Milwaukee on the road? It's not just the fact that this team is losing either, it's how horrible they've looked while doing it. It's one thing to play well, and come up short in the end, but when you've been playing horribly for three games, that's worrisome.

Something's not right here.

I don't know whether it's the fact that the Kobe talks have become a distraction for this team, or if Luol and Ben Gordon have their contracts on their minds, but this team just looks lazy right now.

Through the first three games, the Bulls are shooting 38% from the field. Joe Smith is the only player on the team making half of his shots, but he's only taken 14. Ben Gordon is shooting at a 39% clip, Luol comes in at 43%, and Kirk Hinrich is at 34%. I think Hinrich has as many fouls as he does assists right now: 15. As a team, they're scoring only 86.7 points a game, which isn't going to lead to many wins in this league.

So what's to blame? Is it just rust? Distractions? Does this team really need Kobe?

It's none of those.

It's the Cubs.

They've cursed this entire city! Their "success" this season has killed everybody else. The White Sox were supposed to be good again this season, and they blew. The Bears were supposed to get back to the Super Bowl, and they're in last place.

Nothing's going right in Chicago!

Okay, so it's probably not the Cubs fault, but while the city of Boston is having a fantastic sports season, Chicago's falling flat on it's face everywhere you look. Sure the Cubs got to the playoffs, but they couldn't even manage to win a game before bowing out quickly.

So really, I have no idea what's wrong with the Bulls right now. Do I think that we'd have a better record if Kobe were here? Yeah, but I don't think his absence is what's causing the problems either. I'm hoping that this will all prove to be just another slow start for this team, and they'll get rolling sooner rather than later, but these slow starts are still killers.

Look at last season for example. In the Bulls first twelve games they managed to go 3-9 before going on a seven-game win streak to get over .500. But had the Bulls just managed to go 6-6 in those twelve games last season, they'd have finished the season 52-30 with the #2 seed in the East. That means they'd have had the same easy route to the Eastern Conference Finals that the Cavs took.

Had they gone 7-5 they'd have had home-court advantage in the playoffs.

So while an 0-3 start in an 82 game season isn't going to kill a team, it could end up hurting them quite a bit at the end of the season.

Foul Balls

In The Navy - I had said during Spread Em last week that I didn't think the Irish could cover a 3.5 point spread against Navy, and that I had no confidence in this team. Still, I don't think I ever really thought they'd lose the game.

I've never been more embarrassed to be a Notre Dame fan than I was on Saturday afternoon. That was just.....I don't even know. It was bad. I can understand why the Irish lose to teams like Michigan, Penn State, Boston College, USC, and Georgia Tech because they're all better teams with more talented players. Navy does not have more talent than Notre Dame.

Though that didn't seem to matter on Saturday, did it?

I've tortured myself all season by watching every Irish game, but after this weekend, I think I'm going to have to take the rest of the season off. If for no other reason than my sanity.

Purple Jesus - I probably shouldn't be enjoying the exploits of a Minnesota Viking as much as I am right now, but I don't care. I love Adrian Peterson. I don't care if he's a Viking and that he'll be torturing the Bears twice a season for the foreseeable future. He's on my fantasy team!! And since it's a keeper league, I have him for two more season after this one.

So I look forward to more performances like the one he had on Sunday against the Chargers. The Messiah broke the NFL's single game rushing mark with 296 yards yesterday. No, you didn't read that wrong, he actually rushed for 296 yards in one game. That included three touchdown runs, a one-yarder, a 46-yarder, and a 64-yarder. That's 35 points for my fantasy team right there.

The Vikings are only halfway through their season, but Peterson has already eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark, which puts him on pace to finish the season with over 2,000 yards. And to think, the Vikings didn't draft him until the 7th spot. I wonder what the Raiders think about taking JaMarcus Russell with the first pick now.

What's even crazier is that in two games against the Bears and Chargers-two teams that are supposed to have strong run defenses-Peterson has rushed for 520 yards and seven touchdowns. In eight games this season, Cedric Benson has rushed for 466 yards and two touchdowns. Just in case you didn't realize how bad Cedric Benson sucks.

That Patriots/Colts Game - I was at work on Thursday and a co-worker of mine told me that "Take the over this Sunday, man. Easiest money you'll ever make." My response? "Actually, I think it's going to be a 24-20 type game. I'm taking the under." "You're an idiot, man."

Who's the idiot now, man?

It was a very good game, and though it would have been impossible to live up to it's hype without aliens landing at the RCA Dome in the third quarter, the game didn't disappoint. The Colts had plenty of chances to win this game, but their failures in the red zone early came back to haunt them.

The question is, now that they've gotten the Colts out of the way, what's to stop the Patriots from going undefeated? They've got a bye next week, but after that, there isn't much to stand in their way. At Buffalo, Philadelphia, at Baltimore, Pittsburgh, the Jets, Miami, and finally on the road against the Giants.

The Steelers and Giants are the only threats, and I don't think they pose much of one.

Blogpoll Ballot Week 10 -

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	--
2	LSU	1
3	Oregon	2
4	Kansas	3
5	Oklahoma	1
6	Missouri	2
7	Boston College	5
8	Arizona State	4
9	West Virginia	--
10	Connecticut	5
11	Michigan	1
12	Hawaii	1
13	Virginia Tech	3
14	Texas	2
15	Georgia	2
16	Boise State	1
17	Auburn	2
18	Southern Cal	3
19	Kentucky	1
20	Florida	3
21	Clemson	5
22	Virginia	4
23	Tennessee	3
24	Illinois	2
25	Cincinnati	1

Dropped Out: South Florida (#14), Alabama (#18), Vanderbilt (#22), Wake Forest (#24), South Carolina (#25).

There's Only One Way To Stop The Patriots or Colts

I don't mean to add to the hype surrounding this weekend's game between the undefeated Patriots and undefeated Colts this weekend, but let's be honest, it really is the only game this regular season that matters. They're the only two teams in the NFL that are playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The other 30 teams in the NFL are just jockeying for draft position.

If you've watched either team play this season, it should be obvious to you. Nobody can touch either of them. The Patriots are beating teams by an average score of 41-16. The 331 points they've scored in their first eight games is more points than Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams have scored combined. Hell, they've almost outscored their entire division.

The Colts on the other hand, are undefeated as well, but they're only averaging a meager 32 points per game. Which helps explain why even though they're the defending champs, and haven't lost a game this season, they're currently 6 point underdogs at home against New England next week.

The Patriots and Bill Belichick have also taken a lot of heat around the league for "running up the score." On Sunday against the Redskins, the Patriots had a 38-0 lead at the end of three quarters, but that didn't stop them from throwing deep in the fourth quarter and trying to put more points on the board. It didn't stop them from going for it on fourth down either. They'd end the game winning by a score of 52-7.

As you'd expect, a couple of Redskins took exception to it. After the game Joe Gibbs said he didn't have a problem with what the Patriots did, but after the game ended he barely looked at Belichick as they shook hands, and Gibbs got the hell out of there.

Personally, I don't think it's possible to run up the score in the NFL. If it's a college game, and it's Michigan playing Appalachian State LSU playing Eastern Michigan and still trying to put points on the board in the fourth quarter even though they have a 72-0 lead, that's running up the score.

In the NFL though, it can't happen. These guys are all professionals. If you want a team to stop putting points on the board, stop them. That's all you can do.

Still, I completely understand why it's pissing teams off, and I wonder if Bill Belichick is really thinking this through. I mentioned it in last week's Spread Em, that the only way other teams have a chance to beat the Patriots is to take out Tom Brady. Everybody knows this, but these aren't the days of Butkus and Nitschke, nobody is going to try and kill Brady on purpose.

At least, they weren't going to try. The more the Patriots dominate their opponents, and embarrass them, the more likely it is to happen. At some point, somebody is going to snap and dive right at Tom Brady's knees.

They'll take the 15-yard penalty, and they'll take the fine, because in the end it's worth it. Without Tom Brady playing quarterback, the Patriots are just an average NFL team.

The same could be said about the Colts and Peyton Manning, but nobody hates the Colts enough to try and do it.

The question becomes, would it be acceptable to intentionally try and take out Brady?

In my opinion, hell yes it would. I'm not the only one that feels this way either. Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post and Pardon the Interruption agrees. He was asked about it in an online chat yesterday, and he admitted as much.

Tom Brady's Knee: I can understand Bill Belichick's desire to crush every team in the NFL, but why keep your franchise QB in there to do it? One cheap shot helmet to the knee and it's goodbye Super Bowl unless Cassell suddenly gets good.

Michael Wilbon: You're absolutely right. And if I was on the opposing team, I'd hit Tom Brady with everything I had as late as I could and take the penalty and join the fight that would surely follow. Football is a violent game and there's got to be somebody out there sharpening his fans for the Patriots Golden Boy in the 4th quarter one of these weeks.

I just want to make one thing clear though, I don't mean dive at his knees. Wilbon also made that clear later in the chat as well. I don't think that teams should take cheap shots at Brady and intentionally try and injure him, I just mean they need to do everything in their power to knock him out.

Think of the 85 Bears for a second. What was that defense's main objective? They weren't shy about telling you that their goal was to take out the quarterback. Knock his ass out, and when they bring in the backup, knock his ass out too.

This is what current NFL defenses need to do.

If you're a defensive lineman, and you have a shot to hit Brady right now, you have to put everything you have behind it, and lay him out. Drive him into the ground with your weight on top of him. Maybe you'll get lucky and dislocate his shoulder.

The one flaw with this theory though, is that you have to get to Tom Brady first. Have you seen his numbers this season? They're absolutely mind-boggling. Look at this line.

• Passing yards - 2,431
• Completion Per. - 74.2% (74.2%!)
• Passing TD's - 30
• Rushing TD's - 2
• Interceptions - 2
• Rating - 136.2

That's absolutely insane. The man is responsible for 32 touchdowns, and he's only thrown two interceptions. Do you know why his numbers are so amazing?

Because he isn't getting touched.

That's the flaw of the "Kill Tom Brady" strategy. Nobody can get to him. The Patriots offensive line is just wiping out defensive lines and linebackers. It seems that everytime Brady drops back into the pocket, he has about a minute and a half to find somebody open.

So that means every opportunity is crucial. If you have a shot to hit Tom Brady, even if it's late, you have to take it at this point. If you have a shot to hit Peyton Manning, you have to take it.

It's the only way anybody in the NFL has a chance to beat either of these two teams. If they don't do it, the rest of this NFL season will serve absolutely no purpose except for gambling reasons and fantasy football.

Though there are plenty of people who will tell you that's all the NFL is for in the first place.

Foul Balls

Brian Urlacher has a blog - Brian Urlacher and I have a lot in common. We're both athletic freaks, and we're both big time celebrities in Chicago. But there's another thing we have in common right now as Urlacher has started his own blog. You may have noticed that Urlacher has been pretty short with the Chicago media lately, limiting himself to one word answers, and kinda just being a dick. So he's started this new blog as a way to communicate with his fans, and answer questions from Fox Sports' Jay Glazer.

You’re at home against a terrible road team and you didn’t just lose, they walked through your defense. Is this as low as it gets for you?

This has been one of the most frustrating times of my career. The feeling after a loss like yesterday is terrible. It’s an awful feeling. You know going in that you have a great game plan but we don’t execute it. The coaches had a great plan for us, we just messed it up. We’re so inconsistent on both sides of the ball. Defensively? One day we stop the run, the next game we don’t but we do stop the pass. The next time out we’ll stop the run again but we can’t stop the pass.

I've no idea whether or not he's going to start posting YouTube videos of people getting hit in the nuts. Until then, he'll never be a real blogger.

Boras and A-Rod Are Douchebags - Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez are taking a lot of heat right now for the timing of A-Rod's announcement he was opting out of his contract with the Yankees. They had ten days after the end of the World Series to decide what to do, and they chose to make the announcement during the middle of game 4 on Sunday night.

You see, they wanted to upstage the sports biggest showcase. Because, in case you weren't aware of it, they are more important than the game. As you'd expect, MLB is slightly upset by it.

"We were very disappointed that Scott Boras would try to upstage our premier baseball event of the season with his announcement," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said Monday in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

"There was no reason to make an announcement last night other than to try to put his selfish interests and that of one individual player above the overall good of the game," DuPuy said. "Last night and today belong to the Boston Red Sox, who should be celebrated for their achievement, and to the Colorado Rockies, who made such an unbelievable run to the World Series."

I'm not sure I understand all the uproar though. Haven't we always known that Boras and Rodriguez are douchebags? Is this a shock to most people? Personally, the only way I'd have been surprised is if Rodriguez didn't find a way to steal the spotlight away from the World Series.

Oh, and Cubs fans? He's not coming here, so don't fool yourselves.

Here We Go Again

I swear to God, if I have to deal with another season of this from Rex Grossman, I may just kill him. I'm not just saying that either. I mean, I will climb a tree outside of Halas Hall with a rifle, and stay there for days if I have to, until I can get a clean shot.

Does this storyline sound familiar to you? Bears win, Rex commits three turnover.

It all started out so well, too. There was one play early where Rex was pressured, and then he did something that completely blew my mind. He stepped up in the pocket, then scrambled for a few yards before firing a bullet to Bernard Berrian for a first down.

It was amazing. We've never seen that before from Rex. I had no idea the Sex Cannon had wheels on it!

A few plays later, Rex was pressured in the pocket again. Once again, he stepped up to avoid the pressure, but had the ball stripped from his hand by a lineman.

My initial thought? Well, at least it wasn't a fumbled snap! I mean, all quarterbacks get stripped by defensive lineman once in a while.

Then, of course, Rex fumbled two snaps later in the game.

Now all of that positive energy I had been feeling about Grossman is gone, and this morning I can't stand the guy. For the most part, I stood behind him last season. Everytime he messed something up, I made an excuse for him, or thought about all the times he played so great.

Not anymore.

I'm not going to deal with this crap for another season. Especially when there are two other quarterbacks on the roster who don't scare the shit out of me.

Brian Urlacher was interviewed on the sidelines, and when Michelle Tafoya asked him about Rex's fumbles he said that Rex is just getting them out of the way now in the preseason.

He fucking better be, but just in case, I'm loading the rifle now.

Everybody Hates Rex

You know what the best part of the Bears offseason was? The only part of the non-football season that truly made me happy when it came to the Bears?

No Rex Grossman news.

Seriously, last year's Grossman talk was tiring. He was awesome, then he sucked, then there was no way the Bears would in in the playoffs with him, then he fumbled that snap in the Super Bowl....

It was just endless.

Well since there haven't been any games played yet this season, there's nothing the media can get on Rex about is there? Oh? There is?

It seems there are still a couple folks mad at Rex for his performance in the Super Bowl last season, and one play in particular. Seems some folks are wondering if Rex tried his hardest to tackle Kelvin Hayden as he returned an interception for a touchdown to clinch the Colts victory.

Rex explains he wasn't loafing on the play.

"First, I thought he had stepped out of bounds," Grossman said. "Then I thought he was going to cut back [toward the center of the field]. Then I couldn't get around somebody and was thinking, 'What's going on?'

"If it were just a straight line, and I had known that, I'd have cut him off and got there. Looking back, I should have taken the proper angle, but that's easier to see afterward. At one point it looked like he would be cutting back and I slowed down to be ready for that. By the time I sped up again to go get him, he was by me. It was a turning point in the game, but what are you going to do?"

Here's what I'm wondering. Has anybody asked a member of the Bears defense if they tried their hardest to tackle Dominic Rhodes or Joseph Addai? Because I sure don't remember seeing it happen very often in that game.

Dallas Clark Should Start Clubbing

I'm not sure how most of you spend your Saturday nights, but I'm willing to wager a healthy sum it's not the way Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark spends his.

Just three weeks after winning the Super Bowl, Clark was back home in Iowa taking in a girls' basketball game at his former high school, Southeast Webster-Grand.

That's when things got interesting. And by interesting, I mean ridiculous:

Clark, a Livermore [Iowa] native and former Iowa football player, was asked to leave the gymnasium late in the third quarter of the district final game between Twin River Valley of Bode, where Clark attended high school, and Southeast Webster-Grand of Burnside in Burnside.

"I have seen other parents behave a lot worse, but he apparently got into one of the officials' ear," said Kirk Gilson, the athletic director at Southeast Webster-Grand. "I really don't know what led up to it, but apparently one of the referees didn't like what he heard from him."

Gilson said Clark left the gymnasium immediately and without incident after being asked by Dan Grandfield, the Southeast Webster-Grand principal.

At least Dallas wasn't spending the night like his teammate Dominic Rhodes was.

Super Blow

I'm sitting here this morning still in a bit of a daze after yesterday's Super Bowl. I'm not even sure what I want to say about the game.

It sucked. I know that.

Maybe it was a good thing that the rain gave us all somewhat of a blurry picture throughout most of the game, saved me from seeing just how bad that was.

I'm sad, pissed off, and numb all at the same time.

There were so many things that I just didn't get while watching that game. Why didn't they give Thomas Jones more carries? He only averaged more than seven yards a carry. Why did the defense play so damn conservative? It was obvious pretty early that it wasn't going to work, Peyton was dinking and dunking to death.

The fact that the defense also seemed to forget how to tackle sure didn't help much either.

Then there was Rex.....

That was the Rex that couldn't show up in this game, but he did. He dropped two snaps, and threw two horrible interceptions. Rex basically did everything in his power to go out there and prove all of his doubters were 100% correct about him.

Yes, Rex is no doubt going to take the majority of the heat over this loss, which he should after the way he played. But this was the entire teams fault. (Ok, not Devin Hester. Thank God for Devin Hester.)

It was the defense's fault for being too conservative, not tackling, and just never getting the Colts offense off the field.

It's also the defensive line's fault. For the Bears conservative scheme in last night's game to work, the front four were going to have to put pressure on Peyton Manning. They couldn't do that. Manning had all day to find his receiver. The one time we got pressure on him early, he found Reggie Wayne wide open for a 53 yard touchdown pass. (Danieal Manning was too busy helping Urlacher and Briggs triple cover Dallas Clark for some reason.)

It was Ron Turner's fault for outdumbing himself. The key for the Bears offense to do well in this game was to not put it in Rex's hands, yet that's exactly what he did. From our very first snap on offense it should have been nothing but Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson.

From the start of the second quarter on, the Bears did absolutely nothing right, and they didn't deserve to win the game.

They got beat by the better team, and the much better quarterback.

So congratulations are in order for Peyton Manning, who I've always been a fan of, for finally getting his Super Bowl win that most of us thought he'd never get.

It would have been nicer if Manning could have gotten it next year, or done the John Elway thing, and wait until he's about to retire before doing it.

So, yeah.....when's Spring Training start again?

Tommy the Dago Presents: Super Bowl XLI

And so we've come to the end of this incredibly long NFL season.

If I had any idea what I was doing when it came to picking these games, I'm sure the season would have seemed quicker.

But I don't.

And it didn't.

It's fine, though. Yes, it was easily the worst season I've ever had, but look how it ended up! The Bears are in the Super Bowl!!

The Bears!!

Super Bowl!

If my abhorrent record is what's needed to get the Bears to the promised land, then I promise next season I'll never pick against Oakland, Arizona, Cleveland or Detroit.

Colts vs. Bears (+7)

You may have noticed how over the last two weeks, I haven't spent too much time talking about the Bears. I've posted YouTube clips, and stupid things like that, but when it came to actual analysis of either the Bears or the Colts, I refrained.

Why?

I'm nervous.

Not over the Colts specifically. I'm just nervous. Realize, these things don't happen very often in Chicago. The Cubs don't win, the Blackhawks don't win, the White Sox win once every 90 or so years, and the Bulls haven't won in eight years.

So this is weird for me. You have to realize, that even though I give the Bears as much crap on Foul Balls as I do praise, I'm your stereotypical Chicago Bears fan. I live and breathe with this team during the season.

Still, there are things I keep thinking about that calm my nerves.

Like the fact that, sure, Chicago teams very rarely get to a championship game, but when they get there they don't lose.

Think about it. The White Sox have been in one World Series in the last 90 years, but they won the only one they were in. The Bears have only been in one Super Bowl in the games 41 year history, but they're 1-0. The Bulls have been to six NBA Finals. They're 6-0. The Cubs won't get to a World Series, but I'll bet if they did somehow make it, they'd win.

The only team in Chicago to reach a championship game or series in the last 30 years and lose is the Chicago Blackhawks in 1992 when they lost to the Penguins in 4 games.

That means since 1974 the City of Chicago has been in 9 championship games/series and are 8-1.

Now tell me, how many championships has Indianapolis won?

Another thing I take comfort in is the fact that Peyton Manning is the Colts' quarterback and Rex Grossman is our quarterback.

Rex Grossman went to the University of Florida.

Peyton Manning is 0-for-his life against Florida.

Then there's the fact that hardly anybody thinks the Bears are going to win this game. Get outside of Illinois, and nobody does.

Good. That's the way it's been all season, and this team seems to feed off of it. They weren't supposed to beat New Orleans. They won by 25. Most people thought the Bears would lose at home to Seattle in Week 4. They won that game 37-6.

They were told they'd lose in Week 10 in New York. They won 38-20.

They were told they'd kill Arizona on a Monday night in Week 6. Instead, they fell behind 23-0, and were saved by Devin Hester and the one man wrecking machine that was Brian Urlacher in the second half.

They were supposed to kill Tampa Bay and Detroit in Weeks 15 and 16. Instead, they barely escaped both games.

They weren't supposed to have too tough a time with Seattle in the Divisional Round but needed a 49-yard field goal in overtime to win.

Do I really need to keep going on or do you get the point?

People aren't sure whether or not the Bears can stop the Colts offense. Well, can the Colts defense stop the Bears offense? Both teams scored 427 points in the regular season, but the Bears are averaging 33 points a game in the playoffs to Indy's 25.

Then there's the fact that Indy gave up 173 yards a game on the ground. Even if you add in their performance this postseason, they still give up 157 yards a game. The Bears have two running backs with fresh legs. Thomas Jones got a ton of rest down the stretch, and in two playoff games has four touchdowns and 189 yards. Cedric Benson hardly got any touches during the first 10 games, and has been destroying tacklers ever since.

I like Bob Sanders. He's a helluva player, but you know what? When Bob Sanders meets Cedric Benson head-on in the hole? Cedric Benson is going to win that battle, trust me.

The Bears are going to win this Super Bowl, and it won't have anything to do with Peyton Manning choking. They'll say he choked if the Colts lose, but the truth will be he just got beat.

By the better team.

PREDICTION: Bears 30 Colts 21

PS. Another advantage for my Bears that I forgot to mention: Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy are both black, but Lovie is blacker. Go Bears!!

They Don't Call it Tecmo Super Bowl for Nothing

There are all sorts of people and computers out there trying to tell you who's going to win Super Bowl XLI.

The fact is that these people, myself included, know absolutely nothing about anything remotely resembling football. We're all idiots.

There is only one way to know who's going to win the Super Bowl, well, besides playing the actual game.

That true path is through Tecmo Super Bowl.

Tecmo knows.

Peyton's Turn

Unlike a lot of the blogosphere, we don't hate Peyton Manning.

In fact, we like him.

Of course, a large reason is that he's the quarterback on our fantasy team, but even when he wasn't, we still liked him.

That's why, still drunk on the Bears' victory over the Saints, we were happy to see him finally win the "big game" that everyone long wondered if he was capable of.

Early in the second quarter, it seemed certain that wasn't going to happen. When Asante Samuel was returning an interception 39 yards to give the Patriots a 21-3 lead, we couldn't help thinking, "Christ, Peyton really is screwed in these games."

Then the Colts came out in the second half and staged the biggest comeback in championship game history.

Still, the Patriots led the Colts for the first 59 minutes of the game. But with one minute left Joseph Addai walked into the end zone to give the Colts a 38-34 lead.

Sixty seconds to see if Tom Brady could do it again.

He couldn't.

Marlon Jackson intercepted a Brady pass with 17 seconds left, and sent the Colts to the Super Bowl.

It's a wonderful story for Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, and the rest of the Colts.

But we're hoping their wonderful story ends the same way the Saints' did.

And now begins the longest two weeks of our lifetime.

Tommy the Dago Presents: The Conference Championships

Approximately 53 hours from now, the Bears will either be celebrating a berth in Super Bowl XLI or mourning a lost opportunity.

I don't know that I can wait that long.

The joy that washed over me after Robbie Gould kicked that game winning field goal on Sunday to beat Seattle left me Tuesday morning.

Ever since then my mind has been focused on one question.

"How do we beat the Saints?"

The world loves the Saints right now. They're playing well, and they have that whole Hurricane Katrina thing going for them.

Well, you know what? We had the Great Chicago Fire back in 1871. For three days the city burned, but you don't hear us bitching about it, do you? Nope. We just rebuilt the city into what it is today. The greatest city in the world.

And in that city, there is a team. A team called the Chicago Bears, and this week, they're the underdog.

Nobody is picking them to beat the Saints. Never mind the fact they have compiled a 14-3 record this season. Seriously, just look at what the ESPN "experts" think. The only pick for the Bears comes from a computer!

I'm not saying I don't understand their opinions. The Saints are a good team, and they might be playing their best football of the season. But they're by no means unbeatable.

Of course, nobody will know for sure until Sunday night. And, of course, not knowing has never stopped me from picking games before!

Bears (-2) vs. Saints

I'm not just making this pick as a Bears fan. I really think the Bears will win this game, and by more than two points. The Saints are a very good football team, but they're nowhere near as good as everybody suddenly thinks they are. Their offense is scary, yeah. Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Marques Colston, Reggie Bush. I get it. Still, their defense sucks. Everybody talks about what a complete team this is, yet their defense sucks. They gave up over six yards a run last week against Philadelphia, and during the regular season they were the 23rd ranked defense in the NFL stopping the run, giving up 128.9 yards a game. In the secondary, while Mike McKenzie is good but not exceptional, I feel like I can burn Fred Thomas deep all day long. What's Bernard Berrian going to do to him? The Bears are going to pound the ball all day with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, while occasionally utilizing man coverage with Fred Thomas on Berrian. They're going to control the clock, and keep the Saints off the field. Bears 27 Saints 21

Colts (-3) vs. Patriots

It's pretty unusual for me to pick against the Patriots when they're getting points, especially in the playoffs, but I really think this is the year for Indianapolis. It's weird. A part of me feels like it's kinda meant to be, even though the Colts did everything in their power to lose it. They started out 9-0, and then stumbled down the stretch, but yet here they are playing at home in the AFC Championship anyway. Also, I don't think these Patriots are as good as the Patriots we're used to seeing. Where has Laurence Maroney been this postseason anyway? I think it's going to be close thanks to Tom Brady, but I don't think he's going to be able to do it on his own this time. Remember, if Troy Brown doesn't strip that ball out of Marlon McRee's hands, we're talking about how Tom Brady has thrown two Peyton Manning-like interceptions in the playoffs the last two seasons. (Last year's to Champ Bailey in the loss to Denver.) Colts 31 Patriots 24

While You Were Drinking

NFL playoffs edition, cuz as far as we're concerned, nothing else happened

• Bears 27 Seahawks 24 - Halfway Decent Rex showed up to play yesterday! We knew that this game wasn't going to be anywhere near as easy as Vegas and its 8.5 point spread implied it would be. The Bears defense was pretty damn mediocre for the first two and a half quarters, but over the last quarter and a half they stepped it up. Six times, the Seahawks had a 3rd and 1 or a 4th and 1. Six times, the Bears defense stopped them. Obviously, this isn't the last you'll be reading about this game here today.
• Colts 15 Ravens 9 - Wow. What. A. Barnburner. Thankfully, this was the first game of the weekend, cuz it sucked. Four hours and eight field goals later, the Colts emerged victorious in Baltimore. Seriously, if somebody told you that Peyton Manning would throw for 438 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions in the Colts first two playoff games there's no way in hell you have them playing in the AFC Championship. But thanks to a defense that's surrendered only 17 points in those two games, they will be.
• Saints 27 Eagles 24 - If you were to ask us which team is playing the best football right now, and is the favorite to win it all, we wouldn't even hesitate. It's the Saints. The only problem they have right now is their defense, cuz they give up almost as many yards as they gain.
• Patriots 24 Chargers 21- What!? A Marty Schottenheimer coached team gave up a lead late in the fourth quarter in a playoff game!? Tom Brady led a game winning drive in a playoff game!? Whooda thunk it? Way to challenge that obvious fumble by Marlon McRee, Marty. That timeout you lost definitely wouldn't have come in handy as your team made that potential game-tying drive late.
• Which conference is better? - Listen, we know the AFC is a better overall conference than the NFC, but if you watched the games this weekend are you still that sure? We've maintained all year that the NFC is not as bad as everyone seems to think it is. For further proof, let's just look at the numbers of all eight quarterbacks this weekend by conference. The four AFC QBs combined to have a 52.0 rating (74/142 853yds 2TD 8INT). The NFC QBs had an 82.2 rating (74/133 960 yds 4TD 2INT). In each AFC game there were more turnovers than the NFC teams had combined this weekend. The Colts/Ravens game had 6 turnovers, the Pats/Bolts game had 7, and the NFC had 4 combined. We realize this is only one weekend, but who would have thought that of the four quarterbacks still alive, Brees and Grossman would be playing the best? Of course, after Brees and Rexstacy throw five picks apiece next week, none of this will be relevant. Our only point is that while a few weeks ago, we were pretty sure the NFC teams were only playing for a Super Bowl berth, now we're confident that the Saints or Bears can beat either team remaining in the AFC.