DID YOU PREDICT THE NFL CONFERENCE FINALS?

If you'd followed my predictions in the recent college
bowls, you'd be filing bankruptcy right now, as I went
from picking the winners to being quite adept at opting
for the losers. The wife even outdid me. OUCH!

But we're talking pros, now, and this is different, I think.

At the beginning of the season, who did you pick to wind
up in the conference finals? Saints? Pats? Falcons? Chiefs?
Colts? Surely, unless you're a "homer", you did not choose
the teams that we'll be watching this next Sunday.
Oh, there's nothing wrong with supporting your local
team, but based on the 6-game which became a 4-game
suspension of "our" quarterback, I advertised my guess
as to the final outcome of the Steelers' season - 5 wins
TOTAL! How wrong (thankfully) I was.

I DID, HOWEVER, PICK ALL FOUR OF THIS PAST
WEEKEND'S "SURVIVORS"!! Something that the wife
and Skip Bayless fell one pick short of doing. Humph!

So what are we to think? Thank God for the defense of
the "City of Champions" squad. Ben is not the Ben of old.
A times he shows glimpses of brilliance, but even the
casual observer can see that he's just not the 2-time
Super Bowl Champion signal caller that he has been.
That doesn't mean that the Steelers are weak or incapable
of "going all the way", but it makes a fan of the team a
bit queasy. Thankfully, Troy "the game-maker" is back.

As for the meat-company-named team from the frozen
North - as Gomer Pyle said, "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"
Who'oda guessed they wouldn't be basking in the warmth
of Hawaii or Florida this week? You? Doubt it. Give Mike
and his coaches a lot of credit, they've pulled off what
some would call a "modern-day miracle". Huh? I'm so
pleasantly surprised at the coming-of-age of Aaron Rodgers.
Having lived in the area, and going back to the days of my
yout' when Starr, Hornung, Zeller, Nagurski, Taylor & Co.
would ply their trades on the cold hard ground of Lambeau,
I've been a Packer fan for decades. But this latest surge of
success has resurrected the feelings of "Packer Fever".

Just a couple of hours southward, I've also been a resident
of a Windy City 'burb, having resided in Zion, the "Holy City",
on the North shore, just south of Kenosha and north of
Waukegan, Jack Benny's hometown. For the time I was
there I cheered for "Sweetness", Sayers & Co., who
always managed to make games interesting. As for the
current edition of "da Bears", they are surprising upstarts,
at least to we who are outsiders. Who'da believed that
Jake would lead his team to the semifinals? Not even
Skip predicted that, I believe. Anyway, when Jake's hot,
he's hot, and "da Bears" "could go all the way"!? Huh?

Finally, "make like a plane and fly". In the immortal words
of "Boomer", "Are you kidding me?". The Jets? Rex Ryan?
Mark Sanchez? Are you kidding me? The job they did
yesterday on an obviously stunned Tom Brady and Pats
was better than a carnival sideshow. I've not respected
coach "Belacheat" ever since the scandal, and was glad to
see who almost everybody thought was a shoo-in "get
the boot". Are the Jets that good? They were yesterday.
Can they be that good again? Given the incentive and
the motive (such as Welker's comments), they may once
again rise to the occasion.....Huh? Against the "Burg Boys"?

CAUTION - sidenote - watch out for those "touchy" officials,
who have taken their position and power to ridiculous
actions. Come on, guys, let the boys be boys. After all,
the good Lord made us in His image, after His likeness,
with EMOTIONS! Let the players celebrate their successes!
NFL - GROW UP!! I've addressed this issue previously, but
apparently it needs to be readdressed. Fans in the stadiums
and at home deserve to be entertained by the guys who
have delivered for their teams and followers.

NOW TO MY PICKS. Careful, my recent performance may
not be a certain indication of my continued success at
prognosticating. In other words, "don't bet the farm on it".

Sunday at 3 PM - This midwest version of a "backyard rivalry"
will bring out the best and worst in the participants. After
all, all the chips are on the table. If, as I suspect, Rodgers
continues his precise passing and deft handoffs, "the Pack"
should repeat their regular-season-ending performance
with another win over the Bears. Packers 21, Bears 17.

Sunday at 6:30 PM - WOW! Emotions surge as I try to
be objective for this battle. The Jets "have it going on",
as they say, but the Steelers are always tough "down the
stretch", and when the going gets rough. I like the Jets,
especially after what they just did yesterday, and I'd
probably pick them against most other teams, BUT THESE
ARE THE STEELERS, grizzled veterans of gridiron wars,
and while these "veterans" are one of the oldest squads
in the league, they are also reminiscent of how to get
the job done. Steelers 17, Jets 13.

Please don't ask for my Superbowl prediction - I don't
like what I'm thinking and feeling.