Last night's game between the Saints and 49ers was a great MNF game (Baltimore/NY Jets, are you reading this?!). That's what fans expect for a MNF game. Excitement, nail biting and good football. But last's night's game didn't come without injury. Saints RB Reggie Bush is expected to be out at least 6 weeks with a fractured fibula in his right leg.

MRI tests will be done today to confirm the injury. Keep ya head up, Reggie!

-Even being 0-2, I still expect the 49ers to win the division. Alex Smith grew up last night, something we expected to see from him 5 years ago, coming out of the draft. I guess it's better late then never. I added Smith in my Top 20 QB list for 2010, so he better not make a fool out of me!

-Braylon Edwards was arrested for a DWI charge last night. According to the NY Post, here's the skinny:

-In other news, Kurt Warner made his appearance on Dancing With The Stars. He and dance partner Anna Trebunskaya came out swinging, doing the Viennese Waltz to start the season. If Warner can waltz NEARLY as good as he can Walk It Out, than he should be a Top 3 dancer when it's all said and done!

Okay, this is where the fun begins. I've did my own rendition of picking the AFC and the NFC for the upcoming season.. and of course, folks want to know who my Super Bowl picks will be. Although I'm not the best at picking divisions, I've been pretty decent in picking my potential SB picks (I chose San Diego and New Orleans last year, so I was half right LOL).

So without further ado... DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN!!! Here are my 2010 Playoff Scenario picks:

AFC Wild Card Weekend


Texans @ Jets- The Texans are my dark horse pick this year, beating out New England for a playoff spot by strength of schedule. They finally get in the dance! But I don't forsee them advancing. This Jets D is ferocious and the Texans are more of a pass happy team, not as balanced. Sexy Rexy gets the win this time.

Winner:

Baltimore @ San Diego- The Chargers will get in, but they will really miss Vincent Jackson come playoff time. The Chargers D won't be enough to stop all of the weapons the Ravens have on offense. The Ravens win easy, simply because their D won't be able to handle it.

Winner:

(sorry boo boo, I love you but my squad will prevail)


Divisional Playoffs
Baltimore @ Indianapolis - The Colts are Ravens Killers. They know how to beat them better than any other team in the league. This is the year the Ravens get the monkey off their back.

Winner:

Jets @ Bengals- In a rematch of the 2009 Wild Card game, I don't forsee the same result. This is where the buck stops for Rex and company. It all comes down to the QB play. If Palmer stays healthy, the sky is the limit for this team. I still don't trust Sanchez enough, despite the weapons he has. The think Cincy pulls it out

Winner:


AFC Championship

Baltimore @ Cincinnati- Yes, I'm picking an AFC North AFC Championship. And I am far from biased. But the NFL is like a crap shoot, and to a lot of you, this is not something you would see happening. But it's extremely realistic. These two teams know each other.. and well! Carson Palmer is second behind Peyton Manning in making the Ravens eat their own crow. But in the end, the Ravens will prevail. Ed Reed will be back and Carson Palmer wants no parts of that, trust me.

Winner:




NFC Wild Card Weekend
Washington @ Dallas- These two bitter rivals will meet for Wild Card weekend. By then, I expect McNabb to either be hurt, or out of gas. Sorry Skins fans, I think Dallas has what it takes to go further. Sucks that it's to your arch nemesis though
Winner:
Minnesota @ San Francisco- This is my upset pick. While the Vikings are a good overall team, I think this is when we really see how good the 49ers are on defense. Adrien Peterson fumbles away another game. The End

Winner:


NFC Divisional Weekend

Dallas @ Green Bay- Sorry Dallas, Aaron Rodgers is on a mission. And you're in the way. Cowboys fans are gonna throw tomatoes at me, but if you're playing GB in the Divisionals, it looks like another 1 win playoff year for you.

Winner:

San Francisco @ New Orleans- San Francisco may not be able to handle all that New Orleans can throw at them. The Saints have way too many weapons and the 49ers can't outscore the Saints.
Winner:

NFC Championship

Green Bay @ New Orleans- This is going to be epic. Better than the Vikings- Saints NFC Championship game. Aaron Rodgers, the NEW face of the Packers, against Drew Brees, the NFL darling. High powered offenses, good defense, and plenty of points. But in the end, I think Green Bay prevails.

Winner:




Super Bowl XLV

Baltimore @ Green Bay- Looks like this is the sexy pick amongst other bloggers and sports writer. When I first predicted this earlier in the year, I thought I was doing something. I guess I really wasn't doing that much, because a lot of other people have this same prediction. I refuse to change my pick, because I'm going with my gut. However, everyone is picking Green Bay to be the winner. And while I picked them to win as well, someone has to pick the underdog. And since my squad is the underdog...... allow me to be the one to do it!


Ravens 27, Packers 24 With a last second FG from Billy Cundiff!!!!!




The NFL Season is here!!!!!!!!! LEGOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Congratulations are in order for the New Orleans Saints, who defeated the Indianapolis Colts last night for Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17. It was a game that many thought would be high scoring, very close, and in a Colts victory. But the Saints had another plan, and I think most football fans (outside of Indy, of course) were rooting for Who Dat Nation.



The Colts started out hot and ready to show the Saints how you play in a big game. At one point, Indianapolis was up 10-0 and looking to keep the gas on the pedal. By halftime, they were up 10-6, which included a huge stop against the Saints inside the Colts 5 in a 4th down attempt. But the second half would tell a different story starting with the opening kickoff. The Saints came out aggressive, with an onside kick to start the 2nd half of the game. New Orleans capitalized and Drew Brees threw a 19 yd screen pass to RB Pierre Thomas for the go-ahead score, 13-10.





Of course, that didn't stop Manning and company, who responded with a score on their own, after a 4 yard run from Joseph Addai that put the Colts ahead, 17-13 with 6:15 in the 3rd qtr. That would be the last the Colts would score for the rest of the night.





The Saints took control from then, on out. They scored 17 unanswered points, including a critical Manning INT on a slant pass that Tracy Porter turned back 74 yards for the final nail in the coffin and victory sealer







Ballgame. Even though the Colts had another opportunity to score, you could feel the victory in the air. The Saints, won the game, and deservedly so. They are Super Bowl Champions.

Drew Brees won Super Bowl MVP, who completed 32 passes and threw for 2 scores.

While Brees viewed by sports media as fans as being on the cusp of elite, his Super Bowl win and MVP status has pushed him over in a category his belongs in. While some people say that Manning is one of, if not the best QB of our time, last night was Brees >>>> Manning. Add Brees to the elite class, now. He earned the right to be there.

With the Saints win, the city of New Orleans has become one big party. While Fat Tuesday isn't until next Tuesday, it's probably safe to assume that New Orleans started a 9-day party extravaganza, starting with the team's Super Bowl win. With everything the city of new Orleans has been through, with the bad football they have seen over the years... they are finally proud to say they are fans of a Super Bowl champions- the team's first ever. The connection from the team to the community was already strong. But yesterday's win elevated that to a new level that no one knew could exist.

Congrats to the New Orleans Saints- Super Bowl Champions. We were all rooting for you.

Apparently, Master P is about everything New Orleans- including his Saints! So when rapper Lil' Wayne said that he was rooting for the Vikings prior to the NFC Championship game (Weezy says he's a diehard Favre fan), it didn't sit right to Mr. Miller that his fellow NO native wasn't cheering for the home team. Master P said the following:

"The comment Lil Wayne made about New Orleans Saints losing to the Minnesota Vikings, made no sense to me as a New Orleans native," explained P. "This is our hope as a city after surviving Hurricane Katrina. This team should bring us together as people. I understand that he has the right to have his own opinion and comment or even root for another team if he wants to. It's just disappointing to hear this coming from a brother who was born and raised in New Orleans, made money off his music representing the city of New Orleans, talking about it in his lyrics.

"I'm from Uptown New Orleans and I don't care who the Saints play against, how good the opposing team is, nor what the odds are against them. I would never go against my team, the New Orleans Saints, or root for an opposing team playing against them. We've been waiting to get to the Super Bowl for 40 years and if we do, we will celebrate in Second Line. I guess we won't be hearing any Superbowl songs from Lil Wayne unless the Vikings win. This is sad for the fans in the city of New Orleans because they really thought Lil Wayne was down.

"Most entertainers and athletes don't realize that once you're in the spotlight, you need to think about some of the things that you say because it will follow you throughout your career, good or bad."

While everyone is entitled to root for whomever they want, I kinda feel Master P on this. While sports are simply used for entertainment purposes, the fact that it has my city's name in front of it is every indication that I'm rooting for them, no matter what. Think about people in Boise, ID or in Bizmarck, ND who don't have a team to call their own but would love to. Imagine if Philip Rivers and the Ravens were in the AFC Championship. I love my boo, but I love my squad more. At the same time, if Weezy is a diehard Favre fan, he should have thought twice before putting money on him. I'm just saying............

Every year when the Super Bowl is set, the entire city of the teams get involved. This year is no different. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard placed their friendly wager on ESPN. This year, it seems as though the "food bet" is a feast. I don't want to spoil it for you, take a look for yourself. But after listening to what they are offering, I'm ready to take a trip to Indy and New Orleans for a weekend, just to eat!

And we now know it's the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints. The two teams who were undefeated for majority of the regular season, made it to the big game. While many people picked at least one (or both) of these teams, it was still a crap shoot on who was actually going to make it. Yesterday's championship games were full of excitement and didn't disappoint, as expected. Let's recap what happened for these 2 teams to be the conference champions.

- The Colts came out as AFC Champions, like most of us expected. Rex Ryan had his usual, crazy schematic blitzes and at times Manning looked scared and confused. The Jets defense was really getting to him. In addition to that, New York's offense had a point to prove as well. Sanchize and Co was up 17-13 by halftime. But this is Peyton Manning we are talking about.... and right now he's playing on a level I've never even seen before. The Colts came back at the half and adjusted, scoring 17 unanswered points and winning the game, 30-17. Shout out to Ryan and the New York Jets for giving Indy a huge scare in the first half. But in the end, Indy came out victorious.

-*petty moment alert* I hate to do this, but I must..... my blogging brother, Ed The Sports Fan, wrote a blog that the 2009 Jets were a second coming of the 2000 Ravens (good blog post, check it out here). Well, you can't be the 2000 Ravens if you give up nearly 400 yards of total offense and don't make it to and win the Super Bowl. As I said in last week's post, The 2009 Jets = 2008 Ravens. Yesterday's loss just confirmed my assessment.

-It must be really bad when you have your own trending topic on twitter. Last night as the AFC Championship game was closing, #rexryanstomach was atop the hottest trending topics.

It's really bad when your sweater vests and shirts look like they are a size extra smedium. Rex looks like a male version of Octomom on the sidelines. It's not a good look, Sexy Rexy.

-Former Jets QB Joe Namath was in attendance to yesterday's game. Am I wrong for wishing Suzy Kolber had interviewed him again so he could make more passes at her???


-The NFL must be the only gig Jordin Sparks can get these days. When is enough, enough?? I'm just saying......

-Of course, the petty side of me LOVED Peyton Manning's classy swipe (if there is a such thing) at Rex Ryan and the Jets. During his postgame interview, Manning said , "I thought we just kept our mouths shut and went to work this week". I love petty moments!

-New Orleans has the second best pregame ritual ever. Of course, my Ravens pregame are #1 in my book, but I always wanna throw on some pads when I see Drew Brees fire his teammates up!


-The Minnesota/New Orleans game was one of the best playoff games BY FAR this postseason. It was live, full of drama and suspense... but it was also sloppy as hell. Turnover after turnover was the deciding factor in this game. If I would have told you that the Vikings had twice as many 1st downs (31 to 15), nearly 3 times the amount of rushing yards (165 to 68) and double the total yards (475 to 257) and still lost, you would think I was lying, right?! I would too. But Minnesota had 5 turnovers, out of the 6 total in last night's game.

Where they do that at?? The stats say they were the better team, but this is the NFL. Stats never tell the whole story.

-Out of all the turnovers, the one that sticks out the most is Favre's interception in field goal range with 7 seconds left on the clock. That pushed the game into OT and with New Orleans winning the coin toss, it was over. The Saints kicked the winning FG to advance to the Super Bowl. Brett Favre is a great QB, probably one of the greatest, but he will always be known for making boneheaded mistakes in the clutch as well.

Yesterday's INT eerily resembled the 2007 NFC Championship, when Favre threw an INT that eventually led to the Giants OT win against Green Bay. I hope Favre finally retires. His last 3 seasons haven't ended on a positive note. It's time to hang up the cleats, Brett!

-If I'm Brad Childress, I'd make Adrian Peterson carry a football for the rest of the year, until training camp. His fumblitis is hurting the Vikings.

-Listening to Joe Buck slurp Favre's bath water during the entire broadcast was annoying as hell. But it wasn't just Buck. Fox's pregame show should have been dubbed the Favre Pregame Show. There was no love for Drew Brees or the Saints. It was a big ol' Brett Favre love fest. I get it, Favre is an NFL legend. But he's on the couch now, along with 29 other teams. The media and their biased nature is down right sickening at times.

-Congrats to the Saints for advancing to their first Super Bowl ever. It's amazing how much joy a sports team brought to an entire community. The fans of New Orleans relied the Saints for joy ever since Hurricane Katrina, as a way to celebrate life. And now, they finally have an opportunity to bring home their first ever Lombardi Trophy.

-The girl in me is kinda glad New Orleans won. There is tons of man candy on that team. Reggie, Sharper, and Meachem makes it MLK Fan approved!


-Does American Idol have a contract with the NFL? Two former Idols did the National Anthem before the championship games. This is the NFL, they couldn't find more popular artists to sing? If Prince can make a Minnesota fight song, he damn sure can sing the National Anthem.

-Speaking of the Vikings Fight song, I blame Minnesota's mishaps squarely on Prince. That song is awful. If you haven't heard the anthem, check it out. Prince was dead wrong for this.

Excuse me for taking a brief hiatus. The Ravens once again, found a way to rip my heart out, and stomp on it like a Dave Chappelle skit.


To make matters worse, my boo Philip Rivers pulled a Peyton Manning (before his SB win, of course) and choked in the playoffs....... AGAIN! I had to regroup, this football weekend was just too much for me to handle in such a short period of time.

Luckily for me, I've ignored the local sports media stations, ESPN and the NFL Network so I could collect my thoughts and create a new blog post. Here's my thoughts on this weekend's divisional games:

-If you thought the Saints were going to be one and done in the playoffs, raise your hand.......

Looks like you were dead wrong! I had no idea how to look at Cardinals-Saints game, but I sure thought that the score would have been similar to last week's wild card game with the Green Bay Packers. After scoring on their first possession, they looked totally out of their game. Once Kurt Warner's INT and hit happened, it was pretty much a wrap.

Warner said he planned to retire, but then recanted that statement right before the playoffs. My guess is after that hit, he's gonna call it a career.

-Hello Reggie Bush!

I've waited your whole NFL career for a game like Saturday's, and you came out on fiyah! Five carries, 84 yards and a punt return resulted in 2 TDs for the day for Mr. USC. I guess Kim Kardashian's presence and possible marriage proposal bet has that effect on him.

-Shout out to the homeless dude at the Saints game.

Good to see New Orleans giving back to the community. Oh wait........... that's Brad Pitt.

- I love my Ravens, and I always will, but they were not on their game this weekend. The football gods clearly weren't working in their favor. From the awful personal foul call on Ray Lewis, to Ed Reed's INT being punched out and fumbled, the Ravens couldn't catch a break if they paid for it.

My biggest issue with the game was the offensive game plan of the Ravens. There was no sense of urgency, and the play calling was atrocious. Cam Cameron didn't adjust and neutralize the speed of the Colts defense, and I have no idea why. Saturday night, I was yelling, "Off with his head!", because I had an issue with majority of his play calling that night. But what's done is done...... yeah, I'm still salty. Sue me.

-Just when you think old man Favre is OLD MAN Favre, he sips on that damn Fountain of Youth again, and makes plays the same way he did 15 years ago.

Favre threw for 234 yards and 4 TDs in the Vikings 34-3 rout over the Cowboys. I don't think I've ever seen a dude so old (in football years), play so well. I stopped slurping the Favre kool aid once he went to New York, but I can't take away anything he's done this season. He's been a great addition to Minnesota.


- With most NFL games, there are upsets on the horizon. I don't think anyone saw the Jets going to San Diego and coming out with a win and advance to the AFC Championship. But that's exactly what they did. The Chargers moved the ball for majority of the game, but only scored 14 points in the game, with the Jets eventually taking the win, 17-14. Shout out to former Ravens defensive coordinator-turned-head coach Rex Ryan. He's doing big things in the Big Apple.

- 2009 Jets = 2008 Ravens in every way imaginable. Unless they win on Sunday. Then they're the 2009 Jets

-What is up with NFL kickers??? The 2009 NFL season is the official season of NFL kickers missing FGs. During the regular season, kickers made 80.5% of FG attempts, the lowest percentage since 2003. Sean Suisham and Nate Kaeding missed 4 FGs on Sunday alone. For the Cowboys, 6 points didn't mean much, but it could have maintained momentum. For Kaeding (who, by-the-way, was selected to this year's Pro Bowl), he missed 2 FGs that ultimately decided the game's outcome.

Kaeding also missed FGs in past playoff games against the Jets and the Patriots. If I'm Suisham and Kaeding's teammates, I'd be windmilling out of control until I'm over it. *in Herm Edwards's voice* You get paid to kick the ball- that's it!

*extra point* My final Ode To Rivers of the season.... I still love you!


-If you haven't checked out Showtime's Inside The NFL, there was a great remix they showed after the regular season was over. Whoever does these remixes is talented. I was amused. Enjoy!

Remember the Chappelle show skit, "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong"? One of my favorite skits on the show (Outside of Charlie Murphy's Hollywood stories, of course). Ever read a story and you don't know whether you want to


or simply



Well, the NFL always has a few keeping it real stories like that, particularly in the off season. Let's take a look at the most recent "Keeping It Real" situations that went terribly wrong:

Two New Orleans Saints Arrested For Lewd Conduct



So, if you haven't heard the story by now, Saints WR Biren Ealy and TE Kolomona Kapanui were arrested over the weekend. If you missed it, here's what happened c/o Sports Illustrated:

"Two women, who weren't identified, were riding in a vehicle when they reportedly saw Ealy and Kapanui urinating in the parking lot of an apartment complex around 12:42 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

"One of the women told Ealy to stop. Authorities said Ealy turned around while exposing himself and began making lewd comments. Moments later, Kapanui allegedly exposed himself to the driver of the vehicle and made lewd comments, the sheriff's office said."

Okay I don't know about you, but this is about one of the dumbest reasons for getting arrested, if there is any such thing. Seriously. And to make matters worse, these are two guys that you probably never heard of until now, unless you are a die hard Saints fan. If they were on the bubble of making the team, this may have been the deal breaker. Nothing worse than having two irrelevant people on a football team get arrested for something as dumb as not being able to keep their man parts in their pants..... When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong............



Seahawks LB Leroy Hill Released After Curry Falls To Team



Okay, this was one of the funnier "keeping it real" moments to me. Mainly because there is a happy ending behind it. Seattle puts the franchise tag on LB Leroy Hill this offseason. Hill decides that he doesn't want to sign the one year tender. Then draft day comes. Everyone projected that LB Aaron Curry would go no lower than 3rd. But he did fall, and the Seahwaks wasted no time to pick him up with their pick.

So what happens next? Well, if they drafted a LB and they had another LB that was disputing the franchise tag, why do they need both players? The Seahawks took the franchise tag off of Hill and released him shortly after the NFL Draft.

So why is this under "When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong" standards??? Because this is what happens when players get greedy. Player waits until the final weeks of training camp to sign their franchise tenders, mainly by the guidance of their agent. Surely having a franchise tag means the team NEEDS you on their team, right?! Well, that was WRONG in this case. The drafting of Curry showed Hill that he could easily be replaced. The Seahawks gave him the door and Hill was temporarily out of a job.

The good news is, since then, Hill has agreed to a multi year deal that brings him back to the team. But I know he's thinking that was a close one. That reality check hit him hard as bricks, I bet. This should be a message to players. There are only a handful of guys that aren't replaceable (See My Fave List For Reference). The rest of you.... ehhh.... a new, hungry player comes a dime a dozen. When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.........