NFL Playoffs, Conference Championship Games

Hey, at least I'm consistent. Since I apparently have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to picking games this playoff season, I've decided to ask my almost three-year-old daughter for some insight into this week's games. I've included her picks next to mine below. For the purposes of this blog, we'll call her the Roaming the Sidelines Daughter (RTSD). Note that when I asked her why she chose her picks, she said "because they like to win" in both cases.

As a quick, non-sports related aside, I just want to say that if you're a horror/sci-fi fan, you should check out the movie Cloverfield. I just saw it today, after following the internet viral campaign since last July, and I found it to be worth the wait. I won't get into the details here, but if you want to learn more about this movie and it's back-story, check out this blog.

Last week's record 1-3 (the point spread giveth, the point spread taketh away). Now, on to the picks (home team in bold). Please note that all lines are as of the time of this writing.

New England Patriots over San Diego Chargers (+14.5) 3:00pm, Sunday

I'm actually a bit terrified about picking this game. On the one hand, I don't think that the Pats can lose this game. On the other hand, this point spread is ridiculous. The Bolts deserve credit for taking out the Colts last weekend, but I really believe that the ride ends in Foxborough. I just can't conceive of a universe where a Norv Turner coached team beats a Bill Belichick coached team in a game of this magnitude. Of course, I'm mildly concerned about what's going on with Randy Moss this week.

RTSD's Pick: San Diego --- I'm obviously quite distressed over this. Of course, if she's right we're taking a family trip to Vegas.

Green Bay Packers over New York Giants (+7.5) 6:30pm, Sunday

Green Bay should win this game, even giving the points. Keep in mind, though, that this is coming from a guy who's picked against the Giants each of the past two weeks. I will say this, if either of these teams is going to get a boost from the football gods this weekend, it will be the Giants based on this story. Have people in Wisconsin ever heard of portable DVD players? More importantly, a year ago did anyone think that we'd see the day when an opposing team was trying to get inside Eli Manning's head? It also does my heart good to know that if the football thing doesn't work out for him, Eli's been able to take a page out of his brother's book and prostitute himself out for an extra buck.

RTSD's Pick: New York.

There you have it. If the Pats secure a spot in the Super Bowl, I'll be dedicating a blog to my most vivid Super Bowl memories (especially if there's going to be a re-match of Super Bowl XXXI). If the Chargers pull off the upset, you might want to send someone to check on me --- I'm not sure how I'd handle it, but let's hope it goes better than the days following this.