Conference Championships

At long last, the championship games are here. The first game features the New England Patriots at the Denver Broncos. Vegas favors the Patriots, but I favor the Broncos. It is time to send Pretty Boy packing. No more jawing about "Deflategate." Send them home.

In the late afternoon/early evening game, we see the Carolina Panthers hosting the Arizona Cardinals in Charlotte, North Carolina. I like Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, and Patrick Peterson; however, my son would be over the moon to see his beloved Panthers in the Super Bowl. There would be no living with him over the next two weeks. I am prepared.

Broncos - 31, Patriots - 28
Panthers - 35, Cardinals - 24

Lady Grid out.

Cue Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"

Where is Freddy Mercury? His services are needed to sing "Another One Bites the Dust" after the firing of Cleveland head coach David Blatt. How will the Cavs perform at home tonight against the visiting Bulls? Tune in at 7:30 P.M. on your local ABC channel to find out.

Meanwhile, I think I will visit YouTube and rock out.

Lady Grid out.

Good News and Bad News

1. The good news is that my Aggies won last night against LSU at Reed Arena. Whoop!
2. The bad news for Kansas is that they lost to Oklahoma State. They were number three until last night happened.
3. The worst news for Duke is their third straight loss in a row. Coach K will not stand for four. Watch out, NC State Wolf Pack. Blue Devils will be on a roll.

Lady Grid out.

4-0!

Perfection in predictions so rarely occurs that I must raise my coffee mug in celebration this morning. All four home teams won their division games to advance to their conference title games.

1. Carolina scared me by allowing 24 unanswered points in the second half. What happened there? 
2. The Packers will belabor the coin toss that was not, but we Cowboys fans could also continue to belabor the Dez Bryant pass that was not. Move on.
3. The Chiefs did not roll over and play dead, but the hands of Gronk sealed their fate after a late onside kick recovery in the waning minutes of the game. Pats fans breathed a sigh of relief.
4. Defense wins games; if you lack defense, the offense has no motivation to get out there and seal the deal. Case in point is the Denver Broncos. As a result, Peyton Manning is one game from a Super Bowl and faces Pretty Boy and the Hoodie. 

Lady Grid out.

Looking Forward to the NFL Weekend

NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend

Saturday, January 16, 2016
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots - I don't want the Patriots to win, but they have that je ne sais quoi. Ugh.
Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals - Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Patrick Peterson, and host of other Cardinals players need to bring their "A" game against the resurgent Packers.

Sunday, January 17, 2016
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers - Cam and the boys need to keep pounding. MVP time.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos - This will be it for my General as he starts against the Steelers defense with the ever hungry James Harrison eyeing QBs like breakfast meat.

Side Notes:

1. A new era for head coaches dawns in Cleveland and New York.
2. The LA Rams will be back in Los Angeles for the first time since 1994. Hallelujah. Saying St. Louis was bothering me all of these years. I was born when the Rams were out west, so old habits die hard. 
3. After that crazy anomaly of all of the home teams losing in the wild card matchups, I hope I'm not wrong with my picks for this weekend. Fire up the grill, and make me a burger. It's football time!

College Basketball

At press time, number 9 ranked Duke was trailing Clemson with just over a minute remaining. We shall see if the Blue Devils keep up their winning ways. No, Clemson upset them with a score of 68-63. The timer just ran out on me with my computer time this evening.

Lady Grid out.

Busted Bracket Already

I made my picks for the wild card round, and I went with an emotional pick of the Texans. They were blanked. Ugh.  Here are the rest of the picks.

1. Houston vs. Kansas City
2. Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati 
3. Green Bay vs. Washington
4. Seattle vs. Minnesota

Lady Grid out.

Happy New Year - It's 2016!

Happy New Year to you, sports fans! I’ve had fun making my at times horrendous decisions about who would win certain college bowl games. After missing out on picking the first four games results of bowl season (ugh!), I turned the choices over to my son on the ESPN Capital One Bowl Mania game, and he managed to get me to closer to fifty percent. The last game will be the clincher. Alabama versus Clemson. Be patient. I will reveal it closer to game time.

January 2, 2016  Results – (4-0, thanks, Son!)

1. Penn State vs. Georgia
2. Kansas State vs. Arkansas
3. Oregon vs. TCU
4. West Virginia vs. Arizona State

How about those TCU Horned Frogs? I was convinced my pick was wrong at halftime with the Frogs down 31-0. I was concerned because of suspended QB Trevone Boykin’s recent tangling with law enforcement. I should have never doubted the indomitable spirit of TCU on the gridiron field. Well done, Frogs. Well done.

A yellow flag of shame to Mr. Boykin for shameful behavior. I liked his charity with that little girl who was a diehard Iowa State fan until she met him. Please turn things around now, sir. Consider this a wake-up call.

NFL – Last Sunday for The Season and NFL Redzone (*sob*)

1. NY Jets at Buffalo
2. New England at Miami
3. New Orleans at Atlanta
4. Baltimore at Cincinnati
5. Pittsburgh at Cleveland
6. Jacksonville at Houston
7. Tennessee at Indianapolis
8. Washington at Dallas
9. Philadelphia at NY Giants
10. Detroit at Chicago
11. Tampa Bay at Carolina
12. Oakland at Kansas City
13. San Diego at Denver
14. Seattle at Arizona
15. St. Louis at San Francisco
16. Minnesota at Green Bay

The playoff implications are such a tangled mess that I won’t attempt to decipher the madness; however, I will post my bracket later this week once the dust clears.

Lady Grid out.