Championship Weekend Recap:
At New England -13.5 San Diego 46.5
Projected Final Score: New England 24, San Diego 20
Actual Final Score: New England 21, San Diego 12
(W/L 1-0) Spread (1-0) O/U (1-0)

At Green Bay -6.5 NY Giants 40
Projected Final Score: Green Bay 20, NY Giants 17.
Actual Final Score: NY Giants 23, Green Bay 20 (OT)
(W/L 1-1) Spread (2-0) O/U (1-1)

2007 Postseason To Date: (W/L 6-4) Spread (6-4) O/U (5-5)
Here’s where we’re at via the Spread relative to the “Sportsline Experts”:

Expert “H”: 7-3-0
Expert “P”: 7-3-0
Expert “S”: 6-4-0
PFN: 6-4-0
Expert “D”: 5-5-0
Expert “R”: 6-6-0
Expert “J”: 2-8-0

New England – San Diego: Brady had a lousy afternoon, yet the defense and running game found a way to come away with a hard fought 21-12 win. Whether it was a case of the cold and windy conditions plus getting banged around, Brady dodged a bullet on Sunday, getting bailed out by Maroney and Faulk late in the game. How often does a quarterback get away with three picks and still win? For the Chargers, LT only lasted a couple of plays before having to shut it down and Philip Rivers had a great afternoon considering he was out there with only one good leg. The Chargers’ post-game mouthing off was kept to a minimum (an O-Lineman was bitching about Seymour) and the Patriots were humble in victory, genuinely looking forward to their next game as chance to do something unique.

The Patriots will be focusing on one thing: to execute their various game plans, schemes and packages well. They will not be feeling any added pressure as the result of what has already transpired this year as that’s in the past and simply has no bearing on what lies in front of them. The Coach has the ability to keep the team focused and grounded in the idea that the spectacle surrounding the game is not what matters but executing one play at a time that does.

The win was especially sweet for Junior Seau, who finally has a realistic chance to win the Big Game after all these years (his only previous trip to the dance was an afternoon to forget). He still defines himself as a “Charger” and stands alongside Alworth, Fouts and Winslow as “faces of the franchise”. As a Patriot, however, he has been a perfect fit. This will be Tedy Bruschi’s fifth trip to the dance, an amazing accomplishment considering his stroke, heart surgery and rehab a couple of years ago.

One good thing about the Patriots is their ability to adjust on the fly. When the offense came out flat in the first half, they went to various double tight end packages in the second and chewed up the clock. The “bend-don’t-break” defense also held San Diego to four field goals; that’s where LT’s presence was missed most of all. The Chargers can’t complain too much, though. Considering the fact that they were flatter than a pancake for most the regular season they rebounded quite well and progressed further along in the tournament than they had in over a decade. Based on his performance yesterday, there should no longer be any question as to the Chargers’ quarterback of the future. Rivers gave the team everything he had while playing with a badly damaged knee. The Chargers have a tremendously talented core of young players and will make a lot of noise in the years to come.

...in the days following the game the paparazzi hunted down Brady as if he were another starlet that is the darling of supermarket tabloids and nightly entertainment shows. It’s disgusting. Please ladies and gents, you have your own world in the cult of celebrity. Don’t bring it into this world. We simply don’t care what athletes do with their private time or who they’re with so long as their activities don’t violate the law or harm the team or their own preparation. It’s none of our business. I guess that in the cult of celebrity everything’s fair game, which leads to the question, “do these people have anything better to do with their lives than an obsessive prurient interest in the lives of others?” Get a life.

NY Giants – Green Bay: Ice Bowl II will be remembered as one of the NFL’s Greatest Playoff games in history, every bit the equal of the original. The weather conditions were inhuman, yet both teams played their hearts out before the G-Men intercepted Favre’s pass on the first series in overtime and Tynes banged in a 47-yarder to win the game. In truth, it’s hard to look at this game as having been won or lost, as the bitter cold had a profound effect on the players’ ability to execute on “The Frozen Tundra”. The human body, even developed to the extent required to play professional football, was simply not constructed to withstand such temperatures without wearing several layers of insulation. Moving about and being focused on an activity may ameliorate some of the effects, nevertheless that kind of cold can kill people. So, congratulations are in order for both teams for braving the elements and giving the fans a highly competitive championship.

Now, if I were running the NFL, I would’ve ruled the game a draw and send both of these teams on to Phoenix and have a coin flip to determine which team would play New England in the first half and which one the second, sort of as a reward for playing the game in such brutal conditions.

So we’re back to the old New York-Boston thing in the media. (Don’t we get enough of this during baseball season?) The mayors will make their silly bets and the national media will be hyping the New York line all the way to Beijing and back. It’s good that all the hot air from the Capital of the World is circulating in January; hopefully some of it makes its way north to warm things up around here.

This final game shapes up to be one terrific rematch, as evidenced by their Week 17 thriller. The Giants have all the confidence in the world that they can win, and why shouldn’t they? The G-Men outplayed the Patriots for most of the game. The Giants ought to have thawed out in the next ten days and will be ready to give the Patriots fits. Jacobs and Burress are going to present a lot of problems for New England because of their size and strength. It's no fluke that they've made it this far.

New England will avoid the limelight and come into the game absolutely prepared, determined and ready for whatever the Giants bring. Belichick’s record facing a team for the second time in a season is impressive. Beyond that, Belichick worked for the Giants for 12 seasons and was the defensive coordinator for Parcells’ two Super Bowl wins, so this is hardly just another game from his perspective. If you abhor all of the nonsensical commentary that precedes a Super Bowl, it’s comforting to know that words are meaningless; tune it all out because it’s simply noise between now and the opening kickoff on the first Sunday in February. There’s only one word that matters: execution.