Though yours truly normally shuns any and all things glitterati, I woke up from a nap on the couch only to see and hear that --- OMG -- actress Anne Hathaway almost got swept out to sea by a rogue wave. It appeared that her husband, bless his courageous heart, was taking pictures from shore of his beloved as she bobbed up and down in the surf. And you know how evil those rogue waves can be. Sometimes they'll plot for months, years, just waiting for a chance to pounce on their chosen target. But fear not, her highness was rescued from it's dastardly clutches and brought to the beach. At that point, her husband again went above and beyond the call of nobility, and tended to her "massive" injuries by giving her --- a pedicure?? What a man. A hero if there ever was one. Yep, there's reasons I don't pay attention to any of the Hollywood nonsense. On to the playoffs.
Now we're getting down to the nitty-gritty. All the wannabes have been dispatched and only 4 teams remain. It could certainly be argued that between San Fran, Seattle, Denver, and New England -- the cream has indeed risen to the top. Though a blow-out is always theoretically possible -- yours truly suspects both conference championship games will be hard fought contests.
The Patriots @ Denver. Brady/Belichick and the no-names keep getting it done, but can they actually go into Peytonland and win? Probably not, but maybe. Tom Brady doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes and, against the Indy Colts, the Patriots trotted out a punishing running game that nobody knew they had. Can or will they do the same to the Broncos?
Denver's defeat of San Diego was food for thought. Yes, the Broncos steam-rolled the Chargers in the first half -- but in the second half SD came roaring back and Denver had to hang on for the win. Do they fade late in games against good competition? Let's not forget, a couple months ago, Denver played New England and were walloping them by over 20 points -- but the Patriots came back and won. Could it happen again? I think not. If Peyton's ever going to win a second Super Bowl, this is the year.
San Fran @ Seattle. As divisional opponents, when they played in Seattle, the Seahawks trounced the Niners. San Fran narrowly escaped with a win when they met again in Candlestick. Certainly the Seahawks will be favored at home with their rabid fans for the NFC championship. But this is an interesting match-up as well. Sure, the Wetbirds have a dominating defense. They're #1 in the league in a lot of categories. But of late, their offense seems to be sputtering some, with young QB Russell Wilson looking unsure of himself.
And the 49ers have a pretty ferocious defense themselves. Look for them to get after Wilson and hopefully force him to make bad decisions resulting in turnovers. Besides, the 49ers have definitely risen to the occasion as road warriors since the playoffs started. Going into Green Bay and winning? Then Carolina to dispatch the Panthers? These guys are on a roll.
Methinks this will be the most brutal game of the whole year. SF and Seattle both play smash-mouth football and hate each other to boot. I suspect a few guys will start the game -- and not finish it. The trainers will likely be busy tending to various injuries once the mayhem begins.
Kudos to San Fran head coach Jim Harbaugh for being the first ever to reach a conference championship game in each of his first 3 years at the helm. Though he's yet to win a Super Bowl -- that's pretty impressive stuff.
But yours truly further suspects Jimbo's gonna have to wait at least another year. Because like former player/coach and current commentator Herman Edwards said -- I don't know what they put in their coffee up there in Seattle on game day -- but whatever it is sure seems to work.
Personally, I'll be rooting for San Fran, cuz I hate how Seattle head coach Pete Carroll bailed on Southern Cal for greener pastures after major infractions happened on his watch. USC got slapped with sanctions while Pete moved north to accept millions. And I don't much like the way he'll gleefully run up the score against an inferior opponent, while clicking on his chewing gum like a used car saleman on steroids. Not cool.
But shaky sophomore QB or not, Seattle will likely prevail.
Hey, that's where Starbucks has its headquarters, right? Maybe Herman Edwards was on to something. Could they be brewing up a special concoction for the team and its fans on game day? Should somebody alert Commisioner Roger Goodell to the possibility that everybody in the whole stadium is on some sort of performance enhancing drugs that makes them crazy?
I dunno.
But I can't wait for next Sunday. This will be good stuff.
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