Conference Championship Weekend Picks

For the past week, ESPN has pretty much been unwatchable for me.  I haven't been watching it non-stop 24 hours a day or anything, but every single time I've turned it on, it's been a story about how the Giants just never will give up, how bad that Patriots defense really is or if Joe Flacco is good enough to "get the job done".  Things like that.  I guess as the number of teams left in play dwindles, there are less things to talk about.  So I can't blame the media.  I just choose to stay away from it.

Having said that, the conference championship week media circus is only the second worst week of the sports media year.  It pales in comparison to Super Bowl media week, when you're talking about being unwatchable.  But let's not get started down that road.

There are only so many story lines the media can come up with and drill directly into my skull.  And even though I'm a Patriots fan, so I do have a rooting interest still, I'm tired and glad the week is over.  That's probably why I've waited until the last minute to post my picks.  This isn't going to be very in-depth folks.

NFL Divisional Round Playoff Picks

Before I start this post, let me just say that it feels like a lifetime ago that I last wrote anything on here.  In an ideal world, I would be a full time blogger, and maybe even make some money from it.  But in the less-than-ideal world we live in, I've got to have a full-time, regular job so that I can pay the full-time, regular bills.  And boy does paying bills suck. 

If you can think of a worse feeling than sitting in front of the computer to pay bills, I'm all ears.  I think I'd literally rather get punched in the face than sit down and pay bills.  I mean, even if I have more than enough money to pay the bills, I hate the act of actually paying the bill.  Anyway, I'm getting way off topic here, so I need to stop.

Bear with me as I get this blog thing up and running again folks, it's been a while.  I'm in a position to start posting more on here, so be sure and check back regularly.  Right now though, I'm going to give you a NFL playoff picks post (yes, I know....a very lazy post idea) so that I can ease back into this blogging thing.  Let's get into it, shall we?

So The Blazers Are Down 2-0 In The Series And I Don't Know Whether To Panic Or Not

First of all, part of this post will be fairly objective and part of it will be anything but objective.  Most of the time, I can look at the Blazers pretty objectively when writing about the team.  But talk to me in the middle of a game, and I am anything but reasonable.  I bet it actually gets pretty entertaining sometimes.  But I digress. 

First, the objective, reasonable part of this post. 

So it looks like the Blazers are in a bit of trouble.  After listening to everyone of their mom (including yours truly) talk about how Dallas had no shot in the first round and the Blazers were going to pretty much beat them up and take their lunch money, it looks like so far, Dallas is the team that is getting it done and coming up clutch when they need to.

That doesn't mean that the first two games have been runaway Dallas victories, though.  Far from it.  Both games were very close for 3 quarters, and then saw the Mavericks pull away in the 4th quarter.  Nowitzki has been damn good.  Jason Kidd has been damn good too.  For Portland, Gerald Wallace has been pretty good and LaMarcus Aldridge has been decent, but Aldridge hasn't been great in down the stretch and in the 4th quarter.  And there's your difference in the series thus far.

Where Will The Blazers Finish In The West And What Are Their Chances In The Playoffs?

A week ago, prior to Portland losing a heart breaker in New Orleans, the prevailing thought around the league was that Portland would finish 6th in the Western Conference and face the Dallas Mavericks.  After Sunday's win over the Mavericks at home, it seemed like a lock.

Right now though, it's anything but a lock.  In fact, right now the Blazers are currently the 7th seed in the West and just dropped a gimmie game at home against the uninspired Warriors.  But I still think the Blazers finish 6th in the conference, based on their remaining games and the remaining games of Memphis and New Orleans.  I think Portland beats Utah, Memphis and Golden State and then loses to the Lakers.  I think the Hornets beat the Suns and Utah, and then lose on the road to Memphis and Dallas.  And then I think the Grizzlies beat Sacramento, the Hornets and the Clippers, and lose when they visit Portland.

Dallas Columnist On The Mavs And The Playoffs: "The Done And Done Boys."

Saw this post up at Blazersedge.com yesterday.  Jennifer Floyd Engel, a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, writes that she doesn't see the Mavericks getting past the first round, no matter who they play.  And especially if their first round opponent is Portland.

"...Mavs basketball has come to epitomize amazing regular season, disappointing postseason....I know stats say this is the third-best team in the West, has been all year. What the No. 3 seed does not mean is that the Mavs will be the team most likely to challenge either the Spurs or Lakers this season -- or going forward. Because unlike OKC or Portland, who are young and hungry and generally assumed to be up-and-coming, the Mavs are not a team on the rise. This is an aging team trying to slap together one last miracle run for Dirk Nowitzki -- except road trips like this latest seem to illustrate just how unlikely that actually would be."

The Crappy Seahawks Made The Playoffs Last Night, And I'm Okay With It

Everyone today seems to be up in arms about the "pesky" Seahawks making the playoffs with a 7-9 record.  They clinched the NFC West division crown with a home victory over the St. Louis Rams, who, with the loss, finished the season with a 7-9 record.

The Seahawks won by a final score of 16-6, and the game itself was pretty ugly.  The only thing that made it tolerable was that it was a win-or-go-home game for both teams.

It really doesn't bother me that much though.  I don't even know how the current Seahawks team even won that many games.  So the fact that they did, and that it actually got them into the playoffs, is admirable if you ask me. 

Listen, folks.  Don't blame the Seahawks.  Blame the system that put them in the playoffs.  Though not nearly as flawed at the infamous BCS, the NFL playoffs system appears to have a flaw.  One that Seattle happened to stumble upon.  It's not like this happens every year, and so it's really not that big of a problem.  Actually this is the very first time this has ever happened.  So there's no need to go tearing out pages of the NFL rulebook just yet.