Old cover-ups die hard

So Eldrick Woods is having his little pep rally tomorrow. We can't call it a press conference, since questions aren't allowed. But, with the proper credentials granted, reporters can watch from a bar a mile away, so they've got that going for them. No, this is only an assembly of Woods' "friends." It's kind of sad that ESPN and the rest of the sports media goes along with this, instead of refusing to carry this farce.

Nice try again, Urkel. You're only delaying your comeuppance, not canceling it. FAIL. Also, you're 1/3rd of a mediorce-to-good Ping Pong player, 1/64th of Curtis Martin right up until the end of his career, and 1/18th of David Eckstein (with 1/97th the amount of grit). Oh, and you're uglier than this guy. (Incidentally, that guy is married to the underrated Candace Parker. Who'd have thunk it, right?)

I wanted to spend more time crushing this dirt-bag, given new information such as the yet more women surfacing, but frankly it isn't worth that much of my computer time. I'll instead just relay a couple thoughts from others regarding what to expect tomorrow that I enjoyed - WTEM's Andy Pollin predicting that Woods has been working with an acting coach and will fake-cry...and author John Feinstein joking that pom-poms will be handed out at the door.

2009 NFL Predictions, Revisited

So I had Saints + 5 1/2, and the under. Let's get that out of the way, as it takes a little of the sting off of my mediocre predictions from September. And let me also say that while my picks were lame, they weren't Peter King bad. (Sure, anything can happen, but the Bears in the Super Bowl? The Bears???)

But saying I'm better than Peter King would be like pushing the weakest kid in school in the mud. Everybody knows you basically go in the exact opposite direction of whatever Peter King says. Let's look at how I did...(Predicted records in parenthesis.)

AFC EAST

New England 10-6 (12-4)
NY Jets 9-7* (9-7)
Miami 7-9 (8-8)
Buffalo 6-10 (8-8)

TOTAL: 32-32 (37-27)

GRADE: B+. Got the order and Jets' record right, but overestimated overall division strength. And bonus points for predicting the Dolphins' backslide after a cinderella 2008. As for the Bills, they wish they could have a .500 season!


AFC NORTH

Cincinnati 10-6 (6-10)
Baltimore 9-7* (10-6*)
Pittsburgh 9-7 (11-5)
Cleveland 5-11 (5-11)

TOTAL: 33-31 (32-32)

GRADE: C+. Close on division record. Predicted the Steelers' struggles. Said the Browns would be 5-11, but really, how hard is that? On the other hand, I sure didn't see the Bengals coming.


AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis 14-2 (10-6*)
Tennessee 8-8 (11-5)
Houston 8-8 (7-9)
Jacksonville 7-9 (8-8)

TOTAL: 37-27 (36-28)

GRADE: C. The Titans got red hot and almost made the playoff run I thought they would, but it was too little, too late. The Colts didn't take the moderate slide I expected. But, again I was close on overall division strength.


AFC WEST

San Diego 13-3 (9-7)
Denver 8-8 (5-11)
Oakland 5-11 (3-13)
Kansas City 4-12 (4-12)

TOTAL: 30-34 (22-42)

GRADE: C-. Almost had the order right, and was close on KC and Oakland. But when it comes to those teams, who cares? I'll avoid giving myself a "D" by virtue of saying the Chargers would again make a quick playoff exit in spite of winning their division easily.

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NFC EAST

Dallas 11-5 (11-5)
Philadelphia 11-5* (11-5*)
NY Giants 8-8 (11-5*)
Washington 4-12 (8-8)

TOTAL: 34-30 (41-23)

GRADE: C. This was looking like the best division in the league, as I predicted, but that fell apart in December thanks mostly to the Giants. Still, I hit the Cowboys' and Eagles' 11 win records and playoff appearances.


NFC NORTH

Green Bay 11-5 (11-5)
Minnesota 12-4 (9-7)
Chicago 7-9 (7-9)
Detroit 2-14 (4-12)

TOTAL: 32-32 (31-33)

GRADE: B. I've got to hand it to the ol' Gunslinger on a fine regular season. I was correct on Green Bay, and Chicago (take that Peter King, I just put your retainer on top of the chalkboard where you can't reach it), and was close on the Lions and total division record.


NFC SOUTH

New Orleans 13-3 (11-5)
Atlanta 9-7 (10-6)
Carolina 8-8 (10-6)
Tampa Bay 3-13 (5-11)

TOTAL: 33-31 (36-28)

GRADE: B-. Finishing order is essentially correct. And Atlanta took that projected, Miami-like step back. The Bucs were predictably awful, and Saints predictably good. But I sure didn't have the Saints winning it all.


NFC WEST

Arizona 10-6 (7-9)
San Francisco 8-8 (5-11)
Seattle 5-11 (5-11)
St. Louis 1-15 (5-11)

TOTAL: 24-40 (22-42)

GRADE: C. Predicted Arizona would win the division. (Woo, that was hard.) Pinpointed this would be again the worst division in the NFL. (Woo, hard again, really went out on a limb.) I think even the Matt Leinart-led Cardinals can continue to win this slop with their eyes closed for years to come.

So in general, a very average set of regular season predictions. Let's see how I did in the...

PLAYOFFS!???

AFC: 4 of 6 teams correct - Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Chargers.
NFC: 4 of 6 teams correct - Cowboys, Eagles, Packers, Saints.

Preseason Super Bowl prediction of Titans vs. Packers:
It didn't come close, but I'm not completely embarrassed. For a while the Titans were the hottest team in the league, and the Packers had a nice year. (And if they hadn't been hurt by a couple bad calls in their wild card game, who knows, they could have gone much farther.)

At least I didn't pick the Bears.

Super Bowl pick

If you're just joining us, I'm 3-1 ATS (Against the Spread, for you non-gambling perverts) in the past 4 Super Bowls. I had Pittsburgh - 3 1/2 over Seattle in 2005-06. I was correct in '07, taking the Colts -9 1/2. I was right two years ago taking the Giants +14 against the Patriots. (Have I mentioned lately that the Giants won the Super Bowl?) And I was wrong last year in taking Pittsburgh -7 over Arizona. So, we're hoping to get back on the right (Super) track, and I think the right play here is Saints, + 5 1/2.

I think the Colts will win the game, and I wouldn't be surprised if they covered the spread too. But on paper, we haven't had a Super Bowl this evenly matched in a while, and I just think 5 1/2 is a good value. Though it's only a slight lean. Also, in a contrarian play, I like "under" the posted total of 57. Wacky things happen in Super Bowls, so I don't think a shootout is quite the lock it seems to be.

On a personal note, I'll be feeling the most relaxed I've felt going into a Super Bowl in 7 years, as this is the first time since 2002-03's Bucs-Raiders matchup in which I don't really have a dog in the fight. No, I'm not a Panthers, Eagles, Colts, Giants, and Steelers fan; my amount of desire of course varied game-to-game on which team I wanted to see win. But I had my reasons each time.

So, this one should just be fun to watch, and I think of all 32 teams, it's the perfect matchup if you don't care who wins either. Though if I had to choose, I'd go for the Colts, as I'd like to see Manning take his rightful place among the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

Enjoy the game, and we'll see what happens!