NFL Conference Championship Games Live Blog

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots 3:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers 6:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

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NFL Conference Finals Schedule

I love Conference Championship Sunday.  It's my favorite NFL Weekend of the year, as there are two championship games in the time it takes to celebrate and play the Super Bowl.  Regrettably, in my numerous tweets and post about SOPA, I forgot to get this up earlier, not that anything here is a real surprise.  So here's the schedule for this year's Conference Championship Sunday.  Here is hoping this year could live up to the fun we've had in year's past.

Sunday, January 22

#2 Baltimore Ravens vs. #1 New England Patriots  3:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)
#4 New York Giants vs. #2 San Francisco 49ers  6:30 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

The Most Disgusting AFC Championship Game Ever

First up, during the opening drive of the game, Mark Sanchez was spotted on the sidelines by the CBS cameras picking a booger and wiping it on Mark Brunell's jaket.



And during the final series of the game when Ben Roethlisberger took his first knee, Rashard Mendenhall felt it necessary to give Ben a little payback for all his alleged rapings.



Nothing says celebrating an AFC Championship game quite like dry humping your quarterback.

I'll have more on the Green Bay-Pittsburgh Super Bowl as we get closer to the day, including my official prediction.

2011 NFL Playoffs Conference Championship Sunday Live Blog

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Conference Championship Games Preview

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears: I am sure Soldier Field will be its normal crappy self as the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game. In terms of DVOA, the Packers were the NFC team in the playoffs. And for my money's worth, they are much better than Chicago. Soldier Field might be the great equalizer in this one, but does anyone really see Jay Cutler picking apart the Green Bay defense? There is a reason the Bears played their starters Week 17, and it was to try and avoid the very situation they found themselves in. The overall match-ups in this game favor Green Bay, both offensively and defensively. If Chicago wins this game, I'll be shocked. Final prediction: Packers 24, Bears 14.

New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers:  For some, this game will be like watching hell on a frozen football field.  The temperature in Pittsburgh is forecast to be in the teens for game time and this game features two teams that outside of their respective fanbases are for the most part rather unlikeable.  Yes, I did root for the Jets last week, but yes, the Patriots are more loathesome than the Jets, and the same thing can be said about Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers in comparison to said Jets. Both teams have seen their share of luck over the course of the season. You've two conservative offenses going up against two really good defenses, so while this game could likely be boring in spots, it should also be very close making for a fun finish. All in all, the Steelers are the better team here and should take care of the Jets who were at an emotional high after they beat the Patriots. Can Rex Ryan come up with his 3rd straight brilliant gameplan against a team who has a QB significantly better than his? Doubtful. Final prediction: Steelers 16, Jets 13.

Live blog tomorrow at Keith's Sports Journal.

NFL Conference Championships Schedule

As fun as Super Bowl Sunday is, the conference championships are for my money the best Sunday in the NFL season. In roughly the same amount of time you watch one game championship game with added pageantry, you get to watch 2 championship games with little pageantry. Plus, the two host cities (Chicago and Pittsburgh) are cold weather cities in the midst of a weather pattern featuring below average temperatures. Also, after going all year without a sideline reporter, for whatever reason, CBS has once again seen a need to employ Steve Tasker as one. I don't get it either. But nonetheless, here is your schedule for Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL. (all times ET)

Sunday, January 23

NFC Championship Game

#6 Green Bay Packers vs. #2 Chicago Bears 3:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

AFC Championship Game

#6 New York Jets vs. #2 Pittsburgh Steelers 6:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

Your 2010 NFC Championship In Funny Announcing Calls

Because what good is a close OT title game if you don't get to hear all of the funny moments from the TV and radio booths!

I know I will take a lot of heat for saying this, but personally, I don't mind Joe Buck. In fact there are times that I quite like him. Talk to any fan anywhere and they will say that he hates their team. Isn't that the mark of a fair announcer? Regardless, while I thought that his dramatic calls of the game (Favre's final INT, Hartley's game-winning FG) were spot on, he did have his moments of slurping Favre. So much so that perhaps it gave us the biggest announcer jinx of the game. We all caught this during the live blog and I even put up an audio of it there that was quickly found, but here it is one for time for shits and giggles.



Yeah, I don't think that Favre was too giddy after that play. And as Dan Levy pointed it out in his column today, how on earth did Buck even know that Favre was smiling then? Did they have a secret Favre Cam just for him?

However, that was not the best of the best. Here are the Vikings radio announcers mourning the interception of Favre. Note the agony.



Whoa! That got a little intense at the end, didn't it?

I have to disagree with Paul, while the throw and the ultimate decision from Favre was curious, the Saints just stuffed you twice running the ball, if you go back to that and go nowhere for the 3rd straight play, Brad Childress is once again an idiot. That 12-man in the huddle penalty certainly put the Vikings in a no win situation where the play call would be criticized no matter went if the play went wrong, and it certainly did there and that is what is happening the day after. But hindsight is 50-50 here people, the best thing to do would have been to try the draw on 1st down, run some sort of quick slant or screen pass on 2nd down, a run on 3rd down to control the clock and kick the FG with as little time left on the clock as possible (Saints had no timeouts in the last minute).

However, we are not done. Here are Saints announcers Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajon calling Favre's 3rd down the same INT you just heard Paul Allen call along with all of the big plays in overtime that led to the Saints beating the Vikings and advancing to the Super Bowl. Prepare for what has to be without a doubt the single greatest call in the history of New Orleans sports.



"Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. The Saints are on their way to the Super Bowl!" - Jim Henderson

I couldn't have said it better myself...

The Legend Of Brett Favre Drew Brees, Garrett Hartley, And The New Orleans Saints

What. A. Game.

That may have been one of the most thrilling championship games I have ever seen. From the "Legend of Brett Favre" to the Legend of New Orleans and what that city has been through for the past 4 and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, this game had all the drama you could ever ask for. And oh yeah, the game itself was a mistake-laden thriller. My heart was in my throat for a good part of that 4th quarter and all of OT. It was that good.

So what went down? The Vikings had a chance. Brett Favre. The 2-minute drill. He has made his career of being a hero during this part of the game. But in the 2008 NFC title game, he threw an INT that cost himself the game. Surely with this chance, he would get the job done, right?

It started out right. The Vikes got to the Saints 33 with the Saints out of timeouts and a minute on the clock. Inexplicably they called not one but 2 running plays that went absolutely nowhere. Followed that up with a 5-yard, too many men in the huddle penalty, and all of a sudden, they were out of Longwell's range. With no choice but to throw it on 3rd and long just to get back to field goal range and 18 seconds left on the clock, the unthinkable happened.



Picked off! Are you kidding me?? Brett Favre did it again!

But that only sent the game into OT. The Vikings were idiots and called heads, which allowed the Saints to receive the ball and after several somewhat controversial replays and a bad pass interference call, it all came down to Garrett Hartley. Historically snakebitten football team. The Aints. Hurricane Katrina. Here's the payoff:



Right down the middle! The New Orleans Saints are going to Super Bowl XLIV.

And as a result, for the first time ever, a former Bloomsburg University Husky will be playing in the Super Bowl. Congratulations Jahri Evans, Pro Bowl right guard for the New Orleans Saints! I will have a lot more on that tomorrow, as will I also have a breakdown of scheduling for the next couple of weeks.

As far as the Saints opponent goes, it is the Indianapolis Colts who took care of the Jets 30-17 in what was a very good game for 3 quarters. But the loss of Donald Strickland early and Shonn Greene at the start of the 2nd half proved too much for the Jets to overcome and the Colts put the final clamp down in the 4th quarter. The Jets hung in there and gave it a heck of a ride for 45 minutes, but the team that kept it up for 60 minutes, the Colts, earned the trip back to Miami where they will play in their 4th ever Super Bowl, all of which just so happened to be played in Miami (Super Bowls III, V, XLI, and XLIV all in Miami).

My way too early prognostication is the Colts will take it in a high scoring game, but before I make a final prediction I want time for the stories to start unfolding, injuries becoming more clear, and more time for match-ups to develop.

Today proved once again why the Conference Championships are my favorite day of the NFL, now let's hope we cap it off with a fun Super Bowl! Manning vs. Brees. Colts vs. Saints. In Miami, trick.

Conference Championship Games Live Blog

Is over at Keith's Sports Journal. See you there and don't be a troll!

NFC Championship Game Preview

What: Brett Favre's return to the NFC Championship!
Who: Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints
Where: Louisiana Superdome
When: 6:40 PM ET
What Channel: Fox
Announcers: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers

We saw him 2 years ago in this game in this time slot throw what many thought would be his last pass: an interception into the hands of Corey Webster that ultimately resulted in the Giants kicking a game-winning field goal in overtime sending them to the Super Bowl. But after contemplating retirement and retiring and unretiring 33 times, he is back in the NFC and he is back in the championship game, only this time, Brett Favre is a Viking.

From Undefeated To Not Undefeated: As the year went on and on, the Saints had become the favorite to go a perfect 16-0 in the regular season. However, after a 13-0 start, they would go on to drop their next 3 games and they went from the team to beat, to the team everyone was questioning heading into the postseason. The New Orleans Saints dispatched of the Arizona Cardinals last week, turning it into a romp the second that Kurt Warner got hurt. That Cardinal defense was not meant to defend the kind of offense the Saints use (come to think of it...is the Cardinals defense designed to stop any offense?) and they took advantage of it. The scored at will, Reggie Bush was on FIYAH!, and the final score indicated the ugliness of the blowout, but the question is, was that game a product of Saints resurgency, or a product of dreadful Cardinal defense combined with no offense when Warner got hurt?

OMGWTF Favre!: I brought it up earlier, but in case you have not heard yet, Brett Favre is back in the NFC Championship game! He will get what will most likely be his last and best shot at returning to the Super Bowl. However, the big key to the game for the Vikings may not be Favre, but rather, the running game. The Vikings easily dispatched of the Cowboys last week, but one fact remains and that is they did most of it without the benefit of Adrian Peterson tearing up the Cowboys. If the Saints can continue the streak and force a bad game on Peterson and thus force Favre to throw passes in a championship game, you can expect ye olde gun slinger to be making throws to guys in black jerseys.

Defense wins championships: And in a game that is sure to be filled with offense, the winner of this game will come down to the team that can play the best defense. It sounds cliche and rather basic, but if you think about it, that is what this game really could come down to. Who can make that final defensive stop? Just like you can expect special teams to make a big difference in Indy, the team that makes the most big plays on defense in this offensive game, will be going to Sun Life Stadium and will be playing in Super Bowl XLIV.

Prediction: With no drama shortage in this game, you can expect an offensive shootout with lots of points scored and teams seemingly scoring at will. However, I like the match-up of Brees and his WRs versus the Vikings secondary then I do Favre and his WRs versus the Saints secondary. Basically what I am saying is that Brees will heave and connect on deep bombs at will and while the Vikings will get quite a few points themselves this game, the defense of the Saints will step up when they need them the most and give the Saints and the fans of New Orleans something to celebrate 4 and a half years after Hurricane Katrina. 38-27 Saints

AFC Championship Game Preview

What: Super Bowl III rematch
Who: The New York Jets and the Indianapolis Colts
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium
When: 3:00 PM ET
What Channel: CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker

For the first time since Super Bowl III, the Jets are playing the Colts in a championship game, and while Lucas Oil Stadium is now Orange Bowl, it should prove to be a similar game in terms of defense and low-scoring. If you want points, that will be for the NFC game which I will post a little later in the night, but for now, here is my breakdown of what will be the first of two championship games this Sunday.

Did The Colts Put The Jets In This Position? I'll answer that one with a simple no, they did not. Yes, I am aware of what happened on Week 16 with Peyton sitting in the 2nd half, it has been beaten into our heads ad nauseum, but you've got to consider the fact that for starters, the Jets hung in during the first half when Peyton was playing. They may not have had the lead at the end of the half, but the Jets were right in that game, thus they were in a very good position to win that game once Peyton did take a seat. And secondly, the Colts did not beat the Bengals, the Bengals, and the Chargers for the Jets. The Jets did that. Yes, the Bengals put in J.T. O'Sullivan in the 2nd half of that one, but the Jets already had a firm lead, were going to win anyway, and did not need Just Turnovers to give them more points.

Then, it was game on in the playoffs and the Jets took care of the Bengals and then they went on the road in San Diego and became the only road team last week to win. And while it may have been a surprise at the beginning of the year that the Jets are in the AFC title game, it should come as no surprise now. When they survived the AFC clusterfuck and made the playoffs, I said right off the bat that they would be the team to watch out for in my podcast, and what do you know, they are here. Why? Because they are built like the teams that have had success in the last decade. They have a dominant defense and a solid ground game that really pounds the ball. Just look at the 2000 Ravens, the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2005 Steelers, among others. They all won championships without a big name QB, an incredible defense, and a powerful running game featuring Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene.. That's what the Jets have this year.

Mark Sanchez: The Jets have proven that Mark Sanchez does not need to be great in order to win football games. Sanchez has to do one thing and one thing alone, not make the big mistake. If Sanchez avoids costly mistakes and turnovers, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Jets will be in this game in the 4th quarter.

Peyton Manning And The Colts Offense: Peyton has been in championship games before, but never has he been up against a corner quite like Darrelle Revis. Revis has been a lockdown corner all post-season long and if he continues to be so, Peyton Manning could find himself struggling. That being said, this is Peyton Manning we are talking about. He is a machine and if there is anyone that is capable of solving Revis and finding ways to pick apart a good defense, it is Peyton Manning. Even with mostly young receivers such as Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, the Colts passing game has not missed a beat, even if the running game has been close to nonexistent from Joseph Addai.

X-Factor: Special teams. In a game expected to be a defensive struggle, the team that can make the plays on special teams will certainly be at a more decisive edge. As far as who that team will be, frankly, I can't tell you, but I'm telling you, special teams will play a major role in this conference championship game.

Prediction This will not be a high-scoring thriller, but in the end, even though I think the Jets will keep it close throughout, Manning will get the job done in the 4th quarter and force Sanchez to make passes in the 4th quarter; passes that he won't be able to make. Colts 21-17.

(Coming up later tonight: NFC Championship Game Preview)

Your Conference Championship Schedule

The NFL's version of the final 4 and my personal favorite day of the NFL. 2 championship games in the amount of time that you can see one two weeks from that day. The drama is always high, the pressure is always on, and memorable moments are bound to happen. So what does the schedule look like? Well, here ya go. (all times eastern)

2010 AFC Championship Game: #5 New York Jets @ #1 Indianapolis Colts 3:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

2010 NFC Championship Game: #2 Minnesota Vikings @ #1 New Orleans Saints 6:40 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

If changes are made, I'll be sure to update them here.

Who will be going to Miami to play for professional football's greatest prize?

I'll have more elaborate previews of these games later in the week.