OK, so Colts/Bears is the matchup I actually picked. Sure, it woulda been nice for New Orleans to go. I and all of America certainly wanted it. But the Bears just had it all going for them yesterday. They were at home in the snow and Sexy Rexy didn't turn it over 37 times. It's hard to beat the Bears when those things happen. Let me also say that the Colts/Pats game yesterday was by far the most exciting game of the playoffs so far, trumping last week's Pats/Chargers game. This one's going straight to ESPN Classic.

One thing I can't get over: Why is everyone declaring that Peyton Manning has whacked the monkey off his back? That his critics can now shove their feet in their mouths? He hasn't done anything yet! The Colts still have one more game to go before people can begin to say "I guess he can win the big one." Dan Marino made it to Superbowl XIX, but ran into Joe Montana and the 49ers and were promptly whooped. Making the Superbowl never stopped people from bashing Marino, why would it stop them from ripping Peyton? If Manning doesn't win in two weeks, he's in danger of finishing his career ringless, getting a job on some NFL postgame show, and having Boomer Esiason rip him a new asshole on the air like he did to Marino.

The Lakers need to stop losing to anus-of-the-league teams like Charlotte and Memphis. This used to happen a lot when the Lakers were winning championships. The excuse then was it's hard to motivate yourself to play hard against a team you know is crap. That excuse worked back then. It doesn't now. When you're not that good, motivation should never be an excuse for anything (unless of course you're tanking on purpose in hopes of Oden/Durant like the Celts and Sixers are). The last I checked, all these Lakers have done is be owned by Tim Thomas in the playoffs last year. The last I checked, the team still consisted of Kobe and a bunch of mediocre to bad players. Sure, they're 11 games over .500, but until they win a playoff series, they have no business using the same excuses as the Shaq/Kobe teams of earlier in the decade. Suck it up, bitches.

Supposedly, Matt Kemp had a strong finish to the Dominican Winter League by driving in 9 runs in his final 17 games. Great, he got some hits off some guys who'll be picking cotton in a couple weeks. I think I'll wet my pants.

Also supposedly, the Dodgers are in serious negotiations to bring Rudy Seanez back to the team. I have no comment on this matter. But I will if they actually sign the fucker.