81st Edition - 1/12/07

• Blatant Self-Promotion

I interviewed Golden Globe-nominated Jennifer Hudson from "Dreamgirls" and the hometown of Chicago.
click here to read

• Bears!

Finally, all the Rex Grossman talk will stop ... for a couple hours on Sunday when the Bears are actually on Soldier Field versus the Seattle Seahawks. Then, no matter what the result of the game, the Grossman talk will pick right back up again. And who am I kidding, the Grossman talk will be in full swing during the game as well.

Whether he has a good, horrible, amazing, awful, OK game -- it will be talked about to death.

It's the Bears defense that needs to show up and play. That's all that needs to happen. I believe Lovie Smith wants to win a Super Bowl. I believe he will do whatever he has to in order for Rex Grossman not to lose the game this Sunday. Run every single play, pull Grossman after the second pick, only play special teams and defense ... it doesn't matter, just win.

Perhaps the nation doesn't realize that the Bears haven't won a playoff game or HOME playoff game in a long time. That is the only thing that needs to be accomplished on Sunday no matter what Rex Grossman's ego needs.

Last playoff game the Bears won:
Jan. 1, 1995 - Wild Card Round - Chicago 35, Minnesota 18
(Thanks, Mark)

• NFL playoffs AND PICKS: One week makes all the difference

Last week, some of the games were close, but mainly from below-average play. There wasn't any great story lines, all that changes this week...

Also, last week I was 1-3. Which meant Mike D was 3-1 because he used the logic of George Costanza (he did the opposite of me). I didn't complain, though he wouldn't have made though picks without seeing mine, so he did cheat. Just wanted to be clear on that.

NFL Season Standings:
j : (25-24-4)
Mike D: (27-24-2)

NFL Playoffs:
j: 1-3
Mike D: 3-1

NFL Overall:
j: 26-27-4
Mike D: 30-25-2

Saturday - 3:30
Colts at Ravens
Peyton Manning has a chance to prove he can out think the best defense in the league. I don't think he can (because of the rest of his team).
j's pick: Ravens -3.5

Saturday - 7:00
Eagles at Saints
I just want lots of scoring ... and the Saints to win. But the Eagles are giving Philadelphia sports fans hope, and that always amuses me.
j's pick: Eagles +5

Sunday - 12:00
Seahawks at Bears
The Bears are going to win, the Bears are going to win, the Bears are going to win.
j's pick: Bears -8.5

Sunday - 3:30
Patriots at Chargers
Coach vs coach and QB vs QB -- You have to take the Patriots.
j's pick: Patriots +5

As always, look for Mike D's picks in the comments section.

• Beckham: Am I supposed to care?

An aging soccer star, David Beckham, is coming to Los Angeles. He isn't good enough to play on the elite European teams. There will be talk about how soccer is once again invading the United States, but really my only thought through this whole thing is this ... How is the world does the Galaxy have $250 million to pay him? There is no way the franchise is worth that much, so where is the money coming from? It does not make any sense.

• Stuff

*Quick movie review:
"Letters of Iwo Jima"
Clint Eastwood improves on every aspect of "Flags of our Fathers" when he made this version, focusing on the Japanese perspective of the battle of Iwo Jima. But that doesn't make it an instant classic. It's good, not great. There was an odd feeling that Eastwood was just playing to the crowd, attempting to show only Japanese soldiers who didn't want to fight or loved the United States. But the acting was fantastic and the story was interesting.
Grade: B

*Cracked did an article of the five biggest mismatches in movie fight history. Funny stuff. Click here to read

*Steve Martin is going to write a memoir, titled Born Standing Up

*Rotten Tomatoes has released their Golden Tomatoes Awards: The two best -- Casino Royale and The Queen. click here to read

80th Edition - 1/11/07

• Special Guest: Mike Triplett

Mike Triplett is the lead writer of the New Orleans Saints for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. But that's not all, he was a frequent guest on my couch when I lived in Los Angeles, a die-hard Cubs fan, a Hawkeye alum, and the only man to beat me head-to-head in the dvd board game "Scene It."

Confidence, Schmanfidence

Before I start talking NFL playoffs, can someone let me know if the college football season is over. I’d just like to make sure. I had completely forgotten that there was another game left on Monday night until I started flipping channels after How I Met Your Mother.

Maybe I’m just all out of whack because I spent the last week covering the New Orleans Saints during a first-round bye. It’s the first time that’s happened in 40 years, so everyone down here is a little discombobulated right now.

But that’s the new NFL, love it or hate it. Anyone can randomly spring up and have a great season. Just for fun, try to name the last 10 Super Bowl winners and losers, then come back to read the rest of this after you give up and google it. We are seriously about five or six years away from the year when all 32 teams finish 8-8.

That’s great if you’re a fan of, say, the Bears or the Saints, and you like to go into every year thinking anything can happen. It’s not so great, though, for predicting what will happen this week. The problem with trying to pick a Super Bowl winner is that every team is flawed. Everyone is beatable.

Here’s another fun test. Think of a game that you’re absolutely confident about this weekend. … Now I’ll bet you that you feel that way because you’re certain that the losing team will lose. My dad was convinced the Bears were in big trouble because of their own problems until he watched the NFC games over the weekend. Now he’s considerably more confident.

How can I possibly pick a Super Bowl favorite out of this bunch? Is it really Baltimore or San Diego, the Bears, Saints or Eagles? … These teams might be a lot more convincing if they didn’t have a combined playoff record of 0-1 last year.

So do I like a more pedigreed team like New England, Indy or Seattle? Not really.

I can’t wait to watch these games, though. I won’t be surprised by any result in any game from here on out.

I do know a lot more about the Saints than most teams, though. And I do kinda sorta like their chances against Philly, since the Saints’ biggest weakness this year has been giving up the deep ball, something the Eagles don’t really have in their arsenal right now.

But all I can say with absolute confidence is that the Saints have a 33 percent chance of reaching the Super Bowl, a 33 percent chance of losing in the NFC championship and a 33 percent chance of losing Saturday night.

Hopefully the daily score’s next guest blogger will be some sort of an expert who can shed some light on all of this.

79th Edition - 1/10/07

• The Weekly Bull (20-15)

They beat the Pistons last week. That's all that really matters. I'll just keep telling myself that as they went 1-3 in their last four games.

Ben Gordon has been hot, Kirk Hinrich is has not.

Ben Gordon: 20.8 ppg
Kirk Hinrich: 13.8 ppg (3-22 from the floor in the last two games)

• The Big Ten: Worth Talking About

Wisconsin beat Ohio State in Madison last night 72-69. These two teams are the best chances for the NCAA title. Wisconsin has three senior starters and Ohio State has four freshmen that start.

The game turned out to be a good one, but Wisconsin had a comfortable double-digit lead until the end when Greg Oden had back-to-back dunks and eventually Jamar Butler missed a game-tying 3 at the buzzer.

I'm actually looking forward to getting into Big Ten basketball this year, mainly because I have zero expectations for the Iowa Hawkeyes ... though they are currently 1-0 in the conference.

• Hall of Fame: Ripken and Gywnn

Those two are the only ones to make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. I would have voted for them as well as Andre Dawson and Mark McGwire, though I only liked one of those men.

• Stuff

I haven't told you this before, but I like music. Discovering a new band is even better than watching a great film, because you have that hope of more to come.

Well, I have discovered a new band.

The Format
album: Dog Problems
quick thoughts: they will remind you of your favortie indie bands, but not in a copying kind of way. Each song has layers of changing tempo.
best track: "Dog Problems"

And I have this blog to thank for discovering The Format.
http://iguessimfloating.blogspot.com/

I highly recommend checking them out, especially their December posts which include the Top 25 albums of the year.

** Mike Triplett, award winning journalist (don't know if that is true) will be with us tomorrow. Stay Tuned.

78th Edition - 1/9/07

• The Florida Gators: next up, a lacrosse championship?

The Gators already own the basketball national championship, and after dominating THE ohio state buckeyes (they don't deserve capital letters, in fact, no more THE either) the Gators now have the BCS Championship. The final score of 41-14 was the perfect indication that the game wasn't close. Another stat that is just ridiculous is 82 total yards for ohio state's offense. They had more yards on the opening kickoff return.

The Gator players played the disrespect card about 3,752 times in the interviews to follow the game. Turns out, nobody believed in them. Poor kids. Finally, they can hold their heads high. I wish pure joy would win out in all post-game interviews. Plain-old happiness would be a nice change.

By the way, there is one undefeated college football team. Boise State finished #5 in the nation.

• NBA: Redd is out

For many, an NBA player being out for 4-6 weeks doesn't really matter, unless he's on your team, and then it only matters if home-court advantage is on the line (translation: in general, the regular season doesn't hold much drama or interest). But when I read this headline, my hopes went high. I am one of the few who plays Fantasy NBA. For a second, I thought the league leader had Redd and this would help my second place ball club, Dentyne. But instead, it turns out Slick Balls has Redd, who also happens to be Mike D. And he's in the middle of the back, so it really doesn't matter... I think I just rambled.

• The Tease: tomorrow

Mike Triplett from the New Orleans Times-Picayune will join us tomorrow to talk NFL playoffs. He's the lead writer for the Saints.

• Stuff

"Big day. Nancy Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker of the House. Experts say Pelosi is now the most powerful non-Oprah woman." ---Conan O'Brien

77th Edition - 1/8/07

• NFL: New York, ouch babe

Colts 23, Chiefs 8
Kansas City didn't have a first down in the first half. The Colts defense played better than Peyton Manning.
next week: Colts at Ravens

Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20
The last seconds were insanely good for Bledsoe fans. Tony Romo fumbled the snap of a 19-yard FG attempt, then tried to run it in only to be tackled from behind at the one yard line.
next week: Seahawks at Bears

Patriots 37, Jets 16
The announcers were trying to say it was a close game with the Patriots leading 16-30, until Pennington threw an interception, returned for a touchdown ... It wasn't that close before the pick.
next week: Patriots at Chargers

Eagles 23, Giants 20
The Ealges got outscored 10-3 in the 4th quarter, but those 3 came from a game-ending 38-yard FG by David Akers. Tiki Barber is retiring, and ever since he announced that, the Giants are 2-9.
next week: Eagles at Saints

• MLB: The Medium Unit going back to Arizona

The Yankees actually got rid of a player to create some financial space. Randy Johnson is 43-years-old and the Diamondbacks are giving him $26 million over two years. Then again, any pitcher going from AL to NL improves, but this guy is a shell of the man who made John Kruk weak in the knees during the '93 All-Star Game.

• College Football: What do you mean there's a game on tonight?

Just awful timing. I will watch, but my attention has drifted.

THE Ohio State Buckeyes vs Florida Gators. The winner gets to win. It has been 50 days since Ohio State has played. But I'm sure with all that extra time, the players have honored all their classes. Hats off to the NCAA, making sure education is always the top priority.

• Stuff

*Quick Film Reviews
Children of Men: A-, just a great Sci-Fi (bleak glimpse into the future) with some amazing suspense/action scenes.
The Queen: B, it was nice, I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

*Chevy Chase (used to be a comedian) wrote an op-ed about Gerald Ford dying. click here to read