Conference Championship Sunday

Cutting it close before game time, but better late than never.

But first! Couple of tidbits from yesterday.

1. It just had to be that Liverpool FC beat Chelsea FC 2-0 at Anfield, what with the dark shadows and rumors swirling around "The Special One" Mourinho and the board at Chelski, not to mention the series of injuries they have on the backline. The bitterness of the double-Cup-blowout to the Gooners is now mostly washed out of my mouth, thanks to this strong showing by Stevie G and the boys. Walk on!

2. Went to the UCLA-Arizona game at Pauley Pavillion, yesterday. Sure, I was with three other UCLA fans and the homecourt really impacted the game as the fans were in it from the start, but it was nice to see a decent smattering of red and navy blue shirts peppered around the arena. Sadly, after Arizona took a 25-17 lead with about 5 minutes to play in the first half, that was about all that was nice for Arizona fans. The Bruins proceeded to go on a 13-0 run and never looked back. Afflalo ran rampant, Darren Collison was unguardable (And, oh by the way, there isn't a player in college basketball with quicks like him. Hello, NBA), Alfred Aboya was a rock down low, and, perhaps most impressive, UCLA controlled the game without Luc Richard M'Bah Moute. As for the Cats... aside from Radinovic, nothing doing. UCLA's defense was so good, so poised, that the Cats were relegated to taking off-balanced, bad shots from outside, or chucking up wild shots while blanketed in the post. Worse, when we did get open looks, as Chase Budinger did a few times, the baskets just weren't falling. Marcus Williams was less than impressive and Mustafa Shakur was nowhere! Senior leader? Not on Saturday. Sure, it was only a 4-point loss in the end, but it felt like 10.

What does Arizona do, now? 0-2 on the SoCal road trip is a harsh result and it's got UofA sitting in the background, now, of a crowded and potent Pac Ten. Washington has steadily worsened since the New Year (Washington State beat them by 28, yesterday), so the victory over them is looking less and less glowing. That said, Arizona has lost to WSU, Oregon, USC, and UCLA. That's 0-4 against the conference's best. That's, uh, not good. The plus side? Three of those teams still have to travel to Tucson.

Okay, now let's get to it. CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

New Orleans (+2) at Chicago - Skeptics will tell you that this is a "bandwagon" pick. Those who apply logic to their picks will tell you that this is the smart bet. The positives for the Bears heading into this game: they're at home, superior special teams, and field conditions could get muddy. To me, that doesn't outway an erratic Rex Grossman and a weakend defensive line (since Tommie Harris went down) that has to contend with the human battering ram that is super-stud Deuce McAllister. Muddy conditions or not, the Saints have been playing superior football in recent weeks and have beaten quality opponents. The Bears beat two winning teams all season -- three if you include Seattle, last week. For the Saints, it's okay if they don't have Joe Horn available because with that spread offense, the Bears are going to be forced into single-coverage on just about every single play. Blitzing Drew Brees has proven futile for all opponents leading up to this one. I like the varied attack of the Saints, the confidence of Sean Payton, and the ability of the Saints' defense to cause two crucial Grossman turnovers. Marching to Miami... Saints 24 Bears 17

New England (+3) at Indianapolis - It's almost not fair. Here we are, again, with a Brady v Manning playoff game and all the pressure is once more on the latter. This time around, however, the Colts definitely have the better team. They clearly have superior talent on offense - particularly when matching up their WRs against New England's DBs - the defense has shown over the last few weeks that they know how to play with a lead, and Indy hasn't lost at home all season -- a big advantage, whereas New England was always the venue in playoff games of recent past. But with all the obvious advantages the Colts enjoy, the Patriots find themselves in a situation that virtually mirrors last week's game against the Chargers: No pressure. If anyone knows how to play within themselves and let the game come to them, it's the Pats. Belichick, I am sure, will have updated his gameplan since the regular season loss to Indy this season. It is important to remember, however, that the Chargers looked rattled, inefficient, and, at times, amateurish last week. They made turnovers and mistakes that they never would've made during the regular season and I strongly believe that a lot of that had to do with all the pressure, all the focus, being on them. So, does the choke-factor rear it's ugly head for Peyton & Co.? Here's how I look at it: John Elway won a Superbowl, Roy Williams won a National Championship, and both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox won the World Series. Thing is, they had to prove they could do it before it was expected of them. That is to say, Manning has the ability to win a Superbowl, but only he can make people believe that he ever will. Until then (which could possibly be later today), I'm betting the odds and going with the QB who plays big when it matters the most. Patriots 27 Colts 23