King Kaufman's Sports Daily
NFL conference championship games: Relearning that lesson about picking against the Patriots. Plus: Saints over Bears.
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Jan. 19, 2007 | I don't care about the new Colts defense. Never pick against the Patriots in the playoffs. I don't care that the AFC Championship Game's in Indianapolis. Never pick against the Patriots in the playoffs. I don't care that Peyton Manning's due for a big game, that Rodney Harrison's doubtful with a knee injury or that the Patriots beat San Diego with magic and sorcery and incantation and spells.
Never pick against the Patriots in the playoffs. I repent.
Chicago Bears? Sure.
So I'm going with the two road teams in the conference championship games Sunday, the best football day of the year. The New Orleans Saints visit the Bears in the NFC Championship Game at 3 p.m. EST, and the Indianapolis Colts host the New England Patriots -- never pick against them in the playoffs -- at 6:30.
The last time both road teams won in the conference title games was in the 1997 season, so this is really asking a lot. On the other hand, the last time both home teams won was the year before that. Eight years in a row, hosts and visitors have split the two games.
History isn't bunk, but that sort of history is.
Sunday's games serve up story lines galore. The Pats and Colts have built up one of the best non-geographic, interdivisional rivalries in recent memory, though they were in the same division until 2002. It's in the same league as the Lakers-Celtics rivalry of the '80s, but without all that Dyan Cannon.
Manning and New England quarterback Tom Brady are the Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain of an earlier Lakers-Celts era, with each team's fans waving the flag for their guy as the best in the game. And the guy in Beantown collecting all the rings.
The Colts have become eternal Super Bowl contenders and habitual January losers, their Hall of Fame-bound quarterback saddled with a reputation as a playoff choker. Their excellent coach, Tony Dungy, has a similar rep, dating back to his tenure in Tampa Bay. The Colts are also -- and this is not unrelated -- an all-offense, no-defense bunch who have all of a sudden turned into a Monsters of the Midwest, a defensive beast that's shut down the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens in consecutive playoff games.
Next page: This time, it's indoors. Plus: The Saints are not just Hurricane Katrina mascots anymore