What in the world is going on? The Patriots are pulling off a serious “Bad News Bears” type of story, aren’t they? What are they doing in the SuperBowl? They don’t deserve to be there, do they? They don’t stand a chance against the Rams, do they?

Sheesh… after going O-fer with my picks this weekend, I am presenting this Championship Top Three in a more humble fashion than normal, seeing how is now apparent that I know about as much about football as Georgia Frontiere knows about fashion.

Onto the Championship Top Three!

Number 3

It is nice to see at least one of the games go the way most of us thought it would, with the Rams winning the NFC over the Eagles in a close, well played game. The Eagles put a serious scare into the Rams in the first half, but in the second, it was a completely different story. The Rams’ defense looked fresh, hungry and very, very fast, while the Eagles offense looked like they were drinking Neo-Citrin at half time. The Rams made the necessary adjustments, on both sides of the ball, and put the Eagles out to pasture for another season. What a great game it was, and I think the Eagles are definitely a team with even better things on its horizon.

Now, as for those Rams, can anyone beat them? I don’t know, honestly, I don’t. I have been calling for them to have a letdown for the last 5 weeks, and it has yet to arrive. I am shocked by the Rams apparent invulnerability to Murphy’s Law, they just keep looking stringer and stronger with each game. Where are the fumbles? The INTs? The defensive lapses? C’mon Rams’ you’re making me look bad!

I called for the Packers to beat them, or at least shoot it out with them. And we all know what happened there don’t we?

I called for the Eagles to shock the world and upset the Rams this weekend, and yet again, I was as wrong as it gets.

When will I learn? Well, there is only one game left, so I guess I have another chance to redeem myself.

With the Rams recent “bucking” of the Murphy’s Law trends, it brings me to an interesting question. What happens if I pick the Rams to WIN the SuperBowl? With all my recent Ty Detmer-ish inaccuracy, I wonder if that would actually have an effect on the outcome of the SuperBowl? If I pick the Rams, will the Patriots pull it off? I don’t know, but that is the fun of it all, isn’t it?

(This could be as big of a quandary as the whole “Tying a piece of buttered bread to the back of a cat, then dropping the cat off the counter and seeing which law is more powerful, the buttered bread always landing buttered-side down, or the cat always landing on its feet” situation… Somebody get Guinness on the phone!)

Number 2

Who are these New England Patriots anyways? What business do they have of upsetting the feel-good story of the year candidate Kordell Stewart and the Steelers? How could they win with their starting QB getting hurt in the 2nd quarter, having to revert back to their old starter who has been on the bench since week 2?

Again, I don’t know. And honestly, I don’t think anyone does. But, who cares? It makes for great drama doesn’t it?

There hasn’t been an overachieving-feel good type of team like this in the SuperBowl for a while, and these Pats have a lot of people rooting for them, in a Rocky Balboa kind of way. I have read that the early Vegas line has the Rams as something like 15 or 16 point favorites (which, by the way, is completely insane), and you can bet that will be a point of motivation for the Pats as the prepare for the SuperBowl.

I am just giddy over the fact that we have such a bona fide underdog this year. Can you tell?

I love the Pats’ story this year, I mean, it has had more plot twists than a week’s worth of Day’s of Our Lives. Here are a few:

- the Terry Glenn Fiasco: The bum refuses to show up for work so the team suspends him for the entire season. He appeals. He wins. He gets to come back in week 5. He comes back. He sucks. He gets suspended again. He hasn’t been heard from in a while. (All that is missing here is for Glenn to have plastic surgery, impregnate his brother’s wife and have him wrongfully accused of murder, if we had this, we would have a high quality soap opera plot line.)

- the Drew Bledsoe – Tom Brady Experiment: Bumblin Bledsoe gets hammered going out of bounds in week2 and gets busted open on the inside. Enter Tom Brady, the Michigan Alum who was drafted in the 1256th round or something. Cue the groans and “we don’t have a chance” comments from virtually every Pats’ fan. Brady takes over and leads the team to an improbable 11-5 finish and the 2nd seed in the AFC. Cue the “I knew he could do it” and the “Bledsoe is a bum, get rid of him” comments from the Pat’s fans.

- the Drew Bledsoe Redemption: Brady carries the team to the playoffs and into the AFC Championship game. Then the inevitable “Brady gets injured and back in comes Drew Bledsoe” situation comes up. The only wrinkle into this story is that it happened to occur when the Pats SuperBowl hopes and dreams were hanging in the proverbial balance. Clinging to a 7-3 lead in the 2nd quarter, Bledsoe comes in and engineers a masterful 21-17 win over a Steelers team who gave them all it had.

- Playoffs: Mission Impossible: The snow bowl. The Immaculate Incompletion. Adam “I’m clutch, so don’t try to ice me” Vinatieri. The Steelers upset. A berth in the SuperBowl. I would hardly call the Pats’ trip to N’Awlins “the Big Easy”; in fact, their improbable run is damn near movie-like. You only see things like this in movies like “Angels in the Outfield” or the aforementioned “Bad News Bears”, but in all those movies there is generally some sort of a happy ending, and I am really looking forward to seeing how this one is going to end up.

Man, I am getting way too worked up over this game already… and it’s only Tuesday!

Number 1

Prelude to a SuperBowl…

In this corner we have the Lennox Lewis-like Rams…

Big, strong, fast, confident. Can knock you out with any combination of punches. They have Warner, the steely veteran who is laser-accurate on his bad days, they have Faulk, the all-purpose RB (fantasy GOD!) who can pound away like Okoye used to and is a better receiver than half of the wide receivers in the NFL. Next up we have Bruce, Holt, Hakim and Proehl, four receivers who are so in tune to the system that they are damn near unstoppable, add into that the fact that they are the fastest foursome in the NFL and it makes for a long day on the cornerback island. Their line is solid; Pace is a stud. Their tight ends do the job they need to, not spectacular by any means, but not mistake prone either. Their defense is on a serious roll, opportunistic and fast are two combo’s that can go a long way in this league (lucky bounces here and there don’t hurt either), and they have Aneaus Williams, who is playing like a man possessed (I think he really just wants to make the most of his opportunity, now that he finally got out of the Arizona Cardinals’ basement dwelling franchise). Don’t forget their coach, Mike Martz, who would toast his own Grandmother on a “out and up” route if it meant scoring more points.

In this corner we have the Uncle Leroy-like Patriots…

Of Average size, build, and stature. Yet, we never really know what he is capable of. The Pats have BradyorBledsoe, the QB’s who no one really wants to face (again, they are capable of God knows what). They have Antowain Smith, another guy who is making the most of his second chance at stardom. They have Troy Brown, arguably one of the most talented all around receivers/returners in the game today (I even rank him higher than Jermaine Lewis of the Ravens, because Lewis couldn’t catch a nerf ball with a fishnet). They have a whole band of overachieving defensive players who are so confident right now; they feel they could take on the world (and they’ll pretty much have to). The Pats’ coach is a bit of an anomaly to me, I don’t know how to read him, because Bill “Data” Belichek is not your average fired up, intense coach, now is he? I don’t know what he is going to say or do to his troops to get them going, but I am sure it will work.

(Note the “Data” reference, meaning Data the no emotions android from Star Trek TNG… come on people… work with me here!)

I am looking forward to a great game, and I genuinely hope it is a closely played contest, because we have had way too many SuperBowl blowouts in recent years. I am a little weary of those Pats and their QB situation, but I wouldn’t count out a team on a roll in any contest. Then again, the Rams aren’t exactly putt-putting into this game either, are they? We are in store for a great game folks; I just hope both teams show up to ensure it…

Until Next Time…