Obama Announces Plans to Attend Super Bowl, Assures Packers Win in NFC Championship

The guy knows so little about football every time he opens his mouth whoever he recommends goes down in flames. Last month he was talking up Michael Vick, who then proceeded to lose every game thereafter. Now he's pretending to be some big Chicago Bears fan and will inject himself into the Super Bowl if the Bears win this week. Well, if I were a Bears fan I'd be very nervous right now.

If the Chicago Bears win the NFC title and head to the Super Bowl, President Obama is going with them.

Obama, an ardent football fan, made the declaration Wednesday morning as he sat down with Hu Jintao in the Oval Office for talks with the Chinese president.

"If the Bears win, I'm going, no doubt," Obama said.

So he's an "ardent" football fan? How many Bears from years past could he name? Supposedly he was also a big White Sox fan, but when asked couldn't name a single one.

Not only does he plan on showing up, he'll be appearing with Bill O'Reilly.

He's also sat for live interviews on the network broadcasting the game -- this year he's set to be grilled by Fox's Bill O'Reilly during the pre-game show.

Grilled? Hardly. He'll need a mop to wipe the spittle off his shoes.

Our Long National Nightmare is Over as Brett Favre is Traded to the New York Jets

In case you missed it overnight, the protracted, messy divorce between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers has culminated with the NFL's all-time touchdown leader being shipped to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick.

The Jets, making their boldest personnel move in team history, last night acquired Brett Favre in a blockbuster trade with the Packers.

It's a move that completely alters the face of the Jets franchise and immediately has a chance to make the 2008 season something special. The move gives the Jets their most iconic player since the days of Joe Namath.

The compensation to the Packers is believed to be a conditional 2009 third or fourth-round draft pick that could become a first- or second-round pick depending on Favre's performance and the team's success.

The acquisition of Favre, who is scheduled to make $12.7 million this season, means the end of the Chad Pennington era.

Pennington, who's due to make $6 million in 2008, is the odd man out as the Jets clear salary cap space, leaving Kellen Clemens as Favre's backup.

Here's why this might work for the Jets. With today's win-now mentality in the NFL, the Jets are in far better shape with Favre than either Pennington or Clemens calling signals, and made significant moves to upgrade their team in free agency this past off-season, notably adding guard Alan Faneca on the offensive line. You can also argue they have a superior receiving and tight ends corps than Green Bay had entering last season, when nobody saw the Packers as a title contender.

The conditional pick is a no-brainer for an obvious first-ballot Hall of Famer and there isn't a Jet fan alive who won't gladly part with the No. 31 or 32 pick in the draft in return for a Super Bowl appearance.

Of course, there are several reason this won't work. First, the Jets may be the most snake-bitten team in the league and every season they start brimming with hope usuallly winds up in disaster (see Vinny Testaverde's 1999 Achilles injury, for example). Second, when legendary quarterbacks move on after a storied career to new teams (see Joe Namath with the Rams and Johnny Unitas in San Diego), it rarely works out. But Favre, having started 275 straight games, is still in decent shape and isn't nearly in the same brittle physical condition as Namath and Unitas were back then.

Granted, he's a 38-year-old quarterback and has only a year or two left, but if you a Jets fan today, you have no reason but to be thrilled. You're the little stepbrother in a town that houses the defending Super Bowl champions and today the football world is looking at you. This by no means makes the Jets any kind of favorite in the AFC, what with the Patriots, Chargers, and Colts, among others, well ahead of you.

But like I said, with the win now mindset in the league, this trade is a no-brainer.

Besides, in mid-December 2007, was there anyone alive who thought the New York Giants would win the Super Bowl?

NFL Championship Games (Updated and Bumped) Giants, Patriots Win

New York Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes (9) celebrates with teammates after kicking a field goal in overtime during the NFC Championship football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, in Green Bay, Wis. The Giants won 23-20 and advance to the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. Giants' Michael Strahan is at right. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

UPDATE 10:55: New England wins by nine and the Giants stun Green Bay 23-20 in overtime.

Boy, did I ever get that hunch about Lawrence Tynes right.

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We've roared through the playoffs with a 7-1 mark against the spread thus far, the only blemish being Seattle getting buried in the snow last Saturday.

Today we have both games in cold weather sites with prohibitive favorites in New England and Green Bay, but like the underdogs getting the points in both games.

Chargers +14 PATRIOTS: After last year's playoff debacle against the Patriots in San Diego, the Chargers have undergone a coaching change, a slow start this season, and now key injuries heading into the title game. The Patriots, meanwhile, have lost once, this time last year at Indianapolis. I like San Diego getting two touchdowns here since I expect a heavy does of LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner, and keep an eye out for the diminutive Darren Sproles. The Patriots haven't been covering much the past couple of months, but still have way too much firepower for the depleted Bolts. San Diego will stick around into the third quarter, but Tom Brady Company have come too far to screw this up at home. Patriots 30-20

Giants +7.5 PACKERS: At the start of the 2007 season, these are two teams nobody thought would be playing for a shot at the Super Bowl. The Giants are on one of those rolls now for the past four games where they're finding ways to move the ball and Eli Manning has minimized his errors. Granted, Brett Favre has been magic in the cold throughout his career, but keep in mind his supporting cast is very young and hasn't faced a huge moment like this while the Giants have basically been in playoff mode for two months now. There's a reason they're 9-1 on the road and that's mental toughness. A couple of mistakes doesn't lead them to pack it in. Will Green Bay be able to overcome a couple of turnovers again this week? One name that's been rarely mentioned for the Giants this year is Lawrence Tynes, the placekicker; he's yet to be put in a pressure spot to win a game. Tonight, he could well be the man to send New York to the Super Bowl. Giants 20-17

NFL Divisional Playoffs

The best weekend of the football year is upon us, as the top teams are all in action and we have four pretty good matchups.

We got off to a 4-0 start against the spread on our playoff picks last weekend, continuing a hot hand from the 2007 playoffs, when we went 9-2.

Let's hope the magic continues.

You have an extra bonus this weekend as none of the games are on NBC, so you don't have to go out of your way to avoid the odious Keith Olbermann.

SATURDAY
Seahawks +8 PACKERS: Seattle has been pretty good on the road during the playoffs in recent years, keeping games close against Green Bay and Chicago, so I expect that trend to continue. Seahawks capitalized on Washington turnovers last week and good pass rush should force Brett Favre into a couple of mistakes. At the same time, Seattle's run game has been limited, so Matt Hasselbeck will be forced to throw plenty. Packers should be able to run with Ryan Grant. Spread's a bit high here, but home advantage means Packers get the slight edge. Packers 30-27

Jaguars +13.5 PATRIOTS: Jacksonville was fortunate to escape Pittsburgh last week after blowing 18-point lead. No shot they get that far ahead of the Patriots, who've had two weeks to rest and devise a scheme to slow down vaunted Jags running game. Weather will be in the high 30's at game time, so that's no factor. What is a factor is New England is 16-0 for a reason, and that's Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and the aerial circus. Jags stick around for a while, but this should never be in doubt. Patriots 33-21

SUNDAY
Chargers +9 COLTS: Everyone expects Peyton Manning and the Colts to run roughshod over a Charger team that looked a bit shaky last week. But San Diego did beat them this season and has had past success in the RCA Dome. Manning threw six INT's in their November meeting, and while that won't happen again, Chargers should be able to force a couple of mistakes. How well Indy contains LaDainian Tomlinson is key, as Chargers have lost Antonio Gates, so don't expect much from Philip Rivers. Colts sweat one out. Colts 26-24

Giants +7.5 COWBOYS: A couple of fun facts at play here. Dallas hasn't won a playoff game since Barry Switzer led them to victory in Super Bowl XXX and Wade Phillips has never won a playoff game. When last seen in the playoffs, his Buffalo team was bamboozled by the Music City Miracle in Nashville. So what you've got here is a New York team playing with house money and supreme confidence, getting contributions from an assortment of rookies and free agents, and a quarterback in Eli Manning who came of age last week in Tampa. Terrell Owens will play, but should be limited, Tony Romo is under the microscope in Dallas and while the Giants defense may not sack him much, they should be able to contain him and force enough pressure that may result in a couple of turnovers. Giants will be able to stretch the field in the passing game and the 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw could yield a big day on the ground. Our only upset of the week. Giants 28-24

NFL Week 13: Green Bay at Dallas

We'll review Week 12 and do the rest of the Week 13 schedule later in the week, and here's a quick drive-by on tonight's Packers-Cowboys affair, the Game Most People Won't See.

COWBOYS -7 Packers: The spread seems a bit high for a pair of 10-1 teams, but I like the Cowboys for several reasons. They're home now for three straight weeks, Green Bay has some injuries defensively (Charles Woodson questionable), and by all means, the Cowboys need the game much more. They do not want to go to Green Bay in January. Good game, competitive late, but Dallas gets a late score to cover. Cowboys 31-23