One last football post this week.

There was disheartening news about the Twins today, after they signed pitcher Ramon Ortiz, owner of an ERA near 6. That makes two questionable pitcher signings this offseason, after Sidney Ponson was picked up last month. It almost makes you long for the days of Kyle Lohse.
But don’t worry about me, faithful readers! There are two fantastic games coming up on Sunday, of the football variety, and I plan on writing about them. (By the way, my first ral post ever on this blog was about a year ago on the same topic. Believe it or not, I picked one of the games wrong.)
There’s no doubt that there are plenty of storylines, from the Patriots being back in the saddle again, to Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy’s inability to win the big one, to the Bears trying to make it back for the first time since Tommy Tutone was cool, to the Saints and their historic ineptitude, and of course, the saga of Hurricane Katrina and it’s effect on New Orleans. That doesn’t even start to delve into the various stories to be found from the pairings. Indianapolis can look forward to some invented regional rivalry business with Chicago, or some quarterback storylines with New Orleans (Peyton Manning is the sone of Archie Manning, the Saints’ only real legend, and Drew Brees went to school in Indiana (Purdue, actually (triple parenthesees!))), and New England gets to rehash their loss 20 years ago at the hands of the Bears, or delve into a stupid “Battle of the New’s” ordeal, or look at the rookie running backs (Maroney is better than Bush!). But what will happen Sunday?
In the AFC, much will be made of the Colts inability to win the big one, and the New England Belichek’s dominance in the playoffs. Well, this is a different game. The Patriots played a tough game last week in San Diego, and were knocked down a peg by Ladanian Tomlinson for their lack of class. This sounds like a case of a team getting to big for it’s britches. The Colts, on the other hand, haven’t really shown up for a game yet this playoff season, with their squeaking out wins over the Chiefs and Ravens. The statistic that is most intriguing is that the Patriots have never lost with Brady at the helm in a domed stadium. Of course, they’ve never played a good team at their home domed stadium. I like the Colts here, and will probably be proven idiotic.
In Chicago, snow is the forecast, which seems like it would help the Bears. But the Saints have the better running game. And they have the mojo. I think this game will be close and gutty, but the Saints are the better team, without question. Of course, the compelling statistic here, is this. When was the last time a dome team won outdoors to go to the Super Bowl? The answer? Never. The only dome team to win the championship game on the road was the Falcons, who won in Minnesota, also indoors. But I’m still taking the Saints. I’m all for bucking the trends.
So that pits the Colts against the Saints, in my little world, the first all-dome team Super Bowl. If you are betting, I would pick the Patriots and Bears. – Ryan