Manning Face Sad

Apparently the Bengals got a little tired of even their own fans saying that they were going to lose last night. They tried in the third quarter, but a strong effort by the defense and a lack of ineptitude on the offense allowed the Bengals to rally to a 37-28 victory.

This does not change the standings in the AFC playoff race that I posted yesterday, but it does have some ripples in terms of overall effect.

First, Cincinnati has now secured a playoff spot. The division crown will be settled in the head to head match-up with Pittsburgh next Sunday night, but both teams are now assured a playoff spot. In fact, the loser of the game will be assured the #5 seed in the playoffs as they will have either a better overall record or a better conference record than whichever team secures the #6 seed.

Second, the Bengals and Steelers will not play each other in the first round of the playoffs. If the Bengals win and Denver wins, the Bengals will get the #3 seed, regardless of what the Colts do. Should the Bengals win and the Broncos lose to Oakland, the Bengals will actually vault over Denver for the #2 seed as they would be a half-game ahead of the Broncos. If Pittsburgh wins, they will get the #3 seed as Denver has the tie-breaker of better division record and the Steelers have the tie-breaker over Indianapolis.

Third, Indianapolis is assured the #4 seed. The Colts lost to Pittsburgh and Denver during the regular season so a tie in the standings goes against them and the Bengals would be a half-game ahead of them in the standings if they win. There is nothing the Colts can do to move up. So expect them to rest just about everybody in the closing match against the Titans.

Fourth, New England has locked home-field advantage. New England has the tie-breaker against Denver so they have secured the #1 seed regardless of how the game against Buffalo goes.

Fifth, the #6 seed comes down to San Diego, Baltimore, Houston, or Kansas City. San Diego plays KC in the final game while Baltimore plays Cleveland, and Houston plays Jacksonville. The equation is pretty simple. If San Diego wins, they get the spot. If Kansas City wins and Baltimore wins, Baltimore gets the spot. If Kansas City wins, Baltimore loses, and Houston wins, Houston gets the spot. If Kansas City wins and Baltimore and Houston lose, Kansas City gets the spot. I personally don't think that Baltimore will lose to Cleveland so I'd say KC and Houston have no real shot, but I also thought it would be simple last year and that didn't work out that way. All three games are at 1 pm so there will be some game time scoreboard watching I would imagine.

On the scheduling note, the four deciding games in the NFC and the Oakland-Dever game have all been moved to 4:30 so the early talk will only be about the AFC #6 seed and then there will be a ton of game updates going on in the late afternoon.

2014 Playoffs

I haven't posted much about this football season, mostly because it has been so up and down and no team has seemed like that dominant force who everyone expects to win the Super Bowl. But with one week left, let's take a look at things.

AFC

1. New England Patriots - The Pats have secured a first round bye and in the (unlikely) event that Denver loses tonight, they will secure home field advantage.
2. Denver Broncos - The Broncos have won the West and if they win tonight against the Bengals, they will lock in a first round bye. Because New England won the head-to-head, Denver would need the Pats to lose against Buffalo next week to have a chance at the top spot.
3. Cincinnati Bengals - The only division not set is the North. If the Bengals win against Denver tonight, they'll secure a playoff spot, but I'm skeptical of the Bengals chances. If they lose tonight, Pittsburgh will move into this spot and the Bengals will fall to the #5 spot. It is also possible that if they lose to Denver and lose to Pittsburgh next week, that they miss the playoffs entirely. The game against Pittsburgh will the final game of the season as it has been moved to the Sunday Night game.
4. Indianpolis Colts - The Colts could climb back up to the #3 seed, but since they have secured the division and have essentially no shot at a bye week, they'll probably rest folks next week, which is likely to keep them in the #4 spot.
5. Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers have secured a playoff spot and if the Bengals lose tonight, they'll take over the division lead and the #3 spot.
6. San Diego Chargers - Right now the final spot belongs to the Chargers, but they have Baltimore breathing down their necks. As Baltimore is likely to defeat a reeling Cleveland Browns team next week, the Chargers will be facing a must win against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are technically not eliminated yet, but they would to beat the Chargers and have the Browns beat Baltimore. Possible but not overly likely.

NFC

1. Seattle Seahawks - There is a five-way tie for best record in the NFC so it falls to various tie-breakers to see who has divisional leads and best seeding. Seattle is currently in the driver's seat with the #1 spot. The have a home game against the Rams to close things out and that should be enough to keep them in this spot.
2. Detroit Lions - The Leos square off against Green Bay next week (in Green Bay) to secure the division and the likely #2 seed. Both teams have a better conference record than Dallas so (assuming Seattle wins) the winner will retain the #2 seed while the loser will likely get the #5 seed.
3. Dallas Cowboys - Dallas is actually the only team in the NFC to have won their division, but because of the similar records and various tie-breakers, the only way Dallas can move up to the #2 seed is if both Seattle and Arizona lose (an unlikely scenario). So I would expect Dallas to rest folks next week and be content with the #3 spot.
4. Carolina Panthers - The dregs of the NFC is also the only unsecured spot. Carolina and Atlanta go head-to-head next week to see which losing team gets the #4 spot and a likely date with the North runner-up. Carolina is playing like they did at the beginning of the season, but Atlanta is 5-0 in the division and is unlikely to go away quietly. Still, I wouldn't favor either team in the first round playoff game.
5. Green Bay Packers - As noted earlier, the Packers could end up winning the division. In fact, if they win and Seattle loses, Green Bay could end up with the #1 seed. Or they could lose and fall behind Arizona for the #6 seed. But they are in the playoffs and that's all the really matters.
6. Arizona Cardinals - Arizona got thumped hard last night. At one point they were the best team in the NFC, but they are such a walking wounded team that I'm not holding my breath that they'll field anyone of importance next week against San Francisco. If that happens, the Niners may actually be able to get to .500 and Arizona will stay secure in the #6 spot. Of course it is possible that they could win and that through a unique set of circumstances, end up with the #2 spot. But I would imagine that the Cardinals coaches are already drawing up plans for Dallas.

As for my own predictions, I think things will stay much as they are with only a few changes. In the AFC, I don't have much faith in the Bengals and am expeting Pittsburgh to win the division. In fact, I'm desperately hoping for the Chiefs to win so that the Bengals will even make the playoffs as I do expect the Ravens to beat the Browns.

In the NFC, I expect Green Bay to end up with the #2 spot, which will send Detroit down for a date with Carolina (whom I also expect to win). Everything else will likely stay the same.

Proposed OH redistricting

Mrs. X read an article a few days ago talking about how gerrymandering is driving a push to political extremes rather than fostering debate and agreement. There is a group petitioning to redraw the Ohio congressional districts when it comes around again in 2021 with an emphasis on geography and population balance. One things mentioned was to try and base the districts on the various counties and not create arbitrary lines running in every direction.

Naturally, I was intrigued by this idea and decided to see if I could create a congressional map based on existing counties with a minimum of division. Ohio has a current population of a little more than 11.5 million and we are allotted 16 congressional districts. If you were to balance this out, each congressional district would have about 725,000 people.

Now, this rule cannot be held precisely. Franklin and Cuyahoga counties are each over a million people (1.16 and 1.28 million respectively). If you cut the counties in two and give each half one congressional district, you fall somewhat short of the 725,000 per district. This also has a cascade effect of pushing up the population requirements in other districts. Still, it's not unreasonable. Franklin county gets the lowest population density with 582,000 people in each district. On the other end, Hamilton county has the highest population density. It takes the whole district and ends up with 802,000 people in it.

But on the whole it comes out to a reasonable balance:

District 1 - 802,000
District 2 - 778,000
District 3 - 739,000
District 4 - 731,000
Districts 5 & 6 - 582,000

District 7 - 742,000

District 8 - 750,000
District 9 - 728,000

District 10 - 747,000

District 11 - 766,00

Districts 12 & 13 - 640,000

District 14 - 797,000

District 15 - 781,000

District 16 - 733,000

At the very least, it would give some level of competetiveness and cohesiveness. It might actually also introduce leaders willing to look for solutions with each other rather than those who run further to the Right or Left since the primary is the only battle of ideas. It also looks a lot better than this:

Best WLIIA Newsflash

I only saw this one once when it was broadcast. I nearly wet myself laughing.

Only Sailors Know...

If Garfield Were Real

If you've ever read Garfield Minus Garfield, you'll enjoy this:

World Cup Advancement Potential

Because the USA defense fell asleep in the last 30 seconds of the match against Portugal, the US lost the guaranteed bid to the elimination round. But things are not hopeless. In fact, the situation is still pretty good for the USA. They face off against Germany on Thursday while Ghana will face off against Portugal at the same time (preventing any scoreboard watching by either team). They can advance to the next round by the following results:

1. Win against Germany. Obviously this is the best and would let the US win the group and advance to a match against the second place winner in group H (probably Algeria).

2. Draw against Germany. If the US and Germany tie, both teams will end up with 5 points and Germany would win the group due to goal differential. But both teams would have more points than the other two so the US would advance to face Belgium in the next round.

If the USA loses to Germany, it will come down to by how many goals they lose.

3. The USA loses and Portugal and Ghana tie. If Portugal and Ghana tie, they each will only get 1 point that will leave them with 2 points to the US's 4 and the US advances.

4. The USA loses by one goal and Ghana wins by one goal. If the US loses to Germany, they are going to be huge fans of Portugal. But if they lose by only one goal, they're not dead yet. Their goal differential will drop to 0 and if Ghana wins by only one goal, their goal differential will rise to 0. Then it goes to total goals scored. If the US and Ghana are still tied there (the US currently has 4 goals to Ghana's 3), then it goes to head-to-head, where the US has the tie-breaker. Of course, if Ghana wins by 2 or more goals or they end up having a higher total number of goals, Ghana will advance and the US goes home.

5. The USA loses, Portugal wins, and the goal differential is less than 5. Portugal has a goal differential of -4 while the US is at 1. So if Portugal wins, they still have a high hill to climb. Again, a US loss will leave them at a goal differential of 0 or worse while a Portugal win will push them up to -3 or better. But that's still a wide gap. Portugal would need to really pour it on and beat Ghana by 3 or better. Even if the US lost by two goals, they would still finish at -1 and Portugal would need to win by three goals to tie in goal differential. If they did that, Portugal would probably advance because the need to score more goals will probably push their total goals scored number over that of the US. But the odds are still in favor of the US in the event of a Portugal win over Ghana.

Assuming the US does advance to the field of 16, most of the scenarios would have them facing the winner of group H (almost certainly Belgium). Only a win against Germany would set them up against the second place team in group H (currently Algeria, although Russia still has a chance).

If the US managed to get by Belgium, they would likely be facing the powerhouse of Argentina in the next round. Things wouldn't be much better on the other side of the bracket. If the US beat the second place team of group H, they would likely be looking at a match with either France or Italy, two of the top squads in the world.

But that is getting ahead of things. First, win or tie against Germany and then worry about what comes next.

Funny Way to Make You Feel Old

My first computer was only slightly more advanced than this model.

Yay!

So how do you improve Frozen? Get Hugh Jackman to sing.

Music to Meat Eaters Ears

GoT Drinking Songs

If you ever go drinking in Westeros:

Let It Go (Saturation)

The metal version:



The Bob Herzog Traffic Parody version:



The Dad Is Sick of This Song version



Olaf's song is better anyway.

WyldStyle the Master-Riveter

Boy X would like this:

Snow Stats

Here's a fun little chart to examine:

For Cincinnati, through Feb. 16, we have had 44.0". Our normal snowfall total by this point is 16.2" or 37.8" above normal. Hopefully it'll be another 35 years before we see these type of numbers again.

Alternate Team Skating Scoring System

Last night Russia won the gold medal for the new figure skating team competition. Canada took silver while the US took bronze. The only real problem was that because of the scoring system used after each section of the competition, Russia and Canada had secured their medals with two events remaining and the US secured the bronze before the final segment. This led to bit of an anti-climax as the final event (long program ice dancing) became an exhibition rather than having any relevance to the medals.

Mrs. X and I thought of a small tweak to the scoring system that might have helped put a little more tension into the competition. It wouldn't have affected the outcome (which is what it should have been based on the performances) but maybe it would have made aspects of the competition matter a little more.

The competition starts with ten teams and they receive 10 though 1 points based on their rankings in each segment. For example, Japan won the men's short program and received 10 points, Russia got second and received 9 points, etc. The US finished 7th and received 4 points. This continues for four rounds (men's short program, women's short program, pairs short program, and ice dancing short program) and then the competition continues with the top five countries.

Mrs. X and I had no problem with this part and the first phase of the competition ended with Russia in first place with 37 points, Canada in second with 32 points, the US in third with 27 points, Japan in fourth with 24 points, and Italy in fifth with 23 points.

In the second phase (same events but long program) the competitors were awarded 10 through 6 points based on their finishes in each event. This is where the trouble is as there doesn't seem to be enough room for a team in a lower position (say Japan) to climb up and threaten a leading team (like Canada). So our thought was to change the scoring system so that first place would get 10 points, second 8, third 6, fourth 4, and fifth 2. This would give high reward for success and increase the risk of devastation for a low finish. It also would give a little more weight to the second half of the competition while not diminishing the importance of jumping out to as much of a lead as possible in the first half. So let's see how it would have played out yesterday.

First was the pairs. The results and combined team score would have been as follows:

1. Russia - 10 (47)
2. Canada - 8 (40)
3. Italy - 6 (29)
4. US - 4 (31)
5. Japan - 2 (26)

Next is the men's competition:

1. Russia - 10 (57)
2. Canada - 8 (48)
3. Japan - 6 (32)
4. US - 4 (35)
5. Italy - 2 (31)

Russia and Canada are still pulling away for the gold and silver, but with the risk of only getting 2 points for a last place finish, Russia hasn't secured the gold medal yet. Russia could have ended up with 61 points if they collapsed and Canada could have surged up for 68 points. This was unlikely given how things were going, but the pressure would have been there. The US, Italy, and Japan were also all tightly bunched and any one of them could have surged for the bronze.

The women's results would have done this:

1. Russia - 10 (67)
2. US - 8 (43)
3. Italy - 6 (37)
4. Japan - 4 (36)
5. Canada - 2 (50)

Now, Russia would have won the gold medal based on these results, rendering the final event meaningless for them. But, because of their poor performance, Canada has allowed the US to creep back in with a chance for the silver (unlikely, but possible). Likewise, a US collapse would allow Italy and Japan the chance to sneak in for the Bronze. These were unlikely scenarios, but the fact that they were possible would have kept tension and forced the American and Canadian ice dancing teams to make sure they performed at their best.

The ice dancing results would have had the final standings as:

1. US - 10 (53)
2. Canada - 8 (58)
3. Russia - 6 (73)
4. Italy - 4 (41)
5. Japan - 2 (38)

Ultimately the results would have been the same, but there would have been a bit more tension going into the final round. It's just one possibility for tweaking, but one I think that would be easiest to implement going into the 2018 games.

Coffee Needed

Well, when I'm wrong, I'm hella wrong. I was thinking the Super Bowl would be a close game with the Broncos squeaking it out at the end. Instead, the Broncos swapped places with the Cincinnati Bengals and got torched. The game was over by halftime and I didn't even get the fun of seeing the Broncos get blanked (which would have at least been a Super Bowl first) to justify watching this lopsided game.

Now if you were rooting for Seattle, I'm sure you've never had a better three hours. But for the rest of us, it was boring. I'd be curious to see if there was any significant drop in the viewing audience after halftime. I must admit, I thought about switching over to Downton Abbey, but since there isn't much TV on Monday and Tuesday, we decided to keep it on and save Downton for when there was nothing else on.

I'm not even going to talk about the commercials because none of them stuck out in my mind at all. I think the only one that even registered a chuckle was the Heinz ketchup ad and that was best summed up by Mrs. X and her old college roommate who both questioned whether or not people even use glass ketchup bottles anymore.

So now the offseason talk will center on Manning and how long it will be before he retires. I'm sure the doctors will have much to say about that, but if he is able to play for another season or two, he will. I also believe that after this performance if Mr. Manning were to return to the Super Bowl and win, he would be obligated to retire.

Here's to next season where every team starts on equal footing and only the Cleveland Browns have already been eliminated from the playoffs.

Salmon and Omlettes

So I was right in my week 2 prediction of the Super Bowl. I was also right in that my championship picks would be 1-1. Of course the refereeing contributed a bit, but San Francisco still ultimately lost this game rather than Seattle winning it, but that is neither here nor there.

So on to the upcoming game. Most people are focusing on the sexy match-up of Denver's #1 offense vs. Seattle's #1 defense and with good reason. But, I'm inclined to think that the game may very well be decided at the other end of the spectrum: Denver's mediocre defense versus Seattle's inept offense. I'm certain that Denver will do to Seattle almost exactly what they did to Tom Brady: stack the box to contain the running game and force Seattle to throw it. Russell Wilson is a decent quarterback, but he's no Tom Brady. His O-line didn't do a very good job of protecting him against San Francisco; fortunately, he can run, which is something that Tom Brady is not known for. Denver will probably flush Wilson out of the pocket a lot. They're going to have to try and contain him or just make sure his passes are wobbly enough that they miss their target, a job that shouldn't be too hard.

On the other side, the onus is going to be on the Denver O-line to keep Peyton Manning upright. New England never touched Manning and he destroyed them as a result. Seattle did get after Kaepernick but he has scrambling ability, a noted lack when it comes to Manning. I see Manning taking a lot of hits and the question is whether he'll be able to get rid of the ball early enough to where he can avoid turnovers. If he can do that, I think Denver has a chance to grind Seattle down and score a TD or two as the game winds down.

Two other factors must also be looked at. First the weather. Denver is a cold weather team who is somewhat used to playing in the elements, although Manning is notably less effective in those cases. Seattle, while not a dome team, does get a measure of protection in their stadium and rarely face temperatures around freezing. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-to-low 30's for the majority of the game, but precipitation (whether rain or snow) will likely hold off until late. Messy weather would be an advantage to Seattle as these things tend to favor defenses, but a cool to cold and dry night will likely give Denver a slight advantage.

The other factor is experience. Both teams are mostly young with a lot of new faces. But, Seattle is bringing no one with Super Bowl experience. Denver is bringing four players who have been to the dance before, Peyton Manning being the most notable, and their head coach John Fox has coached in a Super Bowl once before (his Carolina Panthers lost to New England back in Super Bowl XXXVIII). So the ability to eliminate the gee-whiz factor also favors Denver.

I think just about everyone is mixed and I think this is going to be a close game. But I see too many little things shifting Denver's way. It is also important to remember that while Seattle is a beast of a team, when away from home they have seemed far more mortal. There will be a lot of Seattle fans at the Super Bowl, but this will not be a home game with the 12th man advantage. Ultimately, I'm going to say that Denver wins the game. I think it will be close and could require 4th quarter heroics, but I still see Denver as taking the crown at the end of the day.

Figaro!

I dare you to listen to this and not think of Bugs Bunny:

Championship Games

In contrast to Wild Card week, I went 4 for 4 so I'm at .500 when it comes to picking. From that we can deduce that I will get one game right and one game wrong.

1. New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - I didn't watch most of the New England game so I only saw the break away when the wheels came completely off for Indianapolis. New England looked good, but anyone can look good when they break for 50+ yard runs and the other team has been forced to abandon the running game while only having one good wide receiver. In contrast to many of the sports writers out there, I didn't think that Denver looked that good. San Diego did a very good job of keeping the offense in check and it was the same passing failing that we saw in the first half of the Cincinnati game that kept San Diego off the scoreboard for three quarters. Even with a depleted offense, I don't see Tom Brady missing as many of those wide open receivers. But, New England's defense is not as big or strong as San Diego and Indianapolis was able to put 22 points on the board (keeping it to within one score) until things fell apart in the second half. The first meeting this season was close and New England rallied to win at home. I'm going to stick with Denver, only because I think Tom Brady is still missing a genuine go-to guy.

2. San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks - Seattle's offense is still mediocre at best. New Orleans had a real shot to win that game, especially if Marshawn Lynch is removed from the equation. It is true that San Francisco has not won in Seattle for several seasons now, but Seattle hasn't won in San Francisco either. San Francisco has more weapons than they had in their last meeting and they did a pretty good job against a good defensive team in the form of Carolina. Carolina arguably has the better offense as well and the Niners did a good job containing them. I picked a Denver-Seattle Superbowl and I'd still like to see that, but I'm not feeling Seattle at this time. They seem to be lacking something, despite that great defense. I'm going to pick San Francisco to get over the hump in Seattle and take the rubber match, although I think it will be a close match.

Divisional Round Match-Ups

After going 0-4 in my picks, I would advise on going opposite of whatever I pick.

1. New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks - Most folks, myself included, are going to pick Seattle in this game. Seattle is a very hard place to play and especially at home, the Seattle defense is very good. Still, as was shown in Philadelphia, the New Orleans defense isn't bad either and Drew Breese and the Saints offense will put some points on the board. If the Saints defense plays out of their mind, they have a chance. But I still think Seattle wins the game.

2. Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots - It's not impossible to beat the Patriots at home, but it is hard. If Tom Brady had his full compliment of offensive weapons, I'd pick New England easily. But they don't. After the performance last week, you think it would be easy to pick Indy. But they were at home and one cannot overlook the fact that Indianapolis got into a 38-10 hole. If KC had killed clock or double covered TY Hilton, Kansas City would be headed to New England. In light of that, I'm leaning towards New England, mostly on the strength of being veterans. Lacking weapons, they may have to settle for FGs a few times, but I think they'll know how to crack Indy in a way that KC did not.

3. San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers - Carolina beat the Niners in San Francisco a few weeks ago. But, San Francisco is a veteran team that is unlikely to crack if things get a little out of hand. Likewise, Carolina has shown a distinct lack of ability when it comes to scoring points. This may be the lowest scoring game of the four and I actually think that will favor San Francisco. I'll take them on a narrow edge as the moment gets a little too big for Carolina.

4. San Diego at Denver - Here's where it matters. We all know Peyton Manning is great during the regular season. But he's not great in the playoffs. What's more, Denver's defense is not very good. San Diego showed a great deal of patience and dedication to the running game against a good Cincinnati defense. Imagine what they can do against Denver. What's more, as a divisional opponent San Diego is not afraid of Denver, having beaten them once already this season. Still, I'm going to stick with Denver. They are the favorite and I don't feel inclined to go against them until someone actually beats them. Or until the Superbowl when I'll be more objective.

First Round Results

1. Kansas City at Indianapolis Colts - A very entertaining game and something the Chiefs are going to want to forget very quickly. In a way, it sort of represented their season in a nutshell. They jumped out to a 28-point lead, containing a potent offense (like starting 9-0 with a good defense) only to fall apart and let the other team outscore you 35-6 in the rest of the game (finishing the season 2-5). Hopefully the Colts will be just as entertaining in the second round. If I were New England, I'd be a little would be a little worried about facing a team this confident about scoring points, especially with their diminished offensive capability. (0-1)

2. New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagle - So the Saints finally won outside of the bayou. The last eight minutes (which I missed) went pretty much what the Colts-Chiefs should have been where the Eagles got the go-ahead touchdown but the Saints had plenty of time to get into field goal range. The Saints looked sloppy the entire first half except for their running game and they should thank their lucky stars that the Eagles made just enough bad decisions that it was nearly a tied game at the half. The Saints now travel to Seattle and Drew Breese will need to be his Superdome self to overcome that defense. Seattle's offense is soft enough that the Saints defense that played against Philly could hold them down and give New Orleans a chance. (0-2)

3. San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals - Good Dalton played in the first half. Bad Dalton played in the second half. It is interesting that the Chiefs and the Eagles both won the turnover battle and yet they lost. San Diego, on the other hand, won the turnover battle and won the game, as the percentages say you should. Some of this wasn't fully Dalton's fault as his O-line did not do a good job of protecting him in the second half or in creating lanes for the running game. But the key of the game really was the Bernard fumble near the end of the first half. If the Bengals had gotten a TD there, they would have gone into the locker room up 14-7 and the Bengals would never have been down by more than one score through all the bad moments in the second half. San Diego will now play Denver for a third time in a rubber match. (0-3)

4. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers - This was about as close as I thought it would be. I missed most of the first half due to other commitments, but the second half was entertaining. As expected, things bounced back and forth and the Niners won when they were able to drive the field and kick a field goal as time expired. The key seems to be that the Packers could not contain Colin Kaepernick whenever he was flushed out of the pocket. He personally ran for over 100 yards and picked up several key first downs when needed. There was a moment late in the fourth quarter when the Packers had a chance to grab an interception but the defender couldn't hold on. So, now we look forward to a rematch between the Niners and the Carolina Panthers. Carolina won that game in San Francisco so this should be an interesting match up. (0-4)

Frozen Cheese

Remember the NFC Championship game from a few years ago (Jan. 2008) when the NY Giants upset the Green Bay Packers (Brett Favre's last game as a Packer) and how cold it was? It was -4F with a -24F wind chill and Coach Tom Coughlin had frostbite on his cheeks. That was the 5th coldest game in NFL history.

Sunday's game against San Francisco is lining up to beat that and could make a run at the Freezer Bowl (1982 AFC Championship in Cincinnati) for the #2 spot. The current forecast has a game-time temperature of -8F and an unknown wind chill. The Freezer Bowl is #2 on actual temperature (-9F) with the Ice Bowl (1967 NFL Championship in Green Bay) taking the #1 spot (-13F), although the Freezer Bowl is #1 when you factor in the wind (-59F vs. -48F for the Ice Bowl).

San Francisco isn't the warmest place to play, but it ain't Green Bay. Hopefully we'll actually be able to see the game as Green Bay hasn't sold out the game yet.