Hardball Heaven

Alright, so I spent a fair amount of time last night with my buddy to the left - and it feels like Keith Moon's doing a drum solo in my skull right now. But I can tell you who I'm glad I'm not this morning, even though he may be waking up next to Carrie Underwood. One Anthony Romo. (Second place: Terry Glenn).

I mean, the poor bastard. I'm not a big fan of the Cowboys or anything, but I do have a heart somewhere beneath all that rum swimming around my upper body cavity. A 19-yard field goal to win the game and advance to the next round in the playoffs. A chip shot. A layup. A free lunch. And he f'd it up. I will say this - that ball looked awfully damn slippery on TV. But you obviously have to get that one down. Romo's roller-coaster season now includes goat horns of epic proportions.

The first game yesterday proved that the best strategy in predicting games is to take the anticipated story line and flip it on its head. Going into the game, the Colts couldn't stop Stevie Wonder from running the ball down their throats, and everyone thought points galore would be scored. What happened? The anemic Chiefs offense didn't record a first down until midway through the third quarter, and the Colts defense rose to the occasion, limiting Larry Johnson to 32 yards rushing.

So what are the story lines for today's games? It's a little murkier, but most people think Pats-Jets will be a barnburner, and the defenses will rule. So go with a Patriots blowout and the over. In the second game, the general consensus is that the Giants are one more minor speed bump on the way to the Super Bowl for the suddenly steamrolling Eagles. So in other words, you may want to give some love to the Jints today.