The New England Patriots defeated the New York Giants in Giants’ Stadium tonight, 38-35. At least that’s what the box score, the talking heads, and the hype-mongers who can’t think for themselves will tell you. And it’s too bad that most of us will buy into that result. But the fact of the matter is that the Patriots were exposed. But more on that later. The league was also exposed. And frankly, so was I. Like most of you, tonight was the first time I had access to a game on the NFL Network. And silly me for not realizing beforehand that the NFL Network, which is run by the NFL-hence, the name-would not tell it like it is. Nary a discouraging word from Cris Collinsworth, Bryant Gumbel, or anybody else in that rarified air, regarding the officiating. But why would there be? It’s their network. And there’s the disturbing part. Plaxico Burress was held and dragged down before Eli Manning’s pass arrived, with the official five yards away and watching it intently. No call. Shortly thereafter, the Giants linebacker numbered 58, who played a whale o####ame, had the ball hit him while he was covering Randy Moss. Pass interference? I guess, in today’s NFL. Let’s make sure we tell that linebacker not to cover that receiver so close. The nerve of him. {And let’s all wait with baited breath for the league to alter the rules in the off-season, yet again, to favor the offense. I doubt it surprises anyone anymore). I realize that on the next play after the no-call on the Giants receiver being pulled down, they scored. But that doesn’t make the no-call go away. And what happened on the Giants’ kickoff return early in the fourth quarter, when a penalty was called on the sideline? I’m not sure. And I’m not saying it was a bad call. Because, like I said, I don’t know. We weren’t informed. Or shown. And, like I said, I should have seen this coming, but announcers on a network run by the NFL won’t tell you. Don’t know why I was expecting them to. Guess I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes. But that would be like J. Edgar Hoover doing a PSA (Public Service Announcement, for those of you under 30. And J. Edgar Hoover was in charge of the FBI back in - - never mind) telling you to watch out for sneaky ####s with lots of power.

Anyway, the Pats were exposed tonight. Actually, not just tonight. It’s been ongoing, and something the NMHM (National Media Hype Machine) had neglected to tell you, or simply ignored. Why would they get in the way o####ood story? Can’t blame them, I guess. They have a job to do. But a team that has a balanced offense and a defense who will not be fooled by a one-dimensional offense {See Jacksonville Jaguars} will knock the Patriots out of the playoffs. You heard it here first. Okay, maybe you’ve heard it before, and just didn’t believe it. But prepare yourself. The champs of Super Bowl whatever-the-number-is-this-year reside in Florida. Oh, I almost forgot; as long as we don’t have to deal with incompetent officials.

I must say, I darn near laughed out loud when Cris Collinsworth quoted Tiger Woods after the game, saying he (Tiger) expected to win every time out, like the Patriots do. Of course the glaring difference is that Tiger controls his own fate. And once again, I was reminded why golf is the greatest sport on earth. Say what you want about them not being athletes, and it not being a sport. But there is no other place than a golf course where everything about you is there for the world to see. There is no other competition whose outcome rests solely on your performance. The good, the bad, and the ugly. No official’s calls, either in your favor or against. No substitutions when you need one. And anyone who’s played golf has needed one at one time or another. No timeouts. And no other competition has results that are based as much on one’s ability to perform. It’s you, the course, and the competition. No officials’ decisions on whether it was interference or not. A charge, a block, or a no-call. A borderline strike, or ball four. Nope. Just you and your ability. And that, sports fans, is what we’re after. Isn’t it?

Thanks for taking the time to read.

I don’t remember seeing an NFL playoff weekend with this many subplots. It started Saturday, with the Indianapolis Colts playing in Baltimore against the Ravens. Everybody knows the Colts moved out of Baltimore in 1984, and not under the best circumstances. Far from it. There are still a lot of old Colt fans in Baltimore who haven’t yet and never will forgive Robert Irsay and the Colts for sneaking out of town in the dead of night. So obviously, I picked the Ravens to win. Dominate, even. I figured they’d pound Peyton Manning and the Colts’ offense into submission with their top ranked defense, and ram Jamal Lewis down Indy’s throats until they begged for mercy. After all, we all knew that Indy’s run defense was by far the worst of any playoff team, and last week against Larry Johnson and the Chiefs must have been an aberration, right? Throw in Steve McNair and his veteran experience, and success, in big games, and you have a tidy little Ravens win in a decisive manner. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of 23-10. So what happens? Indy’s defense steps up for the second week in a row, the Ravens make too many offensive mistakes in crucial situations, and the Colts win. Go figure.

The Philadelphia Eagles came in to their game against the New Orleans Saints on a roll, having won six straight, including their opening playoff game against the Giants. On one hand, you had a quarterback named Jeff Garcia, who was blasted more than once by some motor-mouthed receiver that the Eagles ran out of town. How ironic would it be if Garcia could lead them to the Promised Land, especially since he was the backup to one of the best in the business, Donovan McNabb? Whom, incidentally, did the afore-mentioned receiver, who shall remain nameless here, also blast. On the other hand, you had the New Orleans Saints. New Orleans, as a city, a team, and a population, have been through more than any citizen, team, or fan base could be expected to endure in this day and age, and all are rebuilding at the same time. Granted, the recovery in New Orleans is far from complete, and there are no doubt thousands of people there who have far more pressing things to deal with than whether the Saints win or not, but something like a winning NFL team tends to give a little spring in the step to those who may feel like they don’t have a lot to look forward to. But with the nameless receiver gone from the Eagles, and a target of his salvos at the helm in place of another of his targets, the starter, one couldn’t help but wonder if karma was on the Eagles’ side. It was for a while, but the better team eventually prevailed, which isn’t always the case in these NFL playoffs.

In Chicago, the prevailing storyline heading into the Seahawks/Bears game was Rex Grossman. Sure, the Bears went 13-3 this year, but other than a nice little run back in October, what had Rex done to make us believe he could be the difference? After all, they were facing a coach in Mike Holmgren who had been to three Super Bowls as a head coach, including last year, so surely he would figure out a way to beat the one-dimensional Bears, whose strong suit, defense, was more than a little ####ed up. And after all, he was facing Lovie Smith, who hadn’t really proven anything in the post-season, least of all that he had the propensity to somehow will his quarterback to play a solid game. But like the Colts’ run defense, the Bears, Lovie Smith, and Rex Grossman were able to flip the switch and deliver a victory.

 The San Diego Chargers came into the playoffs with the best record, the MVP, and a formula, on paper at least, of a Super Bowl participant. On the other side of the field was a coach who had won three Super Bowls. The critics of the Chargers had cited “Marty-ball” ad nauseam as the reason they would fall. He was, after all, facing a coach who was his opposite in a way-the utmost success in the post-season. The Patriot backers would list their accomplishments as reason enough for their optimism. The Charger fans noted their home field advantage and the fact that they had the league’s best record and best player, at least in most people’s estimation. And well into the fourth quarter, it appeared the team with the best record would prevail. The fact that they ultimately lost in the end will no doubt produce another round of Schottenheimer bashing, but if his guys take stupid penalties and can’t field a punt, the blame lies with the players, not the coach. I think. This one will hurt even more for the Chargers because the Patriots were ripe for the taking. Brady was not having a good game, the Patriots refused to run the ball for some reason in the second half until they were getting into position for a field goal, and LaDanian Tomlinson was having one of his patented big games. Yet the Patriots pulled it out. Again, go figure.

 I will resist the temptation to say that the Saints will destroy the Bears next week and the Patriots will prove once again that they are better than the Colts in the post-season, because, quite frankly, my recent predictions are stinking up the joint. I don’t know if my flaw is looking at trends, how a team looks on paper, or simply too much Budweiser. But any way you slice it, I have no clue what’s going to happen next week. Except for this-it has been an extremely interesting and unpredictable playoff season so far. This is the time of year when hopes are dashed and dreams are realized. The finality of it all is what is both great and terrible about being a sports fan. None of us signed up for this kind of pressure when we started following sports, but it is a by-product of the thrill of competition.

Good luck to all who still have your team in it. Congratulations to those whose teams didn’t quite make it but still had a great season, condolensces to those whose teams didn't even come close, and thanks for taking the time to read.

 By the way, I will not be buying a Dodge or Chevy truck anytime soon. Can we see the Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots vs. John Cougar?