Andy

I agree about the good field conditions, but you don't think playing with a wind chill in the upper 20s would be an advantage over the Panthers? The Bears have shown they can dominate in very cold conditions. Assuming it was cold in Buffalo in late November, that would be Carolina's only win in cold weather. The wind chill was in the low 40s in New Jersey Sunday and they just don't have much experience playing in the cold. It was also their only game in cold weather other than the Bears game, which warmth would not have changed in the slightest.

I haven't lost interest but I can't watch the games consistently anymore. Great to see the Bulls playing well.

USF crushed Louisville in football this year. Just crushed them. And before they lost to someone (I believe UConn) on the 2nd to last week of the college football year, they controlled their own destiny for the Big East's BCS berth. Their football team is not just on Memphis's level, they're probably better. The basketball thing...I don't know why they are in instead of Memphis. Maybe C-USA wasn't going to let them poach that many teams.

Carolina was 2-0 in the 03 playoffs against teams that beat them in the 03 regular season. Again, don't ask me why I'm picking Carolina. There's really no rational reason. I just have a gut feeling this one will go our way. Predictions: Colts 34, Steelers 10 Patriots 27, Broncos 23 Seahawks 20, Redskins 7 Panthers 16, Bears 10

Hey Dav, thanks for remembering me :wink: I watched the game and then came back to college from home. Didn't get a chance to talk about the game. Panthers looked real good today like they have their running game back in order. Delhomme looked pretty good, the defense was outstanding putting the clamps on one of the best offenses in the league (first home playoff shutout in 26 years). The problem is Rex Grossman isn't as spectacular when he is bad as Eli. The Bears game will be a dogfight, much better than round 1. The Panthers did look good, but they played against a Giants team that was really banged up on defense, and they ran right through them. I really don't see a big difference between the Panthers we beat in Week 11, and the Panthers now. If I recall, they were on a 6 game win streak when we beat them, so they had been playing pretty well. They haven't made any real changes personnel wise that I'm aware of, so it's essentially the same team. Meanwhile, the Bears have upgraded at QB, though it's not exactly John Elway we're putting out there. On top of that, we're playing in Chicago, and coming off a bye week which should allow our guys to be healthy. I really see this playing out pretty similarly to the last meeting. There are two big differences between the Week 11 Panthers and the current ones: 1. Useless Stephen Davis is out (completely this time), better DeShaun Foster is in. 2. John Fox is usually better the 2nd time around against a team. (With the one exception of this year's Tampa series.) And the QB difference tends to be magnified in the postseason. Jake Delhomme is 4-1 in the playoffs with a triple-digit QB rating, and don't forget only one of those 5 games was a home game. This game will NOT play out like it did last time, and if the Bears take that mindset or anything close, Carolina will win.

I guarantee that if Carolina wins, Thomas Jones will have had under 50 rushing yards just as Tiki did. That's the only way we can win. I also agree with Sulley re: Fox's adjustments. The Panthers beat two teams who'd beaten them in the regular season last time they made the playoffs (Dallas and Philly). I expect, if nothing else, this game to be much better than the last one.

I'll call two upsets: NE over Denver, and Carolina over the Bears. (Don't ask why I'm picking the latter; I just have a hunch.) The Colts and Seahawks will likely win easily.

Mitch Mustain, the top rated QB, is interested in ND but there might not be room for him, according to an article in a recent South Bend Tribune.

Giving them to ndistops so he can go and root against the Bears just like you would, probably the best option. Fixed.

Hey Dav, thanks for remembering me :wink: I watched the game and then came back to college from home. Didn't get a chance to talk about the game. Panthers looked real good today like they have their running game back in order. Delhomme looked pretty good, the defense was outstanding putting the clamps on one of the best offenses in the league (first home playoff shutout in 26 years). The problem is Rex Grossman isn't as spectacular when he is bad as Eli. The Bears game will be a dogfight, much better than round 1.

Andy versus the NSBB board - Round 2. :wink: Maybe this time I won't be TKO'd in the 2nd round. Carolina beat two teams that had defeated it in the regular season last time they were in the playoffs. I like our chances if we can play the way we did today. Supremely dominant performance on one of the best offenses in the league this season. And Truffle...I hate NASCAR.

ND and BSU both lost in the last couple days. Close games at DePaul and at Ohio respectively. Long basketball season this year I fear. :(

There's a B in it too which is supposed to stand for something. I read that somewhere a long time ago and can't remember what it was.

Zambrano has been the best pitcher in the NL for the 2004-05 period, but since he is not Prior or Wood, no one cares.

I love night games but I don't want them to increase. There's something special to me about a Wrigley night game and I don't want it to become the norm.

Foster has Goings and Jamal Robertson backing him up. Anyway - Carolina's going to lose. I hate to admit it but the Panthers really aren't that good. Except for the @TB game they haven't played a complete game all year besides against the Falcons. I've got all home teams winning this weekend except for Tampa who I think will lose to the Skins (who have won five in a row and just destroyed Dallas in Week 15). Washington 27, Tampa Bay 17 New England 24, Jacksonville 9 NY Giants 20, Carolina 13 Cincinnati 34, Pittsburgh 21

[biased comment] I still think ND/USC was a better game. [/biased comment]

ND lost in 2 OTs to Pitt, 100-97. Career-high-shattering 37 points for Chris Quinn including leading two ridiculous comebacks in regulation and in OT. But a controversial foul call on him leads to him fouling out with 5 seconds left and no one to take ND's last shot. Resilient effort by the Irish. Tomorrow I'm going to Chicago to see the DePaul game in person. Ball State lost to Akron, blowing a lead. Painful stuff.

Ball State got crushed in the big IU game, 80-56, to fall to 4-4. Peyton Stovall continues to be missed. ND hasn't lost since the Michigan game in early December (now 9-2 going into the Pitt game tomorrow), but apart from Alabama none of those wins has been against anyone good, and two of them (a two-point win over IPFW and a three-point win over Wofford) have been downright frightening.

I'd venture to say that ND's defense will be better next season. Their worst defensive player (Mike Richardson) is graduating. Zibby, Ndukwe, and Wooden (who is better than he played in the Fiesta Bowl) will be back. So will most of the front seven, excepting Hoyte and Mays, who will be missed. This year's Irish D was an improvement on 2004's and I would think that next year's defense will continue that improvement. With everyone except Stovall and a few offensive linemen back for the offense, I'm optimistic about the 06 Irish...although the schedule could be substantially more difficult (road games at GT and USC and at home against Penn State, Michigan and UCLA).

Well, OSU deserved to beat ND, but that was definitely a catch by Gonzalez for Ohio State that was returned for a TD and I can't believe it was overturned. A catch + 2 steps then a fumble is not an incompletion. Also, Ginn's reverse was sprung by an illegal block in the back, and there were at least two blatant holds on the clinching score. And Musburger is so anti-ND it is ridiculous. He was slurping Troy Smith before the game even started, he was out and out campaigning for the reversal of the fumble but didn't even say anything about Walker's ball crossing the plane even though it was much more obvious, and he didn't seem to know anything at all about ND other than Zibby was a boxer and Quinn's sister is dating Hawk. That was shown when Samardzija had 3 or 4 drops and he didn't say anything, because that was 2 or 3 more than he'd had all season up to that point. In all seriousness, they need to keep him from doing ND vs. Big Ten games because he roots for that conference. Now that I've vented enough, I don't think ND was exposed as much as OSU was exposed as being a hell of a lot better than most of us thought they were. If they could replay that Texas game it would be a really good one. Now let's just have PSU and USC win and call it a bowl season.

Sammy memories: Tying the May 04 game vs Cincy with his 512th Cub homer before Big Mo won it Tying Game 1 of the NLCS with a home run (most nuts moment of my life) Spraying down the Wrigley faithful with champagne after clinching the 2003 NL Central Making meaningless games in summer 2000 and 2002 worth watching 2001 (He was the MVP damn it)

45 minutes left: My pick: ND 27, Ohio State 25

If Carrie Muskat filled out the lineup card I'd be relieved about this. But no, Dusty is still at that job.

65) Sammy still isn't in right field. 64) No more Neifi/Macias/Patterson batting leadoff 63) Dusty Baker possibly resigning in frustration before the end of spring training 62) Felix Pie 61) Wrigley still beats the hell out of that other park on the South Side.