THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

For a change, I am 100% going with my head over my heart. And I'm devoting myself fully to it. Last week, I said I was sure about the Giants, but I still put a little bit of money in my pool into all of the games, and as a result, instead of being in first place by a large margin, I'm in first place by a small margin: only $100. I still turned $650 into $900...but I should have had $1300 or so. As a result, this week I'm putting it all on the one bet I'm sure of - The under in the Green Bay-Giants game. If I lose it all, so be it. I'm going with my gut. And even though I don't want the Super Bowl to be Packers-Patriots, because it will be a repeat matchup, and though I might not be rooting for that matchup, that's what my head says will happen. Here are my picks (remember, the spreads are from officefootballpool.com):

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (NE -13.5, 47.5)
I don't have a strong feeling either way in this game, but I suspect the Patriots' feelings that the Chargers have wronged them with all their talking will outweigh the Chargers' feelings that they were wronged by the Patriots in last year's playoff loss. After all, San Diego had a chance to avenge the loss in Week 2 and got smoked, when the incident was fresher in their minds. So I think it's Patriots, pretty big. I'm not sure how weather is going to factor into this game, but I hear cold and windy, and if that's the case, the Patriots will have to run the ball a little bit, and maybe the Chargers can beat them in a ground game...if LT decides to show up for a playoff game...but that's my heart talking. Also, they'd better start Billy Volek. But the reason I bring up weather is that might curb the scoring, so I say:

NEW YORK GIANTS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (GB -7.5, 41.5)
Here's what I'm sure of - this game will be a defensive struggle. Both teams will have trouble getting their offense going. But I think Eli Manning's run of good games will end, and Brett Favre's playoff experience will shine through, and the Packers will run away late...but not score very many points. Therefore, with the under being my lock this week, I say:

The standings didn't change much as far as the picks, but the over/unders shifted a little bit:

We'll see how dedicated Dave in Brighton is, and whether he gets a pick in from a vacation in Spain. My cousin weighed in this week, taking the Giants with the points (Green Bay winning), and New England minus the points. Make your picks in the comments section. Enjoy the championship weekend.