Eight-for-eight. Yes, that's what this prognosticator has been for this year's NFL playoffs. But, can he go ten-for-ten with this week's NFL Conference Championships? (Well, nine-for-nine, because, sorry Chicago Bears fans, short of getting tasered, the New Orleans Saints have this one in the bag). Rory Fitzpatrick, hard done by, and the Indiana Pacers make a move that defies description (hint -- it's not good).

All that and more as we dip into the weird week that was in the world of sports. Let's get started…

ONE: Yeah, yeah, yeah Ike Diogu…

I KNOW he's the rationale for this bizarre trade by the Pacers. I know Diogu is a major sleeper, and I know he could be the young energetic side-kick that Jermaine O'Neal needs.

But, you know what? If Ike is that good he's gonna' have to get paid. And when he's due all that cash in three seasons? The Pacers will have $44 MILLION committed to O'Neal and the two other "names" they got in the deal. Troy Murphy, and Mike Dunleavy Jr.
And guess what? Troy and Mike will STILL have another year on their contracts, so it's not like you can deal them because they have expiring deals.

Odds  are, even if Diogu does explode, the Pacers will be hard-pressed to afford him, and even if they do, they'll have $50+ M invested in guys who really should all play the same two positions.

If the four guys were all combo-guards you'd have the New York Knicks.

TWO: Oh, and the rumor going around is that the Clips will deal Corey Maggette for Dunleavy Jr.?

Not gonna happen.

Clips owner Donald Sterling, despite a recent loosening of the purse strings, is still cheap
And, and this is important, though perhaps, overly technical) Maggette is MILES better than Dunleavy. They aren't even on the same planet.

When Dunleavy got traded the list of weaknesses associated with him was ridiculous. He can't run, he's a lousy jumper, he's not as good a shooter as people expected, his conditioning is suspect, and sometimes he doesn't play hard.

Well, than, at least Mike's never shot anyone (which actually is an advantage over the guy he was traded for -- Stephen Jackson -- but I digress)

I don't care if Dunelavy's Dad coaches the Clips -- you don't trade an athletic and relatively affordable swing like Maggette,  who also can shoot and has a basketball head on his shoulders for a salary cap train-wreck like Dunleavy.

Yeah, yeah, Dunleavy's smart, ok sure, whatever -- so was my Chem. Teacher – that doesn't mean I want to pay him $11M to miss shots.

If the Clips want a "smart" ball-player, they should go for (and I hate myself for saying this) Luke Walton. Of course, the Lakers would never do that deal.

ONE: Before I make my picks for the Championship games, here are some thoughts on last weekend's NFL action

Just for the record, even though Philly botched the play with a penalty on the biggest possession of their season, Jeff Garcia got destroyed by the New Orleans Saint, and he STILL managed a  completion. Just in case someone still didn't believe the guy can play.

And, while we're talking Philly-New Orleans… The punt on 4th and 15 with less than two minutes to go? Completely stupid, yet so predictable. I don't understand why NFL coaches continue to insist on trading actual opportunities for lottery tickets.

As it was, the Eagles never got the ball back, so their "lottery ticket… Absolutely, useless

They never got another chance that was better than the 4th and long, and ANYONE with half a brain could tell that was what was going to happen.

You see it when a team is down by nine or ten -- and they're close to the end-zone with time running out -- they go for the field goal.

Hello? You may NEVER get down there again -- go for the six. Don't hope for good fortune later on.

I kept scanning the sidelines at the beginning of OT between the Bears and Seahawks to see how many Seattle players were sitting on Matt Hasselbeck during the coin flip?

("We will take the ball, and we will score" -- I wonder if that's still on sweatshirts in Green Bay? And on the reverse of course is Al Harris' dreads.)

Rex Grossman should have been picked on his first "real" pass of that game, but he dodged a bullet and other than that he was okay. But, the Bears, largely were not. I know the Seahawks played with pride, but Chicago's performance was very telling.

My favorite moment of that game watching the first half and getting all mad because Seattle wouldn't call a time out at the end of the half in order to get one last shot at the end-zone – a typical chicken NFL coach move -- THAN seeing a time out being called and taking back all my nasty thoughts, only to finds out the BEARS had made the call.

It was complete illogical. I actually think Lovie Smith though the 'Hawks might punt, giving the Bears a chance to break a return. You know, rather than try to score, or take a knee.

Than again, the way NFL coaches have been performing the past couple of years Lovie might have been on to something.

I said the Ravens were not good, and I was not incorrect in my summation.

That Indy game was awful. For all those people who were seduced by the "great defense" and the fact the Ravens were following their earlier "blueprint for a Super Bowl," there was just one problem .These Ravens won only one truly challenging game all season long. They didn't have the pedigree needed to knock even a flawed team like Indy.

I'm torn on this whole jumping on the Chargers' logo thing. When T.O. did it to Dallas – OK that was a slam dunk – it was worth a TIVO, but classless all the same. But, with the Patriots? I didn't see enough of it to tell if this was a stomp on the logo, or a "celebrate in the middle of the field" kinda thing.

One thing I DID love about the whole situation – how angry MVP LaDainian Tomlinson was. Mark my words he's coming back next year on an absolute MISSION – he might score 50 touchdowns.

TWO: Ok, so two games left and my perfect eight-for-eight is on the line.

First, the easy one -- New Orleans vs. Chicago.

Repeat after me:

"The Bears are not that good."

"The Bears have problems that extend past Rex Grossman."

"The Bears should have manhandled Seattle and were perhaps, lucky to have won."

Now this,

"The Saints played a gut-check game against a talented veteran team and won."

"The Saints showed all their weapons work."

"The Saints defense came up with some big plays."

(And, yes, the Saints may also have been a bit lucky, but it was the "have to be lucky to be good" type of luck, not the –"oh wow, that's the fourth ball that, but for an inch, could have been a pick" kind-a-luck.)

I don't care if you played this game in Mike Ditka's belly, the Bears, barring a complete reversal of the past two months, are not -- N-O-T -- going to be in this one.

Ok, done…

Now, the other game -- New England vs. Indianapolis:

On one hand, Indy's vaunted offense hasn't really got going, perhaps proving that fears the team can't really run the ball when needed, and is badly in need of a third receiver, are warranted.

BUT --

The defense has been quite good. Sure, the Ravens were over-matched, but the Colts didn't give up anything and they manhandled a pretty decent Chiefs unit.

Plus, the Pats are not a great running team. At one point last week, they ran 17 straight pass plays. And the Colts DO have a solid pass defense. So, the question is: Can the Patriots run the ball?

If they can, I think the Patriots will do what they do best -- exploit match-ups and win. New England is a mentally tough team, and its hard to think they will submit to a questionable Indy rush defense the way the Chiefs or Ravens did.

But, I'm not sure they can rush effectively enough. You have to give Indianapolis' coaching staff some credit – after allowing a 100 yard rusher in EVERY regular season game, the Colts haven't let anyone pass that mark when it really counts.

And, given Tom Brady's play last week, I'm wondering if the Patriots might be teetering. Brady was off for a good chunk of the game, and if the Chargers didn't make the silly play of intercepting, rather than knocking down the 4th down pass (any good high-school coach will tell you, you knock down passes on 4th down) the Pats wouldn't have won.

More to the point, it's starting to feel like this could be the Colts year. Ironically, given the squads they've had before, the chance to be truly special comes with a team that really could have been buried well before this.

Now it feels like they may only need to play one GREAT game and they could win the Super Bowl (I could see them beating New Orleans in a 42-35 shoot-out where Manning and Harrison are great, but the rest of the team is only solid).

That actually bothers me, because I really, really, don't LIKE the Colts. But, I'm sort of afraid to take the Pats in Indy. And, I think the Colts have the talent to put together one truly excellent game this post-season.

And, I sort of feel they're going to bring it out this weekend. So, I'm (gulp) taking the Colts.

(Excuse me, I need to go give myself a face wash in that grainy, slushy, half frozen puddle of ice outside my back door…I'll just be a minute – help yourself to some Tostitos.)

ONE: As I type this, Rory Fitzpatrick has just scored a goal. It is the former All-Star hopeful's first of the season. You idiots, with just a few more thousand votes you could have sent this man to Dallas.

I hope you're happy.

TWO: And speaking of over-rated D-men… may I introduce Craig Rivet.

The fact the city of Montreal reacted like Serge Savard had been snubbed when Rivet was a healthy scratch this year is another example of the Toronto-ification of the Habs.

This was first clearly expressed by a hockey pool buddy of mine, and while it stung a little, it's true.

The Habs are suddenly treating their decent players like they're special, and the special players seem to be becoming legendary.

Don't get me wrong, Rivet is a nice solid defenseman, but it's not like we're talking about Larry Robinson here people. Rivet is hardly so brilliant that if he hasn't been playing well he can't be sat.

In an odd way, coach Guy Carbonneau's decision to bench Rivet was somewhat complimentary, since Rivet is a solid enough player that his benching IS unusual. Therefore, it sends a message that wouldn't be possible sent if the benched player's name was, say, Mark Streit.

But, the way this thing played in the media was just odd.

Coming on the heels of talk to retire Saku Koivu's number, the evidence that the Habs decade-plus Stanley Cup drought is starting to drive the Montrealers batty is mounting

Koivu, after all, has fewer career points than Craig Janney.

This reeks of Toronto fans canonizing the Wendel Clark's of the world (yes, I said it, I love Wendel – he was a very good player, but that's it -- and very good MAAAY even be stretching it), and don't even get me started on the Tie Domi and Lou Franchiscetti's of the world.

Please Habs fans -- though I loathe you with every fiber of my body -- don't become like us. Don't elevate the Guillaime Latendresse's and Chris Higgens' of the world to iconic status before they've even scored a series winning goal.

And, love Saku, appreciate him for all his strengths, his abilities and his considerable resilience. But, don't go clearing space up in the rafters beside the true giants of the franchise.

Otherwise, before you know it, Rocky from Woodbridge is going to be making appearances on your call-in shows (of course he'll be Jean-Pierre from Verdun, but the point is, I think, clear.)

Just live with the fact that, right now, the Habs don't have any truly GREAT players, and that's ok. Actually, for most professional sports franchises it's completely normal.