This is it!

This is why, we as football fans, put ourselves through 17 weeks (21 for some) of high and lows. This is why we play fantasy football, or office pools "for entertainment purposes only." This is why people are flying into Best Buys and purchasing oversized hi-def televisions.

All of this to watch the match ups this weekend, and to be honest, sometimes the Conference Championship games are better than the Super Bowl itself. This weekend could be just that…

But, before I get into my views I just want to send out a personal message to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb.

"Hey Donovan... Didn't you read my Chunky Soup Curse piece back in 2002? Don't you remember my quote, calling it a bowl of hearty meat, potatoes, veggies, and warmth that was evil incarnate in disguise? I guess not, because you still continue to hawk it while standing on the sidelines injured yet again watching your team struggle without you. When are you going to learn McNabb? Is the curse going to have to take your mom Wilma, Betsy (Hasselbeck's Mom) or Elleanor Starks (Steelers' Mom) down for the season with a freakish ACL tear while filming a commercial? What's it going to be? Get out of the contract while you still have some body parts left!"

Game One: New Orleans Saints (10-6) at Chicago Bears (13-3)

Last weekend, both of these teams squeaked past their opponents by a field goal, while putting up the same amount of total points (27), but now it's time for me to make a decision as to who I like in this NFC match up. The Saints won last week for one reason and one reason only... Their fan base.

If roles were reversed, this weekend the Bears would be going into the Superdome with that rabid fan base, and after what they've been through over the last two years, it's the hardest emotion for a visiting team to deal with.

Granted the Saints have certain players and staff that were never affected by Katrina, but after playing there for an entire season they know what winning means to those people, and they have built a base that seemed almost like a family atmosphere when watching last week.

These Saints are good, and they are going to be that much better next year with rookies RB Reggie Bush (565 yds for the season) and WR Marques Colston (1,038 yds for the season) having one season under their belts. As a matter of fact, Colston was my pick for the NFL rookie of the year over Tennessee Titans' QB Vince Young yet he didn't win, and it will probably be a debate amongst fans that will go on till next season.

Head Coach Sean Payton has inherited a good team and, having Colston be the breakout WR in the same season they drafted Reggie Bush, is key for next year. The only question here is if they can win a big game like this outside the confines of the Superdome?

Which brings me to the Chicago Bears, and to be honest, you don't have to ask New Englanders when was the last time the Bears went to the Super Bowl because we can all rattle off January 26th, 1986 in the Superdome. The Bears wiped the turf with the Patriots 46-10, a match up that the Patriots had no chance winning against a squad that had a near perfect season (15-1). Those Bears had an offense boasting a cocky QB named Jim McMahon, a legendary RB Walter Payton (aka Sweetness), and a speedy WR in Willie Gault.

On defense, that Bears' team was just as strong, with guys like DE Richard Dent, LB Mike Singletary, DT's Steve McMichael, and William "The Refrigerator" Perry, a guy who rushed for one nasty yard and the TD through an overpowered Patriots defense that had no slouches either.

The difference between these generations of the Bears is that this generation is lacking in the consistency department. They have a QB in Rex Grossman who finished 24th for the year in QB rating (73.9), and the problem with Grossman is the fact that he plays quarterback like Jekyll & Hyde. Last week Jekyll showed up, threw for 282 yards and 1 TD pass. He had a pick, but it wasn't as bad as the Bears fans are used to seeing from him.

Can Grossman calm down, and keep the Jekyll persona for another week? It's going to be tough with Saints QB Drew Brees calling the shots, this is a guy who is leading the postseason pass ratings (96.2) and also finished third in the NFL, way ahead of Grossman in the regular season with a 96.2 QB rating.

The Saints have some mojo behind their run to the Bowl, and I think the New Orleans Saints are bringing that mojo into Chicago with them. Look for the Saints to win and a poor performance from Rex Grossman.

Game Two: New England Patriots (12-4) at Indianapolis Colts (12-4)

"Be careful what you wish for..."

That was the answer Colts QB Peyton Manning gave after their win over the Baltimore Ravens last weekend, another game the Colts had no business winning, and deep down inside they know it along with their fans.

Let's go back to the scene of the crime in the AFC Wildcard game where the Colts wiped the Chiefs from playoff existence with a 23-8 win, a win that was handed to them by Trent Green and head coach Herm Edwards. Everyone across the planet knew the Colts weakness was their run defense, and in order to win the game you would have to run, and force them to stop it; something they hadn't done all season.

It was something that almost kept them from having the AFC Championship at home, yet in this post season the Colts have stopped the run, but they've done it with a smoke and mirrors run defense. Their 4-3 run defense still sucks, they're just bringing extra guys up committed to stop the run.

In the Chiefs game, they had eight men committed to stopping the run... EIGHT! Any normal coach would switch their game plan, spread their WR's or utilize their TE's and go with a passing game to send those two men back into coverage. Instead, Edwards played it stubborn and continued to keep trying to run the ball. When he finally decided to pass the ball, Green was horrible, and solely responsible for giving the Colts a huge momentum shift when he bobbled the snap on the Colts two-yard line, which led to a missed FG.

At this point the game was 6-0, and a score here would have been a plus for the Chiefs, yet Edwards did nothing about his QB, and left backup Damon Huard simmering on the bench. A QB that some say Edwards should have started to begin with.

In their game against the Ravens, the Colts had another dog fight, and to settle for five field goals from former Patriot K Adam Vinatieri. Did I mention he had three FG's in the Chiefs game?

In the past two games, Manning has yet to get the Patriots mystique monkey from off his back by allowing Adam to reap all the glory, while throwing five interceptions, two that were courtesy of ex-Patriot CB Ty Law. Manning isn't stupid, he knows what the fans are saying, and they only have one thing in their corner this time, and that would be the foot of Adam, because the home-field advantage  doesn't mean crap to the Pats who have been playing well in hostile environment (8-1 for the season including the Chargers).

The Patriots have many other things in their favor as well. They lost to the Colts in the regular season, another game that Coach Bill Belichick took full responsibility for, as he did with the regular season Jets loss… and you all remember what the Pats did to the Jets in the wildcard game right? It was a Belichick chess game that left Eric Mangini at the podium during the  press conference with tears in his eyes.

Belichick and Tom Brady have yet to lose to a team twice in one season, and these teams know each other well. As for that all of a sudden run defense that guys like Shannon Sharpe are jocking on, don't they realize that this run defense is only a band aid covering a gaping wound, and what happens to that band aid? Eventually it falls off exposing the wound again, and this is my prediction of the match up this weekend if the Patriots come prepared to play.

If the Colts bring eight in the box to stop RB's Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon, you will see Brady with pick apart the secondary because Colts CB Bob Sanders can't be everywhere at once.

What about the difference in O-Lines? This is my key to the game right here hands down. Brady's 2010 O-Line has provided him so much protection this post season he has been baking cookies and cakes in the pocket before letting it fly.

On the Colts side of the fence, Manning's line has been collapsing early, which was some of the reason behind the picks, and even in their match up earlier this year the Pats out muscled the Colts so the Pats definitely win in the strength department. Let's also not forget to mention that OL Matt Light is coming off a monster performance against LB Shawne Merriman who finished with only two tackles and one sack. He's going to have to tap back into the performance with DE Dwight Freeney on tap if not he'll have to look for help from the TE Benjamin Watson who can block, but it would be more beneficial if Brady has this big target to throw to.

Look for the Patriots to win this game by 7 because, all around, they are the better team that knows how to win when needed (unlike the Chargers). As for my karma spin on this game... There are many, and I don't know where to start...

I guess I'll start with Peyton Manning who is making a boatload more than Tom Brady, and is seen in more ads than the Geico gecko. If the Colts fans need to taste reality I can feed it to them with two words... Dan Marino.

That's right, Dan Marino, all those accolades on the field in Miami, yet he has no Super Bowl rings to show for them, and he is a bitter man because of it. Peyton Manning is this generations Dan Marino, so remember this when you see those Manning Sprint ads followed by a DirectTv ad, then a debit MasterCard ad, that's followed by a Gatorade ad, which is capped off by a Dan Marino Nutri-System ad. You can almost envision Peyton doing the same ads years from now.

How about Vinatieri and his karma? He's been a beast these past two weeks for the Colts, and this weekend he goes up against the team he wronged when it came to contract negotiations. Is there another FG miss in his future? How about his greed by extending his career as an indoor kicker, passing up all of the benefits he and his family had here from Maine to Rhode Island?

Lastly... QB Tom Brady last year spent the day in Kennebunkport playing a very important round of golf with CBS broadcaster Jim Nance, Bill Clinton, and former President George Bush. How is this karma you ask? What Super Bowl is this? 41 right? For those of you who are up on your presidential history, George Bush Sr. was our 41st. Commander in Chief how uncanny is that? 

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On this Saturday we have FHM 2003 Woman of the Year Vida Guerra calling in to promote her recent DVD release "Exposed," and her upcoming album "Theme Park."

So make sure join me along with host Kevin Tocci, and in-studio co-hosts Tom Mariano, Matt Futrell, Peter Czymbor and second stringers Dennis Harris and Frank Staffier. Our show is followed by the best in professional and indie wrestling talk from 2p-4p on The Lock Up with host Indie wrestler Mike Pavia.