Conference Championships and More

The Bears defense should not be confused with the Steel Curtain of the 1970s, the 1985 Bears, or the 2000 Ravens. They will have no scoreless streak or string of games allowing only 6 yards of total offense. They're not one of the best defenses of all time. But they are the best defense in the NFC this year and that's what it takes to make the Super Bowl. They create enough turnovers and make enough big stops to earn that moniker this season.

The Bears also have a great special teams. Their offense shows flashes of being good enough. They haven't needed much of Rex Grossman, because of their other areas of strength. Grossman often looked clueless against the Saints, trying to call consecutive timeouts, trying to snap the ball with no time left in the 1st quarter, and whatever that was at the end of the first half. But people haven't realized that that doesn't matter. The Bears are very good on defense and special teams, and can run the ball. That has proved to be enough to make the Super Bowl during its first 41 years and often win it.

The Colts finally beat the Patriots when it counted and finally made the Super Bowl for the first time since moving to Indianapolis. Peyton Manning led his team back from a 21-3 deficit. Then he led his team down the field for the go ahead touchdown with a minute to go. The Colts need to win the next game for this to matter though. Congratulations to Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy, who will be the first two black head coaches to lead their team in a Super Bowl.


George Mason's men's basketball team won easily at home for the second straight Saturday. It's good to see John Vaughan shooting the ball well and Jordan Carter penetrating with greater frequency. The other role players are coming around too. Of course, the team's two leaders, Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas, are the most important ingredients on the floor for Mason. They've been excellent of late.

The Knicks have played really well since the brawl, coming off of a road win against the new-look Indiana Pacers. I'll reiterate: the key- consistency.