Maybe she was saying "foooooood"

I'm in the Indy area this week helping out my mother-in-law as she recovers from surgery. As you might imagine, this part of the country is overwhelmed with Colts fever as they get ready to watch them get beat by the Bears 31-28 in the Super Bowl. In the spirit of the event, I've been wearing my Bears jersey around here this week.

Late last night, I went to the local Meijer (the Official Superstore of the Colts) to pick up some stuff. While I was looking at something on the end of one of the aisles, I heard this loud howling sound. I wasn't paying too much attention to it, but when it didn't stop, I glanced up to see that it was coming from some lady about 50 feet from me who was booing me and waving her arms with the thumbs down sign.

I suppose I should be grateful she didn't use any of her other fingers.

Fortunately, I'm not a sensitive guy. I'm used to getting booed. I umpired baseball for 16 years and reffed basketball for 8, so that's part of the job. I get "booed" for my bracket predictions, the RPI and BCS pretty routinely. I even get booed at home sometimes (you call that washing dishes??! BOO!). But getting booed in the grocery store is a new one.

Have you seen Wade Steffey?

Wade Steffey, a freshman at Purdue, has disappeared after a party on campus last weekend. Here's the story from the Purdue web site, with a picture of Steffey. Anyone with info should call Purdue Police at 765-494-8221.

NFL Playoff QB Quiz

A. Tom Brady
B. Drew Brees
C. Peyton Manning
D. Rex Grossman

Sing along now: "One of these things doesn't belong here. One of these things just isn't the same..."

I suppose if you can win a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer, you can win with anybody, but still, it's hard to like the Bears chances.

NFL Playoffs

OK, here's my playoff picks. I skipped the first round because I was otherwise distracted.

AFC
Chargers over Patriots - New England is now a fading dynasty. They're dangerous to be sure, but the Chargers are too strong.

Colts over Ravens - Who were those guys playing defense for the Colts last week and where have they been all year? I'll be shocked if the Indy D is as good this week, but I think the Colts will score enough to win.

Chargers over Colts - LT runs wild. He'll set a playoff record for rushing yards. He'll score 4 times. San Diego goes to the Super Bowl.

NFC
Bears over Seahawks - It won't be as big as the last meeting (37-6 in week 4), but the Bears defense will shut the Seahawks down once again. Rex Grossman will prevent the Bears from reaching the Super Bowl, but this won't be the week that happens.

Saints over Eagles - New Orleans will go as far as Brees, Bush and McAlister take them, and that could be a long way. The Eagles have done well without McNabb, but the ride ends here.

Saints over Bears - Brees is the one QB best equipped to attack the Bears pressure defense because he's decisive and accurate. He'll also have a lot of short fields because here is where bad Rex shows up.

Super Bowl
Saints over Chargers - If you can have a Cinderella story in professional sports, it would be the New Orleans Saints. Each team scores in the 30s. Brees leads a 2-minute drill for the win.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!