Just finished watching Roger Federer, one of my favorite athletes, in his grueling match against Janko Tipsarevic in the Australian Open.  For those of you who are not tennis fans, the dominate, #1 ranked Federer nearly lost to the little known, 49th ranked Tipsarevic.  This match was a striking reminder of how an underdog with a lot of heart who plays the game of their life can pressure a superior opponent.

Sound like there might be a similar situation with the Patriots this weekend?  I think not.   While it would be foolish to take the Chargers lightly, and as we all know the Patriots will not, they are in no shape to put up a strong fight.  Philip Rivers is listed as doubtful for the game, I’m sure he’s hoping he can stay on the sideline so he can talk trash to fans all game, and key players like Gates and LT are banged up.  The only consolation for Chargers fans is that Rivers isn’t really very good, so the drop off if Billy Volek plays won’t be too big.  There’s still a chance that Rivers could play, but does he scare you?  I’ve rarely seen a more gutless performance than last week as he ran back to the field after having his knee looked at in the locker room only to stay out of the game in a critical situation.  Gutless players don’t do well against the Pats; my pick for the game is the Patriots (-14).

I’m also going to take the Giants and their +7.5 spread.  While it is yet unknown whether the Manning theory still applies with Peyton done for the year, the Giants (in an un-Rivers-like fashion) are playing with a lot of heart.  If the Manning theory does apply Eli will have a great game again.  Just as Eli’s performances are the opposite of his brother’s during the year, perhaps his playoff success will be just as different (mediocre in the regular season, great in the playoffs).  Green Bay does have a really good chance to win this game, but it should at least be close.  By the way, has anyone seen the forecast for the game tomorrow?  I’ve seen sources range from +5 to -5; either way, that’s f*cking cold!  It must be miserable for the players while they’re on the sideline, and cheese hats off to the Packers fans for sitting through it.