Macca

I can't go past the Panthers either. Carolina 27 Broncos 19

The pro bowl still got a 5+ rating which will probably mean they'll keep it going (at least for the next couple of years) I took no interest in it at all and can offer no real way of finding a way to resurrect interest in it ... the real problem is that it's now been almost completely reduced to touch football.

Here's that Four Corners exposé on corruption in sport (shown earlier tonight) Tennis was a large focus of the investigative report with the sport having alleged links to illegal betting agencies throughout Asia. Well worth a look.

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It does seem quite apparent that San Diego and Oakland will both lose their teams though (sooner rather than later) ... I often hear Jacksonville's name being brought up too. And don't they want a team in London eventually?

And the Raiders could end up in Vegas ... the "Vegas Raiders?" There doesn't seem to be a lot of sympathy for the fans who lose their team ... in fact, the fans often get blamed. The money in the NFL is just ridiculous though - these decisions to move cities often involve vast sums of potential future monies. However, it does add a lot of interest to have a major sporting team operating out of Las Vegas ... not sure if that slogan "Whatever happens here, stays here" will necessarily apply though.

Roger fought hard but the joker too good Hoping Murray gets through as I reckon that match-up with Novak could produce a classic final.

The EPL title seems to be down to a race in 4 if we discount Man Utd and those behind the red devils (although, Champions League spots can't be ruled out for those outside of the current top 4) So, here are the next 6 games for those in contention ... Leicester (47) ... vs Liverpool, @ Man City, @ Arsenal, vs Norwich, vs West Brom, vs Watford Man City (44) ... @ Sunderland, vs Leicester, vs Tottenham, @ Newcastle, @ Liverpool, vs Aston Villa Arsenal (44) ... vs Southampton, @ Bournemouth, vs Leicester, @ Man Utd, vs Swansea, @ Tottenham Tottenham (42) ... @ Norwich, vs Watford, @ Man City, vs Swansea, @ West Ham, vs Arsenal Obviously all the games are vital but dropped points in the games I've highlighted can have the double effect of lending a helping hand to the teams that any of the 4 teams might give points to. Leicester in particular have a tough 3 games coming up ... I reckon they'd take 5 points out of a possible 9 points (from those next 3 games) as being a decent enough result. Also, Leicester don't have any FA Cup fixtures or Champions league fixtures to concern themselves with (Man City & Arsenal are still alive in both those competitions whilst Spurs are still alive in the FA Cup) Here's the current table

I tend to agree JV7 but I honestly thought the Pats were going to win today as well ... and then go on and win another SB. We all picked New England here on this thread but the Broncos did play a good game - one could argue that Denver had much tougher opposition today too. 7 turnovers by the Cards today said it all - they never looked like it ... I reckon it's the Panther's time but an unexpected setback early in the SB could throw the game wide open - the game could be close throughout.

The only thing that can stop them is a defense like Denver's ... however, there are a lot of intangibles and there is also an element of luck. In a way it's a bit like Denver's offense vs Seattle's defense from 2 SB's past ... except Carolina's offense seems harder to stop with Newton being a running weapon as well as now being a very good pocket passer. And then there's the other offensive weapons which you've pointed out. In a nutshell I reckon Carolina's defense can stop Denver's offense but I'm not sure that Denver's defense can stop Carolina's offense. But in this sport, who knows? A fumble, an interception, a pick 6 or long yardage run-back can happen at any time. That's what makes the sport so fascinating to watch - every game has a number of unknowns that we know will happen but we don't know what they will be nor what the consequences will be. And then there's the experience of Peyton with Elway in the background ... for all their confidence, the Panthers might be overawed by the occasion. Carolina have opened up 3.5 point favourites. However, one could make a case for either team winning. Peyton won't want to be reminded of this bit from Super Bowl XLVIII

Watched both games in full ... Panthers very impressive and Arizona never got going. The Palmer interceptions didn't help but 3 of them came when I felt the game was over anyway. Carolina are going to be hard to stop but they're offense is going to be up against Denver's defense. Palmer wasn't very good but the difference maker was Newton - he was immense. Denver played very well (their defense was excellent) ... Peyton was at times good whilst at other times he looked quite vulnerable ... Brady wasn't protected well at all - under pressure for nearly the entire match. That missed 'point after' early in the game by the Pats ended up being very costly for New England - all through the game the scoreline reminded us of that missed conversion (they trailed by 8 points for a large part of the game) I suppose the SB winner will come down to which team can exploit their own advantage or indeed which team can stifle the oppositions strengths ... it might come down to Carolina's offense vs Denver's defense but there's a lot of other factors at play as well. Leaderboard in the tipping comp (post season) ... 3 points are on offer for correctly tipping the SB winner. 8 - JV7, Macca 6 - cowboy_from_hell 5 - Georgiou R.R. Martin, Gorgoroth

Patriots 20 Denver 17 Arizona 16 Carolina 24

Haven't caught up with all the post game stuff yet but that first half of Carolina's was quite impressive (especially against that Seattle defense) Broncos get over the Steelers but that fumble with 10 odd minutes to go was costly for Pittsburgh. It seems that we've seen a lot more fumbles by the RB's this year or am I just noticing it more? More so the ball being punched free rather than the usual situation where the ball spills free after contact. I reckon the best 4 teams have made it through but we are going to see a relatively new team in the SB with either the Panthers or the Cardinals to progress. The odds makers have both New England & Carolina as 3 point favourites. All 4 road teams won in week 1 of the playoffs whilst all 4 home teams won this weekend. Leaderboard in the tipping comp (post season) 7 - JV7, Macca 6 - cowboy_from_hell 4 - Georgiou R.R. Martin, Gorgoroth Next week's games (AEDT) Monday 7.05am New England @ Denver Monday 10.40am Arizona @ Carolina

I actually felt we should have been able to take advantage and win ... they (Arizona) didn't play a great game but we still only had scored 13 points up until that hail-mary play. Anyway, they go on and if they can play to their best, they can make it to the SB The big story from today is the Pats though - they look like they're getting back to their best form and Edelman, Gronkowski & Amendola will all be better for the run. They're going to be hard to stop.

Much like the 49ers/Ravens SB of a few years ago, pass interference wasn't really payed all game. At least we got some consistency ... GB didn't create enough chances to score TD's and that's why we lost. Arizona were marginally better but they were still better ... the Fitzgerald yards after reception was the killer blow. They got lucky with the tipped TD but you make your own luck I'm bloody annoyed but it's not like we deserved to win and somehow lost ... the Cardinals can play a lot better too and they'll need to do that against Carolina or Seattle. Anyway, whilst Rodgers is healthy, we're always going to be a threat ... obviously Nelson will be back but a team can never be too strong in the WR and TE position. Our offensive line needs improvement whilst our much-maligned defense can get better even though we were reasonably good at defense this season. Lacy needs a lot more fibre in his diet ... you can't be running out of steam in the one thing you are paid to do.

It was a 'Favre' type throw by Palmer (across his body) ... too good and we did well to take it to O/T. Fitzgerald was the difference ... MVP ... 176 yards receiving and we couldn't stop him. Janis was great for the Packers but it was one of those games that came down to whoever had the ball last ... that's how it felt to me. I don't mind losing to a great play (even though we should have had better coverage on Fitzgerald at that stage of the game) Made a game of it but fell short.

You've got to wonder how Fitzgerald got open but it's a great play by them

It's high farce out there ... unbelievable by Rodgers (again) He was just so off-balance yet found the right spot - freakish. Tosssers can't toss the coin.

I'm praying to Mary right now ... hail-mary's

We should just throw 'hail-mary's' all the time.

They are not going to call that ... they haven't called pass interference for most of the game.

That's a huge play ... average throw by Palmer

Lacy starts running out of steam early in his runs ... like 5 yards in! Good drive here by the Cardinals

It's fair to say I'm in combative mode Gorgo so you'll have to bear with me for a couple of hours Anyway, a few chinks in the Arizona game so we're a chance ... again, much will depend on whether the Packers WR's & TE's can get open ... if that happens, Green Bay can win.

He's trying to make something happen without any real weapons. Without him, we would have been lucky to win 4 games for the season ... his targets are unable to create separation. And it's been that way since the first game of the year. I watch them every week