Macca

Saints win! A road win in the playoffs! There's a first. Tense finish and as an Eagles fan, you'd just feel helpless as the Saints set up that winning field goal. Sproles getting to the half way line was clutch on that final drive (albeit with the help of a horse collar penalty) New Orleans now go to Seattle next week whilst the winner of the 49ers/Packers game goes to Carolina. The Saints @ Seahawks game has already been set for 8.35am next Sunday (our time)

... and right on cue, the Eagles score. Saints lead 20-14. Could be a cracking 4th quarter.

Saints getting on top now. Philly have only scored once in nearly 3 quarters - they need to get a hurry on. 20-7 after that TD.

Injuries cruelled you and not having Charles late in the game was a major influence on the ultimate result. Still should have won though. However, we at least know that Luck and the Colts have done this sort of thing on a number of other occasions. If Bowe had somehow got his right foot in bounds on that last drive, you probably win. Fine line. Your team had a terrific year, all the same. Especially from where you were coming from.

Colts hit the lead - unbelievable! 45 - 44. Been a terrific game despite the turnovers. If Luck gets them over the line here, it will be yet another huge comeback win. Still hoping for a KC win despite not picking them. Smith needs to get them in field goal range (at least) That's a good start ...

Another turnover leads to a KC field goal. 41-24. That might be a telling 3pts gained there by the Chiefs.

Game on and there's plenty of time. KC need to score on this drive. 38-24 currently

Yep, agreed. Dominant first half by KC. Alex Smith has been super impressive and Andy Reid's influence stands out. KC look really well prepared. Luck and the Colts have a habit of big comebacks but will the Chiefs let them?

The Charles hit didn't look that bad either - maybe when his head hit the ground? Doesn't seem to be effecting KC's scoring ability though.

Terrible drop by Richardson - now 24-7 and we've just started the 2nd quarter! Alex Smith having a good one

Excellent drive by KC. Hope Charles gets back.

Ha! These 2 weeks of Sunday playoff games are brilliant. Perfect times for the games as well. Kicking off at 8.30am is ideal. I'd keep away from this thread until you've caught up in real time!

Couple of tunes from a couple of female artists from the late 90's. The first from Margaret Urlich followed by a song from Lisa Loeb. Both singers are still active today with Lisa releasing a new album in 2013 called "No Fairy Tale." Margaret, who hails from New Zealand, now lives in Sydney. Both tracks are from their award winning early albums. ("Safety in Numbers" by Margaret and "Tails" from Lisa) Macca 14.0

Opponents for all the teams are out already for the 2014 season! ... NFL opponents (home & away) For those who are unfamiliar with how the scheduling works, the custom is that all the teams from each division plays against all the teams from 2 other divisions (one from the NFC & one from the AFC) Excluding the 6 games against their divisional opponents, 2 extra games are added for each team - these 2 games are against opponents who ended the season in the same finishing position within 2 other divisions (from within each teams own conference) ... eg (4th) Minnesota are drawn against Washington and St Louis (who both finished 4th in their respective divisions) Phew! Here's a summary of all 8 divisions and the 2 divisions that they all play against ... NFC West - NFC East & AFC West NFC North - NFC South & AFC East NFC East - NFC West & AFC South NFC South - NFC North & AFC North AFC North - AFC South & NFC South AFC West - AFC East & NFC West AFC East - AFC West & NFC North AFC South - AFC North & NFC East The BS Report (includes a preview of the upcoming games) We've got 6 posters who have put in their tips so far. Should get 1 or 2 more (I heard Strafford is going for the "Double") So ... the comp is on! Good luck!

Meant to add that the amount of TV viewers could be extremely high for the current Pakistan/Sri Lanka tests (even though the crowd numbers aren't great)

It's an extremely complex situation and one where there are no easy and obvious answers. There are so many factors at play. How much importance do Country's boards place on Test cricket? What about the players from those Countries? Do many of those players follow the money? The general public from those countries - what views do they have? The other 2 forms of the game - how much influence do those 2 variations of the game have on the fans, players and boards? The truth is, in relation to Test cricket, it's only in Australia and England where the crowds are very good and TV viewers are high. Everywhere else, the crowd numbers are often low (and it's been that way for quite some time - way before the advent of t20) England and Australia could be used as a template but can that template work elsewhere? On a positive note, the amount of TV viewers of Test cricket involving India are huge (CA benefit from that - it's why we play India every year) Do the BCCI even care about crowd numbers at the Tests? The money from TV the BCCI gets for it's test matches is astronomical. The West Indies? What happens there? The Kiwi's have never gone to the Tests in their droves. South Africa can't pull great crowds even though they have this great team. Pakistan can't play in their own country and as for Sri Lanka, who knows? I could go on for paragraphs here but it doesn't necessarily lead anywhere.

This, from former New Zealand fast bowler, Iain O'Brien ... The strange beast called confidence

Wild card weekend games ... Sunday 8.35am Kansas City at Indianapolis (OneHD & ESPN) 12.10pm New Orleans at Philadelphia (OneHD & ESPN) Monday 5.05am San Diego at Cincinnati (OneHD & ESPN) 8.40am San Francisco at Green Bay (OneHD & ESPN) Tips and scorelines ... if we get enough participants, we can run a playoff comp. I point for each win with 3 points for the Super Bowl winner. KC 26 Indi 28 Saints 32 Philly 29 Bolts 18 Cinci 28 49ers 31 Packers 33 Wouldn't surprise if I only got 1 right (straight winners that is!) Might even be none. Don't mind being wrong on KC and the Eagles though. Would like to see both teams get a playoff win. Obviously I had to pick the Packers but we'll need a lot of things to go our way. Kaepernick has to be held to a lot less than stellar game (shudder) Their defense kills ours so Rodgers will need to have a big one. Running game will have to match theirs. By crikey, that's a lot to ask for Sunday morning 8.30am - bring it!

I agree, jazza Them not having Kallis puts a bit of pressure on their spinner (Peterson) as well. I'd rather Jacques was playing in order for us to really get tested - they'll miss him. There's talk of an all-rounder coming in and batting at no.7 for them but I don't know who. You might assume that de Villiers, Duminy and du Plessis would all move up one spot in the batting order. At least 4 Tests would have been so much better as well. I guess you can't have everything. They are a hell of a side but we somehow find a way to match-up against them (especially over there) No predictions from me - there's too many variables (plus, I'm a shocking tipster!) At home, they'll be tough to beat. Could end up being a battle of the fast bowlers. Just want to see us continue to play the way we are right now.

The Chargers can be a good team and when Rivers is "on", they move the ball very well. But like a number of other teams, they can't be relied upon. I wouldn't be surprised if they won, but they're going to have to bring their 'A' game you'd reckon. Make that 4 games where I'm "unclear!" Tips will be interesting and I like 'pantaloons' idea of the scorelines! I wonder how close any of us will get?

t20 and the "Big Bash" can fall into the category of "Popular culture" in many ways. You don't have to like it and you don't have to watch it, but you're probably going to have to accept it. It's popular and in my opinion, it will only get more popular. In fact, it's already made some tremendous inroads in a very short space of time. CA and channel 10 are pumping a lot of money and resources into the "sport." Of course, it may become less popular but that might be more a "wish" with some people. That type of view could also end up being along the lines "wishful thinking." In Australia, it's the only team sport that is shown on prime time, "free-to-air," commercial TV on an Australia wide basis. Every other team sport has some sort of restriction when it comes to prime time commercial TV (the NRL and AFL are not shown in certain States during prime time - as for Rugby and Soccer - you'll need cable) Channel 10 forked out 100 million for 5 years for the broadcasting rights. Apart from the "Big Bash", we may also not be interested in watching the IPL or even take any interest in the IPL. (the IPL is not broadcast into Australia anyway) However, there's no denying the IPL's popularity (we're talking hundreds of millions of fans - or at least tens of millions of fans) 37 Australian players were involved in the IPL last year (even Pup is involved - Clarke signed on for $400,000 but didn't participate because of his bad back) I don't see this"version" of cricket as necessarily being a threat to Test cricket (one-day cricket was once viewed this way) In fact, I can see the sport as being an overall help to cricket in general. However, certain Countries need to address their own fans interest in Test cricket. Some of the crowd numbers outside of Australia and England are worrying. Marketed better? Better scheduling, pricing and creature comforts? We don't seem to have an issue in Melbourne - phenomenal crowd numbers. New fans of t20 may end up watching Test cricket when they may never have watched it before. Many of the players involved in the various t20 leagues around the world also play Test cricket. Fans will follow their heroes and favourites. t20 can offer a pathway to cricket for a young bloke like never before. The money on offer is huge (especially in the IPL) A top batsman should be able to adapt to all 3 forms of the game - many players are already doing just that. t20 may lead to higher scoring rates in Test cricket and thus, bring in more fans. (I believe that "One day Cricket" has had that effect over the years) Fans of Test cricket don't necessarily need to see higher scoring rates but it can't hurt. We may also see more wicket taking opportunities as a result. As stated above, a good batsman should be able to adapt to all 3 forms of the game (the South Africans - Smith, Amla, Kallis and AB de Villiers don't seem to have any trouble adapting) If you're 'A' grade, you can adapt. t20's popularity with certain demographics is the whole key here. If you're not part of that demographic, it probably won't matter. In summary, I believe we're all going to have to get used to it. It's not going away in a hurry. What may seem remarkable is that I can have this view yet not be all that interested in watching t20. I tune in occasionally. I'm attempting a more balanced view here because on a personal note, I'd rather watch a movie! It's Ashes versus bashes as Nine and Ten in cricket ratings battle

Philly can be very good and they can also be average. A lot can happen on the day and Brees is top notch. It could be a case of who turns up on the day. I'm not absolutely clear on 3 of the games to be honest (the Bengals should win their game) The Indi/KC game could throw up any sort of result and there are still a number of "unknowns" with a few of the other teams. Of the teams who are involved this coming weekend, probably only San Francisco, New Orleans and Cincinnati can be "read" with any certainty - you sort of know what you're getting with those 3 sides (both home and away) The rest are unpredictable. Of the 4 sides not playing this weekend, I'm still unsure on New England and Carolina. With the Pats, it's their receiving core and with the Panthers, it's their offense. The odds are set for 3 close ones this weekend (San Francisco, Philadelphia and the Colts are favoured by less than a field goal) The Bengals are favoured by a TD.

Well, one team will have to win so one group of Demon fans will be happy (there are other Packer fans here - I'm sure of it!) It's all pointing to a close one and the winner of this game could go on a bit during the playoffs (especially if Seattle are avoided in week 2) The Eagles/Saints game could go either way but at least we'll know what lies ahead before the game starts. But of course it's "One game at a time"

Home field has gotta help. We played a good game against them in the opening round in San Francisco. If we were all guns blazing then I'd still be wary. So much is going to depend on how much the team gels together. I really rate the 49ers but Rodgers is capable of anything. So is Kaepernick of course. We need to limit Gore but our new running game will concern them as well. Am I being biased in saying it's the match-up of wild-card weekend? All 4 games offer a lot though. If the Saints win in Philly, I think they go to Seattle (being the 6 seed) Whoever wins out of Green Bay and San Francisco will know their next opponent before their game actually starts (I think) KC @ Indi could be a cracker and the Chargers might push Cinci. But I don't feel lucky to be in the playoffs - just a bit shocked. We're certainly capable and the organisation's mindset is to have an expectation to be in the playoffs. I'm reasonably confident that we'll put up a good show - that's gonna have to do! They don't muck around over there - although it's usually done on the Monday after the regular season (?) Or is it after the Superbowl? I think 7 or 8 head coaches got their marching orders last year - nearly all on the same day.

No one is more surprised than me 'cfh'. I gave us virtually no chance and thought that the Lions and Bears would kick clear. Just another example of ... "Ya just never know". Tough, tough game coming up against the niners but it is at home. Wild old day with the Steelers getting so close to a playoff berth. Panthers just got over the line - if they lost that, we'd be talking the Saints up in the dome. There's such a fine line in this sport. Think I'm right in saying that the lowest winning seed on wild-card weekend, gets to play in Seattle the following week. Some reward! I'm already looking forward to Sunday on the couch. The cricket will be "scores only!"