As if anyone needed Deion Sanders’ toolness to be articulated, he’s been going into overdrive to prove it. He’s been mouthing off on NFL Network about how Donovan McNabb wants out of Philadelphia. I hope this doesn’t come to pass just so Sanders will have to shut up.

I don’t think that the Eagles’ front office is ready to part ways with McNabb. If they are smart, they will listen to Andy Reid, who proclaimed that McNabb is the “best quarterback in the NFL” or something to that affect.

Since it seems very likely that the Eagles front office will not be changing head coaches, it follows that this same management team, which has lived and died with McNabb, will not be making a QB change either.

In the playoff loss against the Cardinals, McNabb was 28 of 47 and passed for 375 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He led the team on an improbable comeback and deserves props for not allowing the game to get out of hand – and in fact, almost leading the Eagles to a win.

With Brian Westbrook and Desean Jackson (finally – a very good receiver) in place, I think the future is bright for the Eagles. They have a lot to build upon, considering the way this season went. I didn’t think they’d even make the playoffs, let alone the NFC Title game.

Even if McNabb hasn’t been able to win the NFC Title games, at least the Eagles are getting there. There are at least 15 teams in the NFL that would love to say that they even had a shot at a title game, or even a playoff game.

If anyone – Sanders included – thinks that the Eagles will be parting ways with McNabb – or, more laughably, be better off without him – I suggest reliving the Eagles/Ravens game. That’s Philly’s future without McNabb. Pretty scary. I suspect that McNabb and Reid will both be back next year.

And, despite what a few, loud naysayers will bleat (and what ESPN will surely focus on, because…they lack objectivity or judgment…?), the Eagles will be better for it.

After a few months of wrangling over the Watchmen movie, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox are finally finished fighting and are now ready to play nice, according to this Newsarama posting.

I love this wording: “Warner Bros acknowledges that Fox acted in good faith in bringing its claims, which were asserted prior to the start of principal photography. Fox acknowledges that Warner Bros. acted in good faith in defending against those claims. Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film’s March 6 release in theatres.”

Well, the fans have acted in good faith in putting up with false starts and rumors about this film for 22 years. Although, considering how bad comic book films were before Spider-Man came out, maybe the insanely long wait works in our favor.

And I’m so glad that WB and Fox are fans just like us. I’m sure they’ve just been dying to see Ozymandius, Rorscach, Nite Owl and Dr. Manhattan on the silver screen. They’re probably so relieved to see this movie coming out that they’d say “forget the money – let’s get this great story out there so everyone can enjoy it!”

Bwaa Haaa Haaa!

Add this immensely long wait to Alan Moore’s complete opposition to the movie, and you’ve got quite a little story about a film that really looked like it would never be made.

What’s most humorous to me is that Warner Bros has to shell out oodles of cash for the film rights to a property that was theirs to begin with.

The good news is that the stills and trailers are giving me a sense that the movie could actually be really good. It looks good, anyway. Considering all the buzz that’s been building for the last year or so, it better be.

Comics, like any medium, has a feel and/or a language that is unmistakably germane to that particular medium. With the number of writers increasing exponentially these days, it’s less recognizable now.

But–certainly, if you’ve read enough comics, you can pick a few of these gems out. Here are a few of my faves, in no particular order.

In the old days of the 70s and 80s, you could pretty much have a quote read to you from an issue and determine who the writer of the book was without ever having actually read the book.

* This’ll make my rep!

This classic was always one of my faves, based solely on it’s overall stupidity. It was big in the 70s, especially in Daredevil and Batman. There was always some dumbass henchman who reasoned that killing Batman or Daredevil would cement his standing in the criminal community and vault him into that penthouse suite where he could finally be the one to call the shots.

* The Die Is Cast!

This truly is one of my favorites, and I don’t mean this in a sarcastic way. It’s such a great phrase and it perfectly captures the essence of what comics – mostly Marvel Comics – were like in the 60s. It’s a classic, and it’s a shame that phrases like this are not used nowadays.

* I’m The Best At What I Do, And What I Do Isn’t Very Nice

I’ll bet that just reading that phrase brought up a big belly laugh. And I’ll further bet that many readers will know who the writer was, who the character was and maybe even have a clear recollection of what that first page that featured these words looked like. Of course, after this was repeated in each of the four issues and beyond, it got a bit tired.

* What The–

Ooops! Almost said it, didn’t you? Somehow nobody ever finished that one. It’s probably for the best. Gives us readers a chance to use our imaginations. It’s also a phrase that doesn’t work so well when actually spoken. It just sounds silly.

* Avengers Assemble!

This is also a classic staple phrase of 60s Marvel, and another pleasant reminder of how great comics used to be. Especially after the wretched “disassembled” storyline a couple of years ago, it is always great to be able to revisit a pre-Joe Quesada/Brian Michael Bendis Marvel Universe. Sometimes you don’t need to destroy the foundation to fix up the house.

* The Storay At Hand

Just kidding. Wondering if you were paying attention anymore. Although, to those who know of it, this one is a freaking classic! Right up there with “Die Scum….“

How could I have forgotten these gems??

* Still Only 25¢ !

A classic to be sure – not only does it call attention to the inevitable price increase, but it reminds me of a time when nearly every comic on the spinner rack was a good one! For whatever reason, Marvel didn’t decree 30¢, 40¢ or 50¢ to be worthy of this designation (interestingly, 35¢ also merited this treatment). Well, it’s certainly better than “Still Only 299¢!”

* Not An Imaginary Story! Not a Hoax!

Then why publish it? Honestly, is there anything that screams “DC Comics” more than this? It’s great. And the stories that unfolded were truly the stuff of legends…and explain a lot in terms of why Marvel was able to take over the comic book readership in the 60s. If not for Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil and Frank Robbins, the 1960’s would be a very barren landscape for DC. From a pure nostalgia and cool character introduction point of view, however, this was a very interesting time for DC.

* Because You Demanded It!

Who could resist this? Like “Not An Imaginary Story”, this little gem quickly lost all meaning, as it became evident that, well, nobody demanded some of that stuff. And since the Marvel No-Prize comic book poked fun at this in such an amusing fashion, I’ll stop here.

* ‘Nuff Said!

Short and to the point. ‘Nuff indeed…

I’m sure there are many others, but for some reason or another, I can’t come up with them. Feel free to add your faves.

So here it is – the last weekend of football before the Super Bowl. Only four teams left – The Arizona Cardinals, The Philadelphia Eagles, The Pittsburgh Steelers and The Baltimore Ravens.

Each team had their own way of getting here – but make no mistake. All of these teams earned their spot. They had their struggles and problems throughout the year, but they proved they belonged as they advanced through the postseason.

Only the Steelers have had the good fortune to have played only one game thus far, having earned a first round bye. This could be seen as an advantage. Or not. The other teams that had earned a first round bye are now preparing to watch the games on TV this weekend, just like I plan to do.

These teams have a few things in common, some of which have been mentioned more than a few times:

There are three bird-themed teams playing this weekend.

The teams with the top three defenses in the NFL are playing this weekend.

And one interesting (well, to me, anyway) to note: The Cardinals are kinda Pittsburgh south. Their head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, is a former Steelers offensive coordinator. Their assistant head coach and offensive line coach is Russ Grimm, who held these positions for the Steelers. And their dynamic receiver, Larry Fitzgerald is a product of Pitt.

What does all that mean? Nothing. Just something I felt like noting.

As for the games, I think that my record of picking the playoff games so far tell a lot about which way I am leaning. I was 1-3 in week one with my picks, being right only on the Eagles game. I was 2-2 this weeekend, correctly picking the Eagles and Steelers.

So I think I’ll keep with that stategy.

Eagles / Cardinals

The early game matches The Eagles and The Cardinals. Both teams had nine regular season wins and had impressive wins in their second playoff matchups – Philadelphia defeating the defending Super Bowl champ Giants and Arizona defeating the favored (and home team) Carolina Panthers.

So both of these teams are up and running and ready to go. As has been the case often in these playoffs, this game is a rematch. As I’m sure most of you reading this know – the Eagles beat the Cardinals 48-20 on Thanksgiving evening.

I expect an Eagles win again this time, but I don’t see it being such a wide margin. In my mind, the Eagles need to pressure Kurt Warner and force the Cardinals to play the game on the run. I think that the Eagles will control the running game, so the Cards need to get their passing game going in order to win. Anquan Boldin is expected to play this weekend, so that means that the Eagles will have an extra deep threat to worry about.

If I was the Cards, I’d run an offense that had a lot of 5 to 7 yard dump passes, with the occasional long pass. This might be able to disrupt the Eagles a little bit, as they will surely be blitzing and this would enable Warner to get rid of the ball more quickly.

For the Eagles, I think it’s pretty simple. Do what you did last week – run enough to keep the defense honest and go to your strength. Pass the ball around, in that patented Donovan McNabb style – using all your receivers and finding Brian Westbrook when things get tight. With that defense, if you score 20-24 points, you will more than likely win.

Final Score: Eagles 31, Cardinals 20.

Ravens / Steelers

This is the third time that these two teams are meeting this season. The Steelers won both matchups, and you can bet the Ravens hate hate hate to have to admit that. The Steelers probably love to say this. It’s pretty safe to say that these two teams hate each other. It’s amazing how a lot of hate can make a game so damn interesting.

I’ve heard all the moaning from Bart Scott about how Hines Ward is a dirty player. They’ll say that he put a cheap shot on the Bengals receiver Keith Rivers, breaking his jaw and ending his season. See this for your own look. It looks like a totally clean hit to me.

My favorite part of that is the other videos that come up. “Hines Ward Jacks Up Ed Reed!” or “Hines Ward Destroys Bart Scott” – no wonder the Ravens hate him. I’m sure it ticks them off to no end to have an offensive guy who applies crushing hits. Too bad.

When I hear this, I think of Rashard Mendenhall – whose season was ended after a crushing hit from Ravens All-World linebacker Ray Lewis. Then there was all the chatter of bounties from Terrell Suggs. Whether or not any of this is true is immaterial. The Ravens defense means business. But the Steelers boast the NFL’s number one defense. So the Ravens have one more thing to stew about. And another distraction.

Then there’s all the hand-wringing about Santonio Holmes’ game-winning score in the 13-9 Steelers win. The Ravens, especially Ray Lewis, will tell you that it wasn’t a touchdown. Well Ray – that pass to Todd Heap…against the Titans…you know, the one that enabled you guys to make it to this game…the one that has been all over the internet because everyone thinks it was a crap missed call…yeah, that one…

So they’re even. If Holmes’ TD was a bad call, so was the Heap catch. Let’s not talk about either of these two plays anymore. Old news.

Last week, the Ravens defense gave up more ground than Napoleon Bonaparte’s Louisiana Purchase. The Titans shredded them, surrendering 281 passing yards and 116 rushing yards.

By contrast, Pittsburgh gave up 308 passing yards – 41 of them in the early stages of the first quarter and 62 more in garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter. But the eye-opener is the 15 total rushing yards. Darren Sproles went from 105 yards to 15. That’s two less than the Steel Curtain gave up in Super Bowl IX.

The Ravens are a defense-first, second and third team. If their offense gives them anything, that is usually enough. Pittsburgh knows this. But the Steelers are bit more balanced than that. Willie Parker scored two touchdowns and gained 146 yards rushing last week, in perhaps his second healthy game of the season. Add Ben Roethlisberger’s 17 of 26 passing for 181 yards and a TD, and you’ve got enough points for a win.

The Steelers struggled to get 20 and 13 points in the first two games. Points will be at a premium again this week. I just think that the Steelers are more likely to score points.

Final Score: Steelers 30, Ravens 17.

So the number 11 is having quite a time of it lately. Before this season, it was quite an elusive number. And I thought One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.

First, the Steelers defeated the Chargers 11-10, registering the only 11-10 game in the 87-year history of the NFL.

Then the Eagles defeated the Giants 23-11 in their NFC Divisional game yesterday, notching the only 23-11 game in NFL history.

Yes, good old 11 – it’s a fine number. It takes 11 players to field a football team. When I was growing up, my house number was 11. My current house number is a multiple of 11.

Pat Haden, Joe Kapp and Phil Simms wore 11. So did Luis Aparicio, Carl Hubbell, Jim Fregosi, Paul Waner, Sixto Lezcano, Lenn Sakata and Joe Garagiola.

And, of course, being 11 – it’s the loudest number in the universe as well.

One loss. One win. Now all we need is an 11-11 game to make the number 11 the sporting world’s preeminent prime number and restore the proper balance to the universe.

Wow – Heath Ledger won a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his maniacally brilliant performance as the Joker in the summer smash Dark Knight.

Finally, it seems that the moviemakers are doing something right and the ‘experts’ are taking comic book movies seriously. Took long enough. Superman and Superman II were hits in 1978 and 1980. Batman was a hit in 1989. Spider-Man was a mega-hit. Two more Spidey movies, The X-Men Trilogy, Sin City, 300, Iron Man…all made oodles of money and received critical acclaim. But none of these were nominated for any of the more prestigious awards – Best Actor, Best Screenplay…Best Movie.

Heath Ledger was getting a lot of attention and praise even before his untimely death. After he died, the buzz was, amazingly, upped a notch. I am glad he won, and after finally having seen the movie just this past weekend, it doesn’t seem to me as though it was given only because of the tragedy of his passing. He was excellent. The performance was as good as it was billed.

I think that as long they keep making movies like Dark Knight, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Superman and Sin City – the Globes and Oscars won’t be able to ignore them anymore – this can only be a good thing.

It will make the folks who are charged with making movies work even harder to gain that attention. It will make them more focused on the comic fans who go to the movies in droves.

After all, who was responsible for Watchmen finally getting made? Not Hollywood. Not really. They had no idea there was even a real demand for these comic book movies. Even after Superman. And Batman. And The Crow. Men In Black. Not until Spider-Man reminded them.

They kinda knew after Tim Burton’s Batman. But then Joel Schumacher and his Hollywood types were seduced by the Dark Side. They couldn’t get past the campy 60s Batman. They reverted to disrespecting form and nearly killed what was a promising genre of movies.

Now they’re back. And they’re getting better.

But for every Dark Knight and Sin City, there’s a Catwoman, Elektra, Daredevil and Punisher lying in wait. Just like with any genre of movies, there will be some underwhelming options.

Comics themselves are no different. There are good ones and bad ones, and sales usually balances the scales. Comic books are at their worst when they get cocky. Sales are good, buzz is good, so they create new titles and overload the market. Eventually, things settle down and the core titles become the standard again.

As long as the moviemakers keep trying – and remembering the core, comic book-based audience – we should really be seeing more good movies than bad ones.

I can’t wait to see what comes next. Right now, the newest offering is Will Eisner’s Spirit, directed by Frank Miller. After Sin City and 300, people seem to have taken notice.

And to my way of thinking, as long as the Globes and Oscars start to really take notice of the comic book/action movie, it’s all good.

I tried to be objective on this one. I really did. But I hate the Chargers. And it all dates back to that ridiculous playoff game in 1995. Maybe I am one of the few who will remember.

Steelers up 13-3. Then San Diego scores a touchdown with 6:57 left in the third quarter. 13-10. Then they score again with 9:47 to go – 17-13. WTF??? Alfred Pupunu?? Tony Martin?? Stan Humphries??? Gah! It pains me to think of this game. And the Chargers getting pummeled by the 49ers in the Super Bowl didn’t help.

But after losing the lead, Pittsburgh, led by Neil O’Donnell, marched down the field. This I remember well. After a season where the Steelers played a conservative, run-oriented game, head man Bill Cowher goes nuts and has O’Donnell drop back to pass 54 times! That’s right, 54 times! To O’Donnell’s credit, he completed 32 passes and had no picks. Sadly, his last throw, from the Chargers 3, was batted down and the Steelers lost.

No bitterness here. Really. Fast forward 14 years….

The Chargers are back. Coming to Pittsburgh after compiling an 8-8 record and beating Denver on the last day of the season to seal their playoff appearance. Props to the Chargers for eliminating another team I hate. But now, after a week of indifference, I am back to hating the Chargers.

Like the other three games this weekend, this one’s a rematch game. The last time these two teams met, you might remember, we had the only 11-10 game in NFL history. I’ll mention Troy Polamalu’s touchdown that would have made it 18-10 only to attempt to forestall it coming up again. It’s done, I’m ready to move on.

So – that game. It was an odd one. The Steelers started pretty lamely, surrendering a 3-yard TD run to LaDainian Tomlinson with 6:46 to go in the first quarter. They looked out of sorts, and, just for a few minutes…I wondered.

But I needn’t have worried. The Black N’ Gold came back and scored a safety early in the second quarter, then closed out the half with a field goal to make the score a Pirates/Padres-like 7-5. The second half was a lot of up and down the field, netting only three field goals – two from the Steelers and one from San Diego. Jeff Reed’s 32-yard boot with 11 seconds on the clock provided the points needed for the win.

Aside from the odd score, another oddity is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger passed for 308 yards – with Hines Ward accounting for 124 of those yards – and Willie Parker ran for 115, and the Steelers failed to score a single touchdown in this game. Unless you count…yeah, I said I wouldn’t mention that again, didn’t I?

Beyond the TD run, Tomlinson had a pedestrian 52 yards rushing, and Philip Rivers had a game he’d probably rather forget – 164 yards passing, no TDs and two picks. He’s done much better for the season, and it would be foolish to think that the Steelers will see that again.

One thing we most likely won’t see is L.T. – word on the street is that Tomlinson has a g-g-groin injury (anyone remember that Cheers episode?) and won’t be playing. His fill-in, Darren Sproles, had a breakout game last week, accounting for two TD runs, 105 yards rushing and oodles more yards on receptions and kick/punt yardage. Game of your life type of performance.

I think that the Steelers can keep Sproles under control in the running game, but their special teams is often nothing special. I hope they can keep that under control. Add to this Roethlisberger’s concussion and Parker’s injuries, and the Steelers look vulnerable. But I think the Steelers will do fine even if they have to play Byron Leftwich and Mwelde Moore. These two are more than capable backups and will answer the bell with quality play if needed.

San Diego has come on strong, reeling off five consecutive wins – against some underwhelming competition. Tampa Bay choked big time down the stretch and Denver, as I mentioned gleefully before, blew their playoff chances by losing by 31 points.

Their three games prior to that? Losses, all three times – To Pittsburgh, Atlanta…and Indianapolis. So the Chargers paid the Colts back, didn’t they? Perhaps they’re thinking that they owe the Steelers, now too?

Well, 14 years of hate trumps seven weeks of hate. Realistically, I feel that the Steelers should have this thing wrapped up by the middle of the third quarter. However, that is not the Steelers way. As I have watched this gallant – and heroically flawed – team over the years, the one thing that carried over from the Cowher era to the Tomlin era is the team’s seeming inability to put their foot on an opponent’s throat and let the blood flow.

I’ve seen enough 20-13, 17-13, 27-20, 24-20, etc. games in the past 17 years to last me a lifetime. When the rare blowout occurs, it’s great. But – don’t go to sleep on a Steelers game. You pretty much have to watch the whole damn thing to make sure they’ve wrapped it up.

I’m going to go out on a limb. My pick: Steelers 23, Chargers 9. That’s about as close to a blowout as you’re likely to see from the Steelers.

Unlike Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, I am looking ahead. And I will mention here that I am root, root, rooting for Tennessee in the other game. The Chargers aren’t the only team that should feel like it owes someone payback. Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher can say that his players stomping on the Terrible Towel doesn’t mean anything, and, in reality, he’s right. But, football players aren’t like non-football folk. They often need motivation and bulletin board material. And I know that towels and such don’t win games. But it’s the principle of the thing.

Here we go, Steelers! Here we go! Luv Ya Black N’ Gold!

Praise whatever god you fancy, the weekend is finally here. All the conversation ends and the games begin. Whew! Since I’ve spent the better part of the week listening to Eagles and Giants fans mouth off about this game, I figured it was time I put my thoughts out there.

Eagles at Giants

As I said, I’ve heard so much about this game, you’d think it WAS the Super Bowl. As it is, it’s a real tasty appetizer for the big game.

Giants fans drone on about their consistency, their defense and the fact that they are the defending Super Bowl champs. Brandon Jacobs is back in the lineup, so the Eagles are toast. Earth, Wind and Fire will take the Eagles D by storm, and that’s that.

Eagles fans drone on about the last six games – with the 44-6 Dallas drubbing and the Playoff win over Minnesota taking center stage. There’s rhetoric about Donovan McNabb having something to prove since he was benched. Then there’s the beards.

But this is one of those divisional games. The Eagles lost at home to the Giants. The Giants lost at home to the Eagles. That won’t happen again, say Giants fans. Both teams downplay the negative aspects of their situations.

For the Giants, fuggedabout the loss to the Browns (35-14? yikes!) and the close shave with the Bengals (overtime?). Forget about Plaxico Burress and his excellent marksmanship. Forget about the listless losses down the stretch, including a loss to the Eagles, the fading Cowboys and the Vikings, a team that the Eagles just dispatched.

For the Eagles, pay no mind to the maddeningly inconsistency of the season – weak losses to Chicago and Washington, a tie against the Bengals and a nearly crushing, boring 10-3 loss to the roadkill ‘Skins in a must-win game. And forget about all this pass-run ratio nonsense. All is well.

So here it is. In the first Eagles/Giants game, ESPN.com’s Matt Mosley called it this way: “If there’s such a thing as a dominant narrow win, that’s what we witnessed Sunday night.” A dominant narrow win. In a 36-31 game that ended on a failed Eagles 4th-and-1 attempt. I don’t see any domination in that score.

Let’s check the stats:

Manning: 17 of 31 for 191 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
McNabb: 17 of 36 for 194 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

Pretty even there. Jacobs had 126 yards rushing and two scores, for which the Eagles had no answer. The Eagles had 106 yards rushing total that day. The Eagles had one sack, the Giants none. For the most part, the stats are about even, with a slight edge to the Giants for their superior rushing totals. And after all this, it was a five point game that could have gone either way.

Matchup number two, in Philadelphia ended 20-14, but it wasn’t really that close. The Giants scored a TD in garbage time, a 1-yard TD catch from Eli Manning to Darcy Johnson with 15 seconds left.

McNabb passed for 191 yards this time, and had a TD pass and no picks. Manning had 123 yards passing, a TD pass and no picks. The difference here was All-Eagle Brian Westbrook’s 131 yards, 30-yard touchdown run and 40-yard touchdown reception. Jacobs had 52 yards on the ground and no TDs. Amazingly, neither team had a sack. Surprising for two teams with such stout defenses.

It all looks pretty even to me. But all of that means nothing. Last year’s Super Bowl win means nothing. The last six games mean nothing. Last week’s playoff win means nothing.

As always, it comes down to this: These teams know each other very well, and it will probably come down to who has the ball last. For both teams – if the defenses plays come out with their usual excellent performances and the offenses avoid turnovers and dumb mistakes, then the game is won. This could be a 6-3 game, but I am thinking that these two teams will really want to pound the snot out of each other.

Given probable weather conditions – cold and windy – the passing games should be a bit subdued. Westbrook versus Brandon Jacobs should take center stage. The defenses both know this – and they welcome the challenge. But then….Andy Reid usually can’t resist scratching that passing itch….

The pick: Eagles 26, Giants 17.

I just think that the Eagles have been playing better late in the season and they haven’t had a break. The Giants have been resting, and sometimes that layoff can carry over. Add to this the fact that I suspect that the Giants feel that they will win this game easily and are looking to see who they’ll face the following week. I think the Eagles feel that they are just not finished yet. And I don’t think they are either.

Homeristic? You bet. And what’s wrong with that? E-A-G-L-E-S. Eagles!