Just North of Wrigley Field

posted by James - 11:07 PM

"Seahawks Disease"... who will catch it next?

Will it be the New England Patriots? (Beat Seattle in Week 6.)

You'd hope two championships in three years would be enough of a vaccination (if such a thing exists).

Will it be the Atlanta Falcons? (Lost to the 'Hawks in Week 17.)

Other than the Patriots putting a whuppin' on the hapless, headless Indianapolis Colts (Coach Tony Dungy lost a lot of points with me last weekend), no team impressed me more going into the Championship Round than the Falcons.

Both the Patriots and the Falcons have something in common... they both came in contact with six "potential carriers" of Seahawks Disease this season.

This could mean they're going to start showing symptoms OR it could mean they have built up a tolerance by now that neither the Philadelphia Eagles or Pittsburgh Steelers will have the immune system to fight off.

Either way, I don't see Atlanta being affected by the most caustic symptoms of this affliction: Stone-Handed receivers. Even if their wideouts don't catch a single pass, they're still dangerous as long as QB Michael Vick and RB Warrick Dunn can brave the harsh climates on the field and in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Patriots, however, do need their wide receivers to be productive to keep the Steelers' defense off of Tom Brady, open up alleys for Corey Dillon (GO HUSKY DAWGS!!!) to run and keep their defense off the field and out from under the tires of Jerome "the Bus" Bettis.

While I'm shocked Pittsburgh is the underdog in the AFC Championship at their home field after a 15-1 season, you get that respect when you're the defending Super Bowl Champions.

After the way Pittsburgh beat the Jets last week, is there anyway this game doesn't come down to a Field Goal with no time left on the clock?

And last time I checked, "Seahawks Disease" doesn't affect kickers.

Predictions: Patriots 34, Steelers 33. Falcons 37, Eagles 24.

Falcons vs Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIV in Jacksonville, Fla.

...but shouldn't Seahawks fans like Dave and Skippy hope not that there's a cure for "Seahawks Disease", but that they've grown immune (like that little monkey in the movie Outbreak that miraculously got better) and will therefore be virile and healthy while other teams find out what a wasted season looks like?

Because I haven't talked about the Cubs in a while, I'll finish with this.

The Cubs are taking the names off the backs of their home jerseys. I'm ok with this, but without the names and an up-to-the-minute scorecard, how the heck am I gonna know who's playing leftfield?

I mean... Kelton, Dubois, Hollandsworth... WHO ARE THESE PLAYERS?

OK... Seinfeld, I'm not. But tip your waitresses anyway.