The NFL is dead. Long live the National Flag League.

Ohhhhh woe is me! I don't even know what that means but it sounds suitably dramatic, much like the problems I've had getting my computer, my Internet and then Blogger to try and work in harmony lately. Finally the planets have aligned and I'm back. For now. I've also given up the ridiculous notion of trying to pick winners in football games, as my Divisional round picks went 0-4 and my Championship picks stumbled abruptly at 0-2. There are several reasons for this, chief among them being the lack of coaching consistency when it comes to planning and calling games (Ravens; threw just 10 passes against the Patriots then went on a pass frenzy versus the Colts) and the suspicious state of NFL officiating in Colts games (someone should really point out that 'rub' plays count as an 'illegal pick', which constitutes offensive pass interference). And so we skip forward to the present and the Colts will now take on the Saints in the Superbowl. It's a shame, I had hoped Rex Ryan and co would pull off the fairy tale story, but sadly they forgot that while Mark Sanchez is pretty good, he's still not as good as his hype, therefore asking him to throw 30 times a game is a little ambitious at this stage. I've not had the chance to check the highlights of the Saints/Vikings game so I can't really comment on that, except that is disappointing not to see old man Christmas, a.k.a Brett Favre, in the 'Bowl one last time. So who do I want to win the big one? Well, despite a season of moaning and complaining about their hype, I would actually like to see the Saints win. Why? Basically because I don't want the Colts to. Why? Because that's who the NFL wants to win, presumably so they can flog more tickets etc and proclaim the NFL as the greatest sports spectacle on earth. How do we know the NFL is backing the Colts? Well we don't, not for certain. But I must admit they have a mighty impressive record of charming officials to their cause. Their receivers get tapped, it's defensive pass interference. Their receivers bundle people off the ball and obstruct the coverage guys and that seems to be fine. All this leads me to believe that strings are being pulled somewhere. If one group of officials let it go, I could just about handle that. You could argue that they have a higher tolerance than others for it and that they'll call it right next time. But week after week? It just seems that anytime the Colts are stumbling, usually against a well organised and orchestrated D like the Jets, they just dial up the 'pick' play or else chuck the ball long, make a bit of contact with a defender and then hit the turf and wait knowingly for the the yellow flag. (and for god sake don't e-mail me moaning about Screen plays, I can tell the difference thank you). The reality is the Colts don't deserve their spot, in the same way that the Cardinals didn't deserve to beat the Packers after manipulating the rules and officials to their advantage (points the finger at Larry Fitzgerald). It's a sham. And that's why I hope to god the Saints roll the Colts over in Miami, and why I'm almost certain that the Colts will win. The NFL is dead. Long live the National Flag League.