E.K. NATION

We're still a few days away from the Super Bowl, but I don't need to wait any longer to get my pick in.

Much has been said about the matchup between Arizona's offense and Pittsburgh's defense. Forget about that, though. What is glaring is that the Cardinals' defense allowed more points during the regular season than anybody except the Lions, Rams, Chiefs and Broncos, the first three of which combined for 4 wins and 44 losses this year. Even with Pittsburgh's close-to-average point-scoring offense, that's a sure sign of trouble for the Cardinals.

There's been some discord in Arizona, namely with Anquan Boldin's hissy fit. The Cards don't need that kind of distraction. Meanwhile, the Steelers pretty much seem to have their act together. Another advantage for Pittsburgh. Also, the Steelers just won a Super Bowl three years ago with the same QB and most of the same major players. If experience in the big game counts for anything, that's another boost for the Steelers. And compare the two franchises: For what it's worth, the Steelers have been one of the few franchises that can make a claim to the title of the Class of the NFL. And the Cardinals have, well, sucked, pretty much their entire existence. If that means anything, it's the Steelers in a rout.

Only one other team has gone 9-7 during the regular season and advanced to the Super Bowl -- the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, who wound up losing to...the Steelers. If coincidences mean anything, there's another step up for Pitt.

And here's one stat that I did some research on. Out of all the instances where one team was making its first Super Bowl appearance while the other franchise had been there previously (didn't matter when, just at any time in the past), the team making its debut has won just four of 18 Super Bowls (in case you are wondering, it's the 2002 Buccaneers, the 2000 Ravens, the 1986 Giants, and the 1974 Steelers who won those debuts). Four and 14. That's a 28.6% winning percentage. Not too strong.

I've been right on four of the last five Super Bowls, and I'm feeling good about making it five out of six this year. It just all points to Pittsburgh wrapping it up early. They're favored by seven at the moment; I say be happy it's only that many and lay the points, easy. Yes, take Pittsburgh and by halftime you'll feel pretty good about it. The final score will be Pittsburgh 42, Arizona 18.

Well, I was going to say take Arizona and Baltimore yesterday, so I would have gone 1-1. But I never made it official here, so my record for 2008 remains at 3-3. Tonight we have a couple of NBA games on the board: Go ahead and take the points with the Cavaliers (+5) at Staples against the Lakers, and lay the points with the Blazers (-6) at home against Milwaukee.

For entertainment purposes only, go with Florida tonight and lay the six points.

For the weekend's NFL action, lay the points with Carolina (-10) and Tennessee (-3) and grab the points with the Chargers (+6) and Philadelphia (+4).

Basketball bonus tonight: Grab the 8 points you'll get by taking the Knicks tonight against Dallas.

In two days the NFL playoffs begin, without the New England Patriots but with the 8-8 San Diego Chargers. Really? Does anyone think the playoffs will be more interesting with a .500 team in there? Something's gotta be done. But hey, can't fault the Bolts; they did all that was necessary to get there. And I think justice was served: San Diego was jobbed out of a win against Denver in Week 2 and that would have bit them reeeeeal hard if they'd lost to the Broncos on Sunday night.

AFC Playoffs: Well, we have Indianapolis at 12-4 going to San Diego to play the Chargers. The Colts really should be able to take care of this one. And Baltimore goes to Miami to play the Dolphins, who won all of one game last season. I just have a feeling about the Dolphins in this one.

In the next round, it would be the Colts at Tennessee and Miami at Pittsburgh. Have the Titans really been a Super Bowl caliber team this year? It just doesn't seem like it, does it? The Colts did just beat Tennessee 31-0 this week, but it was a meaningless game. Nevertheless, I think the Colts have played really well for over two months -- they haven't lost since October, when they fell 31-21 to...the Titans. Hmmmm. I still like Indianapolis. And assuming Ben Roethlisberger is back from that concussion in Week 17, I like the Steelers to defeat Miami.

Which takes us to the AFC Championship game. I have it as being Indianapolis at Pittsburgh. Both teams have played extremely well recently and this one would be a good game. As you can tell I'm not too big on analysis, just predictions, so: the Colts win it, 31-28.

NFC Playoffs: The first round has Atlanta playing at Arizona. As might prove to be troublesome for Baltimore, I think having a rookie quarterback might not be good for a playoff run. Matt Ryan's been outstanding for the Falcons this year, making everyone say Michael Who?, but Kurt Warner has two Super Bowl appearances and two MVP awards. It's going to be tough to shake that experience. The Cardinals win this one, although you could call it an upset. Philadelphia travels to Minnesota in the other game, and I just like the way the Philly fought to get into the playoffs. Granted, if either the Bears or Buccaneers had won on Sunday we wouldn't be discussing the Eagles; they've been a bit fortunate. But they demolished Dallas 44-6 (did you laugh hysterically the way I did when Dallas kicked a field goal trailing 44-3?) and things look strong for them. I'm going with Philly.

In round two it would be Philadelphia at Giants Stadium to take on New York, and Arizona would play Carolina. Carolina's gonna win that one. And the Giants-Eagles game promises to be another good one. I just think home field advantage will win out here, sending the Giants to the NFC Championship.

The Panthers and Giants played a great game in Week 16, taking it to overtime where New York came away the winner. But it's always tought to beat a team in the playoffs after you've beaten them in the regular season. Why would I lean towards the Giants? Well, here's a thought: if the Giants play the Colts in the Super Bowl, it would not only be a matchup of the last two Super Bowl champions, but it would also feature a matchup of brothers at quarterback. Plus, it's the 50th anniversary of the classic Giants-Colts overtime playoff game that propelled the NFL to major status. Could there possibly be any matchup greater than this one, given these two factors? Well, let's not forget about Carolina. I think they showed they can hang with the Giants. Panthers win, 17-14.

Super Bowl XLIII: So I'm going with the Indianapolis Colts and the Carolina Panthers in the 43rd Super Bowl. Again: No analysis, just a prediction. I'll be sure to revise once we actually get to the big game if I need to, but for now, I'm saying the Carolina Panthers will win the Super Bowl 35-23.

I don't really have a name for these awards. Maybe that's because I haven't given out too many of them. Usually it's been just "Man of the Year" but I'm expanding it a bit this time. The Ekies? Meh. I dunno. Maybe a name will stick.

MAN OF THE YEAR: It would be obvious to say Barack Obama, but we’ll cover that elsewhere here. Tina Fey has that great show, 30 Rock, and once she returned to Saturday Night Live with the Sarah Palin thing, which is one of the greatest takes on a celebrity any SNL performer has ever undertaken, she pretty much wrapped this award up. (I know, she’s not a man, but “Man of the Year” what the award is called on this blog, and I shall insist that “man” in this case now refers to “a member, or members, of mankind.”)

GAME OF THE YEAR: I’m gonna have to go with Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots were trying to finish off the first 19-0 season in NFL history, but the upstart Giants, who finished the regular season at 10-6, pulled off the 17-14 upset in the closing seconds.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Michael Phelps takes this one, not just for winning all those gold medals but because swimming is hard. Sounds silly to say, right? Well, a bunch of friends and I went to Lake Shasta for a week a few years back, and we all jumped in the water and swam around, and after about 30 seconds of swimming, I was dead tired. It’s not an easy thing to do. Michael Phelps is amazing.

TEAM OF THE YEAR: What say we give this one to the Tampa Bay Rays? This once sad franchise turned it all around with a young cast and surprised everyone with a trip to the World Series. I liked the story of these guys.

PLAY OF THE YEAR: Getting back to the Super Bowl for a moment. The Giants were nearly dead in the water late in the game, but Eli Manning’s amazing escape from a possible sack and then his toss downfield where David Tyree clutched the ball against his helmet as he fell sprawling to the turf, on fourth down no less, turned the game around and became the most important play in Super Bowl history. That was a long sentence and might be a little convoluted; I apologize.

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR: Arrested Development, hands down. I mean, it’s still a TV show, right? It was cancelled in 2005, but it’s still a show that exists, and it’s the best show ever created by human beings. So it counts.

All right, all right, if we’re talking about shows that actually were in production in 2008, for me it has to be Jeopardy!. I know, I know, it’s a game show. But I found myself watching iepisode after episode, as I usually do. It’s a simple yet classy show.

FOOD OF THE YEAR: Pizza. Mmmmmmmm. Always good.

STORY OF THE YEAR: Here’s where we refer to Obama. A black man was elected president of the United States. Even if you don’t agree with his politics, as an American you pretty much have to feel good about this turning point in history.