Loyal readers of The Sports Blog - how's it going, Dad! - had the benefit of my wisdom a week ago, when I correctly predicted all four NFL divisional playoff games.

So, SportsCenter, if you're asking for the millionth time if anyone could have guessed that the Manning brother who would be playing this weekend would be Eli, and not Peyton, the answer is yes. I did.

And I fully expect to be right again this week. It's all about confidence.

The picks:

 42  27

The above-illustrated Tom Brady, as smug as he is, comes off as the nice guy in his matchup with Philip Rivers, who has turned into a harmless and non-threatening but supremely irritating jerk, kind of like this. I can't bring myself to root for either one. But there are a whole lot of decent, hard-working players that are easy to root for on both sides of the ball, except for the Patriots' side of the ball. Truth is, it doesn't matter. We could all hoot and heckle the Patriots from now until kickoff and they'll still do what they do. They're going to win, and we all know it.

 24  23

I don't expect Brett Favre to get a whole lot of clean throws off against the Giants' ridiculous pass rush. You might counter that improvisation is Favre's strength as a QB. To that, I would say it's also when he tosses his patented jump balls, the throws that remind me of those games we played in school where nobody knew how to punt competently so we just threw the ball for the opening kickoff. The Giants will pick a couple of those off. Meanwhile, I see the weather as a useful crutch for Manning - it should scare him enough that he decides against the riskier passes he so often turns into INTs. I think the weather keeps Eli restrained and makes Favre go nutso, just enough to let the Giants prove for the second time in a month that they can avoid embarrassing themselves against New England.

Super Bowl pick remains Patriots over Giants.