The weather outside is ridiculous. Not only is it frigidly cold, but it is grey and cloudy and miserable, and the big blizzard that was predicted for Thursday never actually materialized. Despite the lack of snow (it snowed so little that I actually drove to school on Thursday, and I have a policy of not driving on ice or snow since I would end up sliding off the road into a telephone pole), many local schools closed the night before. This fact was pointed out by the local radio stations, who took quite a bit of glee in trashing the school systems. They would have a field day in Georgia, where they were known to close schools if it was cold outside. All except The Walker School of course, my alma mater, which would not close if the Earth were sent into another ice age.

Anyway, tomorrow is Conference Championship day in the NFL. Here are my picks:

TEN at OAK: OAK. The Titans have managed to fake their way into this game despite not being very good. The ride ends here guys, not that anyone in Nashville will actually care. It's funny how the teams with the worst fan support (Atlanta, Carolina, Tennessee) are all firmly located in the south, where people would apparently much rather watch autmobiles drive around in circles or steroid-laden men grope each other in a scripted fashion.

TB at PHI: PHI. I know I'm picking both favorites, and the Bucs tempted me in this game by scoring a lot of points last week, but anybody can score points against Mike Rumph and the 49ers. This game may be a defensive showdown between the #1 and #2 defenses in the league, but the real ones to watch in this game are the Philly fans, who know that this is the last game in Veterans Stadium. If the Eagles start losing (or winning), you could see seats flying onto the field and other assorted hooliganism.