I have more to say about the iPhone, but all I can think about today is the Patriots game so straight to the picks we go.

NO at CHI: If this were Week 10 or so, I wouldn't hesitate to pick the Bears, but lately their run defense has done a striking impression of the Colts. The Saints have the advantage at all offensive skill positions, and the Bears defense just isn't what it used to be. As much as I hate to pick a dome team on the road in the cold in the playoffs, unless there is a torrential blizzard I just don't see the Bears' brand of boring football winning this game. NO

NE at IND: Lost in all the hoopla (and there has been plenty) is the fact that while Indy is a team built for the dome, the Patriots are equally good indoors. The last few times they've played at Indianapolis they've put up about 40 points per game. The Pats definitely struggle against faster defenses, but look for Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson, their two fastest players, to come up big in this game. And I don't buy at all that the Colts defense has magically become better in the playoffs after being historically one of the worst defenses of all time during the regular season. I think Peyton Manning will play better than he usually does in the playoffs against the Pats just because their defense is, as Bill Simmons put it, "slower than a dial-up modem connection". But I don't think the Colts can stop the Patriots either, and when the pressure is on in the 4th quarter Brady always wins. NE in a shootout

To answer Lucas's question, the NFL playoff picks are as official as the NFL playoff games in that it doesn't matter who picks the most games correct during the season. The winner is the one who picks the Super Bowl correctly (unless I catch up to Lucas or Brian before then).

IND at BAL: The talking heads are all predicting a Ravens victory, the Ravens spent all week talking trash, and Brian Billick brought his smugness to the set of PTI this week, all of which seem to point to a Colts upset. But if you saw Peyton Manning throw 3 picks and struggle to beat a very poor Chiefs team that didn't even belong in the playoffs, you just kind of know the outcome. BAL

PHI at NO: I'm just not quite sold on the Saints. You have a franchise with absolutely zero history of playoff success against a team that not too long ago got to the NFC championship game 4 years in a row. I know they're at home and I know they've had a bye, but they haven't played a meaningful game in a month. Upset Special. PHI

SEA at CHI: Speaking of teams that don't belong in the playoffs, it's the underachieving Seahawks. I wonder how Deion Branch feels being the 3rd or 4th receiver catching passes from Seneca Wallace half the season instead of the star in New England? Meanwhile the Bears will get the usual mediocre performance from Rex Grossman that would be enough to lose against any other team. CHI

NE at SD: Ah yes, it's the unstoppable force against the occasionally less-movable object. The Pats can usually shut down the one-dimensional teams and force them to play to their weaknesses, but I'm not sure they can come up with a gameplan to stop LaDainian Tomlinson. They have a bad recent history against San Diego (not as bad as their history against Denver, but bad enough to scare me), and even a heavy dose of Martyball (run after run after run) may be enough to win. SD

In case you missed it, Apple finally officially announced the iPhone this week (name pending predicted lawsuit). Keeping in mind I'm flagrantly anti-Apple and anti-cell phone, here's my rundown of the iPhone feature set:

Dimensions (2.4 inches wide, 4.5 inches tall, .46 inches thick): This is more a complaint with the industry than with Apple in particular, but I can't get excited about talking into something that is, essentially, twice as wide as the cell phone I currently have. Phones (cell, cordless, and traditional) have been between 1.5 and 2 inches wide for my entire lifetime. This size naturally fits your hand and your ear. Talking into a cell phone/PDA combo (iPhone included) is like talking into a brick. It's even wider than Zack Morris' famous walkie talkie from Saved By the Bell! Impression: Slightly Negative

Screen (480x320 pixel touch screen): In all the mockup photos I've seen, the screen looks gorgeous. The no-stylus touchscreen is a nice touch, and it sure beats the tiny tiny keypads or tiny tiny stylii on PDAs. One thing that makes me nervous is the common drawback of all touchscreens: my greasy fingers are touching the thing that I'm also supposed to be viewing pictures on. And based on the iPod's predisposition to being scratched, it remains to be seen if Apple can manufacture a screen that is robust enough for both touching and viewing. Impression: Slightly positive, for now

Battery Life (5 hours of talk/video, 16 hours of music): I believe this is pretty standard for portable devices. Nothing really out of the ordinary here. Impression: Neutral

Phone Functionality (Cingular plan): I was really hoping that Apple would break the mold of the phone+plan lock-in, although considering the success of their iPod+iTunes lock-in I'm not sure why. Instead, I'm dismayed to see that the phone requires a 2 year service agreement with Cingular. It seems that a hardware manufacturer with the clout of Apple would be able to force the voice providers to play their game rather than vice-versa, or even to support a free plan like Skype. Impression: Negative

Music Player Functionality (iTunes integration): It interfaces with iTunes, which is good, and the large album art is a welcome addition (although I find that my iPod's album art support is spotty at best). The biggest drawback here is that the limited storage space (4GB or 8GB) isn't big enough for my entire music collection, so this would presumably not replace a user's iPod (good news for Apple shareholders). Impression: Neutral

Video Player Functionality: The wide screen gives this a more pleasant experience than the current iPod with video, but again the limited storage space severely hinders the device's use as a real portable video player. Impression: Slightly Negative

Digital Camera Functionality (2 megapixels): A 2 megapixel digital camera is so 5 years ago. I'm not sure who the target market is for this or why phone manufacturers continue to shove underpowered, poor-quality cameras into their phones. Impression: Extremely Negative

Web Browsing/Email Functionality: The larger screen will really be a benefit for web browsing, and the integration with Google maps seems slick. I'm not sure why they chose to partner with Yahoo mail since the rest of the free world seems to prefer Google Gmail, so hopefully other clients will be supported. Impression: Positive

Overall: While I'm sure it will be extremely overhyped between now and June, to me it just seems like another cell phone. As with most Apple products it seems well designed, and I'm assuming the UI will be as natural and functional as the iPod clickwheel, but the reliance on a Cingular plan, limited storage space, and high price tag will limit sales, especially for the "first generation" while consumers who have been trained by Apple to wait until the inevitable later-generation hardware improvements do just that.

Honestly, there will be no one device to rule them all until there is one device that does everything well. This seems like a quality web device and phone but only a decent music and video player and a cover-your-eyes awful camera. I don't see anyone being able to replace carrying around a phone, iPod, and digital camera except those with small music collections, no movie collections, and no desire to take good pictures. Aren't there already gadgets out there that fit this description?

I have a guest in town this weekend, so abbreviated playoff picks:

KC at IND: Everyone is predicting that Larry Johnson will run roughshod through the Colts line, but they seem to be missing one thing. When the Chiefs' won last weekend, they thought their season was over. Psychologically they probably all, to some extent, shut it off for a few hours. It's hard to go from that state to go-go-go again, especially on the road against a superior team. IND

DAL at SEA: The Cowboys have really fallen apart since they knew they'd be in the playoffs, and Tony Romo has looked atrocious. Lost in all this is the fact that they really have no running game except Marion Barber on the goal line. The Seahawks may have had a disappointing year, but they should be able to squeak by Dallas. SEA

NYJ at NE: I'm just ecstatic that the Patriots don't have to play the Broncos this week. NE

NYG at PHI: On one hand, Tiki Barber may turn it on to try to finish his career with a championship. On the other hand, he may have one foot in the announcing booth. And on the third hand, it's Eli Manning! PHI