what Leroy Butler said...

...if the referees call the game right, Minnesota’s in the Super Bowl because they can kick a field goal from - like the 35, Sparky, instead of the 50…I think Brett Favre and Minnesota got an unfair shake. They did not throw the flags and I wanna know why, in the 2009 investigation, what did the referee – what was his comment. He was standing right there – Brett went to him and told him, 'Look man, they’re hitting me', and the ref said, ‘I gotcha, I gotcha, I gotcha’. They hit him (Favre) 3 more times during the stretch of that and was it worth it? Was all this worth it?...

- Leroy Butler, former Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packer on ESPN's 1250AM The Big Show in Milwaukee, commenting on the 2009 NFC Championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orlean Saints during a discussion on "Bountygate". NO beat MN in OT and went on to win the SB. Funny though - I don't recall any of the guys on The Big Show talking like this when it happened three years ago.

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Jedi prayer, goats & another goat...Gregg Williams.

Gregg Williams is the former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator. I've always been creeped out by him and my intuition is very accurate. So Williams leaves the Saints in January for the same position with the St. Louis Rams and suddenly the NFL releases a 50,000 page report based on an investigation that Williams offered "bounties" (monies) to his defensive players while at New Orleans to "take out" players from opposing teams. Hmmmmm....coincidence?

Remember the NFC Championship game two years ago? With Brett Favre at the helm of the Minnesota Vikings, the Saints beat Minnesota in OT and went on to win the Super Bowl. Favre got the shit kicked out of him most of the game - one penalty was called, at least one penalty wasn't called that the refs admitted afterwards that they missed and there were at least a half dozen other calls that should've been penalties as well. I mean, even a blind man could see Favre looked like an ultimate fighter contestant on the field rather than a quarterback in the NFL - a league that "says" it makes it a priority to "protect" it's QB's.

Here's the story with more details. Williams has issued an apology...but he can fuck himself. Head Coach Sean Payton apparently knew about it so he can fuck himself too. So did the GM and owner. Fucker's 3 & 4. Still waiting to hear how the NFL will come down on Williams, the coaching staff of the Saints and its players. So basically the whole team can fuck itself. Word is that the penalties will be harsh.

So for all of you fans who knew the Saints were playing dirty in that NFC Championship game but whose cries fell on deaf ears, our time has come. This jedi prayer from "The Men Who Stare at Goats" is for you. 

"Mother Earth, you are my life support system. As a soldier I will drink your blue water, live inside your red clay and eat your green skin. Help me to balance myself as you hold and balance the Earth, the sea and the space environments. Help me to open my heart knowing the universe will feed me. I pray my boots will always kiss your face and my footsteps match your heartbeat. Carry my body through space and time. You are my connection to the universe and all that comes after. I am yours and you are mine. I salute you...oh, and Gregg Williams is a cunt."

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Vikes hand NFC Championship to 'Aints in OT, 31-28. Come back, Brett!!

I think I've calmed down enough to rehash snapshots of the Viking loss in OT to the Saints in the NFC Championship game last Sunday. I think. Maybe not. We'll see.

I can't begin to explain the emotional ups and downs my family went through watching the Minnesota Vikings "fumble" away their chance to go to the Super Bowl. You don't have to be a Viking fan or a Brett Favre fan to understand our pain. Any ole NFL fan will do. I've never sweat so hard. Never wished so hard. But the fat lady sang - Favre's INT in the last seconds of regular play prolonged the game, sending it into OT. The Saints won the toss and sealed Minnesota's fate with a first possession field goal. Favre's INT...an ill-advised pass (in our minds, at least). But if I sat here and blamed Favre solely for the loss, I'd be contradicting the adage "there's no 'I' in 'TEAM'. And certainly if you watched the game, you'd agree that the 6 Viking fumbles hurt beyond description (two were in the Saints' red zone). It was as if none of the Vikes had ever touched a football. Ever.

I've never seen a quarterback literally get the shit beat out of him as Favre did that day. Favre was never sacked. He suffered two hurt wrists, two hurt ankles, a hurt leg and a bruised head and face and yet he marched on. Had I not known better, I would've thought I was viewing a no-holds-barred, Ultimate Fighter match. The Saints' defense made it a point to get after Favre (which any defense should), even if it meant accruing a 15-yard roughing the passer call - a fact readily admitted by the Saints defensive coach Gregg Williams this week while preparing his team to meet Peyton Manning's Colts in Super Bowl 44 next weekend. One roughing-the-passer penalty was called against New Orleans. And the refs admitted at least one more should've been called, a hit on Favre that resulted in his first INT. Had the refs called a roughing-the-passer penalty as they stated they should have, the penalty would have resulted in a Vikings' first down at the Saints' 19 yard line.

There were other so-called "missed calls" by the refs, a few my brother and I (and fans of both team and the media) whole-heartily agree the refs missed. But refs miss calls every game. To be a champion you have to overcome them. As I mentioned earlier, the Vikings beat themselves with turnovers. They handed the NFC Championship to New Orleans and most snippets I've read and people I've discussed this with agree.

All that aside, it was a helluva game and I take my hat off to the Saints. Highest rated NFC Championship since 1982, one in which both teams' fans surely suffered self-induced heart attacks and ulcers throughout the 3+ hours. You needn't be a Viking fan, a Favre or Drew Brees fan or a Saints' fan to agree with that statement. I know a couple Saints' fans. They concur.

Enough about the game. Time for that age-old question. Will Favre come back? I'll let the anti-Favre contingent and the media and Vikings' fans juggle that question in the off-season. You'd think the morons would've caught on by now but they're mental. I've learned that Brett will let us know when he's ready - perhaps changing his mind in the process. It doesn't bother me in the least and, surprisingly, my life continues.

I want Favre back. Favre's brother, Scott, seems to think Brett will come back. Ex-QB Ron Jaworski and ex-coach John Gruden feel Favre should come back. Pat Allen, the radio voice of the Vikings, said on WSSP 1250 ESPN in Milwaukee that he thinks Favre will come back and that even if Brett waited to announce his decision one day before the regular season started, he'd personally pick Favre up at the airport. At least two Facebook fan sites have popped up with over 65,000 fans begging Favre to return. The Minnesota Vikings' staff and management want him back and have said he can take all the time he needs to make his decision. And the players want him back. The schism that ESPN's Adam Schefter reported earlier in the season (based on unnamed sources) never got off the ground (if it even existed). Ex-Viking QB Fran Tarkenton is still pissed at Favre for coming back; the anti-Favre contingent in Wisconsin still hate Favre, as does most of the Wisconsin media, and yet they continue to talk about him like he's still a member of the Green Bay Packer organization. Favre and the Vikings have set at least two cable viewing records, his jersey is still the Number 1 seller and Favre is good for the NFL. And dozens of sports "talking heads" in newspapers, television and the Internet choked on their own words, agreeing Favre performed the exact opposite of how they said he'd perform. They were all wrong - Brett excelled.

My brother and I were right. Our faith in Favre never faltered. Brett showed he can still play the game at a high level. He still gets as excited playing as he did in his younger years as a Green Bay Packer. Favre helped to improve the Vikings' record from 10-6 and a playoff team last year to 12-4, a second NFC North Division title, a bye in the playoffs and another win against the Dallas Cowboys and a chance to play in the NFC Championship game - his second in three years. Along the way, he added to his many records, set Minnesota Viking team records, had his best year statistically in his 19-year career, positively affected the play of numerous Viking players - players who genuinely admire him and are better because of him. Conversely, Brett could say the same of his teammates. And Brett and the Vikings had fun. No - the Vikings didn't win the Super Bowl with Favre as the missing ingredient. Was it a bust? Depends on how you look at it.

For me, it was no bust. It was certainly one of my favorite years following Brett, particularly being a Viking fan for the first time. Favre or no Favre, I will be following Minnesota again next season. I'm familiar with the players; I like them. A ton of talent on this team.

And the Gunslinger, the Ironman, Huck Finn, the throwback player and holder of every NFL QB record that matters, who has played 309 consecutive games (including playoffs) over 19 years...well, he's at home licking his wounds (as Coach Childress told him to do) and pondering his future with his wife and children.

Thanks, Brett. Come on back, now! You know you still wanna play. SKOL FAVRE! SKOL VIKINGS! SEE YOU IN 2010!

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SKOL VIKINGS!!!! NFC Championship Bound!

Unlike the Packers, Dallas, the Jets or San Diego, for instance, I have no personal animosity toward the New Orleans Saints. As a Minnesota Viking and Brett Favre fan, and in the spirit of the competitive nature of the NFC Championships, I simply want the Vikes to stuff gumbo down the throats of "Who-Dat" nation. Great season, Minnesota. Know let's continue the march toward the Super Bowl. SKOOOOLLLLLL!

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Bradshaw needs to shut his pie hole.

In today's USA Today, Fox analyst and ex-Steeler QB Terry Bradshaw stated that Vikings QB Brett Favre wants to "embarrass them, put it in their face. And nothing would throw it in their face more than winning the Super Bowl."

Bradshaw commented in Week 1 that he was "fed up" with Favre, weeks after the QB ended his second retirement to join the Vikings. Two months later, the Vikings were riding a wave of success that led to an NFC North title...and Bradshaw acknowledged his criticism was wrong.

The sports media needs to shut up when it comes to speaking for any athlete, including Brett Favre. I don't doubt that Favre has a chip on his shoulder concerning his former team. So would I. And sure Favre said part of his thinking - when he played for the Jets last season - was to get back at Packer GM Ted Thompson....NOT the Packers. Ted Thompson - in part. Who wouldn't after that fiasco? But he never made any comment remotely resembling the one from last season THIS year. And if you think that's Brett's prime motivation for joining the Vikings and aspiring to go the Super Bowl, it's my opinion that you're dead wrong. And I'm right...because NO ONE really knows for certain what ANYBODY's thinking.

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"I'll see your Electric Fetus CDs & raise you a King Cake!"

It's customary for mayors (perhaps governors) of opposing teams in big NFL games to make bets - losing team's mayor has to give up the goods to the winning team's mayor. For the NFC Championship game this Sunday in New Orleans, it's the Minnesota Vikings versus the New Orleans Saints - or Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak versus New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Rybak wagered three CDs of Minneapolis music from the independent Minneapolis Music store The Electric Fetus. Mayor Nagin's wager also includes three CDs of New Orleans music AND beignet mix and chicory coffee from Café du Monde, pralines from Loretta's Pralines, a king cake from Adrian's Bakery, Zatarain's products, and paraphernalia from the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club and the New Orleans Hornets.

I think Minneapolis needs to cough off up more goodies. This ain't just any game...it's the freakin' NFC Championship, man. So I emailed Mayor Rybak today:

(Above: Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak)

Dear Mayor R.T. Rybak,

My name is Jeffrey James Ircink...in Milwaukee and a former Green Bay Packer fan who boycotted the Pack and followed Favre to the Jets and now the Vikes. Congratulations to a fantastic season...thus far.

I read today how you and the mayor of N'awlins did the proverbial exchanging of gifts should your respective team lose the NFC Championship. I have to say that, compared to the list of things Mayor Nagin offered, it's my opinion that the City of Minneapolis came up a tad short.

Now, I'm not berating - I just think your city needs to sweeten the deal a bit. My suggestions: 1) two tickets to a Twins' Game, 2) a tour of Prince's recording studio and/or autographed Prince CDs (course that might be difficult to arrange, and/or 3) $100 gift certificate to the Mall of America....just suggestions...you're more familiar with Minneapolis than I am.

I make these suggestions to you with all due respect, Mayor - it's just that I'm anticipating a call from my two New Orleans buddies that I used to work with in Los Angeles...yelling at me because my team didn't offer as much as their team.

Please take my suggestion in the spirit of gamesmanship and my fervor for Favre and the Minnesota Vikings run at the SB. SKOL FAVRE! SKOL VIKINGS!!

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Four down, 4 to go...to the NFC Championship.

After Sunday, who'll be the two that represent the AFC and the NFC?

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Let's see...who's Public Enemy #1 in N'awlins today?

Actually, this was yesterday's paper. Thanks to my buddy Zac in Los Angeles (on business in New Orleans) for the tip. SKOL FAVRE! SKOL VIKINGS! Make'em choke on their gumbo!

(Caveat: I have the highest respect for the Saints. I have two friends who are big fans. This is a team I've never hated, so the smack talk is just in the spirit of the fight to go to the SB.)

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Finally! Anti-Favre GB fans can shut their pieholes.

So the Packers got beat in OT by the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC wildcard game yesterday. I've boycotted Green Bay last season and this season, opting to follow Brett Favre to the New York Jets, then the Minnesota Vikings. Tough situation for me as I'm from Wisconsin. I could care less the Packers lost but I prefered that the Vikes and Pack not meet in the playoffs should that scenario play out.

You can go on the Internet and find out all the stats on the game. The Pack had plenty of chances that they botched. The TEAM lost - not just the defense or Driver (fumble led to TD) or Crosby (missed FG) or Rodgers (INT led to TD, fumble led to TD) etc., etc. So here's my observation:

Packer fans, particularly anti-Favre fans (after Brett was traded to the Jets) bitched in unison that it was Favre's fault the Packers lost the NFC Championship game against the Giants in 2007 because of his INT in OT. There were clearly many other instances where the Packers, as a team, failed to take charge of that game. But it was Brett's INT, which later led to a Giants' FG to win the game, that lost the game; therefore, it's all Favre's fault. Remember these are the same fans who've been bitching the last two seasons that Favre is a selfish diva. "There's no "I" in "TEAM", they say.

If there's no "I" in "TEAM", why blame just Brett Favre for the loss? Contradiction. More importantly, when Aaron Rodgers fumbled the ball in OT last night against the Arizona Cardinals during the NFC Wildcard playoff game, why are there no anti[Favre fans bashing Rodgers, saying, "Rodgers lost the game"? Everything I've heard or read points to less than 1% of Packer fans blaming Rodgers.

So why is it different for Brett? Same situation...QB makes an error that leads to the other team winning. Same thing. By anti-Favre fans' own logic, why shouldn't the loss yesterday be pinned solely on Rodgers? Hypocrites.

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Packy, You Will Be Missed

Packy is in Heaven.

Packy belonged to my best friend Tom and his wife, Denise and their two sons, Jacob and Joseph. She was terribly sick and passed away a couple weeks ago at the age of 4. She loved Favre and the Packers (thus, her name) and thankfully she got to see them play in the NFC Championship Game this year one last time.

She passed away the next day.

Packy was one of those Frasier-terriers who jumped and flew all over the house and yard at 90 mph. Definately kept you on your toes. She was also an expert at getting into zipped up briefcases. I was a "victim" of her clandestine operations TWICE - both at Christmas while I was in Wheaton, IL visiting the Kazar's. TWICE she unzipped my briefcase, sniffing out the coffee given to me by my mother, ripping open the bag and spreading coffee all over the bed and floor. TWICE.

Awe, Packy. I will miss you. If I had a thousand Starbuck's Coffee One Pound'ers I'd given them all to you. YOU are irreplaceable.

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NFC Championship: Green Bay Packers (14-3 and a bye) host the New York Giants (12-6).

There's a party goin' down in Green Bay this weekend. We're all waitin' for you, New York Giants. This Sunday, January 20, 2008 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. 5:42 p.m. CST. NFC Championship Game. Winner goes to Super Bowl 42.

The Ghost of Vince Lombardi, former Packer coach, will be roaming the field. Yelling, screaming - cheering his Packers on. He's the guy who coined the phrase, "Winning isn't everything - it's the only thing," and changed the face of the NFL. The Super Bowl championship trophy - named for Vince. There's a reason for that. The last time GB met the Giants in the postseason was in 1961 - on this field. GB won. Vince's first championship. He went on to win many more, including Super Bowl I and II. Oh-h you can bet your sweet ass Vince will be waiting for you.

#4 is waiting for you, too. The Hall of Fame "Ironman" who plays the game with a uniqueness that is unmatched. Owns every major QB record in the NFL. He'll make his 274 consecutive start (this includes playoffs) when he meets you guys Sunday. That's fucking insane. Hasn't missed a start since 1992 - over 200 QBs have started for other teamsin that time from. We're all unique, sure. But this sonofabitch's mold is broken. Blocks like a linebacker and won't take shit from no one. Legend.

He's 38 but plays the game like he's 17...makes the game of football fun. That's why people wanna watch him play. That's why he's respected and feared by his peers - active and retired. Played one season with a broken thumb on his throwing hand. Ran in off the bench one time after getting a concussion, threw a TD then got yanked from the game. Survived EVERYTHING that's been thrown at him. Had two "off" years in the 16 years he's been with the Pack. The day after his daddy died he threw for 399 yards and 4 TDs at Oakland. Even the Oakland fans applauded him - and they don't applaud their own team half the time. Critics told him to retire - you're washed up. The critics can kiss my ass. The media asks him the same retirement questions every year. They can kiss my ass too. Watch him - he pulls plays outta his ass you only see once in a lifetime - like the one against the Seahawks last weekend. Problem is there's more where that came from. That's 'cause he's #4. Put Manning, Brady, Montana, Young, Elway, Staubach, Bradshaw and all the greats on the field AT ONE TIME and we'll put #4 against them all. Hero worship? Naw. We Packer fans are just enjoyin' this once-in-a-lifetime treasure before he packs his gun and rides off into the sunset. You should all be so lucky. Everyone seems to trip over their tongues talkin' about him; they wouldn't if weren't so damn good. No he's not mistake free - he's human, like you and me. But unlike you and me, I didn't even mention his name and I saw you quiver. Can't you already "hear the lamentations of your women"? Even Conan respects #4.

The Green Bay Packers will be waiting for you. With previous seasons of 4-12 and 8-8, they were maybe picked to finish 8-8 this year...perhaps 9-7 if things went their way. Young team but too young to make a dent. Driver. Jennings. Jones. Tauscher and Clifton. Spitz. Pickett. Barnett. Woodson. Harris. Atari. Grant. Jackson. Lee. Martin. Bubba and KGB. Crosby - most points in the NFL this season. And Favre. No running game in the first half of the season. 2nd year coach and a washed up QB to boot who just came back for the records. Smallest market in the NFL. Owned by the people. No cheerleaders. Who the hell are we, huh? We ARE the Green Bay Packers, baby.

And yep, even former Packer great, QB Bart Starr will be there as the Packers' honorary captain Sunday. Starr is a two-time Super Bowl MVP (SB I & II), NFL Hall of Famer and leader of five world championship teams under Lombardi in Green Bay. Starr will present the George S. Halas trophy on behalf of the NFC to the Packers should they win the game. This is the guy who, on Dec. 31, 1961, with the temperature 21 degrees and a wind chill of 5 in Green Bay, led a 37-0 rout of New York with three touchdown passes to earn the franchise's seventh NFL title. This is the guy who did it again the next year at New York. This is the guy who snuck the ball into the endzone during the 1967 Ice Bowl victory over the Cowboys (the equivalent of the NFC Championship today) - 40 years ago...just a couple days ago. On this very field. It was -47 degrees that day. Starr then led the Pack to Beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl I.

And Lambeau Field is waiting. The "Frozen Tundra". She's 50 years young this season. She may be an inanimate object to you but she's a living, breathing entity that will eat you up this time of year. Home of the famous Ice Bowl . One sports anal-yst commented that "Frozen Tundra" is redundant. That's true. But when it hits -46 degrees and the turf feels like cement, I think you're well within your rights to say, "the frozen, frozen of Lambeau Field". Now, you Giants may have a 9-game road win-streak goin', but we're 8-1 here this season - at the same place. Oh - and Brett's 43 and 5 here when the game-time temp is 34 degrees or below. It's supposed to be 7...give or take, and it'll drop below freezing later in the game. Eat you up.

And the fans. Yes, we too are waiting for you. Too many of us to put a photo up, but I think you get the picture. In Wisconsin and around the world...we'll be watching. My family and friends. Me in CA with Donovan and Maria and baby Grace. Uncle Fran in Madison will be watching even though he hates Eli Manning - my uncle was a QB and doesn't respect Eli. Uncle Fran will turn his head when Eli has the ball. Brother Jason will be home with Mom and Dad - even though a big party's a-brewing at the Schmidt household (the Pack has a history of losing when Jas watches games at the Schmidt's). Not sure who but I will know people in the stands. Diehards. Season tickets waiting list over 30 years long. Loyal. Loyal enough to fill Lambeau for an inter-squad scrimmage, or show up in the tens of thousands for a parade to honor the Pack when they lost the Super Bowl to Denver. They'll give you the shirt off their back - even when the temperature's below zero.

Better put on your jock strap nice and tight Eli - and since you've matured over the last few weeks as a QB, better bring your "A+" game - 'cause you ain't never been in anything like this. This IS what the NFL is all about. GO PACK GO!!!

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MSNBC Poll: Packers V. Giants - Who has the edge?

A current MSNBC poll asks readers to vote on a number of categories comparing the Green Bay Packers versus the New York Giants: coaches, QBs, special teams, secondary, RBs, WRs, intangibles, etc.

Nearing 170,000 votes as of Saturday, 9:32 a.m. PST, the Pack lead every category by a landslide - except defensive line, which shows the Giants with a slight edge over the Packers - 60% to 40% - the only category they lead. See for yourself: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22655354/

It's just a poll. It means nothing - until the night these two teams meet on the Frozen Tundra in Green Bay. Sorta like the polls that show the American people don't want to be fighting in Iraq - but we're still there.

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How to Beat the Giants and Get to Super Bowl 42 (and some useless trivia along the way)

1.) How to beat the Giants? Same tips for how we beat the Seahawks. Follow this link: http://jeffircink.blogspot.com/2008/01/four-reasons-seattle-should-tremble.html. Add to that the fact that GB is the No. 2 offense in the NFL and the No. 11 defense.

2. Lambeau Field - once the mystical venue where visiting teams had difficulty winning, the last couple years Lambeau has lost that mystique with a 4-12 and 8-8 record (but an improvement). This year changed. Yeh, the Giants are on a 9-game road win streak. Big deal. We have Lambeau Field - where we were 7-1 at home, 8-1 with the Seattle victory. And that's ONE stadium - not 8. Another tidbit about Lambeauuuuuuu Field - Brett is 43-5 at home when the temperature dips below 34 degrees at kickoff. It's supposed to be high of 7 degrees at kick-off...give or take. And it WILL drop below freezing.

3.) History. This season - right about now - is the 40th Anniversary of Super Bowl I, when the Pack beat the Chiefs, as well as the Ice Bowl, where the Pack beat the Cowboys in -47 degree temperature at Lambeau to get to Super Bowl I.

4.). Vince. Lombardi used to be a coach with the Giants before coming to Green Bay. He's from New York. And his first NFL championship was against you know who - the Giants.

5.) Finally, make Eli piss his pants. Throw him off his game plan. Just hit the little bitch a few times and all his recent success in QB'ing will turn limp. Remember, this little bastard cried when he got drafted 'cause he didn't want to play for San Diego (they sucked then) and, with the help of his daddy and brother Pay-twirp holding his hand, cried his way to getting traded to the Giants. I apologize for my language but fuck this guy. I liken it to the question put to Conan the Barbarian, "What is best in life?'. Conan answered, "To crush your enemies/Eli Manning. See them/the Giants driven before you. And to hear the lamentations of their women (cheerleaders, Mother Manning - I don't know)."

That is good.

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"Atari" in Japanese means, "ATTACK!"

(most of this is reprinted from Packer.com)

Big fish means big hits. Atari-style.

"It's like catching a fish," Bigby said. "You can just feel him fighting for his life. It's a great feeling. You can actually feel the electricity in his body. I'm telling you, it's hard to describe, but it's great." If you wanna know what it's like to hit a guy hard, Atari says, 'catch a big fish'.

Regularly labeled with the tag "hard-hitting safety", this is Atari Bigby's curious description for what it's like to deliver one of those hard hits, both for him and his victim. Bigby was probably the most physical presence in a dominating defensive performance that held Seattle to just six points over the game's final 56 minutes in the 42-20 triumph. He leveled multiple Seahawks receivers and ballcarriers with big hits, leading the team in tackles with seven (four solo). And he made the biggest play of the game for the defense on the first play of the second quarter, drilling tight end Marcus Pollard after a short reception and popping the ball loose. Teammate Aaron Kampman recovered at the Seattle 18-yard line to set up a short field for the go-ahead touchdown to make it 21-14, putting the Packers ahead for good and completing the recovery from a 14-0 deficit.

(Quickly...my personal observation on Bigby. I called him "the felon" because of the way he kicked the shit out of receivers, drawing penalty after penalty. This sonofabitch is one crazy mother. The way he comes flying into receivers, leaping from his feet head first at full speed with his dread locks tossed in the wind like freakin' Predator??? All I know is I'm glad he's playing for us. He needs to be consistent again on Sunday, not laying out guys and getting penalites. Look at him - his eyes are half-shut, grinning, laughing - comparing hitting guys to fishing?. Oh I know he's having a good time, but - he's like how a dog gets when you blow pot smoke in its face. Serious. If I were a receiver I would very scared.)

Bigby continued his high-impact play on Seattle's next series. He blasted receiver Bobby Engram after a 9-yard reception and then stuck with Pollard in coverage and batted away a pass that would have given the Seahawks a first-and-goal. Seattle settled for a field goal, keeping the Packers ahead 21-17. Bigby's presence, and the early big hit, may have had an effect on Pollard the rest of the game. The 13-year veteran had two passes later in the game go right through his hands when he was wide open - one in the end zone in the third quarter, and another on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Receiver D.J. Hackett also dropped a short pass near the goal line, and while it's impossible to know if Seattle's miscues were directly a result of any seeds Bigby planted in their minds, other Green Bay defenders gave Bigby at least partial credit.

"He made some big plays," cornerback Charles Woodson said. "Anytime the secondary makes those receivers a little jumpy out there, catching the ball, it pays dividends. You see they dropped a couple of passes...When you put that in the minds of receivers running routes, running across the middle, knowing that there's going to be somebody there that's going to hit you, not just tackle you by the legs but actually hit you, they think about that."

Bigby had his rough patches earlier this season, his first as an NFL starter after beating out incumbent Marquand Manuel for the job in training camp. At Denver on Oct. 29, he was called for four total penalties on two Broncos scoring drives - a late hit, two pass interferences, and a delay of game for kicking the ball - for 41 yards. The next week at Kansas City, he took another pass interference in the end zone, for 29 yards, setting up a Chiefs touchdown. But as the season wore on, Bigby channeled and timed his aggressive play better and ended up leading the team with five interceptions, including four in the final month of the regular season that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December.

But Bigby gets far more thrills from his big hits, and he's been a key piece in run support all season. He finished third on the team in the regular season in tackles with 121 (95 solo), the most tackles recorded by a Green Bay defensive back in 17 years. "It's just a mindset," Bigby said of his aggressive mentality, which aptly fits his first name, a Japanese form of the word 'attack.'

"I'm a strong safety. I tell those guys all the time I'm going to back you up, and they have a lot of confidence in me doing that." That confidence was only reinforced by Bigby's stellar playoff debut. "I wasn't amazed at all," cornerback Al Harris said. "I see it all the time. He's a man. He's the real deal. Any play that he makes, we're not amazed because we see it all the time", Al Harris. "That's how he plays. He only has one speed. If you're on his team, just get out of his way."

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My nomination for the Green Bay Packer Mascot...

...Packer the Bulldog.

We don't have one. We should for the NFC Championship Game Sunday.

Other teams do (24 in all) - Cleveland Browns - the Dawg Pound, Minnesota Vikings - Ragnar the Viking and Vikadontis Rex the Dinosaur, New England Patriots - Pat (not the Pat from SNL - I don't think), among them.

Found Packer via the Associated Press - from the playoff game at Lambeau against Seattle. I think he's perfect. Or she. My friend Tom's dog is Packy - one of those jumping terriers like the dog on Frasier. Packy would freeze at Lambeau though. She does like coffee grounds...maybe that would help keep herwarm. Twice she got into my luggage in 2005 and 2006 over the holidays and ripped open my Christmas Blend coffee.

UPDATE: 1/19 - According to Tom, Packy is ill. Tom thought it was nerves prior to tomorrow's game, but alas, no. Say a prayer for Packy, please.

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Totally COOL! Favre on Today's SI Cover.

"Brett Favre led the Pack to a 42-20 icing of Seattle. Next visitor to the tundra: the Giants". This for the NFC Champion and a trip to Super Bowl 42. I borrowed that headline from Packer News but I really can't think of a better one. GO PACK!

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Brits Call Favre "Blizzard Wizzard"; Cowboys LOSE to Giants, NFC Championship Reverts Back to Lambeauuuuu Field!

You gotta be kiddin' me.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Look at Favre - even he's excited (heard tell he's taking up opera in the off-season). In a switcheroo that most thought was highly unlikely, Dallas lost to the NY Giants...which means that next Sunday the New York Giants come to Lambeau in the NFC Championship! GO PACK!!

The Sun in London had this great picture of Favre takin' in the snow and enjoying his team's success during the Seattle game at Lambeau. It'll be the first NFC championship game in Green Bay since the Packers beat Carolina 30-13 on Jan. 12, 1997. Green Bay went on to win the Super Bowl that year for Favre's only title. Sunday's game is expected to be frigid, with a forecast of highs in the single digits and wind chills below zero with kickoff not until the late afternoon.

Here's a quick one minute video interview with Brett after the Pack defeated Seattle on Saturday: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9tgezAam5PY

Need I repeat what I stated in a September 26 post when the Packers had just gone 3-0 after beating the Chargers? "Favre is playing well and having a good time and most anal-ists are noticing this and agreeing. In some power rankings where we were 25, or 26 - we're now 5 or 7. I don't know - but I feel something magical is happening and my gut is usually right."

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