Fun & Games This Weekend

I'm not much of an NFL fan, but I do get interested when it comes time for the playoffs, particularly the second and third weekends (this is the third). The Super Bowl is hard to take, unless one times the day in order to turn the TV on for the opening kickoff (don't miss the first quarter, or it may be over!) This weekend was supposed to have the key game of the season, Colts-Patriots III (after last season's AFC Championship and this year's regular season game). Now that's off. Similarly with the NFC Championship, where the expected Cowboys-Packers showdown failed to materialize.

The Chargers look to be an extreme longshot, particularly with key players injured. Which is not to say that they have no chance, because the running-featured gameplan they figure to employ is the best shot available against the Patriots. I think the Giants, who timed their surge just right, are a serious threat to disrupt the last big story line, that of the Super Bowl matching the unbeaten Patriots and the Packers on Bret Favre's last run. They'd be a good upset pick.

I didn't realize Nevada had its caucuses early--seems like a good way to keep down turnout. Hillary's narrow win looks like a win to me, even if it's not the rout she expected on HRC's coronation tour. Obama should be examining how he can close the deal with black women and Hispanics before Feb. 5, or it's going to be hard to prevent a Clinton Perceived Victory. The Nevada test results suggest there's a long way to go.

South Carolina tonight should boil the Republican race down to McCain, Huckabee, and Romney (with Giuliani fading from sight and Thompson converting his campaign back to its prevailing comatose state). A McCain-Huckabee ticket looks more likely all the time and is probably their best bet, too.

That still doesn't mean I agree with Daily Kos' tactical support for Romney in Michigan: that was the US' chance to get him out of the race, and the Michigander Republicans (with their handful of benighted Democratic netroots voters) failed to accomplish that. A tactical vote for Paul would've been much more reasonable, in that it would create some havoc and help none of the leaders.