Lance sputters to a stop while hockey finally gets out of the blocks

The Ravens v. Broncos and Seattle v. Atlanta games in the NFL playoffs Jan. 12 and 13 were very exciting.  My Super Bowl prediction is Atlanta v. New England.  I am also very impressed with the 49ers, but they have a rookie quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, whose great run has to stop sometime!

This week, Lance Armstrong had his Pete Rose/A-Rod mea culpa moment about using performance-enhancing drugs.  It is probably true that most of Lance's competitors also used some sort of PED, but that didn't give him an excuse to lie as much and as long as he did. Better late than never, though. Look for justified lawsuits in the days ahead from those he accused of fabricating stories about his drug use.

I'm looking forward to the hockey season, which will officially start on Saturday, Jan. 19 and close out regular season games April 27. Expect more injuries than usual because players had only one week of training camp. It is true, though, they did that to themselves, so I don't feel bad for them. Hockey players and owners took too long in negotiations to save the season as a whole. It was a 50-50 problem.

Regarding the Eagles' selection of new head coach, Chip Kelly of Oregon--it will be very interesting to see how his high-speed offense works in the NFL.