A Sports Filled Weekend Ahead

And now, the games that decide the participants in Super Bowl LI.

No, it’s not Super Bowl Long Island. Or pronounced Super Bowl Lee (or lie). It’s Super Bowl 51. The NFL dropped the Roman numerals last year but they’re baaaack. Maybe this should be your Weekend TV VI-Pack!

The NFC and AFC championship games are Sunday, in Atlanta and Foxborough, Mass. Get the chips and queso dip ready so you won’t have to move your heiner from the recliner.

We’ll start with the first game Sunday, matching the Green Bay Packers (12-6) and Atlanta Falcons (12-5) in the last game at the Georgia Dome, which will be replaced by a new facility. Game time is 3:05 p.m. ET on Fox. No player has been hotter than Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers but no offense scored more points than Atlanta’s. Pick: Take the Packers and the four points, but the Falcons will win and go to the Super Bowl for just the second time in their 51-year history. Prediction: Falcons 38, Packers 35.

In the late game, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers (13-5) against the New England Patriots (15-2), we’re going with the upset. The Steelers are six-point underdogs but will win outright. Yes, the Pats in the playoffs are 16-3 at home under Tom Brady, but this Steelers team will run the ball, dominate time of possession and win narrowly on the strength of running back Le’Veon Bell. Game time is 6:40 p.m. on CBS. Prediction: Steelers 23, Patriots 21.

How else can you entertain yourself this weekend (other than making fun of my picks? Which you shouldn’t, since I am 8-0 in the playoffs picking winners and hit all four last weekend against the spread).

College basketball offers a couple of viewable matchups. On Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN, No. 12 Louisville visits No. 10 Florida State in an ACC contest. At 6 p.m., ESPN gives us an SEC duel between No. 24 South Carolina and No. 5 Kentucky.

On Sunday, at 4 p.m, NBC shows the U.S. Figure Skating Championships from Kansas City.

Enjoy. Watch with dignity and pride. And don’t drip queso on the carpet (trust me on this one).
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman