NFC Division Champions: Dallas, Green Bay, New Orleans, and San Francisco
AFC Division Champions: Baltimore, Indianapolis, New England, San Diego

NFC Wildcards: Atlanta, Minnesota
AFC Wildcards: Houston, NY Jets

I didn’t save my final standings, but they’re no surprise. Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay will be picking early in the 2011 NFL Draft. The New Orleans Saints repeat as Super Bowl Champions in an overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens in Dallas.

So I got a lot wrong. I only got half the NFC teams right, and 4 of 6 AFC teams right. The seeding is all messed up. But hey, who really expected the Cowboys to make the playoffs? Who thought the Titans and Steelers would tank half their seasons? (On a side note, have you noticed that the last two Steelers teams to win the Super Bowl ended up missing the playoffs the following year? They’re the exception to the rule, lately… with both the Cardinals and Seahawks making the playoffs following a Super Bowl loss. DUN-DUN-DUN!)

If you want to see my original prediction, click here, and if you want to see a zoomed in version of the actual playoffs bracket, click here.

Yep. There they are. I went game by game, week by week, and picked who I thought would win each game. (Actually, I wrote this post last week). It didn’t take as long as it sounds. Anyway, I can’t wait for a star quarterback (Tom Brady?) or running back (Reggie Bush?) to go down and completely ruin my predictions. Or maybe a rookie coach turns out better than I thought (Tampa Bay, Detroit, St. Louis, San Francisco- you hear me?). Maybe Wade Phillips surprises everybody and coaches Dallas to the playoffs. When I did these, I didn’t expect that Carolina would end up ahead of Atlanta (a team I would’ve put in the playoffs). The only thing I took into consideration was the recent trend that the Super Bowl loser has made the playoffs the following year. Then again, Pittsburgh kind of stole this last one, so maybe Arizona pulls a Seattle and makes it.

In addition to my final standings predictions, I’m posting my playoffs predictions (which are likely based solely on emotion and wishful thinking than anything legitimate), as well. Enjoy. Tear apart. Cry. Rejoice. Whatever.

Anyway. By week three we’ll all realize how completely wrong I am. Maybe that’s why I picked New Orleans. Go Saints!

As I’ve mentioned before, I renounced my support of the Denver Broncos as my second favorite team in the NFL.  The New Orleans Saints come first overall, and my second favorite must come from the AFC.  I put it to a vote among my friends, and you have spoken.  While I hoped that the final contest would be between Pittsburgh and Miami, it was ultimately a showdown between Tennessee and Kansas City.  Fewer of you voted in the finals; I assume it is because your team didn’t make it.  Nonetheless, the choice was made.

For the 2009-2010 season, I will root for the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.  I recognize that I will probably not enjoy a winning season with the Chiefs.  But anything can happen, and either way, I’m used to losing as a Saints fan.  Here’s to a good NFL Draft next weekend… go Saints… and, uh, go Chiefs?

This is a showdown between two former Texas teams: the Houston Oilers and the Dallas Texans.  The Texans moved to Kansas City after only four years in Dallas, and the Oilers moved to Nashville after a long (illustrious) history in Houston.

Kansas City is the greatest rival of my former AFC favorite, the Denver Broncos.  Tennessee doesn’t really have a strong rivalry, although cases could be made for the Jaguars, Ravens, and Colts.  Kansas City is in the midst of rebuilding primarily with a group of players I don’t like (especially their quarterbacks).  Tennessee has head coach Jeff Fischer, the longest-tenured coach in the league (and one of my favorite).  Kansas City has a strong history of smash mouth defensive football.  The Oilers and Titans have had two of my favorite quarterbacks ever (Warren Moon and Steve McNair), and one I really like (Kerry Collins).

Alright, that’s the rundown.  It’s all in your hands now.  Let the battle of the relocated begin!

But here we are.  The final four have been chosen.  Miami squeaked it out over Jacksonville, while Pittsburgh, Tennessee, and Kansas City dominated their first round opponents.  (Honestly, this might be the first time Kansas City has dominated anybody in a pretty long time, right?)

So each AFC division has its representative.  East versus South; North versus West.  Vote now in the comments.  Who makes the final throwdown?  The title game goes live on Thursday, April 9, 2009.

Because I was raised along the Gulf Coast, my favorite NFL team is the New Orleans Saints.  I’ll be a fan of the Saints until Tom Benson relocates them to San Antonio or Los Angeles, at which point I will lump them into the same category with the Raiders and Rams as “a team I will never, ever root for, and perhaps wish nothing less than financial disaster.”

That said, as a lifelong Saints fan, I’ve grown to accept that it’s a good idea to have another favorite team.  While this team is of lesser importance than the Saints, it is a strong second.  And it must be in the AFC.  For years I’ve rooted for the Denver Broncos.  After the firing of Mike Shanahan, the hiring of New England clone Josh McDaniels, and the “Cutler-Coach Debacle,” I’ve renounced my support for the team.  I am now in search of a new AFC team to call my own.  I considered the Bills because they play outdoors in wicked weather, then they signed Terrell Owens.  That was the end of that.  I narrowed the field to eight teams.  It wasn’t easy.  The Colts missed the cut because I don’t like their uniforms.

So here we are.  I’ve ruled out west coast teams because I have an east coast bias.  For the most part I considered team tradition, location, uniforms, and proximity to me (soon to be my hometown of Mobile, Alabama).  Since you, the seven people who read this blog, are spread around the country, I’m asking for your input.  Leave your final four in the comments and next week, we’ll select the next round.  You have until Tuesday, April 7, 2009 to make your choices.  Help me out!

I’m not sure if it’s just our house, the local CBS affiliate, or CBS, but the last couple weeks have been chock full of bad reception and weird blips in the shows (including the Iron Bowl, CSI, and Without a Trace). I could do without that. They came out and fixed it once, and my parents even went to digital cable. You’d think they would get better than that. But I’m not particularly impressed with CBS or ABC around Mobile. The ABC affiliate thinks people care about ACC football, once pre-empting a Nebraska-Penn State game (when they were both good) for some lame Florida State-Virginia game (when they weren’t good). Sometimes we want the better game, even though it’s not a local team. There’s never a good reason for some lame ACC game to be on in Alabama, anyway. It’s SEC or the best game on. It’s time for Mobile to get their own ABC affiliate and let Pensacola do their own thing.

I was going to do a series on “The Art of Worship” but my first post seemed to sum it up. All I could do is offer suggestions as to how one might be more creative. Really, I think I should leave that part up to you.

I want to write a series of letters to different people. The first one was going to be to Rosie O’Donnell, whose interview by Bob Costas on Larry King Live was wonderful. But I hesitated too long and now my words are gone. Perhaps Angela’s muse will find me and offer some help.

I miss my friends. It’s been two weeks since I got back from Canada. Three since I first embarked on the short adventure. It’s been since October workshops since I’ve seen Blaize. And nearing 2 months since I last saw Amy and Tiffany. It’s been about three months since Hurricane Katrina. A fourth of a year. How time passes.

I never really found a church home here in Mobile. I went to The Grove for a while, and it was good. But I never felt like it was home. They’re great folks. So to use the old breakup term, “it’s me, not you.” I asked my friend about a local Baptist church that has community groups, but she told me I can’t join one until January and none are meant for any “outward” purpose. At Edgewater, our UNO Community Group had a twofold purpose- to be community among ourselves, and then eventually begin the process of a church-plant at the University of New Orleans. Others met in other locations for the purposes of bringing locals in and eventually starting churches among those people. Apparently this is not a goal of this particular Baptist church here in Mobile. A shame, if you ask me. It’s good to build community, even if it’s somewhat artificial. It’s better to build a community of like minds with a purpose to lead others into a relationship with God through Christ, outside of the “evangelical” arena. But that might mean going out into the city. Now I’m just being unreasonable.

I look forward to Brent and Laura’s reception in Toccoa, Georgia in December. I haven’t seen Brent or Laura in what feels like forever.

I think I’m going to get two or three folks and try to start something down in downtown Mobile. Maybe not a homeless church like Hoot did through Edgewater, but maybe. I’m not out to go feed folks either. There are plenty of others who do that. Or they did when I was at the University of Mobile. But maybe I’ll find something. I’m not sure yet. It’ll have to be something easily passed on, because…

…the letter from Dr. Kelley at NOBTS says we might be able to move back in April now. The campus restoration is moving along quickly. That’s got me excited. Especially since Tiffany is moving down there soon and Amy will be back by January. Blaize has said he might be down there for next semester too. And those guys I talked to through NAMB Semester Missions haven’t called or emailed me in two weeks (and that was just one group, the others never even returned my emails). I know they’re busy, so no hard feelings, really.

I really have no idea where I’ll be tomorrow, much less next month or the next. Well, I know where I’ll be on certain dates. You can see those over on the right column below the clock. There’s a large part of that feeling of uncertainty that is exciting.

I might be able to go to Brazil this summer, and if Britt and I do go, we need two more teammates. We need one who can speak Portuguese or play a guitar (well). Or both. But one or the other would be nice. If this summer’s trip is cancelled, we’ll tentatively postpone it until the Summer of 2007. E-mail me, IM me, or call me if you’re interested.

I think by now I would be an unbelievably good Director of Missions for some church. I’m so humble when I say that too. But really, I’ve been a Community Missions intern, but I’ve got ideas for all sorts of missions, from local to continental to international. I mean that with all my heart. I was built for short-term support missions, and I know a lot of people who could use help internationally. And I think I’ve got a whole lot of ideas for the local missions, from finance workshops to homeless and transient ministries to small groups and church planting. Of course, the hard part is getting anybody to listen and offer their time, money, and hearts.

I want to offer my undying love for the people of Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado and their pastor Dr. Jim Shaddix for all they’ve done for me and for Edgewater Baptist Church. They’ve gone above and beyond. They are the living example of Acts 2:45. (And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.) I cannot express my gratitude through words, except to say I pray I will return the gift if and when they are in need.

I saw Chicken Little in Canada, and it is hilarious. I saw The Legend of Zorro with Britt and a few of his youth the other day, and it wasn’t bad. (But not great either.) I saw another movie this semester with Britt and one of his youth a while back, but I don’t remember what it was. That probably tells you how exciting it was. Oh, it was some World War II movie about Americans in the Philippines or something. It wasn’t that bad. But it’s no Band of Brothers.

This is more than enough to post. I think I’ll quit now. I started typing at 11:01 PM central time.