A 9-iron to the face?

The way the playoffs are shaping up, there's a chance we could see Cincinnati vs. New York Jets, Philadelphia vs Dallas and Arizona vs. Green Bay in Week 17 and the Wild Card weekend. Odd. Here is what the AFC playoff picture shapes up as and who needs to do what, and see what else happen. Right now it is advantage New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.

Good to see The Old Has Been remembering it is the stretch run and he's piloting his team into the ground with their third loss in four games and now has his Vikings in danger of losing their bye week. This was a 36-30 overtime loss in what should've been a gimme on a Monday night with the Chicago Bears dead and buried. Apparently, Bears QB Jay Cutler flipped a middle finger towards the stands when the fans at Soldier Field booed when they kneeled the ball with seconds to go before overtime. Cutler is a tool.

In case you missed Jerry Jones on Sunday night's broadcast discussing labor talks, it was pretty clear that the owners are intending to blow up the current system. A season in 2011 is by no means a guarantee at this point, and with an uncapped year in 2010, the landscape of the NFL could be changing very significantly in years to come.

Canada downed Switzerland 6-0 yesterday to move to 2-0 in the World Junior's. The Canucks have yet to concede a goal.

There is an interesting email making the rounds detailing the moments before and after Tiger Woods fateful meeting with a tree and a fire hydrant a month or so ago. Pretty interesting stuff, if only for the vision of his wife cracking him in the head with a nine iron. Also, word there is they aren't divorcing.

The Buffalo Bills are said to be interested in bringing Charlie Weis in to coach the team next year, and word is he's interested in doing so. If that happens, do the Bills deal for Brady Quinn to work with his former coach at Notre Lame? Let that percolate, Bills fans.

A great SI piece on the biggest trades of the decade in baseball, as well as best and worst free agent signings, best draft bargains and biggest draft busts. Rest easy, Blue Jays fans, Vernon Wells didn't crack the top five. Interestingly, the Boston Red Sox figured on three of the five trades listed.

Bill Simmons - The Sports Guy - at ESPN looks at ways to change your NBA destiny, including more than a few scenarios for the Toronto Raptors that see them dealing away Chris Bosh (perhaps necessary) and Jose Calderon (answering my prayers).

Hard to imagine that the NFL didn't anticipate booking The Who to play the Super Bowl this season might not be greeted with some protest over Pete Townsend's child porn past and former registration as a sex offender in the UK. And right on cue, the protests are mounting.

Check out the 20 Most Oogled Women of Playboy 2009.

Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Caldwell might have overplayed his hand. Yanking his starters to show he's not worried about a perfect record is fine, but only if they go the distance and win the Super Bowl. Anything less and he'll be reminded that this past Sunday is where things started to go askew. By worrying about the pressure of perfection, he may have just put even more pressure on his team.

If you've got time, take a read of the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliot breaking down the Roy Halladay deal day by day and the aftermath. Very interesting stuff. The classy Halladay even sent Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous a text message on December 17th to thank him for the opportunity. I'm a Yankee fan to the core - if you didn't know - but if my squad doesn't get another ring in 2010, can't think of a guy who deserves it more than Leroy.

Have a great Tuesday.