My uneducated guess is that late on Sunday afternoon, in the Baltimore area and in the living rooms of Ravens fans everywhere, the name Billy Cundiff was probably shortened into a very similar sounding swear.

Later in the evening, across the country, San Francisco residents and 49ers fans were probably attaching a few nasty adjectives to the name of backup return man Kyle Williams.

Those, right there were the two goats that essentially cost their teams a chance at playing in the Super Bowl.

Granted, those plays cost their teams their respective conference championships, but there is one thing that few are bringing up: Cundiff’s kick would only have taken their game to overtime. There was no guarantee that A) the Ravens would even get the ball or B) that Joe Flacco could do anything with it if he did.

On the drive that led to Cundiff’s terrible shank left, Flacco and Co. had several chances to punch it into the endzone and couldn’t do it. Including a ball caught by Lee Evans and then batted out of his hands just in time – great defensive play by the way. This game could have played out like it should have, Tom Brady could have marched down the field in overtime and scored, then who would be to blame?

At least in this scenario, the Ravens now have a scapegoat and Cowboys fans (Cundiff used to kick for Dallas) get a little I-told-you-so redemption.

Williams, on the other hand, should just be hanging his head. First, he booted a punt that was recovered by the Giants in the fourth quarter, leading to score. Then, in overtime, he fumbled a return that would lead to the game-winning field goal.

Niners fans have to playing the what-if game in their heads right now, wondering if they’d be booking a trip to Indianapolis if Ted Ginn was in the lineup instead of injured on the sidelines.

So, prepare for two weeks full of rematch and redemption talk. It’s the Patriots facing the Giants, who ruined their perfect season in the Super Bowl a mere four years ago.

This week: 0-2
The playoffs: 5-5

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It’s the second biggest day on the football calendar this Sunday, so let’s not mince words and just get to the picks.

NEW ENGLAND -7 over Baltimore
Let’s face it; there is no team that can cover the Patriots two amazing tight ends. If there was one, it could have been the Ravens of a few years ago, when Ray Lewis was a few years younger and Ed Reed wasn’t as consistently banged up. In fact, it’s almost a certainty that Reed will not be 100% for Sunday.

If there’s one thing to worry about, it’s that the Patriots have not beaten a winning team all season. That is unless you include the Broncos last week, who were technically 9-8, but 8-8 in the regular season.

But then you have to figure how bad the Ravens were away from Baltimore. They went 8-0 at home, but were a weak 4-4 on the road, including a loss at Jacksonville of all places.

The Pats defence was terrible in the regular season, but looked to have really come together last week. It’s not like the Ravens offence is very tough to contain either. Just keep Ray Rice in check, stop Torrey Smith when he goes deep and watch for screens. That seems like the only ways they can move the ball.

And if you’re picking the Ravens to win on Sunday, all you have to remember is that you’re betting against Tom Brady at home. That should be enough said.

SAN FRANCISCO -2.5 over New York Giants
Think about the how the playoffs work and how the Super Bowl usually turns out. How many times do we really get that perfect matchup? The one with all the season-long storylines that come together or a possible rematch of a classic past game usually never happens. So that’s why the 49ers will win on Sunday.

That would deny of us of two potential Super Bowl rematches involving the Giants, including the one that everyone wants to see: New York taking on New England.

But this isn’t just a pick because of that storyline; the Niners are talented enough to win this game. They’ve already beaten the Giants at Candlestick once this season and they’re defence is among the best in football.

The Giants are in peak form, but I don’t see them being able to break huge plays thanks to sloppy tackling. That is the huge reason why Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks were able to make those massive gains was because their opponents had terrible form when trying to take them down.

The Niners’ offensive line is also strong enough to contain New York’s vaunted pass rush. They’ll have to bring some blitzes in order to get consistent pressure on Alex Smith.

And don’t think that John Harbaugh isn’t playing the ‘Nobody believes in us’ card. This game is tailor-made for it and the Giants should be coming in overconfident after beating Green Bay last week.

Last week: 2-2
The playoffs: 5-3

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

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Are you sick of the NBA yet? Because I sure am.

Look at the amount of low-scoring games that are taking place night after night and look at how many injuries are being accrued. How many all-stars have are currently hurt right now? By my off-hand count, at least four: Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Al Horford and Manu Ginobilli. I’m sure I’m missing one or two guys as well.

But watching these sloppy games just isn’t fun. Who wants to see the Toronto Raptors play three games in three nights? I don’t even think the fans would appreciate that.

Our Raptors reporter Ryan Wolstat pointed out in today’s Sun that the Raptors had a full practice on Tuesday for the first time in almost two weeks. The next scheduled one is almost two weeks away too! How is this good for teams?

There’s no time for rehabbing players — and there’s a lot of them — to get back into rhythm before stepping into a game.

Look at the Raptors’ Aaron Gray. He was an off-season addition who has missed time with a leg injury and also some minor heart surgery. He hasn’t had a chance to even get a real practice with his new team in and somehow he’ll be expected to step on the court when he’s fit. How is that good?

A sport like baseball can live with a play-almost-everyday schedule because it doesn’t involve the level of exertion that other sports do.

Like I said at the beginning of the NBA season that this year would wear on both its fans and its players. I don’t think I could have been more right.

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