Super Prediction: House of Cards

I am a serious fantasy football player. My friends know it. My girlfriend Susan knows it. She even played in one of my leagues. I had three teams going this season, and to be perfectly honest, I sucked.

Last year, I was the Golden Boy. All three of my teams made the playoffs and two of them won championships. When I played in the semifinals of one league, my opponent had virtually the entire record-destroying Patriots offense -- but it was the week they played the Jets in an ice storm. Piece of cake.

This year, I overthought my way to a pair of 5-9 teams. Only one of my teams made the playoffs, and I only got in with an 8-6 record. I was a lot like the Arizona Cardinals, limping into the playoffs and not expected to go very far, especially with the powerhouses I could expect to face in the championship game.

Ah, but even a dog has his day, and with a dash of Jay Cutler here and a pinch of Maurice Jones-Drew there, I was able to sneak off with the $500 championship prize, defeating a team with Donovan McNabb, Adrian Peterson and Andre Johnson, among other studs.

So I'm totally feeling the Cardinals tomorrow. Troy Polamalu can't cover everybody, and Big Ben already took the pipe in one Super Bowl. Why not another? Expect Willie Parker to come up big, and my guess is Nate Washington becomes this year's David Tyree, but in the end, too much Warner and Fitzgerald.

Cardinals 34, Steelers 21. Somewhere, Pat Tillman will be saluting his former mates. What do you think? Check out my poll and get your votes in. But please, no wagering.