Well, they have done it again. The Patriots are back in the Superbowl for the third time in the last four seasons. They are now one win away from achieving official dynasty status. They would join the 1960s Packers (five NFL titles in seven years), 70s Steelers (four Superbowl titles in six years), 80s 49ers (4-0 in Superbowls between 1981 and 1989) and 90s Cowboys (three titles in four years) in that category. Not bad for an organization that didn't win a single playoff game between 1963 and 1985. What's truly amazing is how they have done it. Despite the absence of three defensive starters they held one of the most potent offenses in NFL history to only three points in the divisional playoffs. On Sunday, the Patriot offense put up 34 points against the best defense in the league .. on the road .. in single-digit temperatures. I know better than to chalk up another Superbowl victory, but the Eagles are in deep, deep trouble.

Beating the Steelers to reach the Superbowl was extra sweet for several reasons:

• The Patriots were able to avenge the Halloween Day blowout. The Steelers absolutely tattooed the Pats that day and ended New England's record winning streak at 21. For all intents and purposes, the Steelers are the only team that has beaten the Patriots since September of 2003. Yes, the Patriots have lost twice over that time, but the Miami Dolphins didn't really beat the Patriots last month. The Patriots beat themselves.



• The win ended Pittsburgh's winning streak at 15 games. Had the Steelers won the Superbowl, they would have only needed to win their first five games next year to break the winning streak record that the Patriots set earlier this season.



• The Patriots, who have won 20 consecutive home games, proved that they could dominate on the road against a very good football team. The New England franchise is now 5-0 in AFC Championship games with three of those wins coming on the road (they "squished the fish" in Miami in 1986 and of course beat the Steelers in 2002).



• The win was the Patriots 33rd over the past two seasons. That set a two-season record previously held by the 1972-73 Dolphins (32-2) and the 1978-79 Steelers (32-6).

Given the way that the Patriots cornerbacks have played, I'd say that the odds that Ty Law will be in a New England uniform next season dropped from about 5 to 1 to about 50 to 1. Asante Samuel is ready to assume a starting role full time and Randall Gay appears to have enough talent to be a starter in the near future. Troy Brown's play at cornerback this season has been nothing short of miraculous. Cornerback remains the team's biggest weak spot, but a great defensive scheme and some hard work by the players has kept the loss of Law and Poole from becoming a disaster.

Sunday's loss to the Patriots marked the fourth time in five chances that Bill Cowher has lost the AFC Championship Game at home. Cowher would be 0-5 at home in AFC title games if the Colts' Aaron Bailey had been able to grab a pass in the endzone on the last play of the game in Pittsburgh's 20-16 win in the 1996 AFC Championship. I've always thought that Cowher was a pretty good coach, but he's getting dangerously close to becoming Marty Schottenheimer, Jr. Like Schottenheimer, Cowher is tremendously successful in the regular season but his teams inevitably collapse in the playoffs. The fact that so many of those seasons have ended at home has to be especially upsetting to the Steelers faithful.

I'm hardly a fan of the City of Philadelphia, but I was happy to see the Eagles finally get the proverbial monkey off their backs. The sports fans of Philadelphia have not witnessed a professional championship since Dr. J and Moses Malone led the 76ers to a championship in 1983. Since then, their teams are a combined 0-6 in championship rounds (Flyers 0-3, Phillies 0-2, Sixers 0-1). The Eagles have been in one Superbowl. That was in January of 1981 (Superbowl XV) .

Corey Dillon came dangerously close to hitting a fan with a football that he fired against the wall behind the endzone following his third quarter touchdown. Throwing fastballs against the back wall is the latest craze among touchdown-makers in the NFL. I have been waiting all season for one to get away and nail a spectator. Dillon's toss on Sunday nearly did. Don't be surprised if that type of celebration becomes an automatic 15 yard penalty next season.

It's hard to make a prediction for the Superbowl without knowing the health of two key players: Terrell Owens and Richard Seymour. Seymour is very important to the Patriots defense, but Owens means everything to the Philadelphia offense. If Owens does play, he may not be very effective. Even if Owens can run, his gimpy leg may not allow him to employ the physical style that is the basis for so much of his success. My early prediction is Patriots 31, Eagles 20 with Corey Dillon taking home MVP honors. If Owens doesn't play at all, the Patriots should win this game by a lot more.

I've always had problems confusing actors Dylan McDermott and Benjamin Bratt. I guess they don't look that much alike, but they are both on lawyer shows, are about the same age and have the same hair color. I know that one of them dated Julia Roberts (but then again, who hasn't?). To make matters worse, they have both (a) grown their hair long (b) grown beards and (c) appeared in NFL commercials. I may never figure it out. Don Cheadle is also appearing in several new NFL commercials .. or was that Tim Meadows?

The Boston Celtics improved to 20-22 with a big win over the Indiana Pacers tonight at the FleetCenter. Amazingly, the win propelled the Celtics into first place in the Atlantic Division. In fact, the Celtics just may be the favorites to win the Atlantic. The Knicks are in a free fall, the Nets have been decimated by injuries and the Raptors are just plain awful. The Sixers are probably the toughest challenge in a division where 38 wins could be enough to finish first. At present, the Celtics are the only team in the division that has scored more points than they have allowed. If the Celtics can finish first in the Atlantic they would be guaranteed no worse than the 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. If the playoffs started today, the 6 seed (#6 plays #3 in the first round) would be Orlando. Chicago is not far behind at #7 though it is likely that Indiana will move up now that Jackson and O'Neal are both back from suspension. Cleveland and Washington are also likely first round opponents for the Atlantic Division champ. So, despite a terrible first half, the Celtics stand a very good chance of not only winning the division, but advancing to the second round of the playoffs. To do that, though, they will need to be better in the second half. Here is a brief status report:

The Good

Al Jefferson and Tony Allen -- Only a few precincts have reported, but BostonSportsHub is projecting that the Celtics 2004 draft was a great success. The horror show that was the 2001 draft will haunt Celtics fans a while, but I believe that last year's draft will restore some faith in the organization. Both Allen and Jefferson have superstar written all over them. Jefferson, the 20-year-old rookie, is averaging around 7 points, 5 rebounds and a block while playing only 16 minutes per game. Like most 20-year-olds (everyone but LeBron I guess), he has a lot to learn but C's fans can't help but be giddy with what they have seen. The same goes for Tony Allen, the 23-year-old rookie out of Oklahoma State. The rook already has NBA defensive skills and will eventually be a big time scorer. He's been inconsistent on the offensive side but his game is coming together. He was 9 for 11 from the field and scored 20 points in Atlanta last weekend. Due to injuries, we really haven't seen much of Delonte West, but most Celtics fans believe that he will be a major contributor down the road as well.

Home Sweet Home -- The Celtics have played outstanding basketball on the FleetCenter parquet this season. Boston is 14-6 at home (11-2 in their last 13). Granted, the home schedule hasn't been very tough but it is great to see the Celtics winning at home again. It's still a far cry from the old days, though. The Celtics were 50-1 at home in 1985-86.

Trivia: Speaking of 1986, can you name the one team that beat the Celtics at the Garden that season? (answer below)

The Mixed News

Paul Pierce -- Many writers have pointed out that Paul Pierce isn't particularly happy with the present situation in Boston and there is a remote possibility that he will be traded this season. Pierce appears to be going through a Nomarification of late and it surely concerns the Celtics brass. It would be difficult, however, for the Celtics to part with Pierce because without him they would no longer be competitive. Trading Pierce at midseason doesn't make too much sense because the Celtics have already won 20 games and even without him they would not end up with a high lottery pick. Dealing him at the beginning of the season would have made more sense because the Celtics would have been lousy enough to have a shot at one of the top three picks in the 2005 Draft. Pierce's numbers have been solid as usual (21.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg), but he appears to have peaked about three years ago.

Gary Payton -- Gary Payton's play can best be described as average. At times, he's been great but more often than not he looks like a player whose best days are well behind him (it is hard to believe that Payton is just two years removed from a season where he averaged 20 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds). It doesn't help that Payton doesn't want to play for Celtics and has been quite vocal about that fact. I will be very surprised if he is still wearing Celtic green after the February 24th trading deadline.

Raef LaFrentz -- I suppose that Raef LaFrentz's 10.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg could be described as a pleasant surprise only because no one expected anything from a guy who, along with Mark Blount, seems to have destoyed the Celtics salary cap situation through the rest of the decade. LaFrentz has been giving Doc some decent minutes but it is not nearly enough to justify his $10 million salary ($55 million through 2009).

Ricky Davis -- Ricky "Mr. Inconsistency" Davis has been predictably unpredictable this season. At times he's been a superstar. The best example is a game in LA in December when Davis almost single-handedly beat the Clippers (34 points). Two weeks ago, he scored a combined 52 points in back to back games against the Raptors and Hawks. Then there's the other Ricky. The one that scored a total of six points on back to back nights in Dallas and Memphis. Boston is Ricky's fourth stop in seven NBA seasons and it wouldn't be shocking to see him in City #5 sometime in the next year. On the other hand, he is only 25 years old and seems to fit the Rivers/Ainge style of play so it just might be worthwhile for the Celtics to keep him around.

The Bad News

Mark Blount -- Mark Blount is a 250 pound, $40 million paperweight. After getting double-doubles in 15 of his last 25 games last season and finishing second in the NBA to Shaq in field goal percentage, Blount has been non-existent this season. He's averaging just 5.5 rebounds per game and has been in double-figures in boards only twice. To be honest, most of the time I'd rather have a drunk Vin Baker out there. The best phrase I can come up with is unmitigated disaster.

Road Woes -- The Celtics have been flat out abysmal on the road this season. They are now 6-16 away from the FleetCenter after a respectable 5-7 start on the road. Just the other night, they blew a 17-point lead in Atlanta and were beaten by the 7-30 Hawks. The best way for the Celtics to improve in the second half of the season is to start winning a few road games, especially the ones against bad teams like Atlanta.

Trivia Answer: The Portland Trailblazers

If you would like a more detailed analysis of the Celtics, don't forget to read Steve Vinci's Notes