Stupid Siberians

The weather report in my paper a few days ago showed some huge wind formation, gusting from the North Pole, due South over Canada into the Upper Midwest. It was symbolized by a big, arrow, stretching several hundred miles wide, and labeled "Siberian Express." That is, the ridiculously frigid and unpleasant tempatures we Midwesterners are now experiencing is the result of air coming all the way from Siberia, over the Pole, and into the North American continent. Since I lack a degree in meteorology, I can't explain why this is happening. But I can bemoan it.

And I will, because it, combined with the genius NFL scheduling that determined the NFC Championship game will start at 5:30 pm Central time, may very well cancel out the Packers' most glaring advantage over los Gigantes this evening. That is-- the Packer's quintet of solid wideouts (DD, Jennings, Jones, Koren Robinson and Ruvell Martin) vs. the Giants creaky and injury-riddled secondary. The cold makes the ball hard, and makes fingers numb-- worsening one's ability to throw and catch the football. Now, it's good that the Packers' passing game is premised on short to medium range passes, but still, the weather is going to make passing the ball harder. This makes me nervous. Ah, hell. I'm just generally antsy about this game.

I definitely feel the Packers are the more complete team. But the cold equalizes things. The result may be totally fluky. The Pack has had more rest, fewer travel days, and an extra day of rest in the past week. Maybe that will kick in. But I'm uncertain about this game. I really don't know how the weather will affect it. Anything could happen. Why can't the Russians keep their air to themselves?