New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals
4:30 pm ET
TV—NBC

Last Sunday night, the Jets closed out the actual regular season history of “old” Giants Stadium the way the Giants wanted to the week before, turning a win-and-in situation into a rout against the Bengals, 37-0. The Jets and their # 1 pass defense held the Bengals to zero passing yards for the game. That’s right, ZERO passing yards. That’s not likely to happen again today, when the Jets visit the Bengals for a rematch that will determine who goes home and who moves on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis held RB Cedric Benson out of the Week 17 game, and only let QB Carson Palmer play a few series before letting some bearded guy named J.T. O’Sullivan take over. Lewis didn’t want to show too much, but what he may have shown in the process was that his team is fading fast and may have won games early in the season with smoke and mirrors. The Bengals’ defense is also solid, ranked #7 against the rush and #6 against the pass, but if they allow Thomas Jones and the Jets’ running game to control the clock again, this could very well be another dominant performance by the Jets. And don’t forget the way Jets’ all-world CB Darrelle Revis shut down WR Chad Ochocinco on the field and then on Twitter. The hotter Jets should prevail again, but either way, this is a game featuring two of the NFL’s best defenses, so it’s likely to be ultimately determined by who makes the least mistakes.
THE PICK: JETS 17, BENGALS 13

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
8:00 pm ET
TV—NBC

For as surprising as the Jets’ thrashing of the Bengals was last weekend, the fact that the Cowboys shut out the Eagles may have been the biggest surprise of Week 17. Sure, the Cowboys have been on a roll since handing the Saints their first loss of the season a few weeks back, and haven’t given up a point since then. But the Eagles had won six in a row and were (insert cheesy line here like “flying high” or “soaring”). Despite having Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles have fallen to 22nd in the NFL in rushing offense and have been living by the big pass play most of the season, with second year WR DeSean Jackson changing games by himself on offense and special teams. The Cowboys, however, have beaten the Eagles twice this season, and their only losses came to the Giants twice (in games that could have gone either way), Denver, Green Bay and San Diego. They can run the ball (7th overall), pass with Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Jason Witten (6th overall) and they can stop the run (4th overall). The only blemish for the Cowboys is they are prone to big pass plays, but they seem to have remedied that recently, and with DeMarcus Ware coming off the edge, Donovan McNabb has to have eyes on the side and back of his head at all times. This game will certainly be close, and maybe come down to a field goal. And in that case, would you rather have David Akers or (gulp) Shaun Suisham as your kicker? That’s what I thought.
THE PICK: EAGLES 27, COWBOYS 24

All times ET…

NBA Finals
Sun, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)

Stanley Cup Finals
Sat, 8 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ Los Angeles Dodgers (FOX)
Sun., 1:30 PM: Texas Rangers @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ Los Angeles Dodgers (ESPN)

French Open
Fri, 5 AM: Women’s Semifinals (Tennis Channel)
Fri, 10 AM: Men’s Semifinals (NBC)
Sat, 9 AM: Women’s Finals (NBC)
Sun, 9 AM: Men’s Finals (NBC)

Horse Racing
Sat, 5 PM: The Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park (ABC)

Since moving to Los Angeles from Michigan, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to watch my Red Wings without buying a cable package I wouldn’t be using otherwise. As such, I’ve had to find all possible venues for watching hockey in downtown LA. BTW, to show some love, Far Bar in Little Tokyo totally hooked me up with Game 1 of the Cup Finals.

Even though it was only on NBC, it should be noted that my quest for comfortable settings for watching the Wings is not going to get any easier this week or even next season. Apparently, NBC bumped (to the Versus channel) the Stanley Cup Finals for every weeknight in order to maintain its week-long coverage of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! (A television program I’m sure we will be talking about for years to come) and the start of the new Conan O’Brien show. Back home, folks aren’t particularly happy about the move. Here’s what Michael Zuidema of The Grand Rapids Press had to say as posted on MLive:

Granted, hockey hasn’t consistently pulled the strongest ratings numbers throughout the years, but it doesn’t deserve to be treated like a second-class citizen or an afterthought. Not when you have a matchup pitting Hockeytown against hockey’s poster boy, Sidney Crosby.

The buzz already is there, build on it. Or is Conan O’Brien that much more important? (Never mind, we already know the answer.)

For all NBC does right with hockey — and its coverage of the Winter Classic stands out as a huge plus — the sport still doesn’t feel like a priority, even during the Winter Olympics.

And Versus may be fighting for its niche in the sports world, but it still isn’t a destination point for casual fans. It’s not even available in every home. Nonetheless, it will carry the NHL through the 2010-11 season.

I like Conan O’Brien, and people watch him more than hockey. I’m not debating the numbers here. Nor am I about to tell everyone in Los Angeles to start liking a sport they can’t actually play without all sorts of technology. I suppose what I would like to say, and this kind of echoes Mr. Zuidema, is that despite its relative lack of mainstream appeal, hockey is still one of the great sports in America. Where it’s popular, it’s VERY popular.

I wish there was some easier way to get around all this, some way to bring hockey back to a more profitable level in order to justify it preempting something else instead of vice versa, but there isn’t. Either you like hockey or you don’t. But come on, hockey is sweet. In that vein here’s another article to check out: 10 Reasons Why You Should Be A Hockey Fan.

The conference finals were a big yawn, but the Stanley Cup offers an intriguing matchup. Sid the Kid looks to dethrone Hockeytown and spoil the back-to-back title party being planned in the Motor City. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings were the preseason favorites to meet once again in the Cup finals, and both encountered a rough road back to this anticipated rematch.

Oh, and the Lakers and Magic look to close out their respective series this weekend.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 9 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ESPN)
Sat, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
Sun, 8:30 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers *if necessary (ABC)

Stanley Cup Finals
Sat, 8 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)
Sun, TBD: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays (FOX)
Sun., 12:40 PM: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs (ESPN)

French Open
Fri, 5 AM: Opening Round Matches (Tennis Channel)
Fri, 12 PM: Opening Round Matches (ESPN2)
Sat, 5 AM: Opening Round Matches (Tennis Channel)
Sat, 1:30 PM: Opening Round Matches (NBC)
Sun, 5 AM: Round of 16 (Tennis Channel)
Sun, 3 PM: Round of 16 (NBC)

These four words begin one of the grandest traditions in auto racing, as the 93rd Indianapolis 500 will take place this weekend. The Old Brickyard has been home to some memorable finishes and characters that make this one of the marquee events on the racing season.

The NBA Conference Finals are really heating up. Arguably, the four best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) in the league are fighting tooth and nail for a title. All four have shown the determination and drive needed to win a NBA crown.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
Sat, 8:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
Sun, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Fri, 8 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (Versus)
Sat, 7:30 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
Sun, 3 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees (FOX)
Sun., 1:30 PM: New York Mets @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins (ESPN)

Auto Racing
Sun, 1 PM: The 93rd Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ABC)

Tennis
Sun, 5 AM: The French Open (ESPN2)

King also added that the NFL is on the verge of reaching a two-year contract extension with FOX and CBS to continue broadcasting their Sunday game packages. Many feel that NBC will likely follow suit and agree to a similar deal for their Sunday evening game package sometime before the start of the season.

Here is the breakdown of the potential agreement between the NFL and Comcast:

NFL Network had been carried on a pay sports tier for Comcast’s 24-million subscribers, and the NFL for years has been arguing its channel should be on the regular digital cable package with the ESPNs and CNNs of the cable TV world. Now that is close to happening. The deal would mean that instead of paying about $7 per month for the channel and other pay-TV sports channels, Comcast subscribers will get NFL Network with its regular digital package — and it will increase the number of TV homes the Network is seen in from about 35 million to close to 50 million. More importantly, it could well pave the way for the NFL to make deals with other cable companies similarly chapped at the league’s demand for huge rights fees for a sports channel with only 24 hours of NFL regular-season game programming per year.

Many in the league office feared that without a wider distribution of the NFL Network, the owners would have moved to cease operations of the channel. They were getting frustrated with the lack of movement in their five-year battle against Comcast on the network’s distribution rights.

The NFL will return to the negotiating table later this spring, as talks between the league and the NFL players association will begin on coming to a new collection bargaining agreement.

Sunday going to be a special day for all couch potatoes. We have an original six matchup in the NHL Western Conference final and not one but two Game 7’s in the NBA playoffs. Enjoy!

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Sun, 3:30 PM: Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
Sun, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Sun, 3 PM: Chicago Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants (Fox)
Sun., 1 PM: Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants (ESPN)

Horse Racing
Sat, 4:30 PM: The Preakness Stakes (NBC)