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In the year of the upset, Colts beware! Ohio State was favored by 8 points in last month's BCS title game. The '06 George Mason Patriots were 9½-point dogs for their Elite 8 classic with Connecticut back in March. The upstart Mavericks toppled the defending champion Spurs in the second round of the NBA playoffs. The Heat beat the No. 1-seeded Pistons. The 83-win St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series. Boise State beat Oklahoma. The Edmonton Oilers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. Heck, Taylor Hicks beat Katharine McPhee. Folks, whether you realize it or not — it's the year of the upset. And come Sunday evening? Well, get ready to be stunned ... again. The Chicago Bears, they of the much-maligned quarterback, the banged-up defense, and the highly-questioned strength of schedule — are going to shock the world in this year's Super Bowl. But should we really be shocked at all? Somewhere lost in all the predictions and prognostications that go along with this weekend's game is the fact that the Bears are a pretty darn good football team. In 2006, Chicago had the second-highest scoring offense in the league, gave up the third-least amount of points, and fielded the best special teams unit in all of football. Chicago's defense had the most takeaways in the NFL during the regular season, and the team tied for the fourth-best takeaway margin in the league. Upset? Shocker? Hmm ... maybe I'm missing something. While the rest of the sports media world seems fixated on Rex Grossman's fragile psyche, Peyton Manning's new-found postseason success, and the back story on Anthony McFarland's nickname — everyone seems to be overlooking a fairly simple fact: The Bears are terrific. In '06, Chicago started the season by winning 9 of their first 10 games, beat the defending NFC Champion Seahawks twice, and toppled teams by 30 points or more on three different occasions. The Bears scored thirty or more points in 7 of 16 games, put up 300 total yards of offense in 12 of 16, and were one of three teams in the NFL with 2 running backs who recorded six or more touchdowns in '06. They lost only one road game, had more Pro Bowl players on their roster than any other NFC team, and featured arguably the best linebacker corps to grace a football field since the '00 Ravens. And that quarterback? That awful, terrible, heinous, embarrassment to the sport wearing No. 8? Yeah, well, he's actually not that bad. In fact, gosh darn it (said in Stuart Smalley voice), he's good enough to be an NFL quarterback. And what do you know? He's going to be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Though Rex Grossman had some colossal duds this season (see Arizona, Miami, Minnesota, Green Bay), he also threw in some absolute gems. Some noteworthy performances: Week 2, Detroit: 20-27, 289 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; WIN Week 8, San Francisco: 23-29, 252 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; WIN Week 15, Tampa Bay: 29-44, 339 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; WIN Maybe Grossman's best game of the year, though, came on November 19th in frigid New York. Up against a red-hot Jets team in near impossible weather conditions for the passing game, Grossman did all the Bears defense really needs him to do — he played smart football. Yep, on that cold November day, Grossman became a term so over-used by the media that I dread even typing it out — he became a "game manager." In the 10-0 win, the Bears quarterback went 11-22 for 119 yards and a touchdown. He threw no interceptions. The rushing attack tore up a less-than-stellar rush defense (hmm ... interesting), the defense forced turnovers, and the offense just ate the clock. If Grossman can put together a similar performance on Sunday, the Bears will be in it until the end. And yet, this whole idea that it's Grossman vs. the Colts defense, or Grossman vs. Manning, or even Grossman vs. himself is ridiculous in itself. It's not Grossman vs. Bob Sanders. This isn't Jordan vs. Bird. There's no three-point contest, no game of H.O.R.S.E., no height advantage. It's Grossman and his ten teammates, the gameplan drawn up by offensive coordinator Ron Turner, and guidance provided by offensive assistant coaches Mike Bajakian, Rob Boras, Harry Hiestand, Tim Spencer, and Wade Wilson versus whatever 25 people that make up the Colts D. Rex versus the world? Not quite. Not in this sport. Look for Chicago to come out focused and aiming to dominate the time-of-possession game on Sunday. Sure, that's easier said than done. But that Colts defensive line — that same defensive line that gave up 170 yards per game, that same Colts defensive line that allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to run for 375 yards, that same Colts defensive line that saw Ron Dayne tear off 160 yards all over them — yeah, that Colts defensive line? Well, let's just say they've had teams eat them up on the ground in the past. Chicago certainly won't be the first to do so. If the Jones-Benson locomotive gets going early, it could be a long evening for Indy fans. And there's only so much Peyton Manning can do while standing on the sidelines. In the end, we can sit and list 50 reasons why both teams will win. We can cite enough statistics to drive Bill James crazy. After a while, all the senseless talking-head chatter will begin to blend together into one incomprehensible noise. If you're looking for that — turn anywhere this week and you'll find some. I'm sure someone's screaming on ESPN at this very moment. I'll just rely on recent history. It's the year of the upset. Even if the Bears beating the Colts isn't an upset at all. Final Score? Bears: 20 Colts: 13

The only Bears qb to ever win 15 games in a season. Not that that means anything, but, still.

The local tv newscasts repeatedly said that the decision was to be made at a hearing taking place this today sometime.

The judge has to let him play for his (the judges) own self-preservation.

We killed Bambi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WooHoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, this looks like it was the closest prediction to the actual outcome. What a great game!

An ESPN users poll.... 1) Which team will win the NFC title game? 61.3% New Orleans Saints 38.7% Chicago Bears

WOW is right, 8 out of 8 "experts" choose the Saints to prevail, I hope the team saw this, might be good for motivation.

Bears 21 Saints 20