Only four days left

Mass Effect 2
Well, it's the home stretch now. Mass Effect 2 is out in less than four days. To you, those will feel like four days. To me, they will feel like four eternities squished together and slathered with eon icing. I was holding onto a hope that I might get a review copy delivered before the end of the day but, yeah, no. That's cool. Maybe Monday? If not then, then Tuesday I'll either get a review copy, my collector's edition or both. I know, I sound like Gollum -- and I'll probably look like him when I emerge from my cave/couch weeks from now, having completed several playthroughs of awesomeness. Until I get the game in my grubby little hands, I will watch this launch trailer until my synapses fry -- with tears of joy streaming down my face.

Lost
Hey, are you ready for the return (and final season) of Lost? If you're like me, you can't remember anything about last season and will scramble to (unsuccessfully) catch up as much as possible before it airs. A cool thing about the show's impending return is all the fun viral-y stuff hitting the net. Like this and this. Enjoy!

Cable
Why is cable TV better than network? Hey, how about because there's going to be a Walking Dead TV series and one for George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, too.

And finally…
Japan. It's a hell of a place.

Pump Fake: Heading into the semis

Well, the Cowboys are out. They deserve to be after that shite performance. On the bright side: my ulcer can rest – at least until the World Cup in June, anyway. Bright side part deux: the Chargers are out, too. Sweet! I guess what bugs me more about the Cowboys-Vikings game was that it was a bad game that could have been really awesome. Oh well.

(Record: Last week: 2-2; Total: 5-3)

NY Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts
Here’s the thing: Yeah, the Jets are this sexy, wild Cinderella ride right now. And yeah, it would be something else to see them beat the Colts (again) and cruise into a seemingly destiny-filled Super Bowl appearance. Who wouldn’t want to see that, right? But, hey, friends, Cinderella rides suck when they don’t go all the way into the station and – I may be completely wrong here – but I don’t think the Jets have what it takes to beat any of the teams left. Then again, I thought they couldn’t beat the Chargers either. Still, there are a few things that make Indy extremely dangerous in this one. 1) They’re riding out their first ever playoff win with Peyton coming off a bye week. And 2) the Colts have something to prove here. That last loss against the Jets sucked and they’re looking to set that straight. Peyton Manning and those dudes are not people you want to piss off. Especially when you were the first team to spoil his perfect season. Especially when it’s just you standing between him and the Super Bowl game. Should be a great game. (And then maybe George R.R. Martin can get back to work on the next A Song of Ice and Fire book he's been working on for, like, 18 friggin' years or whatever...)

Winner: Indianapolis

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints
This one seems simple at first. While the Vikings played a good game, the Cowboys lost that game more than they won it. When you look at the Saints, they destroyed a Cardinals team that was playing full burn. That tells me the New Orleans team that came up with 13 wins this season is back, rather than that New Orleans team that posted three losses. But then there’s Brett Favre, so it gets dodgy. I’m still going to pick New Orleans, because I think they’re the better team and I’d love to see a Peyton Manning vs. Drew Brees Super Bowl. But if the Jets beat the Colts, I’d rather the Vikes win, too, that way the weird flukiness is cancelled out.

Winner: New Orleans