Are you good at picking winners?  The NFL playoffs started this weekend, and I decided to pick the winners of each game, all the way to the Super Bowl winner.  If there’s any indication that my picks aren’t too good, then look no further. 

I chose Dallas, Green Bay, Cincinnati and New England for the first weekend.  Dallas was the only pick that I had that won their game.  The other 3 teams that I chose lost.  I’m sure glad that I didn’t have money riding on the games.  What a loser.

Still, I’m not completely done yet.  I have Minnesota, New Orleans, Indy and San Diego winning their games this weekend.  For the conference championships, I have Minnesota and Indy moving to the Super Bowl.  And my Super Bowl pick?  Minnesota!

Like I said, I’m not too confident after the first weekend.  But, you never know…

Which NFL team is your favorite?  Or NBA or MLB favorite team?  For me, the St. Louis Rams have always been my favorite.  Ever since my flag football days as a youth, when my team was the Rams, I’ve been a Rams fan.  Back then, the team was based out of Los Angeles.  The players I remember were Roman Gabriel, John Cappalletti, Hacksaw Reynolds and Merlin Olsen.  There were many more memorable players over the years.

There were many ups and downs over the 30 plus years now that I’ve been following the Rams.  They made it to the Super Bowl in the 70′s, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In the 90′s, they were doing so badly for several years that I contemplated choosing a new “favorite team.”  My reasoning was that they were no longer the true Rams since they moved to St. Louis.  But I remained faithful and I was rewarded the next year when Kurt Warner took the team to Super Bowl victory.

The last couple of years have been dour.  I think they only won 2 games last year, and this year they are winless.  I believe that teams go through cycles.  It wasn’t that long ago when the 49ers dominated the NFL.  Lately, they haven’t been as successful (although they look like they may cycle into winning form with their new coach, Mike Singltary).  I will remain loyal to my Rams.  Maybe they’ll do better in a few years.  Right now, that’s how long it looks like it’s going to take to get better.

My favorite MLB team is the Dodgers.  They went through some lean years after their glory years in the 80′s with Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Ron Cey and Bill Russell.  They won an emotional World Series in the early 90′s with Kirk Gibson.  But until last year, they haven’t been doing so well.  They’re back in the NLCS this year after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals.  I have something to cheer about this October!!

Curiously, my favorite NBA team is not the LA Lakers.  You would have thought that all my favorite professional teams would be from LA, but it didn’t work out that way.  My favorite NBA team is the Philadelphia 76ers.  The reason for this is because I loved to watch Dr. J in my youth.  Ever since then, I’ve remained a Sixers fan.  We had some good years when Allen Iverson was a Sixer.  Alas, we are in a down cycle right now.

So there you have it – my favorite professional teams.  Overall, I can’t complain.  They’ve all had good years over time and that’s all I can ask for.