I’m trying something new here at the ol’ MB by not automatically having certain posts on certain days (goodbye, Weekend Eye Candy …). But if it’s Monday, and I’ve seen sports I need to rant about, whatcha gonna go …

- For once, everyone in the NFL stuck to the script, and the teams that should be going to the Super Bowl will actually meet in Miami in two weeks. The Colts wore down a gritty but ultimately overwhelmed New York Jets team to take the AFC championship, and the Saints continued their feel-good story season by surviving in overtime against a battered Vikings squad. A couple of things came to mind watching the games. First, if teams take on the personality of their leader, then Peyton Manning must be as cool as the other side of the pillow. Down 11 at the half after a pair of TD passes by rookie Mark Sanchez, the Colts never panicked – hell, they never even cracked a sweat. They just rolled off 24 unanswered points and reminded everyone why they started the season 14-0. One more performance like this, and they’ll justify coach Jim Caldwell’s decision to tank the last two regular season games – and a shot at a perfect season – to rest the starters. Meanwhile, down in the Big Easy, the Saints turned Vikings QB Brett Favre into their own personal voodoo doll, sticking him and bending him into positions no man was designed to assume. Give Brett credit for courage and pain tolerance, but the repeated hits may have led him to force a pass he wishes he could have back – the one intercepted with 15 seconds to go in regulation. Sure, it would have been a 55-yd field goal attempt, but indoors. Whatever your thoughts on that, it’s likely to be the last throw of a Hall of Fame career. Given a healthy offense and a little protection, Favre would be facing Manning in the Super Bowl; instead, he’s facing one more offseason of decision.

- Did you know the 2010 PGA season had started? Probably not, and I’m not surprised. Welcome to the Tigerless-PGA – and it’s not pretty. This is the downside of the legend – much as he was responsible for the addition of new events and inflation of prize checks and audiences, his dramatic fall from grace has left the tour in the hands of a bunch of young, flavorless touring pros. Sure, they have talent, but no one knows who they are – and unless the PGA can figure out how to market them, they’re in trouble. Meanwhile, Eldrick is cooling his … heels … in a Mississippi clinic, purportedly to recover from sex addiction. As I recall, that was the same dodge that Lindsay Lohan pulled, so excuse me if I’m less than sold. One things for sure, though – the tour will be without Woods longer than it thinks. There’s a great article by Jason Sobel on ESPN.com that outlines his belief that Woods simply lost his love for the game long ago, making it all the harder to come back now. I think he’s right, but we’ll see …

-  Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something fundamentally unnerving about seeing Khloe Kardashian at the White House shaking the President’s hand.  And yet, that was just part of the … um, excitement … as the Lakers made their appearance with President Obama for the traditional White House greeting.  Khloe, for those whose tastes don’t take them to places like TMZ.com, is the new wife of forward Lamar Odom.  Dude – next time, just buy a dog and a Bentley … it’s a much better investment, and likely to last a whole lot longer.