We’re all so selfish

The University Students’ Council, it seems, is not fond of letting an election cycle pass without some sort of referendum or plebiscite on the ballot. Three years ago it was selling cigarettes at the former Mustang Alley. Two years ago it was a UCC renovation. Last year it was a, um, UCC renovation.

So what shall we poll thirty per cent of the student body about this year, you ask?

Well, the USC had originally planned to table a proposition that would see students chip in 52 cents a piece yearly to help bring a refugee student to Western to study. The levy would have paid for the students’ clothes, food, textbooks and other essentials. It’s a noble cause — read more about it here — and 52 cents isn’t much to ask.

But some – myself included – took issue with the USC telling students which charities to donate to over others. The USC is not my moral compass. If I’m going to donate to charity, I want to at least have the choice of which charities receive my hard-earned coin. Call me selfish, but it’s my money and I don’t pay my student union to chose which charities I donate too.

Plus, where would the levies end? How can you award a levy for this cause and not for other, equally deserving causes on campus?

If only some student-run newspaper at Western had spoken out against this levy, scrutinizing the USC for the aforementioned reasons.

If only.

And what do ya know, the USC came to their senses this past Wednesday and abolished the referendum mere months after they approved it, making this letter to the editor from USC Vice-President Finance Ely Rygier even funnier in hindsight. Of course, they did it for their own selfish reasons — if you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that’s a trend in this piece.

The USC wants to ask a different question on the 2011 USC election ballot – would students support moving to a 12 month LTC bus pass?

Please, try to contain your excitement.

For the reasonable price of $27 per year, Western students could extend their LTC pass from 8 to 12 months, giving students access to public transit year round. It’s a move that has been discussed by the USC for years and Fanshawe College and the Society of Graduate Students both already operate with 12-month passes.

Londoners and students who stay in the Forest City over the summer months will surely be in support of the 12-month pass. However, the majority of students who desert the city for the summer and thus won’t get any use of the pass may not be as gung-ho about paying $27 for other folks to ride the bus.

But Western students aren’t known for being selfish, right? Oh. Damn.

So a struggle it will be to pass this one, but the hope among the USC is that some students will think about everybody at the school rather than themselves and cough up the $27. Of course, that money may be much better spent on a night at Jack’s that you won’t remember. The choice is yours!

Well, likely yours, assuming the USC can move quickly and get a referendum on the ballot.

Pat Searle currently has a poll running over at his website Fuss on the Bus where you can share your opinion. At press time 75% of respondents had indicated they would vote yes to a 12-month bus pass. Of course, the majority of Fuss on the Bus visitors are likely council members so take that with a healthy grain of USC salt.

Housekeeping

It’s a little early for spring cleaning but the USC got their housekeeping in order this past Wednesday, passing several motions that will affect the upcoming USC elections.

Oh god — I already want to kill myself. Has there ever been a duller, more brain-deflating intro than that? Just do me a favour and go back to Deadspin now.

But regardless, we power on. Because you have to talk about something and really this whole thing doesn’t get interesting until campaign season kicks off at the beginning of February.

And you know what candidates won’t be able to do at the beginning of February? Use the colour purple.

The colour, according to the USC, gives candidates an unfair advantage because it is UWO’s official colour. USC communications officer Nicole Fassina had this to say to the Gazette’s Monica Blaylock:

“The colour purple, which is clearly Western’s colour, symbolizes a sort of bias towards certain candidates.”

Fair enough. It is slightly insulting to assume students would vote based on colour but it’s unfortunately probably not all that far from the truth.

None of last year’s candidates used the colour as they all agreed to an unofficial ban on all things violet. Two years ago, however, Emily Rowe’s campaign colour was purple and she won that election in a landslide. So perhaps there is some rhyme or reason to the decision. For me, as long as we stay away from anything neon we’re cool. I know Kanye is popular, but please spare our retinas.

Later on in Fassina’s interview with the Gazette, she shared this nugget on the issue of banning outdoor campaign signs:

“I don’t know where this rumour started about not having signs on campus. Maybe it’s a good idea to have it in the future but not three weeks before the election.”

Well, it would seem the “rumour” started from the faculty president of a certain prominent business school. Pat Searle had it first:

Now this is big news. If this motion passes, it would mean no signs, no UC Hill placards, no sandwich boards, no nothing. Keen observers will note that 95% of most campaigns are signage and pizza parties, so this motion could have a drastic affect on this election.

The general idea is to make the whole process greener and the equation makes sense. Less signs = less paper = more trees = more air for USC presidential candidates to spew. But the real problem typically is candidates who leave their signs, balloons, flowers and general paraphernalia littered around campus well after the election is complete. Few are ever punished.

I don’t know how much support Felice has on council for this motion, but I can’t imagine it has the legs needed to carry it. USCers love signs. Can’t get enough of them. Plus, without the barrage of signage on campus during the campaign period, most students probably wouldn’t even know there was an election happening — Unless they read the Gazette of course, but who the hell does that.

Last year’s turnout was significantly lower than the year prior and the USC can’t afford to let their pinnacle moment of the year be overshadowed. Signs will continue to coat campus, it says here. But kudos to Felice for bringing up the issue.

Meanwhile, the social science faculty continues their meticulous plot of campus domination as they will be adding two more councilors to the USC next year. They currently have ten. So if you’re in the faculty and want to add a fancy bullet point to the ol’ resume, why not run for councilor since you’ll only need about a half dozen votes to win.

Building up the LTC

A bus shelter has been approved for the space outside of D.B. Weldon library. (Photo illustration Nyssa Kuwahara, Anders Kravis/Gazette)

Students who study late will soon have a bus shelter outside D.B. Weldon Library to huddle in.

After years of promises from University Students’ Council presidential candidates, a bus shelter outside Weldon is finally coming after a partnership was struck between the USC and the London Transit Commission.

“Right now, the USC is going to fund 50 per cent” of the $7,000 to $8,000 shelter, explained Mike Tithecott, president of the University Students’ Council.

He’s hoping to pay for the shelter out of a $204,000 fund the USC acquired this year from leftover LTC strike refund cheques. “But if not, we’re going to take it out of some of my initiative funds.”

The LTC will be covering the other 50 per cent.

John Ford, director of transportation and planning for the LTC, explained the Oxford Drive stop near Weldon and Concrete Beach is a unique one.

“It’s obviously a high volume stop, but also it’s a little bit unique in that it’s served only at nighttime.”

Students have been known to congregate there late at night — sometimes in snow, sleet and rain — waiting for several buses that travel this route after 7 p.m.

Despite being a perennial platform point for years, Ford said he’s only heard about negotiations for the past two to three months.

“I guess nobody’s contacted the LTC about the possibility of it,” Tithecott explained.

This is the second new bus shelter for campus in as many years. The LTC installed a shelter last year at a stop on Huron Drive.

Construction on the new shelter will start in the spring, according to Roy Langille, associate vice-president of Physical Plant at Western.

“The best time for pouring a concrete pad would be sometime before the end of March,” Langille said.

Langille explained the shelter would be purchased from the LTC nearly entirely constructed. Physical Plant would be required to put in the concrete pad and install the shelter.

He noted there would be a minor inconvenience to Physical Plant when it comes to removing snow.

“We definitely have to plan for snow removal around bus shelters,” he said, nothing the shelters need to be completely accessible.

Ford noted there had previously been a University-owned bus shelter at the stop several years ago, which had to be removed due to damages.

Late night bus service

The USC is currently looking into the feasibility of offering its own late night bus service, serving students from Richmond Row to campus and up to Masonville Mall.

“There’s been a lot of reported assaults that we think can be avoided with a late night busing system,” Tithecott said.

The current plan involves a bus system running Thursday to Saturday during the school year.

“We’re doing research right now into different ways to implement this,” Tithecott explained.

Meaghan Coker, vice-president university affairs, noted she predicted a $10- 20 fee would have to be added to student fees to fund the service.

“We understand that if we’re going to levy a specific fee for students, it should be for something they’re willing to pay for.”

But the new fee and service are not yet a sure thing. If the council decides to implement the service, it would need to go to referendum.

A survey conducted by the LTC and USC in 2007 found 58 per cent of students were “very likely” to use a late night bus service if it was offered.

Tithecott explained the USC was forced to look at alternative options for late night transit after the LTC made it clear they weren’t interested in pursuing it.

“It doesn’t pay, the economics just don’t work well for late night busing,” John Ford, director of transportation and planning for the LTC, explained. “Late night service just doesn’t get enough return to justify it.”

He noted if the LTC offered late night service, it would not be viable to offer that service to students only.

“The way a transit system works is in fact a system, but putting just a few routes provides a very limited market opportunity,” Ford explained. “So if you only provide one route, and not a transfer route, people can’t use it. Therefore they don’t ride.”

He also explained safety was a priority for both passengers and drivers during late night service.

But Coker explained student safety was a primary motivator for pursuing late night bus service in the first place.

“We know specific friends in our groups that have been actually attacked,” she explained, adding her work with London Police Services led to discovering there was a high frequency of violence in the area late at night.

Twelve-month bus pass

Students searching for cheaper rides in London during the summer may soon be able to ride with the LTC.

At Tithecott’s meeting with the LTC, he asked about the possibility of bumping the USC’s eight-month bus pass to 12 months.

“The option’s there, it’s always been there,” he noted. “We would be paying the same rate as Fanshawe and [Western’s Society of Graduate Students].”

As of September 2010, the cost of an eight-month pass was $142.63. A 12-month pass would cost $171.84 — an increase of around $29.

If the USC decided to pursue the idea, they would be forced to put the decision to a referendum since the cost increase exceeds five per cent — the maximum amount the USC can add without going to referendum.

Tithecott noted since the passes were universal, all undergraduate students would need to have the same type of pass and couldn’t opt out of the program or choose an eight-month pass instead.

“The undergrad students at the university can get the 12-month bus pass,” Ford said. “It would be under the same terms and conditions that the current 12-month bus passes are.”

Both SOGS and the Fanshawe Student Union currently have 12-month bus passes.

“Part of it was the cost, it wasn’t that much more,” Joe Scalia, president of the FSU explained about the decision to include a mandatory yearlong pass. “We have a lot more students who are local, who are here to work in the summer or stay to work in the summer.”

Six years ago, the USC decided against the 12-month bus pass because of the cost increase.

“Fanshawe said, ‘Good, lets go.’ The USC dropped off at that point,” Ford explained.

The student bus pass represents significant savings compared to a normal monthly bus pass, which costs $70 per month. Ford said they justify the cost because it was guaranteed ridership for the LTC. While members of the public did not always buy monthly bus passes, revenue from student passes would be guaranteed.

“The concept of the pass program is that the program should be revenue neutral, so it can’t negatively impact our bottom line,” Ford explained. “Does it? Yeah, maybe. What it does do is provide a ridership base we can count on.”

Golden Globe Buzz

Golden Globe buzz

The 68th Golden Globe awards — a show celebrating excellence in television and film — will take place this Sunday in Beverly Hills.

Ricky Gervais, creator of The Office, is hosting the awards show for a second time. The comedian is expected to push the envelope and has already promised to lay into a few select celebrities throughout the night.

Globe nominations for Best Motion Picture, Drama includes blockbuster hits The Social Network, The Fighter, Black Swan, The King’s Speech and Inception, and directors of all the films nominated are up for Best Director, Motion Picture.

Other films with buzz are Burlesque and Alice in Wonderland, which are both nominated for Best Comedy or Musical.

In a tight race for Best Actor in a Drama, Jesse Eisenberg is up against James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Mark Wahlberg and Colin Firth.

Nominees for Best Actress in a drama include Halle Berry, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Michelle Williams and Jennifer Lawrence.

The awards given will be a good indicator of what can be expected from the Oscars in February.

The Golden Globe Awards is set to air this Sunday on NBC from 8 to 11 p.m

— Nicole Gibillini

Letter: Lefties shouldn’t pay Palin attention

To the Editor:

Sarah Palin is a genius. Being a lefty, it pains me to say so, but it’s true.

Following the shooting in Tucson last Saturday, Palin has been questioned about one of her graphics that used targets to point out the democratic constituencies republicans needed to focus on taking back in the recent mid-term elections. In the midst of this controversy, she released a statement calling the “blame stream” media’s attempt to spin the Tucson attack against her “reprehensible.” This response was rather mundane and expected, but her use of the phrase “blood libel” in the statement was genius.

“Blood libel” is the false accusation, spread by anti-Semitic groups, that Jewish people kill Christian children in order to use their blood in religious rituals. The phrasing, then, was insensitive (especially since Gabrielle Giffords, the target of the Tucson attack, is Jewish) and perhaps reprehensible in itself, but it was incredibly effective for three reasons.

Firstly, it had already been used by a commentator in the Wall Street Journal, part of the “blame stream” media.

Secondly, it can be twisted to fit Palin’s view of the current situation. To Palin, the media has slandered her reputation using the blood of the Tucson victims.

Thirdly, and most importantly, it will upset people who understand the power of speech, drawing inevitable, and justified, backlash from many lefty groups and commentators.

Any controversy about her phrasing will facilitate Palin and her clique of extremist righties (Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc.) to incite the emotional fervour that draws in their followers. They will inevitably use any criticism to suggest that their right to express political views using the discourse and symbols they choose as freedom loving, democracy promoting, constitution protecting Americans is under attack.

It is this controversy that lefties should not give to Palin et al. Alas, I’m watching CNN right now, and there is already much buzz about Palin’s comments. I guess we lefties have once again offered her the controversy she so desperately needs.

Love her or hate her, The Thrilla from Wasilla is right in all the wrong ways.

— Martin Winquist

Eng. PhD

Auto-Tune out

I personally look forward to the day when I can listen to robots serenade me with my favourite tunes. At least it would look cool to have a robot singing and dancing – presumably while doing the robot.

But until then, can we get rid of Auto-Tune altogether? I’ll even sacrifice the generally hilarious Auto-Tune the News.

Since T-Pain, among other artists, popularized Auto-Tune in his “music” it has been found everywhere, specifically on every radio station and in every magazine’s top 40 lists.

It has become mainstream for pop and hip-hop artists to use Auto-Tune whenever possible, egregiously violating my ears every time their songs are played.

It is no longer the case that artists occasionally use the program to create interesting sound effects with their voice or their beats, much like Peter Frampton did with his talk box – if you haven’t heard of him, he’s a pretty famous rock musician and has guest starred on The Simpsons.

Now it’s used solely to cover up terrible pitch and poor vocals. In other words, you no longer have to have any talent at all, and many popular artists do not – I’m looking squarely at you Kesha.

Even worse, it has led legitimately talented artists to get lazy and produce crappy songs. Artists like Lady Gaga, will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas have shown they have an extraordinary amount of musical talent. Lady Gaga is known to be a very talented singer and pianist while the Black Eyed Peas’ first album, Behind the Front, was critically acclaimed.

But now it’s enough to produce “The Time (Dirty Bit),” which is entirely Auto-Tuned and samples — or steals — pretty heavily from “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” It’s nice to know that the Black Eyed Peas are making millions on something that probably took about 20 minutes to produce.

Is it too much to ask that people actually care about their craft and put work into their lyrics, music and vocals?

If not, can someone please get started on those musical robots? Even if my ears will be bleeding from the awful sound, I would at least enjoy watching it.

Fare hikes possible for LTC

Riding a bus in London may be more expensive next year if London Mayor Joe Fontana’s plan to prevent budget increases in 2011 comes to fruition.

The London Transit Commission’s board already approved a 7.9 per cent hike in its funding, despite pressures from the city to maintain a zero per cent increase, according to AM980 News.

Now city council must decide whether to mandate a zero per cent increase or approve the LTC’s suggested budget.

Without an increase, the LTC says it will need to increase revenue.

“Without the budget increase, more money is required to balance the books,” LTC commissioner John Ford said. “The fare increases could provide an additional $600,000 in funding.”

Ford explained if the amount of LTC rider’s increases, it could limit the impact of the fare hikes.

“With the poor economy and increase in gas prices, more people will be inclined to take the bus,” he said.

Even with the looming fare increases, students with a bus pass need not worry — the increase in fare will not affect the bus pass, which is included with full-time undergraduate tuition.

“The fare increase is not directly tied to the tuition based bus passes,” Ford stated.

Plausible platforms, please

If this isn’t your first year at Western, then you’re probably already bracing yourself for the gigantic, flashy popularity contest that is the University Students’ Council presidential election.

The cold, dreary month of January will soon fizzle out and die, leaving the equally dreary month of February to take its place. And, with campaigning beginning on the first of February, before everyone’s favourite prophetic rodent can predict the end of winter, the viral videos, towering signs and obnoxious mascots will begin polluting our campus.

The attention-grabbing gimmicks that candidates employ year in and year out aren’t annoying, really. I understand that in order to garner the student body’s vote, the majority of the student body should at least recognize you. At this point, signs, tags and bubbly campaign teams are probably necessary for victory.

The bothersome parts of election season are the platforms that these candidates produce.

Candidates feel the need to outline a large number of campaign promises, ranging last year from three-dollar meals to two-ply toilet paper. You may notice that this year, $3 will still only buy you about 10 grapes, and the washrooms are still stocked with what appear to be rolls of rejected stock from the sandpaper factory.

The reason we are not neck-deep in all of the luxuries that have been promised by candidates over the past years is simple: most of them aren’t possible.

When candidates piece together a platform, they tend to litter them with completely unfeasible promises. Much like the how the Gazette forces hopefuls to ride tricycles through an obstacle course, many of the platform points are pure spectacle.

Mike Tithecott’s platform last year, for example, included some points that were never followed through on.  The “student artwork showcase,” for instance, probably appealed to the more artistic portion of our student population.  It promised a week–long art show in the University Community Centre followed by the opportunity to buy student works. Unfortunately, this initiative did not happen — though you can still buy student artwork at the Wave, there hasn’t been an art festival yet — and so a vote cast in hopes of being able to view, purchase and contribute to student artwork on campus was a vote thrown away.

With no outside body to keep the platforms in check, we end up consistently being promised the moon, only to be subsequently handed chunks of regular old Earth-rocks instead. Much like that metaphor, the fact that presidents can get elected on false promises is extremely weak.

This election season I hope to see some sane platform proposals. And if something seems too good to be true, I would like to see that some research has been done to attest to the plausibility of whatever fanciful endeavour may have been proposed. Gain my attention with bright colours and hilarious videos, but gain my vote with promises you know you can actually deliver on.

LTC/USC initiatives a plus

After many years of waiting, a slew of London Transit–related initiatives are making their way through the University Students’ Council. Though only one of the initiatives will be voted on, each has the potential to shape the undergraduate experience here at Western.

Firstly, a bus shelter outside the University Community Centre — promised many campaign platforms — is a long overdue development and will surely be welcomed by students and staff alike.

The fact Tithecott has applied for the money left over from unclaimed bus pass refunds to fund the initiative is a fitting use of this idle money.

The second initiative is a 12-month bus pass — something that makes sense for the large number of Western and Fanshawe students who hail from the Forest City, and for intersession students studying during the summer.

But, with the majority of Western students migrating home for the break, the initiative may not provide value to enough students to warrant the cost increase. Thankfully, the USC will likely put the issue to a referendum, so students can decide for themselves whether they want to spend the extra $30 and ride the bus year-round.

Finally, providing late night bus service on Richmond Row may not be popular among London’s cab companies, but is a good initiative if it helps curb the amount of crime and assaults on revelers walking north from downtown.

The fee would be $10-20 per year according to the USC, but is likely going to be set aside for a few years so to avoid overloading students with a plethora of referendum questions in a single year.

All of these initiatives are sensible, long-overdue ideas, which is likely why the USC will use the proven strategy of asking students to pay for them.

The University, meanwhile, won’t be paying for any of these improvements, and seemingly wouldn’t no matter how much our elected representatives our elected representatives lobby them.

With a four-year turnover of the student body, most students don’t even realize just how much their student fees have increased over the past decade — during a recession no less.

If students agree to paying for these services through a referendum, the USC cannot be faulted for asking for the cash. But students need to be aware of the recent string of yearly fee increases before they hand over money for services they may not even use.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

Anti-sexual violence campaign extended

A motion passed Wednesday by the University Students’ Council will turn the “I Know Someone” campaign, which fights against sexual violence into a year-long service at Western.

Under its mandate, the service will exist to address issues of sexual violence, both physical and verbal, that affect undergraduate students at Western.

“I Know Someone” began with a two-year grant to fund research about sexual violence as well as a campaign to raise awareness. The USC decided a continuing organization dedicated to fighting sexual violence was necessary for students at Western.

“The grant provided for the research in the first year and its initial implementation in the second,” Scott Kerr, vice-president campus issues, said. “Now it’s time for the students and the USC to really take hold of this project.”

The goal of the service will be to institutionalize the public aspect of the fight against sexual violence.

Funding for IKS will come directly from the USC, and will be built into the budget for the upcoming year.

“We don’t know exactly how much money [IKS] will get yet though, because the project is currently ongoing,” Kerr said. However, a maximum of $3,600 has been approved by the USC.

The IKS service will be created as a sister service to the Women’s Issues Network at Western.

“While WIN doesn’t deal exclusively with sexual violence, our organizations have many common goals, like inclusiveness and safety on campus, so it only makes sense that we be closely linked,” Laura Beaulne-Stuebing, co-ordinator for WIN, said.

According to Beaulne-Stuebing, WIN will have a member on the IKS team and vice versa. Event co-ordination between the two organizations will also be a large part of both WIN and IKS’ future planning.

Sexual Assault Centre London and Changing Ways will both be involved in the new service as well.

“While we won’t be serving in a strictly official capacity, SACL and Changing Ways will both be there for the IKS service to provide training, mentoring etc.,” said Sarah Scanlon, public education and outreach co-ordinator at SACL.

“We’ll be there to offer guidance and to help them succeed.”

Beaulne-Stuebing was optimistic about future involvement from SACL and Changing Ways. “There was an SACL member on staff working during the grant program and for the ‘I Know Someone’ campaign. They’re not going to just up and leave us high and dry,” she said.

Kerr and Beaulne-Stuebing also pointed out a growing bond between WIN, PrideWestern, Ally, and soon IKS.

“We all have such common goals, so we all get along extremely well. That’s especially true now that we’re all in the great big Support Services room,” Beaulne-Stuebing noted.

When questioned about the possibility of combined programming coming from all four services, Beaulne-Stuebing was enthusiastic. “That would be awesome,” she said. “I think we would all love to do something like that.”

Africa’s got some lessons for the West

New research suggests urbanized regions could learn a thing or two from developing countries when it comes to building a sustainable economy.

Ivey professor Mike Valente spent time studying businesses in Africa and analyzing innovative ways their companies operate. Noting their recent economic growth, Valente felt Africa has set a good example for North American businesses to follow.

“I started to learn about some amazing companies that were very effectively marrying social value with the traditional economic and financial value,” Valente said.

Although funding is relatively low and there is a lack of public services in these regions, he found businesses have adapted to making sustainability a priority, ultimately growing stronger business values.

“Africa represents a very unique context to examine how companies embed sustainability,” Valente said. “Unlike the developed world, companies operating in the Global South don’t have a strong public system to look after these systems.”

Valente noted the importance of social and economic systems is necessary to maintain a successful economy.

“Unlike many developed country contexts that view sustainability as a side thing forced upon by regulation or customer demands, companies in Africa take on sustainability because these issues surround them,” Valente said, noting a lack of public services creates a need for more issue-based companies

Complete details of Valente’s research can be found in the January edition of Impact, a publication by the Ivey School of Business.

NFL Playoffs: The Divisional Round

CHEESEHEADS at DIRTY BIRDS

Earlier this season, Atlanta beat Green Bay. Later this week, Atlanta will beat Green Bay again.

Green Bay entered week 12 on a roll, having given up only 10 points in their past three games. Although the game was close, Atlanta put an end to the Packers’ streak and put up 20 points on the previously impermeable defence.

Having won nine of their last 10, the Falcons are probably going to win another close game at home.

—Uncle Jesse

With Aaron Rodgers on the field, the Packers have been on fire toward the end of the season. They have been in playoff mode the last three weeks and have passed with flying colours while the Falcons have close to no playoff experience top to bottom.

The teams match up pretty equally offensively, as both have great QBs and a solid running game. But, as is always the case, defence wins championships. The Packers have a better secondary and pass rush. If the offensive line can keep Rodgers on his feet, the Packers will win by three.

—Da Silva Bullet

OLD SPICE at HEAD & SHOULDERS

Baltimore’s defence is always great, and they have Ed Reed back now. Their front seven is as good as anyone in the league.

While Pittsburgh’s D doesn’t allow many rushing yards, Baltimore will figure out a way to get Ray Rice the ball through the passing game. Plus Joe Flacco has four talented receivers to throw to while Pittsburgh’s secondary is brutal.

It’ll be extremely close, but Baltimore will pull it out with a field goal with the final possession of the game.

—Da Silva Bullet

This game could go one of two ways: if Troy Polamalu is playing at 100 per cent, then the Steelers’ defence will be as formidable as it always is. If not, the Ravens could start to run away with it.

The Ravens last week, however, benefited hugely from an extremely sloppy Chief’s offence — one they won’t find in Pittsburgh. Like you said, it’ll probably be close, but I think Pittsburgh can pull it out.

—Uncle Jesse

7-9 at DA BEARS

Part of me wants to see the Seahawks win the Super Bowl. To see the NFL’s first losing-record playoff team win it all would, at the very least, be hilarious.

Although Seattle doesn’t even deserve to be in the playoffs, neither of these teams have a particularly great team.

And Seattle advanced past the first round of the playoffs due to one of the most spectacular touchdown runs you will ever see in the NFL — I think the Seahawks can ride that momentum and beat the Bears in another shootout of a football game.

—Uncle Jesse

Jesse, were you dropped on your head as a child?

Chicago isn’t that great of a team, but short of a bout of the plague taking out the entire Bears line-up, the Seahawks are going home.

Seattle is a nauseatingly bad team, especially away from home. Seattle’s Qwest Field is one of the hardest places to play, and it showed when they beat a Saints team just destroyed by injuries.

This time around the Seahawks get to play a team that can play defence. Sure, Seattle beat the Bears in Chicago earlier in the season. But there is no way it’s going to happen. Chicago wins this one in a rout.

—Da Silva Bullet

REX “FOOT FETISH” RYAN at BILL “SPYGATE” BELICHICK

New England’s defence is a bit suspect and very young, especially in the secondary. Lucky for them, it’s the terrible Mark “Dirty” Sanchez throwing the ball for the Jets. As an added bonus, Sanchez is terrible in cold weather. If the Patriots front seven can slow down the Jets run game — and they can — then the Jets are screwed.

We all know Tom Brady is going to rip the Jets apart for probably about 30 points, so goodnight New York. The Jets may have a good secondary, but they fail to get pressure on the quarterback and have trouble with the run now that safety Jim Leonhard is injured.

Do the Jets have a chance? Yes, about as much chance as Seattle has of winning the Super Bowl.

—Da Silva Bullet

It’s hard to argue with this one. Unless Tom Brady spontaneously combusts and takes out half the team in a horrific inferno, the Pats are going to take this one.

I feel bad agreeing with you, so I’ll finish this by pointing out the fact that you don’t look as much like Denzel Washington as you think you do.

—Uncle Jesse