RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:
Good morning.
JOHN FEINSTEIN: Good morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: Let's start with the teams that won't be playing next week - the Colts and the Cowboys. How surprising were their losses yesterday?
FEINSTEIN: As for the Cowboys, again, a shock because they were playing at home. But the Giants are 9 and 1 on the road this year. They play good football on the road. And there will be shockwaves - excuse me - throughout the state of Texas because Tony Romo, the star quarterback for the Cowboys, went on vacation last week with the actress Jessica Simpson. And there was all this speculation about, would the vacation affect Romo? Well, the Cowboys lost. Jessica Simpson is not welcome in the state of Texas anymore.
MONTAGNE: So you decide, right?
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
MONTAGNE: Well, the upshot is that Eli Manning will be playing for a Super Bowl spot and his big brother, Peyton, won't.
FEINSTEIN: Now he's won two. He hasn't thrown an interception. The Giants will be underdogs going into Green Bay, where the weather is supposed to be in the single digits next Sunday. But they're there. They're playing. And Peyton Manning is, I guess, taping another TV commercial this morning.
MONTAGNE: Okay. Two favorites to advance: the unbeaten Patriots and the Packers, led by Bret Favre.
FEINSTEIN: Yeah. Bret Favre, who no, it's not true. He did not quarterback the Packers under Vince Lombardi in the '60s. But he is 38. He's talked about retirement many times. He came back and decided to play one more year, and it's turned into a Cinderella story. The Packers were a bad team last year. Now, they're a step away the Super Bowl. And if they get there, they will probably play the undefeated Patriots led by maybe the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, if he goes on and wins his fourth Super Bowl and takes the Patriots to an undefeated season.
MONTAGNE: John, let's take a quick spin to the other side of the planet and a different sport. The first Grand Slam event in tennis is under way today in Australia.
FEINSTEIN: Yeah. Roger Federer is going for his ninth Grand Slam title in the last 11. What an unbelievable run. He's two short of Pete Sampras's all-time record of 14 major titles. And he is a huge favorite. Serena Williams came from nowhere to win the Australian last year. This year, she should be the favorite on the women side along with Justine Henin, who's the top-ranked player in the world.
MONTAGNE: John, thanks very much.
FEINSTEIN: Okay, Renee, thank you.
MONTAGNE: And you're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.