All eyes will be on New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII. Get my Super Bowl pick and the rest of my sports picks of the day for ESPN Streak for the cash right here. In this photo, Super Bowl XLVII roman numerals sit on a barge on the Mississippi River with the Crescent City Connection bridge (Greater New Orleans bridge) at Woldenberg Park in advance of Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! The big game is finally here and all the focus of the sporting world will be on New Orleans as the Ravens and 49ers square off in Super Bowl 47. There’s plenty of picks on ESPN Streak for the Cash before that with picks from English and African soccer, the NHL, NBA, the PGA Tour, and college basketball getting us ready for kickoff at 6:35. Here’s the picks I’ll be watching today:

2/3 Streak Picks

10:00-Ivory Coast Win: The Ivory Coast have been one of the best teams in the Africa Cup of Nations while Nigeria has been solid but not spectacular.  Nigeria was 1-2-0 and their only win came on a pair of PK goals late against Ethiopia. Ivory Coast looked dominent winning 3-0 over Tunisia and 2-1 over Togo. The draw 2-2 against Algeria doesn’t worry me since at that point they had already advanced. Confidence Meter: 6 (out of 10)

11:00- Manchester City win: City has been nothing short of amazing at home winning nine of their 12 home games this year after dominating at home last season as well. Liverpool did just earn a draw at Arsenal, but it’ll be another story as they take on Man City who have a goal differential of +16 in their home matches. Confidence Meter: 7

Feb 2, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins Pascal Dupuis (9), Chris Kunitz (14) and Sidney Crosby (87) celebrate after Crosby

12:30- Pittsburgh Penguins: Pittsburgh got a win at home yesterday and head on the road to play in Washington against the Capitals who got their second win of the season Friday night. Pittsburgh is the better team but afe far from a lock on the road and in the second of back-to-back games. I do think the Penguins are the right pick, but I don’t feel super-great about either side. Confidence Meter: 4

1:30- Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso isn’t getting any love from Streak pickers with under 8% of the picks at the time I’m writing this. This is a straight up who will win so extratime and shootout is included with neither side getting the draw. The betting odds are extremely even with Burkina Faso -118 and Togo -105. Togo was fairly uninspiring with a 1-1-1 group stage while Burkina Faso went 1-2-0 highlighted by a convincing 4-0 win over Ethiopia. Neither team was expected to do much in this tournament so the winner becomes a surprise semi-finalist. I’ll go Burkina Faso in what should be a good game. Confidence Meter: 3

Jan 26, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles center Chris Otule (42) during the game against the Providence Friars at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Marquette won 81-71. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

2:02- Marquette wins or single digit loss: Louisville is 11 point favorites as they host the Golden Eagles in today’s best college hoops game. Louisville is 5-3 in conference play but hasn’t exactly been rolling right along lately. The Cardinals had ost three in a row to then-#6 Syracuse and unranked Villanova and Georgetown before righting the ship in their last game with a three point win at home over Pittsburgh. Before their recent struggles they were blowing everyone out sinning their first four conference games quite handily. Marquette now leads the Big East after Syracuse’s loss yesterday with a 6-1 record in-conference.  Their only loss in conference was at Cincinnati where they lost by two in overtime. Their other losses on the season were by one to Butler, by two to Green Bay, and by 33 at then-#7 Florida. I don’t think that Louisville will blow the doors off Marquette and ultimately this, like most Big East games, will be a close game that comes down to a few plays either way. This is my favorite pre-Super Bowl afternoon pick. Confidence Meter: 7

5:15- Any Other Score: The Par-3 16th is the marquee hole that’s completely enclosed with the gallery and a great hole to watch all day long. So far in the tournament Mickelson has a par and two birdies here. No matter the score, he’ll attack this hole sheerly for the entertainment value of it so I expect a birdie. If he attacks and missed a par save can be tricky so I’m actually pretty confident in AOR. Confidence Meter: 5

6:30- Tails: There’s nothing that’s as much of a coin-flip pick as a real coin flip. I’ll take tails for no particular reason. Confidence Meter: 1

6:35- San Francisco 49ers: The Niners have the better team on paper and I think Colin Kaepernick will play just well enough to get the win. I’m taking San Francisco to win 17-16 with the Ravens drive for the winning score cut short by a big play by the 49ers defense. Confidence Meter: 6

Jan 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh talks with quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) during a timeout from the game against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. The 49ers won 28-24. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

6:36- Colin Kaepernick total yards: In this pick, we have a prop between all of Kaepernick’s yards pitted against the passing yards of Joe Flacco in the first half. Since the Ravens tend to start slower and will be focused on getting Ray Rice rolling, I think Kaepernick will have the lead at half-time even in just passing yards. Getting his rushing yards thrown in makes me even more confident. Confidence Meter: 5

8:45- 49ers Score first TD of the Second Half: I think San Francisco is going to win, so it makes sense that I think they’ll score the first TD. When we know who gets the ball first and how the gameflow is going, I’ll let you know on twitter if I change my pick. Give us a follow at the bottom of the page for all your sports picks and fantasy news and analysis.

February Scoreboard

Yesterday’s picks: 11-9

Overall Monthly Record: 16-15

Confident Picks (5+): 6-4

Longest Personal Streak: W2

Current Streak: L2 (Gators and Sharks both bit me last night)

Follow @FantasyCPR

The New England Patriots led by quarterback Tom Brady (12) will again face the Baltimore Ravens in this year’s AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium. Last year which is pictured here, the Patriots defeated the Ravens 23-20. Photo by Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

This year’s AFC Championship should feel familiar. The New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens for the second year in a row looking to get to the Super Bowl. The Ravens are the surprise team out of the four remaining in the NFL Playoffs.  They are the only team that secured a road win last week with a big upset in Denver in double-overtime. New England has been efficient despite being injury plagued (as I covered in an earlier post here) and have worked their way back to the Championship game looking to return to the Super Bowl as they have so often done in the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick era.

Last year’s game was an intense thriller that ended with a dropped touchdown by Lee Evans and a missed Field Goal by Billy Cundiff. The final was 23-20 in favor of New England who then went on to lose to the New York Giants in dramatic fashion in last year’s Super Bowl. The Ravens and Patriots also met earlier this season with the Ravens pulling out the 31-30 win by scoring 10 points in the final 4:01 capped by a last second field goal.

Both teams have changed quite a bit from last year’s versions so don’t expect the game to follow that script. Here’s how both teams have made it back here and what we can expect this Sunday:

Jan 12 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones (12) catches a pass for a touchdown in front of Denver Broncos free safety Rahim Moore (26) of the AFC divisional round playoff game at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Ravens Changes

Much of the Ravens change from last year’s game has been addition by subtraction. They got rid of both Evans and Cundiff from last year’s end-of-game disaster. Cundiff has been replaced by rookie Justin Tucker  who finished in the top 10 in both extra points and field goals made finishing the season 30-33.

Evans didn’t have a large role last season, but the Ravens new receiver Jacoby Jones has made an impact when he’s touched the ball this season. Jones caught the 70-yard bomb from Joe Flacco last week to tie the game and send a shell-shocked Broncos team into an overtime they couldn’t win. Jones also has contributed in the return game with a punt return and a pair of kickoff returns for touchdowns this season. The Patriots allowed some big returns last week, so you can be sure they’ll be keyed on stopping Jones. If the Pats aren’t able to fix their coverage, Jones can be a game-changer and turn the game for the Ravens.

The Ravens draft class has also paid early dividends with Courtney Upshaw stepping in defensively during Baltimore’s rash of defensive injuries. On the other side of the ball, Bernard Pierce has stepped in as Ray Rice’s primary backup and shown some solid skills including a pair of 100-yard rushing games. Pierce is listed as questionable for Sunday but is expected to be ready to play at least on a limited basis. Kelechi Osemele was also drafted last season and started on the offensive line throughout the season.

Patriots Changes

The Patriots main changes have been on the defensive side of the ball although their offensive weapons have changed a bit as well.

Dec 10, 2012; Foxborough, MA USA; New England Patriots safety Tavon Wilson (27) – cornerback Devin McCourty (32) and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (37) walk off the field following a game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots won 42-14. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The defensive overhaul was definitely needed after last year’s regular season numbers. It started in the draft where the Patriots drafted a pair of defenders in the first round, Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower. In the second round they added safety Tavon Wilson. They also added two more defensive players, Nate Ebner and Jake Bequette, later in the draft. In the seventh round, they took a bit of a flyer on talented but troubled Alfonzo Dennard from Nebraska who has contributed in a big way this season including three picks one of which he returned for a touchdown against the Colts.

The Patriots youth infusion on defense was supplemented by some key veteran additions via free agency with Steve Gregory from San Diego as well as by trade with the pickup or Aqib Talib from Tampa Bay. New England also moved Devin McCourty from corner to safety which resulted in a total overhaul of the defensive backfield and the addition of a much more effective pass-rush.

While the New England defense isn’t in the elite category of the early 2000′s Ravens or the current 49ers, they are vastly improved from last year’s unit and have taken advantage of opportunities to cause turnovers and make game-changing plays.

The Patriots offense has allowed the defense to grow by leading the league in scoring and continually keeping the pressure on their opponents’ offense to keep up. The Patriots passing game featured many of the recurring characters the past few years but did add some new wrinkles as well with Brandon Lloyd stepping in at wide-out and finishing with 911 yards while ranking second on the team in targets behind only Wes Welker.

The main change on offense has been in the run game. In last year’s game, BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the team in carries with 14 and the Pats were only able to get 96 net yards rushing in the game. This year New England has turned to a pair of second-year players in Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen to take over after “The Law Firm” headed to Cincinnati. Ridley led the Patriots with 1,263 yards rushing and scored 12 touchdowns while Vereen emerged last week finishing with three scores and 124 all-purpose yards. Vereen, Ridley, and Danny Woodhead are expected to divide time in the backfield this week and provide New England with more balance in their attack as they take on the Ravens defense.

This Year’s Preview and Prediction

Jan 13, 2013; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (middle) celebrates with teammates Brandon Lloyd (85) and Shane Vereen (34) after a touchdown during the second half of the AFC divisional round playoff game against the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots won 41-28. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady normally doesn’t have steller numbers against the Baltimore defense, and don’t think he’s not aware of that face and looking to change it. I don’t see him struggling like Peyton Manning did last week or he did last year. The key to the new style of New England offense is balance which should allow Brady more time against a smart defense that will key in on a one-dimensional attack and shut it down.

The new running game will be a huge key in this game as the Pats look to take advantage of the aging Ravens D that allowed over 100 yards on the ground last week to Ronnie Hillman and Knowshon Moreno. I think Vereen and Ridley both will be big parts of a Patriots offensive gameplan as they compensate for the absence of Rob Gronkowski.

The Ravens needed everything to go right last week including the Manning turnovers and a 70-yard bomb to Jacoby Jones. This week, I think Ray’s ride comes to an end as he goes out with a defeat at the hands of his old nemesis Tom Brady.

The Patriots are currently eight point favorites which seems like a lot of points for two teams that have played two games in the last year decided by a total of four. It seems like way to high a number when these battles are usually decided by extremely narrow margins. While I’m confident the Patriots will win, I’m not at all sure they cover.

I think it’s a fairly high-scoring game with the Patriots improved secondary, run defense,  and running attack ultimately making the difference. My guess is that Joe Flacco keeps his team in it until the end but then throws a game-sealing interception as New England returns to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

Final Precidtion

New England Patriots 31-Baltimore Ravens 24