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It's getting closer. Super Bowl XLI, that is.

But before many of us shift into the mindset of "Let's play the freaking game already!" (remember, they are using the two-week gap again), we need to find out who gets to play in the world's biggest single televised sporting event, HD or otherwise (with all due respect to the World Cup).

It's the weekend we football fanboys (and girls) get to soak in all the HD glory of the NFL Championship round, with old rivals matching up in the AFC vs. a really interesting new day in the NFC - two teams who haven't had all that much success in playoff games of late, including one team, the Saints, that has gone from 3-13 to playing for the NFC title for the first time in its rag-tag history.

So fasten your chinstraps, uh napkins, and get out the chips, salsa and chicken wings.

Jan. 18-24

This week's marquee HD sporting events are both on Sunday, of course.

In the early game (3:00pm EST, Fox 720p), the newly anointed "America's Team," the New Orleans Saints, tangle with the Chicago Bears on frigid Soldier Field for the NFC title. Much like last week's Indy-Baltimore game, this one pits a top offense (NFC-leading Saints) against one of the NFC's top defenses. Can Dome dwellers Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush & Co. play effectively in semi-arctic conditions (temps in the 20's, 40 percent chance of snow showers)? On the flipside, can Da Bears' QB Rex Grossman put together a complete game? No doubt the blitz-happy Saints will apply major pressure, as they did last week against the Eagles. We'll find out Sunday afternoon who wins this "strength against strength" battle.

In the second game, we have the opposite weather scenario. Sunday's AFC title game has Tom Brady and the resurgent New England Patriots bumping heads with Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts again, only this time it's in the RCA Dome, not the chilly confines of Gillette Stadium (6:30pm EST, CBS 1080i). Is this the year Peyton Manning gets off his Super Bowl schneid? Or will the feisty Pats turn Manning's dream into a nightmare again. Hey, this time the Colts have All-World clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri on their side. It's gonna be interesting to see if the Colt defense can continue to hold its own, or if it will resort to mid-season form. Of course, the Colts offense may make that a moot point by scoring a boatload of points.

Earlier on Sunday, it's the red-hot Dallas Mavericks vs. the not-so-hot Miami Heat (1:00pm EST, ABC 720p), as the current NBA champ Heat try to get a little redemption, and closer to the .5000 mark, against the team many are picking as replacing the Heat atop the league come June.

Shifting back to Friday night (for a late game), it's LeBron vs. AI when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets battle (10:30pm EST, ESPN-HD 720p). Hard to go wrong watching LeBron James and Allen Iverson play in the same NBA game, even if you aren't a fan of either team.

On Saturday night, boxing fans can tune into HBO to catch Jose Luis Castillo slug it out with Herman Ngoudjo, and Juan Urango trade punches with Ricky Hatton (9:45pm EST, HBO 1080i).

Finally, on Wednesday night, the Dallas Maverick's host this year's NHL All-Star Game (8:00pm EST, Versus 1080i), the first NHL All-Star event since 2004 (the 2005 game was canceled due to the lockout, and last year's was deep-sixed for the Winter Olympics).