NFL Conference Championship TODAY

This is the AFC / NFC Conference Championship bracket for today's 2 games, and the two victorious teams will face off in Super Bowl 50 on February 7th, 2016! My predictions for how the AFC was going to shake out was 100% right with the New England Patriots playing the Denver Broncos in another "Brady-Manning Bowl" (which should be a great game). However, I was also 100% wrong in my picks for the NFC Conference with the Arizona Cardinals playing the Carolina Panthers. My prediction for Super Bowl 50 is the Patriots vs the Panthers. It's game time!

NFL Playoff Bracket for Super Bowl 50

This is the NFL playoff bracket for Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, CA (San Francisco). Unfortunately, I didn't post any updates about the Patriots during my hiatus. Which is just as well, because the Pats lost 4 games after they started the season undefeated until they played the Broncos in week 10. Despite the 4 recent losses, the Patriots were still the best in their division and a guaranteed spot in the divisional playoffs (this weekend).

As you can see in the photo above, this season's playoff picture is similar to last season. In the AFC division, the Patriots play the Chiefs and the Steelers play the Broncos for a spot to play in the AFC Conference championship. My pick for the AFC championship is New England vs Denver. I think the Patriots will beat the Chiefs if all their players are healthy. Edelman is set to return and they have had other injuries during the season, Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski, and Dion Lewis have all been on the injured list recently. Hopefully with this bye week, they have had time to recover. There are some great match-ups between these teams, such as Julian Edelman and Jeremy Maclin, they're both key players to their offense. Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelce is another great match-up. Both Tight Ends have a large stature, making it difficult to tackle them. However, Gronkowski is better at getting additional yards after the catch. Tom Brady is clearly the better quarterback, but he needs all his receivers healthy and 100%. The Patriots have beaten the Chiefs 2 out of the last 3 times these teams met and this will be the first time the Chiefs have played in the playoffs in over a decade!

I think Denver will beat Pittsburgh if they keep playing like they do. They went all season almost undefeated, they only lost two games. Ironically, it was to the Colts (Manning's old team) and the Steelers. They lost by one touchdown last time they faced Pittsburgh, and they are hoping for a different outcome in this playoff game. Peyton Manning is the better QB and he has solid receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Owen Daniels. Not to mention, Denver has a strong rushing game as well. So, for the AFC Conference, I predict Denver and New England / Manning vs Brady again.

As for the NFC division, Seahawks play the Panthers and the Packers play the Cardinals to determine which two teams will battle it out in the NFC Conference Championship. The Carolina Panthers had an amazing and almost completely undefeated season, with only one loss to to the Atlanta Falcons in week 15. Quarterback, Cam Newton only has one solid receiver in Greg Olsen, so he gains the most rushing yards by running the ball himself very effectively as he is known to do. In fact, Carolina already beat Seattle this season in week 5 by a mere 4 points and I don't think Seattle will let that happen again. They are determined to make it to 3 Super Bowls in a row, and "The Legion of BOOM" defense is not going to allow Cam Newton to scramble out of the pocket and run the ball himself. That's going to be a close game.. but I think the Seahawks will beat the Panthers this time.

The Packers vs the Cardinals  will also be a very close game. Both were once triumphant teams, Arizona won the 2010 Super Bowl and Green Bay won the Super Bowl the very next year. Aaron Rodgers is a hall of fame QB, but I think he is in decline. The same could be said about Arizonas once, unstoppable wide receiver- Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald just needs a better QB to pass him the ball, but he is still a major offensive threat and he is lucky to make it to the playoffs again. That's why I pick Green Bay over Arizona, so I predict Seahawks vs Packers for the NFC Conference.

"Deadpool" - NEW Red Band Trailer

This is the latest Red Band trailer for the "Deadpool" movie that releases everywhere next month. It's being branded as a "new class of super hero" and it's being marketed as MARVEL'S first super hero movie that is NOT for kids. It has hardcore violence, killings, and explicit language. It all comes from the mouth of the only actor who could really pull this role off- Ryan Reynolds.

This is the first time it's been revealed there will be "X-Men" in this movie too. The trailer shows "Deadpool" teaming up with "Colossus" and "Negasonic Teenage Warhead", who has telekinetic abilities and can see into the future. The villain in this film is "Ajax", played by Ed Skrein, is the one responsible for turning "Wade Wilson" into an invincible, disfigured, mercenary as part of the "Project X" along with "Stryker". "Ajax" experimented on himself too, he had his nerves removed so he wouldn't feel pain. He also had implants for super strength, as well as super speed and agility. However, he created his own worst enemy when "Deadpool" vows revenge on him. "Ajax" has a powerful mutant partner named "Angel Dust", she has the ability to increase her adrenaline and obtain super human strength for a limited time, before exhausting herself. When she uses her powers, it drains her and black lines appear on her face.

Morena Baccarin plays "Wilson's" love interest, "Vanessa Carlysle" and TJ Miller plays his best friend and weapons supplier, "Weasel". Together, Reynolds and Miller make a hilarious pair. This is a action/comedy about the most badass mutant in the "Marvel Universe" (MCU).

"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" NEW Trailer

This is the third and newest trailer for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" that releases on March 25th. With only a couple months until the premiere, there is marketing EVERYWHERE right now for this film and so much hype surrounding the release date. Especially after seeing the first appearance of "Wonder-Woman" in this new trailer. This movie looks explosive and epic, and I'm not even a fan of DC Comics.

Twenty One Pilots - "Stressed Out"

This is one of three hit singles off the album, "Blurryface" by the indie, duo, hip-hop/pop band, Twenty One Pilots. The band only consists of two members from Columbus, Ohio; Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. Tyler sings/raps and plays ukulele and piano on some songs and Josh plays drums. This ambitious, talented duo released two independent albums / EP's before signing with Fueled By Ramen, which is a division of Atlantic Records. Since signing with Fueled By Ramen, Twenty One Pilots has released another two records.

They released "Vessel" in 2013, which had three singles on it that all hit the "Billboard Hot 100 Chart", including "Guns for hands", "Lovely", and my personal favorite; "Holding on to you". In 2015, they released their newest album, "Blurryface", which also has three hit singles. Including, "Fairly Local", "Tear in my heart", and of course this song, "Stressed Out". This is my jam right now, I love the style and the lyrics. It's all about remembering what it was like to live life care-free when you're a kid. You don't have any responsibilities or bills to pay. Life is fun & easy and every once in a while, we will hear a song or smell something that reminds us of that simple time in life. It brings on a sense of nostalgia that's hard to explain. Music is powerful and this is an amazing song.

The World of Tricking

Awesome video featuring legendary acrobatics, extreme martial arts, and some of the biggest names in the world of tricking. Including my personal favorite; Steve Terada from "Quest" dance crew. He is a master of this incredible art form, so he is one of the judges in this tricking competition: "Red Bull: Throwdown 2015".

"X-Men: Apocalypse" - Trailer Premiere

This is the world premiere of the new "X-Men" movie trailer. This is the 5th movie in the "X-Men" franchise (not including the independent "Wolverine" movies). Finally, the villain isn't "Magneto" for once, that's why the film is titled "X-Men: Apocalypse". It's directed by Bryan Singer, who also directed 3 of the 4 original "X-Men" movies, including "Days of Future Past". I remember "Apocalypse" from the comic books and cartoons I grew up on. He is a big, invincible metal mutant that has the ability to grow into a giant form of himself and he is completely unstoppable. He also has 4 mutant followers called "The 4 Horsemen"of "Apocalypse". They are "Plague", "Death", "Caliban", and "Warpath". They each have their own individual powers: "Plague" (Also called "Pestilence") has the ability to spread diseases simply by touch, "Death" is a skeleton wearing a black cloak that has infinite knowledge and power. " Caliban" which means to be hideous/ beast-like, has the power to locate other mutants within a 25 mile radius. "Warpath" has super strength, speed, stamina, and heightened senses and reflexes. He also wields two vibranium blades. The "4 Horsemen" do most of the dirty work for "Apocalypse". This young team of "X-Men" are going to have to band together to defeat these powerful villains.

As you can see in the trailer above; this film follows the "X-Men Origins" storyline. So, "Charles Xavier"  is young and played by James MacAvoy again, Michael Fassbender returns to play a young "Magneto" Evan Peters plays "Quicksilver" again, Nicholas Hoult returns as "Beast", the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as "Mystique", Lucas Till is back as "Havok", and Rose Byrne returns as "Agent MacTaggert" (who is responsible for paralyzingly Charles Xavier in the original "X-Men Origins" movie). There are also new additions to this young team, including "Archangel", "Psylocke", and "Jubilee" (finally!). This film features young versions of the original "X-Men" mutants such as "Cyclops", "Jean Grey", "Storm", and "Nightcrawler". I've been waiting for a new villain in the "X-Men" franchise and I've been waiting for the introduction of "Jubilee", but no "Gambit" or "Rouge" in this timeline unfortunately. However, it is finally acknowledged that "Cyclops" and "Havok" are actually brothers. The film is going to have a focus on the "Summers" family.  "Apocalypse" is played by Oscar Isaac, who I actually like as an actor, but I don't know if he was the right casting choice for this character. "X-Men: Apocalypse" releases on May 1st.

"Captain America: Civil War" - Trailer Premiere

After a 2 month hiatus, The Chronicles of Craig has returned for the new year! The first post of 2016 is the first, and newly released trailer for the highly anticipated movie; "Captain America: Civil War". Which is the third installment in this "Captain America" franchise. It's also one the biggest battles in the original comic books and split the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU) in half. However, the film version is not supposed to follow the comic book version, so I don't know what to expect, and the preview didn't reveal anything we didn't already know. (I know I'm a little late sharing this, but I'm catching up) This film is set to release on April 27th.