I trust that everyone is having a nice weekend…

1. KURT WARNER STRENGTHENS HIS HALL OF FAME CREDENTIALS: In Arizona’s 30-24 victory over Atlanta Saturday in an NFC Wildcard game, Warner passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns and took another step closer to Canton. It was fun to watch Warner perform on the postseason stage for the first time in nearly seven years — specifically this was his first game in the NFL tournament since Feb. 3, 2002, when the Rams lost to New England in the 36th Super Bowl.  It was the eighth postseason game of Warner’s career, and he boosted his Hall of Fame case.

Some numbers:

* Warner is 6-2 as a postseason starter.

* Among the QBs who have started a minimum eight postseason games, Warner’s average of 311.5 yards passing per games ranks No. 1. Those postseason numbers, provided by STATS LLC, only go back to 1970.

* Among QBs who have started a minimum of eight postseason games, Warner’s passer rating of 92.5 ranks second only to Joe Montana (95.6) since 1970.

* Among those with at least eight starts, Warner ranks fourth in yards per attempt (8.31), fifth in completion percentage (62.7) and sixth in the percentage of passes that go for touchdowns (5.7).

* Warner still holds the record for most yards passing in a Super Bowl (414) and was the MVP of Super Bowl 34. The bottom line: Warner has been one of the best postseason performers of his era. Or any era, actually.

2. UTAH SHOULD BE NO. 1: It won’t happen, of course, because voters go for the brand names, the BCS conference kingpins, and they’re just waiting to crown the winner of Florida vs. Oklahoma. The Utes are from the Mountain West, which might as well be Siberia. And I’m just as bad as anybody; I assumed Utah would lose to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, so there was no put the Utes into the debate for No. 1. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And shouldn’t all objective-minded voters hit the reset button on their brain and reevaluate this instead of automatically tapping Florida or OU as No. 1? Shouldn’t there at least be some thoughtful deliberation? After playing a virtual road game and taking Alabama apart 31-17 in the SEC-friendly Sugar Bowl, why wouldn’t Utah have a legit claim to No. 1? This is the only D-1 team that will finish the season with an undefeated record. Utah has beaten three teams currently ranked in the top 16, and another victim, Oregon State, will likely finish in the Top 25.  (Oregon State is the only team to topple USC this season.)  The Utes have handled every challenge. They defeated five bowl teams, and won on the road at Michigan and at Air Force. Skeptics will say, OK, put Utah in the SEC or the Big 12 South or the Pac 10 and none of this happens. They’d never survive the schedule. Look, I don’t deal in hypotheticals. All I know is this: only one team stands alone, unbeaten.  And that team, Utah, hasn’t exactly played a cupcake schedule.

3. LA RUSSA AND DE WITT HAVE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF CHRIS CARPENTER: Can the Cardinals count on their ace to return from pitching-arm nerve difficulties and make 30, 35 starts? Or should they find another starting pitcher, just in case? The manager and the owner don’t see it the same way. Penciling in Carpenter for 30+ starts and assuming it will happen is “not how you go about it,” La Russa said. “That’s not the attitude that I have, or (pitching coach) Dave Duncan has.” The manager and pitching coach want to be sure about Carpenter’s health and won’t assume anything.

DeWitt, however, seems to be counting on Carpenter for now. “All of the reports are good on Carpenter,” DeWitt said on our Team 1380 radio show.  “It’s pretty hard to say ‘Well, I’m going to sign someone in case he can’t start.’ I don’t think a lot of clubs would want to be in a position of having six starting pitchers, counting on six being starting pitchers. If Carpenter can’t go, sure, we’ll need to get out into the market to bolster our pitching. And we were going to do that, anyway. But at this point in time, to go out and find someone to replace Carpenter when we think the odds are good that he’ll be a starting pitcher for us…let’s face it, you can’t really replace a Chris Carpenter. And to replace him now, well, we think there’s a good chance he’ll start.”

4. WILL MATT RYAN AND JOE FLACCO CHANGE THE WAY NFL COACHES OPERATE?: Usually, it takes a while to break in a rookie QB, and they often struggle through the usual growing pains. NFL head coaches are reluctant to throw them into the fire. But Atlanta drafted Ryan third overall last April, plugged him into the lineup, and won 11 games for a dramatic turnabout. Flacco, Baltimore’s first-round pick, played with great poise in giving the Ravens a good passing attack to go with the defense and running game. The kids were fearless. With so many attractive QB prospects likely to be available in the 2009 draft — Georgia’s Matthew Stafford, Oklahoma’s  Sam Bradford and Ball State’s Nate Davis among them — will more NFL teams take the plunge with rookie QBs? How about the Rams? (I don’t think so).

5. PERSONAL NOTE: I COULD USE A HOME REMEDY: I have a lousy cold, with lots of congestion. I can’t stop coughing; I can’t get a good night’s sleep. Any suggestions? Are you holding any secret cures that were passed down from your great grandmother? Give it up! LOL. Thanks.

-Bernie