Sotomayor got a pep talk Sunday in a phone call from President Obama, soon after he returned from his trip to Russia, Europe and Africa.

"The President expressed his confidence that Judge Sotomayor would be confirmed to serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court for many years to come," said a statement issued by the White House on Sunday.

Really, unless there is some kind of unforseen meltdown, we are headed towards confirmation for Sotomayor.

But that doesn't mean everyone just throws up their hands and goes home. You gotta play the game just to make sure.

Today will be devoted only to opening statements, meaning Democrats will speak as if Sotomayor is the best thing ever created for the Judicial Branch, while the Republicans are likely to raise questions about her judgment.

After every committee member, including Sen. Al Franken gets their say, then Sotomayor will give her opening statement, and the committee will adjourn for the day.

That means questions and answers won't begin until Tuesday, which is when we'll get the real measure of whether the Judge will become a Justice easily, or with a bit of a fight.

Sotomayor will likely finish her questioning by Thursday, and the committee members will speed through 31 other witnesses by Friday.

Those will include famous names like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former FBI Director Louis Freeh.

Her critics will include Frank Ricci, the now famous Connecticut firefighter who successfully challenged the City of New Haven's decision to throw out a firefighter promotion exam because minorities didn't fare well.

Sotomayor upheld that move at the appeals court level. Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court overturned her decision.