1. I'll take Oakland minus 6 at Seattle for $22. The Seahawks are improving but the Raiders still want home field advantage in the playoffs.

2. I'll take Jax minus 10 at Cincy for $22. Cincy will need an ice storm to stop the Jax offense. Jax simply needs to stop laughing when Scott Mitchell goes into the huddle to stop the Cincy offense.

3. I'll take Tennessee minus 15 at Cleveland for $22. Browns offense does not exist and Tennessee defense is very good. Eddie George's toe injury will keep the final differential under 40.

4. I'll take the Giants minus 5.5 at Dallas for $22. Giants need the win and Dallas can't get away with throwing the ball only 8 times against that defense.

5. I'll take Balt minus 14 at Arizona for $22. Baltimore defense is allowing under 10 points a game has a chance to set an all time NFL record for the season. Cards just stink!

The Rangers found a way to trade their shortstop from last year, Royce Clayton, just three days after signing Alex Rodriguez. You know that Royce had been packing boxes and cleaning out his attic ever since the Rodriguez contract became public.

The veil of secrecy and the shroud of mystery regarding the Yale lightweight crew and its "suspension" was pulled back ever so slightly yesterday when it was announced that the members of that crew did indeed violate some university and athletic department policies on a recent "social outing". But the Athletic Director stated unequivocally that they did not participate in hazing activities. What could that mean? Maybe the crew "newbies" voluntarily chugged that case of beer and then yakked in the rear window of Dean Flubberbuss' new Lexus just because they thought it was a cool thing to do? They were just trying to impress their dates on this "social outing"?

The Toronto Raptors and NY Knicks played a butt-ugly game last night. In fact, that description may be flattering! The final score was 70-68. The Knicks shot 38% from the floor and lost even though the Raptors shot 32% from the floor. The Knicks shooting percentage was rescued by their bench. The starters for New York shot 17 for 52; the bench players shot 11-21. The Raptors situation was just the opposite. Their bench players shot a combined 2-16 from the field!

In Norm Chad's column today, he muses that Danny Boy Snyder may go to Pittsburgh this weekend and take a lesson from his counterpart in that area, Mario Lemieux. That would lead to Danny Boy taking a few snaps in practice at QB.

As a groundswell of support builds for Donovan McNabb to be the MVP, I think it is important to note that he was not one of the top 3 QBs in the NFC to be voted to the Pro Bowl. So how does that make him the MVP? I agree that McNabb has had an outstanding season leading a team to "overachiever status" even against the notorious "fifth place schedule". But if I had to pick the MVP in the NFC I would choose between Marshall Faulk and Randy Moss. In the AFC, I'd choose between Curtis Martin, Eddie George and Rich Gannon.

Given the recent finalization of the election results, there are lots of people who are now hoping to move into new jobs. And it is sort of fitting that these transitions of government happen during the Holiday season; some people get the jobs of their dreams - the jobs to which they have been aspiring for all their lives. Sometimes that happy Holiday seasonal joy can happen in the world of academic sports too. Just yesterday, Dion Harris was named the athletic equipment manager at Towson State. How did he contain his joy?

Finally, in college hoops, McKendree defeated Eureka by a score of 97-80. Maybe that headline could read:

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...