Just throwing a movie recommendation out there, Will Farrell's "Stranger Than Fiction" is worth seeing. It's not over the top funny like Borat, but it's got a lot of subtle charms to it. A lot of little things that don't show up in the box score that add up to it being a good movie in the end, you know? It was like the Manu Ginoboili of movies, I guess. Plus the casting was well thought out. Maggie Gyllenhaal is kinda cute, but not drop dead gorgeous. The movie would have come off plastic and fake if they put an actress in it who is unanimously beautiful, somebody like Natalie Portman or Winona Ryder. And I love both of them usually.
Quickie NFL Picks... I went 10-4 straight up and 9-5 vs. the spread last week and somehow lost money in the process. Now I'm 84-44 picking winners and 64-60-4 vs. the line. I think I'm beating Peter King and the Sports Couple, but I'm not positive. I'll confirm it next week.
Kansas City at Miami (-1.5) Huh? What? Miami wins one game and now they're favorites again? I don't think so. Chiefs to win and cover.
Houston at Jacksonville (-10) The Texans blew the Jags out the first time they played...which paved the road to Leftwich's benching. David Garrard thanks the Texans by handing them a couple of turnovers to keep the game close. Jaguars to win, Texans to cover.
San Diego at Cincinnati (+1) On one hand the kitty cats are a bunch of softies. On the other, they're pretty desperate. A shaky pick for Palmer and receivers to get it done at home vs. a Merriman-less Charger D, I guess. Bengals to win and cover.
Baltimore at Tennessee (+7) I wonder if McNair will be pumped up for this one. Ravens to win and cover.
Buffalo at Indianapolis (-12) It looks like a natural letdown game for the Colts after back to back roadies against the Broncos and Pats, huh? The Bills will keep it simple with McGahee and Thomas all game against that marshmallow front seven. Smells like another Manning 4th quarter special to me. Colts to win, Bills to cover.
Cleveland at Atlanta (-8) Last week I picked the Falcons to win and cover and I was very pleased with how it turned out. So let's keep it going. Atlanta in an absolute runaway with Vick throwing for 5 TDs and running for 3 more! Falcons to win and cover.
Washington at Philadelphia (-7) My Iggles are on a three game losing streak, look soft and uninspired, and are beset my numerous injuries. However they've never lost a game after a bye week. I'm not sure if they're good enough to blow anybody out right now. Eagles to win, Redskins to cover.
Green Bay at Minnesota (-5.5) Brett Favre has always been crappy in domes, but I don't think Minny's offense is good enough to beat anybody by a lot these days. Vikings to win, Packers to cover.
NY Jets at New England (-10.5) Wrong week for the Jets to come to Foxboro. Bellicheck's crew is gonna be pissed. Despite the loss, they got plenty of hits in on Manning, who'd only been sacked seven times in seven games previously. I'm kinda worried about Pennington's safety here.... Patriots to win and cover.
San Francisco at Detroit (-6) Surprisingly, the Lions have one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses right now. It's a lot harder to make fun of Mike Martz as an offensive coordinator than when he was the main hoss. As a rule I'm going to throw roses the week after whenever a team makes Vick look horrible, so the Lions to win and cover.
Denver at Oakland (+9) Down goes Walter! Down goes Walter! Broncos to win and cover.
St. Louis at Seattle (-3) I want to take the Seahawks at home, even without Hasselbeck and Alexander, but I just can't. The Rams aren't the Raiders. They can't blow this unless they have a bunch of turnovers. Rams to win and cover.
New Orleans at Pittsburgh (-5.5) The 6-2 Saints are getting no respect whatsoever going on the road against a 2-6 team just because they happen to be the defending champs. Sure didn't look like they were defending much of anything vs. the Broncos last week. However, every time a line doesn't make any sense to me, I end up making the wrong pick. So that means I pick the Steelers to win and cover. I'm gonna be feeling mighty stupid by 5 pm.
Dallas at Arizona (+6.5) The Cowboys have made a habit of beating up on crappy teams after they lose squeakers, so here's another pigeon for them. Enjoy you chuckleheads. Cowboys to win and cover.
Chicago at NY Giants (-1) If the Giants were full strength this would be really simple. Unfortunately, they're missing their three best DEs, Amani Toomer is out for the year, and Plexico is questionable at best. A KISS game (Keep It Simple, Stupid) for Chicago should be enough here... Bears to win and cover.
Tampa Bay at Carolina (-9.5) A terribly boring match-up and the ESPN announcing team? Where do I sign up? I think I might actually get started a day early on a term paper here, especially since the Spurs have a game on Tuesday. Panthers to win and cover.