A few things to get to before this week's picks:

- Still no decisions made in the Great MP3 Player Search. I've ruled out the Creative Zen line, as they are not supported by the Rockbox hack. The Cowon A2 or X5L were initially near the top of my list, but the more I read about them the less I like. Sadly, the Apple iPod is inching closer to the top spot. I would buy it today if the latest iteration were compatible with Rockbox. Sometimes I frighten myself.

- Congratulations Cardinals fans on the World Series victory. I am completely sick of the national media whining about how ratings were low because nobody cares about midwestern teams. Sporting events' worthiness are not determined by tv ratings. If they want to whine about how the Tigers played like a little league team rather than an American League champion then fine, but the "nobody cares about the series because neither team is from New York" argument is about as nonsensical as last week's "Tony LaRussa lost the series for the Cardinals and let down his team by not pressing the issue with Kenny Rogers' hand". ESPN, you're almost prescient...

- I've also grown weary of the entire highbrow portion of the internet dissecting Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and determining that ratings are going down because the show is "too smart" or "doesn't appeal to the midwest". Again, the idea that the entire central part of the United States is populated by backwards rubes is not only offensive (although I do live in a city where children ride around on sheep...) but also incorrect. The reason Studio 60 fell so sharply in the ratings is that the episodes got steadily worse. We learned nothing interesting about the characters, we learned nothing of the inner workings of the show, and the story arc of Matt and Harriet's on again-off again relationship got quickly tiring. This past week's episode was probably the best one so far, as it focused on the other, more interesting, characters' backstories. Uninteresting stories is the reason the show wasn't doing well, not "too much 'inside baseball'".

- Go see The Prestige. It's the best movie I've seen this year as well as a sleeper pick for Lucas' Most Hat-centric Movie of the Year. See the movie and you'll see why.

SF at CHI: The Bears have had 2 weeks to mull over how they should have lost to the sorry Cardinals. They're not going down yet, but they're going down soon. CHI

ATL at CIN: After last week's all-star appearance, we're about due for a 75 yds passing, 40 yds rushing, 3 INTs game out of Michael Vick. On the other hand, the Bengals can't stop the run. ATL

AZ at GB: You're really testing me here Lucas. AZ

HOU at TEN: The Texans actually looked like a football team last week, so I guess I pick them by default? HOU

SEA at KC: If this were on the road, it would be a no-brainer that the Chiefs would underperform and lose. But at home against Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris, I think they'll do just enough. KC

BAL at NO: I'm still laughing at the Jaws PTI comment of "I went through their schedule one by one and came up with 16 W's" about the Ravens. NO

TB at NYG: Unlike Lucas, I realize that this is the one single game that the Giants are playing in this week. He apparently believes that the split squad is in Ohio playing the Browns. NYG

JAX at PHI: Now who's foolish for picking against the Jags? PHI

STL at SD: The Chargers laid their egg last week. Now it's time for them to roll along for 2-3 weeks, get everyone's hopes up again, then inexplicably lose to the Browns or somebody like that. SD

NYJ at CLE: Could the pathetic Jets really be 5-3? NYJ

IND at DEN: This is the first real game the Colts have had to play, but it's also the first time that the Broncos' overrated defense has played against a real O. IND

PIT at OAK: Lightning doesn't strike twice, 1-15 here they come. PIT

DAL at CAR: I love watching the wheels fall off of a team featuring both the Tuna and Terrell Owens. I do feel bad for Drew Bledsoe, though. CAR

NE at MIN: Since when have the Patriots ever lost a game like this? The Vikings play a similar style of game as the Pats, with the main difference that the Pats have done it successfully for 5 years. NE

Congratulations to Cardinals fans, although I don't have much faith in them winning the World Series. I say this even though they're currently winning game 1 on the road 7-1 in the 9th inning. I say this because I've seen Jeff Suppan pitch against American League teams all too many times, and it's none too pretty. On to abbreviated picks, as Craig Monroe just hit one that's still leaving the stadium.

PIT at ATL: The Falcons never win games like this, even at home. PIT

NE at BUF: And the Pats never lose games like this, even on the road. NE

CAR at CIN: In just a few weeks the Bengals have gone from undefeated and on a roll to almost at .500 and completely falling apart. CAR

SD at KC: It's about time for Marty to rear his ugly head. Upset special. KC

GB at MIA: Usually this is an automatic gain of a game against Lucas, but with the Dolphins it's not nearly so automatic. MIA

DET at NYJ: Sweet merciful crap what an ugly game. The saddest part is that the Jets are actually in 2nd place in their division. NYJ

PHI at TB: I can't think of one reasonably entertaining or intelligent thing to say about either of these teams. PHI

JAX at HOU: Normally the Jaguars flummox me in every attempt to pick their games, but I'm pretty confident in this one. JAX

DEN at CLE: Lucas is right to be wary of a team that only beats the Raiders 13-3, but let's not go nuts. DEN

WAS at IND: The sad part is, this is one of the Colts' harder games of the season. IND

AZ at OAK: As devastating as Monday night's loss was, nothing cures all ills like a visit to Oakland. AZ

MIN at SEA: The Vikings have gone from wacky and entertaining with Moss and Culpepper v1.0 to one of the most boring teams in the league. Only Fred Smoot can turn them around. SEA

NYG at DAL: I guess the ESPN overhype machine should start getting warmed up for this one. Mediocre Quarterback Whose Brother is Famous! Head Case Receiver Who Occasionally Has an Impact! Loudmouth Tight End Who Still Can't Back it Up! Overweight, Poorly-Dressed Coach Who Hasn't Won a Super Bowl in 16 Years! DAL

I still haven't made much headway in the great mp3 player search, which I intend to have completed before I go travelling at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is about time for me to open up Eileen's computer again and do some surgery, which is always a dicey situation.

Unlike my Dell, which has an inspired case design that makes it ridiculously simple to upgrade everything, her HP has everything crammed into the case in the most haphazard fashion. In order to add RAM awhile back, we had to take out the fan, hard drive, and both CD drives. Now one of her sticks of RAM is bad, so it's time once again for computer parts to be strewn all over the carpet.

NYG at ATL: The Giants are the most inconsistent team I've seen in a long time. If Eli Manning wasn't a Manning, he would get torn up by the talking heads for his inconsistent play. I mean, he's just Jake Plummer with a pedigree at this point. ATL

HOU at DAL: That was classic Drew Bledsoe last week against the Eagles. First he completes an impossible 4th and 18 pass to set them up for the game-tying touchdown. Then he throws a bonehead interception in the endzone to lose the game. It's like deja vu for me. DAL

BUF at DET: And then there was classic Mike Martz in last week's Lions game. Midway through the 3rd quarter, they had run the ball 5 times all game. BUF

SEA at STL: For some reason everyone is picking the Rams in an upset special, so is it a real upset special if I pick the Seahawks? No. SEA

PHI at NO: The Saints have been extraordinarily lucky this season, and it's about time for their luck to run out. PHI

CIN at TB: Again, it seems like all the talking heads are picking the Bucs even though they have a rookie QB in his second game against a team coming off a bye week that only a few weeks ago some were saying could go undefeated. CIN

TEN at WAS: The Titans almost upset the patsy-scheduled Colts last weekend, but they couldn't pull it out because Vince Young is a poor man's Michael Vick at this point. WAS

CAR at BAL: Speaking of lucky teams, it's the 4-1 Ravens who've squeaked by such great teams as Cleveland. In a funny twist, "Jaws" made the outrageous claim last weekend that they had a chance to go undefeated. That was before they lost to the Broncos in a predictable fashion. CAR

MIA at NYJ: Neither of these teams is any good, but I'll go with the Dolphins in the smallest of mini-Upset Specials. MIA

KC at PIT: I know I promised not to pick the Steelers if they lost last weekend, but I have exactly zero faith in the hometown Chiefs. PIT

SD at SF: This is the kind of game that the Chargers inexplicably lose. There's a reason they haven't made the playoffs in the past few seasons. I think they'll pull this one out, though. SD

OAK at DEN: This one has all the makings of a whitewash. DEN

CHI at AZ: As does this one, nothing like putting the best matchups in prime time. CHI

My search for a suitable portable music device has already taken me to sundry websites, and now it has even taken me to the very gates of hell itself: an Apple store. In my efforts to find the perfect widget or whatchamacallit I must not make any prejudgments, so I decided to try out the fabled iPod to find out what all the fuss was about.

There are definitely some useful features, the touch-wheel thingamajigger is definitely cool, but my overall impression is still fairly the same. The Apple cult member employee that I talked to was knowledgeable, but tried to convince me that I was some sort of mutant if I could hear the difference between 128 AAC and lossless WAV. Now, even while listening in the store on Bose headphones that probably cost twice as much as the iPod itself (ironic to use hi-fidelity heaphones or cables for such lossy music, no?), the music definitely lacked the crispness of a CD and was noticeably fuzzy. I understand that portability is more important than sound quality in some cases, but don't try to blow smoke up my ass.

Now on to the picks. After Lucas gave me crap last week for not posting full commentary, I hung a 12-2 on him including hitting on both of my upset specials.

BUF at CHI: This one is almost too easy. Chicago on a short schedule after a statement win against a team that plays much better than it looks on paper. I'll use the upset special moniker early. BUF

STL at GB: Another one that's too easy, for entirely different reasons. STL

TEN at IND: There is not a single quality matchup in all the early games tomorrow. Could the NFL possibly give the Colts an easier schedule? Is there a chance they could play Prarie View next week? IND

DET at MIN: Different year, same old joke of a team in Detroit. Mike Martz makes things a bit more amusing, but Jon Kitna still remains. MIN

MIA at NE: The Patriots don't have letdown games, especially against divisional rivals. NE

TB at NO: Haven't heard much from Reggie Bush this season, maybe the Texans were right in not drafting him. Oh, except Bush's team is 3-1 and the Texans are horrible. NO

WAS at NYG: Eli Manning is like a mini-reverse-Peyton. He sucks it up for 3 quarters and then looks like Joe Montana at the end of every game. Peyton looks like Montana all season and then transforms into Tony Banks once the games count. NYG

CLE at CAR: No matter what happens this season, I think we can all agree that Sports Illustrated's pick for Super Bowl 2008 will be the Panthers once again. CAR

KC at AZ: Are the Cardinals really favored in this game? I don't care if the Chiefs have Monty Beisel at quarterback, they can still beat the bad teams. KC

OAK at SF: Speaking of bad teams, I think this game calls for the retirement of the "Game I Don't Care About of the Week" award. Nothing could ever even remotely match this atrocity. They may broadcast this game to the terrorist prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. SF

NYJ at JAX: Jacksonville is possibly the most overhyped .500 team ever. They just aren't that good, people. JAX

DAL at PHI: Ah yes, all variety of items will be thrown on the field in this game. Maybe someone will throw Drew Bledsoe a fresh pair of legs. DAL

PIT at SD: This is it for picking the Steelers. If they lose this game, they are dead to me. PIT

BAL at DEN: Maybe it's just the awful memories of the New England game 2 weeks ago talking, but the Broncos should have no problem against the worst 4-0 team in the league. DEN