A bettor's guide to Week 10

No. I want you to think about it. I want you to consider the unbelievable generosity the price-setters have shown in making the Titans a tiny 3-point favorite.

No. I want you to think about it. I want you to consider the unbelievable generosity the price-setters have shown in making the Titans a tiny 3-point favorite. They're begging you to bet them. If my formula weren't getting whipped so badly, I'd say this game is a classic, but I'm running scared, so I lean away from the bold pick.

What are the Bears going to beat them with? Matt Forte? Granted, the rookie did a nice, 126-yard number on the Lions, but hey, the LIONS! And Chicago had to come from behind to beat them by four. And do you know how many 100-yard runners Tennessee has permitted this year? One. Steve Slaton, and he did it in a 31-12 loss by his team.

I'm trying to talk myself into picking the Titans minus three. Granted, the game is in Chicago, always a nasty place in which to play. Granted, the Titans/slash/Oilers haven't won there since 1989. That's a lot for granted. I know my single, lonely little selection in Sports Illustrated is Bears to win in an upset. But that was before Obama won the election. Everything is changed now. Tennessee, sigh, to cover the three, and may God have mercy on me for what I've done.

"Why are you sighing about an Obama victory?" someone asks. I'm not. I'm overjoyed. I'm just sighing about my wimpy pick.

But here's one that's not wimpy. Miami minus 9 1/2 over Seattle. "The Seahawks have quit," says Jimmy, who has spies in the blackberry forests of the Northwest. OK, already. After going 5-6 last weekend, I'll take help anywhere I can find it.

Eagles over the Giants, giving 3. Eli Manning played his sloppiest game of the season against the Cowboys and nobody minded because Dallas' idea of quarterback play was a lot worse. Besides, everyone is too ready to anoint the Giants. A fall is coming. According to mythology, the eagle is a creature of revenge.

"Whose mythology?" the Redhead wants to know.

My mythology.

Here's some more mythology. Buffalo couldn't stand up to the Jets' onslaught. New England gave Indy a good run for it Sunday night, in Indy yet. The only thing favoring Buffalo is the home court, and I say that's enough because I'm trying one more time with the odd pick, and that means Buffalo plus the 4. (P.S., of course I know it's in New England. I was just testing you. And if you believe that, I'll tell you the one about the mermaid and the fisherman.) Here's another very weird pick. Kansas City, which plays hard, even with its hopeless cast of characters, to hold the Chargers to less than the 15-point number.

Carolina minus 9 over the Raiders. The sound of doom ... Raiders are cutting high-priced player. It's now every man for himself.

How many of these previous selections am I really happy about? Very few. Philly maybe. I smell disaster coming, and maybe it's a good thing, after all the reckless confidence I've shown this season.

Last week: 5-6Season: 29-34