By Sonny Palermo

"Celebrate" was OK, barely.

But I'm afraid I have to seek the death penalty for "Joy to the World." (Jeremiah was a bullfrog, my ass.)

And just who the F is "Eli" anyway, and who gives a damn whether he's coming or not?

But I digress. Onward to more important matters. First up . . .

Tennessee/LSU - Perfect spot for a let-down. They had it all, these Tigers. O State had lost, Kansas had lost, USC, W Virginia, Oklahoma - all the big boys were in their rear view mirror and were gonna stay there - IF the Tigers could just get past the one dimensional Razorbacks. But it is a helluva one-dimension, and they proved to be too much for the vaunted Tiger defense as LSU went down. The Sugar Bowl is nice, but pales when compared to the national championship, which is what the Tiger blew an opportunity for with last week's loss. Expect a flat effort from a disappointed group of cats, while the Vols are excited to even be in the SEC Championship game after an up and down season. Getting more than a touchdown, the points look good to me and I'm taking them.

Cleveland at Arizona - The Cardinals are in a battle for first place in the NFC West, but only because of the mediocrity of the Walrus and his Sea-hags. With one win already over Seattle, and with the Hawks on deck for next week, the Cardinals are not out of the race for the AFC West crown by any means. The Browns are chasing the Steelers, but after having lost both games to them will have to better than a tie atop the standings to win the division. Failing that, they have to keep pace with the Jags, who are one game up on them in the wild card race, and Tennessee, who is only one game behind. Last week, Cleveland actually played a little defense for the first time this season, against a solid O in the Texans, and I look for them to build on that here. Also like AFC over NFC anytime.

Detroit at Minnesota - If the Lions are going to make Kitna look like an ace prognosticator, with his guarantee of a double digit win season, they are going to have to win four of their final five games. With three of them on the road, and one of them against Dallas at home in Detroit, it doesn't look likely. But they have a chance to make a run at it, starting with this one. The problem is, they only have one road victory all season, and that was way back in week one, and against the lowly Raiders. Detroit has been losing games they are supposed to win, which is why I like them in this spot - a game where they are not expected to win. They get the extra days rest after the Thanksgiving day game, they get a team they have already beaten, and they get a Viking squad that may just be a little full of themselves after a win over the Giants in which NY did more to shoot itself in the foot and lose, than the Vikings did to win. Getting more than a FG here, and in a game I think Detroit wins straight up, I'll take it.

That's it for this week, not a lot to say, not a lot on my mind, still trying to work out my obsession with thoughts of Mrs. Incredible, and the possibilities a night with Elasti-girl could bring . . .

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