Here’s the picks, home team in caps.

DALLAS 31, Washington 17
GREEN BAY 27, San Francisco 24
Pittsburgh 17, KANSAS CITY 13
MINNESOTA 34, Seattle 20
DETROIT 16, Cleveland 13

NEW YORK GIANTS 27, Atlanta 21 – After the bye week the Giants defense is a lot healthier, even with the loss of Antonio Pierce. It’s a big blow but this team knows they can’t lose a fifth straight game, I expect the offense to come out and taking some big shots early.

LOCK – New Orleans 37, TAMPA BAY 17 – No Reggie Bush is not a problem, its the Bucs they’re playing.
JACKSONVILLE 23, Buffalo 16

Indianapolis 30, BALTIMORE 20 – The Ravens defense has looked a lot better recently but I still don’t think they’ll slow down the Colts attack.
Cincinnati 24, OAKLAND 13
San Diego 31, DENVER 23
Arizona 30, ST. LOUIS 14

NEW ENGLAND 27, New York Jets 20 – Lots of bad blood as always in this game. Early on this season the Jets were riding the emotions of a new coach, a new quarterback and a new style. Now the new QB looks like a new QB. The new coach? Looks like a new coach. And that new defensive style? Is starting to give up plenty of points. They’ll be a far different outcome this time, especially with the Pats having something to prove after Week 10.
CHICAGO 24, Philadelphia 21

UPSET – HOUSTON 27, Tennessee 21 – This is the closest to an upset this week. The Titans are on fire but still 3-6, while the Texans are in the middle of the Wild Card pack at 5-4. The difference between the two is the Titans are starting to look like the ones that belong in the playoffs.

Take a look.

“Nothing will happen by day’s end, but we’ll keep talking,” Bay’s agent Joe Urbon said.

Really its no surprise that Bay turned down the offer, a player of his caliber has to test the open market. Sox GM Theo Epstein was actually not surprised that their offer was turned down. “It’s not a surprise that a player that’s gone this far wants to see what’s out there,” said Epstein.

To me this says Theo likes Bay more then Holliday. It’s purely speculative but if a team has an opening at a position and the need to improve, one would assume they’d go after the best possible player. Holliday is better then Bay, so one would also assume that the Sox would go after him first.

By attempting to resign Bay tells me that the Sox may not be as high on Holliday as many believe. Or it could simply mean they’d rather keep a player who succeeded and use the extra money elsewhere.

The Sox will focus on Holliday now but I’m sure Theo will have Urbon on speed dial, just to see if Bay wants to come back.

For all the new readers today, there’s already been a lot thanks to Sports Nation’s tweet about their site of the day, welcome to My Sports Rumors.

Here you’ll get a couple rumors a day from across the three major sports, sorry hockey fans it’s just not my thing. You won’t always get the rumors being discussed on all the major media outlets, I talk about whatever rumors interest me that day.

So it could be something small like Brandon Lyon seeking a multi-year deal or my take on the Matt Holliday rumors.

I’ll also take time out for the random articles you expect from bloggers. Things like videos, top ten lists or comparative (sports to entertainment) posts. Something like the Neeko remake of Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind or even comparing the AL East to the Dark Knight a couple years ago.

Thanks again to the people at Sports Nation for selecting My Sports Rumors as your site of the day. To the new readers hope you stick around and discuss this winters Hot Stove with me.

Again everyone, that’s 5:00 pm eastern time, and again at 12:30am, Sports Nation on ESPN 2. CHECK IT OUT!

@SportsNation @mysportsrumors new tag line: “I’m not sayin’ it’s true… That’s just what I heard…”

Pretty good stuff, I don’t know I may have to use that one!

Also check out Sports With Balls podcast on BlogTalkRadio. It airs every Tuesday at 2pm but you can always find the archives there.

Alright to the links.

Josh Q Public – Ric Flair Bloodies Up the Hulkster
Guyism – The 9 most fatal flaws of beloved movie characters
Cuzoogle – 5 fictional “defense” attorneys the Toronto Raptors should hire
Unathletic Mag – Come on Rex, There’s No Crying In Football

YuppieJunk – How Gay Is Soccer?
The Pigskin Doctors – Where’s the Love for Toby…and his Conference?
HHR Media Group – Lessons in Blogging Anonymity
PSAMP – Kordell Stewart is Awkward
SEC Rivals – SEC Bowl Tie-Ins 2009-2010

NESW Sports – The Best of Bo Jackson
No Guts, No Glory – Questionable Poses: Dwyane Wade Gets His Soul Glo On
Hail Mary Jane – The 10 Funniest Seesaw Accidents Ever
Zoner Sports – Wanted: For Killing Your Fantasy Football Team

Brown is still walking in a boot and visiting a foot specialist. If he’s visiting a specialist you have to think its a lot more then a high ankle sprain that everyone initially suspected. But how serious is it? According to Mike Florio at PFT, a league source said its serious enough that he could miss the rest of the year.

The question for the Dolphins is do you place Brown on the injured reserve or not? Florio says its a challenging decision, and that’s an understatement.

Ricky Williams is more then capable of picking up the slack but like I said the Dolphins are still in the playoff race. If Brown is only going to miss say five weeks, you’d want him available for the playoffs (if they make it of course). The last thing they’d want to do is put their Wildcat leader on IR and then he’s healthy by the time the playoffs come around.

While it is a very tough decision, I’m not quite sure the Dolphins will make the playoffs. Like I’ve said before they’re already in a dogfight but to now lose their best offensive piece can’t help.

Williams is still a very good running back, but can he lead the Wildcat portion of the offense? The Dolphins usually run out of the formation but Brown has the speed and ability to hand off, pitch or run himself. If Williams leads the Wildcat then you know its a straight run from Ricky.

Which brings up another question, is Pat White ready to take over?

The Mets were considering two others for the position, Bob Melvin (formerly Arizona and Seattle head coach) and Eric Wedge (formerly the Cleveland head coach). Both have been fairly successful in their roles as head coach, both have brought teams to the League Championship Series and have records right around .500.

If both are interested in taking a bench coach role, then how is Jauss the better choice?

Really Dave, it’s no disrespect you probably are a good coach. You must be if you’ve worked for three teams but I’m sorry you’re not the best choice for the Mets.

What this really boils down to is egos. General Manager Omar Minaya is most likely trying to stroke the ego of Jerry Manuel, who is on a very very hot seat.

I’m thinking he doesn’t want Manuel to turn to his left or right and see a bench coach who might take his position in 2011.

I’m thinking he doesn’t want Manuel to turn to his left or right and say damn am I as good as my bench coach. Cause if they signed Melvin or Wedge, then he’d definitely be thinking it.

With Jauss as the bench coach there is no worry that he’ll take Manuel job. There’s no worry that the New York media will start up the fire Manuel, promote Melvin/Wedge. Manuel can just go out and coach like he knows how too, unfortunately I’m not sure if that’s enough for the Mets to be winners in 2010.

Again no disrespect to you Dave, but this signing is another reason why Minaya needs to be on the same hot seat that Manuel is on. He’s brought excitement to the Mets with his big trades and big signings but they haven’t translated into wins.

So Fred Wilpon, it’s time to take a look at the mess that your Mets have become. You may of said it privately but you need to say it publicly, Omar Minaya your job is on the line too. With the Manuel/Minaya show in town you’re not going to win a championship.

So Fred, do the New York Mets really want to win?

“I am announcing today that I am relieving Dick Jauron from his duties as our head coach, effective immediately,” Bills owner Ralph Wilson said. “I have tremendous respect for Dick and thank him for all of his efforts during these past four years. While this was a very difficult decision, I felt that it is one that needed to be made at this time for the best interest of our team. We will now focus on moving forward and preparing for our game this week in Jacksonville.”

In all honesty, I have no idea why the Bills have such a horrible offense. Yes, their offensive line sucks but they’ve got some pretty good running backs and two very good wide receivers. Yes, their quarterbacks aren’t that great but they’ve got the talent around them to hide it.

The offense has been so bad they’re only averaging 15.6 points a game. But wait that doesn’t even say how bad they are. They’ve only had one game with over 300 yards of offense and that was in Week Two. They’ve also only had a quarterback throw for over 200 yards once, that was also in Week Two. That is just horrendous when you have wide receivers like Terrell Owens and Lee Evans.

The offense has been so bad that its no surprise that the defensive coordinator was promoted to interim head coach. The new Bills coach is Perry Fewell and he’s know the fifth Bills coach this decade.

The good news for Bills fans is that this is the first Bills coach since 1986 to be fired mid-season. The interim coach that year, was none other then Marv Levy and we know how much good he brought to that organization. Can Fewell do the same?

What I wonder is Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams have something to do with this? Was he really flipping the fans off at the game? If you watch the video he’s doing a lot of pointing before giving the bird. Could that pointing have been at Dick Jauron, telling Ralph Wilson that Jauron sucks and needs to go?

You tell me.

Let’s first look at the two teams that have already bowed out, then the other teams that are still in the running.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - GM Tony Reagins told the Los Angeles Times that his team is not focused on Holliday, they’re more interested in resigning their own players, John Lackey and Chone Figgins. He also says they’ve had discussions with Vladimir Guerrero. If he can’t resign those three guys then things could obviously change, but it shows that Holliday is not at the top of their wish list.

I’m actually not surprised. If the Angels were to hit the free agent market their biggest need is a power bat. Outside of Kendry Morales the Angels lacked the type of player who can change a game in one swing of the bat. They’re a team that has to rely on their speed and timely hitting to make things happen, which is something they do quite well. But like they showed in the playoffs, that’s just not enough. You need that one bat who can change a game. Can Holliday be that kind of player?

The jury is still out. While in Colorado he put up the power numbers, but that’s no surprise. Between Oakland and St. Louis this past season he hit only 24 homers. He did hit .313, had a high on base percentage and could steal a few bases but he doesn’t really answer what the Angels need. If in a bind they may reenter the race but in all honesty I think they’ll keep Scott Boras on speed dial just to keep their east coast rivals honest.

New York Yankees – Much like Reagins, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has already said his team is focused on it’s own players. (Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte). After the huge spending spree last season who can blame them? There are two reasons I don’t think they’ll truly get involved. One they don’t have many holes and two there is a huge free agent class next winter. After winning the championship they can afford to go with what they got for one season. Look for them to stay in the race thou as well, just to keep the Red Sox honest.

I really believe the Holliday Sweepstakes to be a three team race, just a completely different group then Morosi suggested. In my opinion the teams with the best chances at landing him are the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and of course the Red Sox.

For the New York Mets, their main need is a power bat in reality they need any warm bodies they can get. For them I believe it will come down to what they favor most, all around production or pure power. If it’s power only then I think he’ll be giving Jason Bay a call, but if it’s all around they’ll be going all-in on Holliday. They’ve always got some money to spend and spending it on Matt could be their best decision since trading for Johan Santana.

Landing Holliday will also give the Mets something they really need, good publicity. A signing like that would allow them to steal the back pages from the World Champs for a couple days.

Boston Red Sox – For the Red Sox, I think it will also come down to who they favor more, Bay or Holliday. Jason was amazing in Boston the last couple years, showing a real feel for hitting in Fenway. His average at home is slightly above his season averages but his power numbers are slightly lower at home then on the road. Regardless, he showed he can perform in Beantown and that the pressure of such a place won’t get to him.

And that is the thing I think really separates him from Holliday. I have no doubts Holliday could perform well iin Fenway, actually at a much higher level then Bay BUT can he handle the pressure? While in Oakland he struggled mightily, part of it could of been learning the pitchers in a new league but there was also pressure on him there to produce. Once he was traded to St. Louis and he could be an accessory to Albert Pujols he took off.

I think Theo Epstein will push really hard for Holliday, while keeping Bay on the backburner if things fall through. Is that the right decision? Not sure, but the Sox really need to make some type of splash this off season and Matt would definitely help them do so.

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a unique position. Holliday loved playing there and performed admirably during his time, but is that enough to overcome the money factor. With Boras as his agent, I’d say probably not BUT it could be enough if top teams in baseball keep bowing out of the race.

The Cardinals have already admitted they won’t cut the biggest check so they’ll need to get creative. To have a real chance at keeping the slugger I think they’ll have to bypass Boras and go straight to the player. They need John Mozeliak, Tony La Russa and probably a few players to keep giving Matt a call and persuade him St. Louis is where he wants to be. Get in his head, get in there enough to where he tells Boras I’ll take slightly less to play with these guys.

Will that happen? Probably not.

So what do I think will happen? I’m not sure at all. The Yankees and Angels say they aren’t interested but you can never count them out. In the end it will come down to money as it always does with star players but I have a feeling Matt will be staying in the National League. He looked more comfortable at the plate, in the field and in the dugout after his short stint in Oakland and the AL.

If there really is that much of a difference between the leagues for him, he’s got to weigh that in to his decision. If not he could be setting himself up for failure by going back to the American League.

“Because of personal matters that forced him to leave the team on November 7, Allen will step away from the game at this time, allowing him to focus on those matters,” general manager Chris Wallace said. “As a result, we will be ending our contractual agreement with Allen, which will allow both parties to move forward. We wish Allen the best.”

The move does do two things for the Grizzlies. First it saves them a decent amount of money, Iverson was scheduled to make $3 million this season. The team is now just on the hook for a fraction of it. And the other thing it does is free up shots for the teams young guns like Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo. The team doesn’t have a chance to make the playoffs so letting AI hog the ball could of kept those guys from developing.

So where does AI go from here? Some think this may of been his last chance at a career in the NBA. He just became the fourteenth player to score 20,000 points in a career but he isn’t cut out to be a starter anymore. If he does start it would really only be for a cellar dweller. Someone like say the ummm New York Knicks.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh has already expressed his interest. I could see this happening, the Knicks surely would let AI start over Chris Duhon, someone that has been a mild disappointment for them. He’s someone that would bring excitement for a team that is 1-9. AND it would sell some seats at the Garden.

Some think adding a player like Iverson would hinder the development of players like Danilo Gallinari (an amazing start to his sophomore season) and rookie Toney Douglas. I agree somewhat, but you know what unlike the Grizzlies what do the Knicks have to lose?

The Grizzlies at least hold their pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Knicks do not. So the Knicks have two options.

1.) Sign Iverson, bring some excitement to a team that lacks it.

or

2.) Let Iverson ride into the sunset and let their young kids to continue to develop.

Ironically, I think Iverson can do both. AI would bring something other then excitement to the Knicks, he’d bring toughness. This is a sit around, play soft, don’t create opportunities team. Iverson is a scorer by nature and loves to drive to the basket, something none of the Knicks player do. Having a true penetrating guard could help open up even more shots for the youngsters, in a way helping them continue their develop but in possible winning situations.

I’ve lived in Philadelphia for over a decade now and have seen Iverson play many times. The guy has always had talent but I always said I’d never want him playing for my Knicks. But you know what, my opinion has changed and for one reason.

The Knicks don’t have their 2010 pick. Right now it looks like the Knicks will have the best chance at winning the draft lottery and what will they have to show for it? Absolutely nothing, so really what good is it finishing last?

I want the Knicks to bring in Iverson, even if it does stunt the growth of some of the youngsters. Adding AI to the mix should translate to a few more wins and hopefully a pick in the 7-10 range again. It would still hurt to lose that but hey at least we wouldn’t be giving away the TOP draft pick.

Now if the Knicks don’t sign Iverson, I think it could be a while before he latches on to another NBA team. There aren’t many that would want to take on that headache.