The props will soon be overflowing as Super Bowl XLII draws near. Every book has something different to offer; here are 10 of my favorite possibilities for this year’s festivities in Glendale.

1. How long will it take for Jordin Sparks to sing the National Anthem?
2. Will there be a safety? (The Giants gave one up in Super Bowl XXV)
3. Who will have more points Sunday: the Patriots or Kobe Bryant?
4. Will a streaker reach the playing surface at the University of Phoenix Stadium?
5. Will there be more Tom Brady TD throws or Kanye West Grammy Awards?
6. Tedy Bruschi total tackles, sacks and interceptions (Bruschi leads the Pats in tackles).
7. Will Junior Seau score a touchdown? (He sometimes plays halfback in goal-line situations)
8. Will the Patriots score a rushing TD?
9. Will a defensive or special teams TD be scored?
10. Will New England score in every quarter?

Never bet against the Tom Brady. If there’s one thing you’ve learned from the regular season — no matter how desperately hard you wanted to bet on the other team — it’s never bet against the New England Patriots. For the few lost souls who went against that thinking last night…well, let’s just say they’ve learned a valuable lesson.

For awhile there it looked like this one could go either way, but a late interception throw by Jags QB David Garrard made the win all that more attainable for Tom Brady, who went 26-of-28 for 262 yards and threw three touchdowns as New England beat Jacksonville 31-20 and advanced to the AFC Championship.

Laurence Maroney gained 122 yards on 22 carries and scored one touchdown against the Jags defense.

Up next for the perfect Patriots (now 17-0)? Either the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Giants. That game plays out today…

Although Brett Favre set the all-time record for INTs earlier this season, finally topping ol’ George Blanda’s mark of 277 to the relief of Packer fans everywhere, No. 4 probably won’t lead the league in INTs this season. He did throw a couple of picks Sunday against the Bears, to raise his season total to 15. But the Packers are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, and although he’ll keep his starting streak alive this weekend against the Lions, Favre should not play enough to throw five interceptions.

The league leaders in this dubious category heading into the final week of play are Eli Manning and Carson Palmer, both with 19 INTs this season, and Derek Anderson, Jon Kitna and Tony Romo with 18. And we can’t rule out Vince Young, who’s thrown 17 INTs this season. The Giants are locked into the No. 5 spot in the NFC, so Manning shouldn’t have to do too much against New England Saturday night. Cincinnati is out of contention, and we’re not sure just how much Palmer will play Sunday at Miami. Cleveland is in the unusual situation in that they have no control over their playoff fate; if Tennessee wins, the Browns are out, and if the Titans lose, the Brownies are in. So it’s hard to say what might happen with Anderson when Cleveland hosts San Francisco.

Detroit plays a meaningless game at Green Bay and Dallas visits Washington with nothing on the line for them, so again, it’s difficult to discern what Kitna and Romo might do. But we’ll go with Palmer to win this dubious race, although we wouldn’t put much more than a dollar on it.

Full credit to the Ravens for putting the boots to the Patriots Monday night. Their reward: another game staring at big chalk, this time against the Indianapolis Colts.

Baltimore managed to run for big yards against the Patriots. Run defense happens to be the one area where New England isn’t world-class, sitting at No. 11 in efficiency. The Colts are even worse in this department at No. 21, and they won’t be getting any better without injured Dwight Freeney on the defensive line.

But are the Ravens in any mood to beat the Colts? Losing to New England the way they did was a punch in the gut. Players are questioning coaches, blaming officials, and otherwise gazing at their navels after losing what analysts were calling “their Super Bowl.” Beating the 10-2 Colts just won’t have the same motivational zest to it, even as a revenge game from last year’s playoffs.

I haven’t had this much fun watching the NFL in a long time – Monday nights notwithstanding. It should be even more fun this week. Just add Turducken.

We’ll start with the Packers at the Lions. Dallas is the more enjoyable Thanksgiving team to watch, but the Cowboys get to host the Jets – ho hum. Green Bay is favored by a figgie.

Then Sunday is just nuts. The Jets-Cowboys might be a blowout, but the Patriots host the Eagles while laying a colossal 23 points. Watching that Pats offense is a religious experience, like dinner at Spago, or Jessica Alba dancing.

And Monday is Miami-Pittsburgh. An awful matchup on paper with the Steelers spotting the Fins 16 points. But maybe, just maybe, Ricky Williams will play. This is one of the greatest tailbacks in NFL history, although the whacky tabacky and a short, injury riddled stint in the Canadian Football League has truncated his career. Run, Ricky, run. Don’t make me start watching pro wrestling again.

Two undefeated teams meeting this late in the NFL season? What are the chances? Well here it is folks- Super Bowl 41 1/2.

The quarterbacks alone make this soon-to-be-classic match-up between the 8-0 Patriots and the 7-0 Colts a special one. Brady is set to break Manning’s record of 49 touchdown passes in one season but don’t think this minimizes Manning’s greatness at all. On Sunday night we are going to see a three-time Super Bowl champ in Brady taking on Manning, a man who choreographs plays from the line of scrimmage, commands the the offense like a front-line general and pin-points passes like a heat-seeking missile.

Neither of these champion athletes is refusing to ease off the accelerator. But by Sunday evening one will be left defeated, while the other will be crowned King- at least until Super Bowl.

Is anyone going to stop the New England Patriots this year? They thoroughly outclassed the No. 2 Super Bowl favorites from San Diego on Sunday in a 38-14 blowout.

A little extra motivation always helps. The league dropped the hammer on the Pats earlier in the week for spying on the Jets in Week 1; New England responded with verve and focus instead of distraction. It’s going to be one tall mountain for the mediocre Buffalo Bills (+17) to climb on Sunday. Seventeen points!

The Detroit Lions are also 2-0, but their fate against the Philadelphia Eagles is less certain. We’ll see how well QB Jon Kitna performs during practice after suffering a mild concussion in the second quarter against Minnesota. Kitna should be fine after coming back in the fourth to lead Detroit to an overtime victory, but considering how poorly J.T. O’Sullivan played in relief, Lions supporters won’t be taking any chances.

The news hit the betting world like a hammer: The New England Patriots, 2-1 favorites to win the Super Bowl.

The Pats were expected to get plenty of title talk. This “dynasty” underwent a high-profile upgrade during the offseason, adding the likes of Randy Moss to what was a no-name receiving corps in 2006. But 2-1?

The betting public didn’t even blink. New England’s odds shortened to 8-5 before the pendulum swung back. But those bettors who assumed a fair chunk of Super Bowl risk for relatively little reward might be second-guessing themselves.

New England’s title chances, however strong, took a hit when Rodney Harrison was suspended for four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. With Richard Seymour missing at least the first six games after going on the PUP list, and Moss missing the entire preseason with hamstring issues, the Pats are staring at a possible 3-3 start to their would-be championship season.

Complete NFL odds and Super Bowl odds at Bodog Sportsbook.