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?

Sunday’s upset double feature saw the New York Giants (+7.5) roll with the punches, just like San Diego in the AFC Divisionals, and eliminate the Dallas Cowboys 21-17. Dallas outgained New York 336 yards to 230, but only made it into the red zone once in the second half.

This game was in sharp contrast to Saturday’s tilt between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. The Packers were the only favorites to cash in this week, and they cashed in big-time with a 42-20 beatdown in the snow. Seattle scored two quick touchdowns off Ryan Grant fumbles, but Grant responded with 201 yards rushing and three TDs.

New York’s secondary took a hit Sunday when CB Aaron Ross came out of the game with a sprained shoulder. Sam Madison and Kevin Dockery were already out at that position; Green Bay appears to be healthy and could capitalize if New York doesn’t get well soon.

I’ve read some crazy predictions out there – apparently, some people think the New England Patriots (-13) are going to lose this Saturday night when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hey, it could happen. You almost have to apply quantum physics to come to that conclusion, though.

Why would anyone predict something like that? Perhaps to stir up controversy, to collect as many incredulous eyeballs as possible? I suppose cold, rational thinking is out of style these days. You could make a much more compelling case that the Jags will cash in, but I’ll take the Pats –13 based on their proven talent level and the advantage of the bye week.

I’ll also go chalk on the Colts (-9) over San Diego, which I feel much more comfortable doing. What’ll happen when the Patriots and Colts meet in the AFC final? I expect Indy to be undervalued and to beat the spread, if not win outright.

It’s beginning to look a lot like 2008. After careful consideration and consulting the oracle, I’ve decided these will be the 10 best sports wagers (both teams and single events) in the New Year.

Indianapolis Colts (9-2) to win the Super Bowl: Fading the Pats is fashionable.

San Antonio Spurs (3-1) to win NBA title: Fading the Celtics will be, too.

Toronto Raptors: Still ignored and undervalued against the spread.

Drake Bulldogs, NCAAB: Already 7-0 ATS and far better than expected.

Chelsea (6-1) to win English Premiership: Just six points back of Arsenal.

Germany (8-13) to win Euro 2008 Group B: Croatia is their best opponent.

Rafael Nadal (6-1) to win Australian Open: Will pass Federer soon.

Ottawa Senators (2-1) to win Eastern Conference: Great team, shaky conference.

Phil Mickelson (10-1) to win 2008 U.S. Masters: Great odds for 2004, 2006 champ.

Frank Mir (+145) over Brock Lesnar at UFC 81: Classic anti-public pick.

As expected, the Mitchell Report has turned Major League Baseball on its ear. Dozens of players have been implicated in steroid use, from big-league sluggers to journeyman scrubs.

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, we humbly suggest these four athletes, if they haven’t done so already, join the parade and grab a bottle of “Vitamin B-12.”

Brandan Wright, Golden State Warriors: Generously listed at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds. Needs significantly more bulk to play the post in the NBA.

Martin Biron, Philadelphia Flyers: Those rules limiting the size of goalie equipment aren’t helping this 6-foot-3, 163-pound beanpole.

Garrett Wolfe, Chicago Bears: Get this man some HGH. Listed at 5-foot-7 and 186 pounds, the rookie RB has had trouble staying healthy on the football field – go figure.

Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks: If you want to extend your career another few years, think Roger Clemens. Plus, imagine the fastball you could throw at 6-foot-10 and bigger than your current 231 pounds.

Is the Pope Jewish? There is simply no way Baltimore brass should allow Billick to stay on as coach of this team. Billick was brought to Crabville supposedly because he knew how to put points on the board. After all, that was his background, as OC with a record-setting Minnesota Vikings unit in the mid-to-late ’90s. And in his second season, the Ravens won a Super Bowl. But they did it with a record-setting defense, and a very ordinary offense. And in the years since that title, the Baltimore offense has not gotten any better.

Things could have worked out for Billick and the Ravens. They started out by winning four of their first six games this season. But driving for the winning touchdown in Buffalo in Week 7, with a second-and-one around midfield, Billick called three pass plays in a row while Willis McGahee never touched the ball. Three incompletions later, the game was lost, and Billick should have been canned on the flight home. Instead, they’ve dragged this thing out; Baltimore has lost nine games in a row, and Billick has lost control of this team.

The capper came when this team lost to the 0-13 Dolphins when Billick showed no balls at all and went for the tie on fourth down at the one-foot line in the waning seconds, when a TD wins the game. Gutless.

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.

Frankly, who gives a crap?  Sacks are easily one of the most overrated football statistics ever invented. So a guy makes a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. So what? Did he do it all by himself? How often do you see a nosetackle tie up two offensive linemen, allowing some overpaid DE to make a play on the quarterback? And how often is a sack simply the result of good coverage downfield?

But just for the sake of discussion, Seattle’s Patrick Kearney led the league heading into Week 16 with 14 1/2 sacks, followed by Houston’s Mario Williams – who’s making the Texans look good in taking him over the overrated Reggie Bush and Vince Young in last year’s draft – with 14 sacks, and K.C.’s Jared Allen with 13 1/2. So if you’re going to make me put a dollar on someone in this meaningless race, I’ll go with Williams, because I’m glad to see him doing so well after catching so much flak during his rookie season.

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.

College football coaches were falling like flies after Week 13. Fans heap their scorn upon coaches with underachieving programs; even Pete Carroll, the brilliant coach of the USC Trojans, heard the boos earlier this season when the team was in the midst of losing to Stanford. The Trojans might end up in the Rose Bowl anyway, but will that be enough to salve Carroll’s pride?

If not, the NFL beckons. The Miami Dolphins were reportedly very interested in luring Carroll out of college to replace Nick Saban, before inking Cam Cameron instead. In 2005, rumors suggested Carroll might be on his way to the pros; last year, stories out of Arizona mused about a Carroll-Matt Leinart reunion. Still, nobody has come up with a suitable offer to pry Carroll from the college ranks.

Carroll has professed his love for USC time and again. It’ll take a lot more than one rough patch to send him packing.