Mindless Thoughts; Football Picks

If the rumors have any truth to them -- and please God, I hope they do -- then I love the potential Red Sox trade for Johan Santana. The players expected to head to Minnesota in return for the two-time Cy Young winner are Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and either Michael Bowden or Justin Masterson. It's true that to get a fish as big as Santana, the hook has to be baited with some important bait. Lester has a great future, Coco is a Gold Glove-caliber centerfielder and Lowrie, Bowden and Masterson have all excelled in the minor leagues. However, Santana is a proven commodity -- you're selling shares in the latest Dot-Com craze to get some solid Microsoft ownership -- and the Sox actually (according to the rumors) get to keep Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury. It's a win-win for Boston. Of course, trading for Santana means you have to pay him before he hits free agency about one year from now. A five or six year deal worth between $20-25 million annually is what Santana will command. Should be no problem for the Sox, who have money to spend. But if they pay Santana, they have to go and "adjust" Josh Beckett's contract as well. Beckett is signed through 2009 for an average of $10 million per season with a 2010 option for $12 million. A mega-deal for Santana has to equal a similar deal for Beckett. If not, the Red Sox are putting their clubhouse chemistry -- which was reportedly so great in 2007 -- in serious jeopardy. I wouldn't want my ace upset that the organization went out and paid the new guy -- the talented new guy but still the new guy without a World Series ring -- while he was forgotten. Shouldn't be too much of an issue but it's still an issue that will have to be addressed if/when the Sox acquire Santana... As you may have noticed, I did not pick the winner (against the spread) of last night's Dallas-Green Bay game. I purposely skipped that game in a mini-protest of the NFL Network being available to fans throughout the country. I do have access to the game but I didn't watch it as part of the mini-protest. That protest will not carry into the December 30 Patriots game at New York when the Pats will be going for 16-0 against the Giants on the NFL Network... Paul Pierce still forces some bad shots at the wrong times. Get rid of that habit Paul, before it's too late... Hey Braintree fans, hope your turkey tasted like shit! 42-20 and it wasn't even that close... Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Eric Gordon... As for the picks... HIGH SCHOOL Everett (-21) over Dartmouth Walpole (Pck) over Bishop Feehan Last Week: 1-0 Season: 1-0 NCAA Navy (-14) over Army ACC CHAMPIONSHIP: BC (+4.5) over Virginia Tech SEC CHAMPIONSHIP: LSU (-7) over Tennessee OREGON (Pck) over Oregon State BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP: Missouri (+3) over Oklahoma Last Week: 4-1 Season: 25-28-2 NFL ST. LOUIS (-3) over Atlanta Buffalo (+6) over WASHINGTON MINNESOTA (-4) over Detroit Houston (+4) over TENNESSEE Jacksonville (+6.5) over INDIANAPOLIS NY Jets (+1) over MIAMI San Diego (-7) over KANSAS CITY Seattle (+3) over PHILADELPHIA CAROLINA (-3) over San Francisco Cleveland (-1.5) over ARIZONA Denver (-4) over OAKLAND NEW ORLEANS (-3) over Tampa Bay (LOCK OF THE WEEK) CHICAGO (+1.5) over NY Giants Cincinnati (+7.5) over PITTSBURGH Patriots (-20) over BALTIMORE Last Week: 11-5 Season: 84-68-6 Lock of the Week: 7-5