You know that I am all about winning friends and influencing people. I’ve made so many new friends among the dozen or so Giants fans across the U.S. My new friend Dennis has even begun to refer to me by a little friendly pet name - the weatherman. Ah, to be loved! Dennis and my other new friends are dogging me for picking against their beloved Giants the last few weeks. They haven’t been along for the ride to see the 75% accuracy with which I picked every game the entire NFL season - and the near 80% accuracy with which I picked Giants games. Then again, I need to remind myself - these are Giants fans I’m talking about. Math isn’t their strong suit. Watch carefully! Eighty percent: if you had ten footballs and you painted eight of them Giants blue…

Apparently reading comprehension isn’t a strong suit among Giants fans either. For those fans of the big blue, I did not say that I have agreed that the G-Men rule. Look again. I said that I’m almost ready to believe. But, upon further review - well, I’ll save my picks for a little later.

How about the coaching carousel? The big news was in big D. What do you suppose Jerry Jones said to Jason Garrett to get him to pass on, not one, but two head coaching offers? I’m guessing Wade Phillips wants to know! Look for Phillips’ lame duck season to begin March 1st (when the 2008 season officially begins). In Miami, the weatherman was right on. I told you the coach would come from among Parcells sphere of influence. Welcome to the Tuna’s world, Tony Sparano. Giants fans don’t misread that spelling - it’s not Tony Soprano. Though the ‘family’ feel of it might leave Dolphin faithful confused. Ireland… Sparano… Parcells… now all we need is Keyshawn Johnson and… oh wait, I forgot - they whacked him in the Dallas episode.

In Atlanta, Falcons owner Arthur Blank is rumored to be ready to post the head coaching job on Craigs List. Does ANYBODY want this job? I’m guessing Rex Ryan might be the guy. In Baltimore they’re looking at John Harbaugh and Brian Schottenheimer. In Washington, who knows what Daniel Snyder will do. I’m guessing he will send his fleet of armored trucks to Pete Carroll’s house next. “Will you come back to the NFL for THIS much money?” “What if I add another zero on the end of that figure?” And, the real cog in the coaching-search works is Tony Dungy. All these teams would like to woo Colts Assistant Jim Caldwell. But he, like the aforementioned Jason Garrett in Dallas, is the heir apparent in Indy. If Tony decides to retire, the Colts will hand the keys to Jim. Let’s see… Indy… or Baltimore? Atlanta? Yeah, you see where I am going with this.

Trivia: Who was the fall guy for Vince Young’s slow development into an NFL QB? Answer: Norm Chow.

Okay, it’s time to get down to business and make some more friends. Preachers have a thing for little formulas. We like messages that can be reduced to three points and all the better if each point can begin with the same letter - we’ve found it helps folks like… well… Giants’ fans, catch more of what’s being communicated. So, Dennis, Marie, MJ and Holly - this is for you:

Preacher’s picks: Pats… Packers… Period.