Bailey learned a new trick yesterday in advance of the first NFL Sunday. Stealing the remote is her way of avoiding the Jets-Titans game.

Last year, my preseason predictions cursed a good portion of the league. I picked Daunte Culpepper as MVP, which ruined his health and reputation with a knee injury and sex boat scandal.

But I can’t resist throwing out a few wild picks. Here goes:

Teams that will be worse than everybody thinks:
Carolina
Philadelphia
Seattle
Miami (if you watched Thursday night’s opener vs. Pittsburgh, you’ll realize my Culpepper curse has not been lifted)

Teams that will be better than everybody thinks:
Tampa Bay
Detroit
Buffalo
Cleveland

Conference Championship Games:
I’d love to see a Belichick-Parcells Super Bowl. What a great story. But I picked that last year and didn’t come close. And I’d love to pick my Giants to make the leap. But looking at their schedule, I just can’t do it.

AFC: Indianapolis 31, New England 27
NFC: Dallas 20, Chicago 10

Super Bowl XLI
Indianapolis 38, Dallas 13
Super Bowl MVP: Peyton Manning

Now I'm on record. Good season, everybody.