While I was enjoying my turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, I looked at all the food on my Thanksgiving table and was inspired to write this week’s column. There were a lot of different foods on the table and a lot of sports stories to look at, so without further ado, let the feast begin.

During the big meal, I usually start with the turkey, because it’s the best part, and the best athlete to start with has to be that unstoppable QB from Indy, the one and only Peyton Manning. He threw six touchdown passes on Thanksgiving. That is unbelievable. His brother Eli (who will get better) threw about that many completions on Sunday.

Peyton is in a world of his own right now. He’s like Neo in the Matrix, just seeing everything before it happens. To top it off, he has the funniest commercial out right now. I crack up every time I hear him yell, “Cut that meat! Cut that meat!” Now that’s priceless. Keep it up Peyton; the world is your turkey and you’re having second helpings of dark and white meat.

The cranberry sauce (must be from the can) is often a delicious side part of the meal, and a delicious side to dish to the college football world has been the feisty Utah Utes. Thank you so much for finally getting a non-BCS team into a BCS bowl. [The only problem, of course, is that you’ve been demoted to a second tier story since the BCS has screwed up yet again, besides Utah, USC, Auburn, Oklahoma and Boise St. still remain undefeated.] Of those, USC, Auburn and Oklahoma are fighting to the death to get into the national championship game, but, as always, the BCS will yet again leave the nation without a definitive national champion. Is a playoff that hard to do? Last I checked, Div. 1AA, 2 and 3 all have a playoff system, and it seems to work fine for them. Hopefully, this will be just another step towards having one and giving teams like Utah and Boise St a true shot at being No. 1.

Sweet potatoes are often hit-or-miss with me; sometimes I like them, sometimes I hate them. Unlike sweet potatoes, one man who always seems to connect is Ron Artest. This guy just keeps on cracking me up. Now, I know the brawl was a bad incident and one that should never have happened. Is there anything better though than seeing Artest punch a fat Pistons fan in the face? It was like watching the movie “Slapshot,” only it was on a basketball court. Then he goes on the “Today” Show a few days later and is laughing about it and promoting his new album. This guy is out of control.

Thanks to Rowdy Ron though, I have a sweet way to burn people now. When ever someone starts talking trash to you simply reply, “I’ll beat you like a Pistons fan.” It’s hysterical. I’ve used it like 10 times already. Go ahead give it a shot, I’m sure you’ll love it too.

The gravy tops off the whole main course since it usually goes on everything. Therefore to top off a crazy sport-filled Thanksgiving, I am giving a shout out to the Villanova men’s Water Polo team. The team led by the spunky Kevin Harty finished seventh in the nation at the Water Polo Club National last week. The fun-loving rag-tag group of players whom have been nicknamed “The Rogue Squadron” by Doug Petock have gone to nationals three of the past four years and has developed a definite cult following. “Rogue Heads,” as their fans call themselves, go crazy at every home game. “Rogue Head” Michael Moffit told me that nothing gets him more pumped up than watching the polo team, “Those guys are the best damn team on campus.” So hats off to the “Rogue Squadron” and congrats on a tremendous year.

Finally, I have dessert, which usually means more types of pie then one can imagine. I personally feel pie should replace cake at all functions as the top dessert, but that’s just me.

For dessert though, we get this week’s football picks. After having a by last week, the record stands at 15.5-8.5-1. Overall, not too bad, although my pick of the week two weeks ago on the Redskins was pretty off.

Atlanta right now stands at 9-2 and Michael Vick is turning into a QB who just knows how to win games. For some odd reason, though, they are only giving two points to the Bucs. I don’t care if Tampa is home – that is way too low, so this week were taking a ride on the Vick express and a Falcon win.

The J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets have been good to me all year. Their game against Houston is a pick ’em. Now I’ve loved Houston since the beginning of the year, and it doesn’t look like Chad Pennington is going to be coming back this week so you would think I’d be leaning towards the Texans. No, I have to pick the Jets. With a win this week they are one step closer to getting that wild card spot, and as Quincy Carter showed he can throw a fine deep ball. Expect Santana Moss to be running a lot of deep routes, and the Jets should keep on truckin.

For the pick of the week, I have to go with the Green Bay Packers over the Eagles. It has been horrible for me to go against the Birds this year, but this time, they are going against the man who defies the odds more than anybody, Brett Favre.

I love big Brett, and he’s playing better than he has in years. The key will be Green Bay’s running game. If the Packers start pounding the Eagles on the ground, the Birds have no shot. With a 4:15 start time, the whole nation will be watching, and it should be one heck of a show.

I hope everyone had a delicious turkey day and next week, I’ll be back with a full NFL playoff breakdown, letting everyone know who’s in, who’s out and what horrible team will sneak into the sixth spot in the NFC.