Now if only I hadn't done so bad at the casinos, I woud've won more than the measley $37.40 coming my way. But at least there will be a parade on 70 Street between West End Avenue and Freedom Place on Wednesday. An 6.9 million people are expected to attend.

Other cheap NFL bets in play with the Las Vegas Hilton:
• Giants win more than 6 games (-145): Done deal. Unless they go 1-8 to finish the season. In which case I'll kill myself and, therefore, won't really need the money.
• Chiefs to win Super Bowl (14/1): They're playing great, if you define "great" as having a defense that still sucks ass.
• Falcons to win Super Bowl (22/1): Hey, someone's gotta beat the Eagles in the NFC championship game, right?

Not included is a yet-to-be paid bet with a friend about whether Kellen Winslow II would have have more receptions (74) and yards (894) in his rookie season than Jeremy Shockey did. And get this, he tried to weasel out after Winslow was put in IR, ending his season. I might hire a hit man to collect for me if I can find one who works for about the price of a cheeseburger.

• I'm a tell ya what ... now that's the Sunday Night Football I remember. Two shitty teams — the Bears and 49ers — playing like crap. You sit there questioning youself at least three times why you're even watching the game. Botched screen passes, missed open receivers, dropped interceptions — it's like an ESPN Classic airing of Bengals vs. Cardinals circa 1995. Joe Theismann actually said that to be an effective quarterback you have to throw the ball above the knees. That's how bad it was.

• Speaking of ESPN Classic, I caught a few minutes of the Chicago Bulls vs. the Atlanta Hawks, back in 1989, when Phil Jackson was an assistant coach and Scottie Pippen was still developing as one of the NBA's ugliest players. Most interesting: current Yankees announcer John Sterling doing play-by-play. Theeeeeeeee Hawks win! Theeeeeeeee Hawks win! (Or maybe they didn't. I didn't watch long enough to see what merited the game as being considered "classic.")

• During FOX's halftime show, Terry Bradshaw incorrectly reported that the dropped screen pass from Daunte Culpepper to Mewelde Moore was ruled a fumble because the pass was behind the line of scrimmage. You'd think a Hall of Fame quarterback would know that the line of scrimmage is irrelevant on such a call, that the play was ruled a fumble because the throw was not forward. The same rule applies anywhere on the field when the ball is tossed backward or laterally.

• For the first time since 1978, Miami, Florida State and Florida all lost college football games on the same weekend. And at least one UNC supporter was wearing a PK.com shirt in Chapel Hill, where the Hurricanes were upset. I'm telling you, people, good things happen when you wear 'em.

• The men's basketball preseason coaches' poll is out, and three ACC teams — Wake Forest, North Carolina and Georgia Tech — received first-place votes and rank among the top four. Most interesting is that Duke is all the way down to 12, depite having four former McDonald's All-Americans on its roster. To put that in perspective, the last three national champions had a combind total of three.

• What did I do in a former life to deserve going against Vinny Testaverde in two fantasy football leagues on a week in which he throws for three scores and rushes one into the end zone for the first time since 1962?

• The Jacksonville Jaguars have been outscored by their oppoents, 128-146, and are in first place. The Kansas City Chiefs have outscored their oppoents, 206-177, and are in third place.

Today's Sports Links:

• Pedro Martinez Beaned With Baseball During World Series Parade — Sounds like a headline from The Onion, but it's true. I guess the Babe still has some life in that arm.

• Incumbent Has Followed Redskins Lead Since 1936 — If history holds true, George W. Bush will be updating his resumé on Wednesday. FOX News is already investigating the Packers in an effort to get Sunday's outcome overturned.

• MLB Movers and Shakers — The New York Post's Joel Sherman on who might be going where this baseball offseason, whether by trade (Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Randy Johnson) or free agency (Carlos Beltran, Nomar Garciaparra, Magglio Ordonez). Personally, I think they'd all look good in pinstripes, though Sherman says Beltran may very well end up wearing Cubs pinstripes.

• The NBA's Top 50 Players — The Sporting News' Sean Deveney runs 'em down, from No. 1 (Kevin Garnett) to No. 50 (Tayshaun Prince). Of the top 10, only Tim Duncan (2) and Shaquille O'Neal (3) played any major college basketball. And that should tell you all you need to know about the change of landscape in that arena. And how 'bout Vince Carter (41) and Chris Webber (46) being way, way below Andrei Kirilenko (9)?

• NoBloodNoFoul.com — Quick plug for a new sports blog, run by a team of writers. Good luck, fellas. (And yeah, that's my name on the right side, in the "Best in the Biz" links, between Michael Wilbon and Paul Zimmermann. And that's about the only way I'd be flattered to be between those guys.)

• SportsByBrooks.com's Latest SBB Girl Pics — I think this is why I rank up there with Michael Wilbon and Paul Zimmerman. Because I link to pictures of girls like Jessica and Denise. Good lord.