Lots of little things on my mind today, so I'll get right to it:

First, I picked the Lions to win today against Minnesota, though I've been going back and forth on my pick all week. After the Thanksgiving loss to the Packers I thought they were cooked. There were a lot of dejected faces in the locker room. By Monday though, the frowns were gone, replaced by a sense of "We're lucky to be here. Let's take advantage of this." The NFC is decidedly mediocre (every team chasing the Lions lost last week) and Detroit remains in the playoff driver's seat despite a three-game losing streak. If the Lions win today, I think they back their way into the playoffs, beating Kansas City at home then Green Bay at Lambeau when the Packers, with nothing to play for, rest their starters.

Second, had to file my final AP top 25 ballot this morning and I put Ohio State one, followed by: Oklahoma, Georgia, LSU, Virginia Tech and USC. I gave Oklahoma the nod at No. 2 because of how well it played against Missouri and I can somewhat forgive its loss last month to Texas Tech when it played without its starting quarterback for three quarters. Either Georgia or LSU would also be a worthy BCS opponent in my mind, it's just too bad we don't have a playoff.

Finally, how Michigan lost to Harvard in basketball Saturday I don't know. I didn't see the game. I'm in Minneapolis right now. But Harvard is 4-4 with wins and in the Ivy League. I know the Crimson was fueled by playing for coach Tommy Amaker, who was fired by Michigan after last season, but at 3-5 Michigan is just a bad basketball team right now. John Beilein is a good coach, but he's got lots of work to do with that program. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, the league is down again this year. Michigan State and Indiana are top-notch programs that will battle for the title, but the league will be lucky to get more than two other teams in the tournament. Illinois should get there, but Ohio State and Wisconsin aren't playing well right now. Purdue is about the only other bubble team I see, a testament to Matt Painter's coaching acumen.