Leaves are on the ground, the winter wind has picked up and the turkey is on the table. The sports table is set with as many dishes as in the fall feast. Here are a few to pick from your teeth has you loosen your belt.
There will be no shutting up the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets now. Fresh on the heels of their skin of their teeth victory over their depleted nemesis, The New England Patriots, New York has knocked off previously unbeaten Tennessee Titans in the music city. Now it will be all Jets all the time as Gang Green fans ride their ‘rent-a-QB’ the rest of the season in hope of reaching the Super Bowl.
The injury-riddled Patriots will  not go quietly; they continue to make every sweat while keeping the pressure on the Jets for the division title. The team of the decade will not go down without a fight, and they would love to get a rematch with the New York Brett’s in the playoffs.
With the Jet win over the Titans, there leaves no doubt that the New York Football Giants are the best team in the NFL. The defending Super Bowl champions have dispatched all comers in a brutal physical fashion, and the G-Men will be playing at home in the post-season this year.
The dream BCS Championship matchup between Penn State and Alabama was dashed when Joe Pa’s Nittany Lions were beaten on a last second field goal in Iowa. The Crimson Tide will have to roll by the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship game to keep their dreams of a National Title alive.
No one will ever know what the UConn Husky football season would have been like if senior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen wasn’t hurt when the team was 5-0 and ranked in the top 25. Lorenzen has come back to try and save the season after the Husky’s went 1-3 without him. A strong finish in the regular season and a strong showing in a Bowl Game could make the season a positive one. That and a rushing title for the nation’s leading back Donald Brown.
The other Big Dogs in Stor    rs are back on the national map, the men’s basketball team. Coach Calhoun is ready to lead his Huskies back to the Promised Land as they begin the season ranked number two in the country. A team that is dominated by experienced upper classmen will get an influx of energy from the blue-chip recruiting class. Husky Maniacs should get ready for another run.
The New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins are top teams in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers have been building confidence and a strong team for the past few seasons, but the Bruins have been hiding behind the success of the other Boston pro teams. Now, the Bruins appear ready to bask in the glory of Beantown. The Brew Crew faithful have been waiting longer then Celtic fans were before last season’s championship run—the Hub of Hockey would love to paint Boston Black and Gold.
The Celtics will be keeping things green all year: the defending champs have started the season defensive. Clamping down on the opposition has led the C’s to a strong start, defense and the dominant play of the Big Three will give Boston a chance to go for back-to-back championships.
The New York Knicks are making some noise in the new Mike D’Antoni era. D’Antoni has laid down the law by benching malcontent Stephon ‘Starbury’ Marbury and overweight, out of shape Eddie ‘Chicken’ Curry to start the season. The team responded by playing hard and actually winning games. The Bricks then showed some fight as they lost to the Boston Celtics while Kevin Garnett served a one game suspension. Afterward, Quentin ‘the Q-Dog’ Richardson and Zach Randolph wanted to meet the Boston players away from the protection of the officials. Apparently ‘Q-Dog’ didn’t take kindly to being told “get a ring.”
The Bricks now begin the process of ridding themselves of salary while trying to stay competitive. New team president Donnie Walsh traded away Randolph and Jamal Crawford to set himself up to make a run at LeBron James in 2010. ‘King’ James in Madison Square Garden would certainly be a Broadway hit.
The New York Yankees are opening their wallets to try and get themselves back on the New York fan radar. With the G-Men, the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets and the Rangers all riding high in the Big Apple, the Yanks are desperate to get back in the spotlight. The Bronx Bummers are looking to get free agents into pinstripes to help them open the new Yankee Stadium. So far, word is that none of the marquis players are interested in playing for the rotting apple. The Evil Empire thinks money can change things.
The New York Metropolitans might be lying in the weeds ready to swoop in on the high profile players in the open market. The Mets would like to join C.C. Sabathia with Johan Santana in what would be a deadly one-two punch on top of their rotation.
The Boston Red Sox will also have a say: the BoSox are looking to reload right away after coming one game from the World Series. The Olde Towne Team is looking to add some punch to their line-up after shipping super slugger Manny Ramirez to L.A. last season. Whoever they sign will get to bat behind the American League MVP Dustin ‘The Little Giant’ Pedroia.
With so many sports stories filling up the sports fan, there barely seems to be any room for more stuffing.

Scott D. Lewis can be seen talking sports with WXCI’s Justin Mazzarese on the live call-in show, The Sports Bar, Monday nights @ 5pm on Comcast Cable Channel 23 .