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I received a question not that long ago about why I have so many words capitalized in my post titles. The answer is simple: "It's how I was taught to do it."

When I was in elementary school, our librarian Mrs. Williams (who had a habit of eating crackers before class, giving her voice that dry-yet-mushy sound that makes you want to swallow a lot) spent a week, I think in my first grade year, talking about card catalogs and how to use them. One of the things we learned was why things are capitalized in titles, and how to do it yourself.

We learned that pronouns, nouns, verbs, adverbs, and most adjectives are always capitalized, as is the first and last word of a title. Words like "the," "of," "and," all forms of "a," and "an" were never capitalized, except as first and last words.

So there you go. Now, on to the NFL picks, week 9!

-Arizona at Miami - This is one of those games that's hard to pick, because both teams have so many things wrong with them. But I'm going to have to lean away from the Dolphins, just because they still have no running game, and the Cards have Boldin back. ARI
-Dallas at Cincinnati - The Cowboys have no running game, no wide receivers worth all taht much, and Vinny Testaverde is among the oldest men in football. However, the Bengals got two days off this week, after last week's mental lapses in Tennessee. Sorry, can't chose the Bungs. DAL
-Kansas City at Tampa Bay - After last week's hold-on-to-your-colon victory over the Colts, the Chiefs have to be flying high. It's all about momentum. KC
-N.Y. Jets at Buffalo - Willis MaGahee scored teh Bills' first rushing touchdown of the season. Last week. NYJ
-Oakland at Carolina - In a matchup of the last two Super Bowl nonwinners, the team with the edge is the one that doesn't start Brad Hoover. OAK
-Philadelphia at Pittsburgh - Ben Roethlisberger showed me precisely what I was missing as a Bengals fan this season - wide receivers, a tight end who can catch, and a running game that gets established and used. As my penance, I'm picking the Eagles to lose. PIT
-Washington at Detroit - Joe Gibbs, you have a lot of work ahead of you. DET
-Chicago at N.Y. Giants - Eli Manning remains on the bench. The Bears showed some good stuff last week, but I really don't think they have what it takes this week to take down a team that isn't the 49ers. NYG
-New Orleans at San Diego - The Saints just aren't that good this season. Which really should come as no surprise, since they're rarely all that great. But what sort of winter swoon can you have when you're already 3-4? SD
-Seattle at San Francisco - Fullbacks generally aren't all that flashy or media savvy. So when yours comes out to the media and says that the team doesn't want to win, and isn't professional, it's a sign that you, as a coach, have lost the team. It's another laugher that'll be another shutout, methinks. SEA
-Houston at Denver - The Broncos have GOT to be smarting from two straight losses. And I can't really accept the idea that the Texans are 4-3. If they spend too long over .500, the world might end. DEN
-New England at St. Louis - Well, Corey Dillon always wanted to feel important, to feel like his efforts mean something. Last week, he was out, and the Steelers ended the Patriots' win streak. This week, he'll be out, and.... STL
-Cleveland at Baltimore - Jamal Lewis is back, and he's hungry. BAL
Monday
-Minnesota at Indianapolis - After last week's hold-on-to-your-colon loss, the Colts have got to be pretty peeved. Five touchdown passes, 499 yards passing, and Peyton Manning loses? That's just not right. And the Vikings have been exposed as a team with no smarts above the neck. IND