Super Bowl Odds 2012: Picks and Prop Bets for Super Sunday

The countdown to the Super Bowl can almost be counted down in hours instead of days, which means that the end of football is nigh. We have to get all of our gambling in on Sunday, and Vegas is more than willing to accommodate us with a menu of bizarre prop bets that have my inner prognosticator reaching for his Dramamine. 

So our picks this week are really just a single "pick" for the game itself and some of my favorite prop bets are on the board for this Sunday's game. If you have any of your own, leave them in the comments so we can poke and ridicule one another. We eviscerate because we love. 

As far as the season itself goes, I've guaranteed myself an above-.500 betting finish, having gone 2-0 in the conference round to reach a cumulative mark of 128-126-12. It's still below the 52.38 percent threshold of profitability, but for my first season of picking every game, I can't help but be satisfied. 

It's our last dance for the season. Let's make it a good one. 

New York Giants +3 over New England

I've been saying this for nearly two weeks, but I have to say it again: I have no clue how the Patriots are favored in this game.

I'm not saying they won't win by 40 (and I'm not saying they will), but they match up poorly with the Giants on paper, and those Giants were clearly the hotter team heading into the championship. 

The Giants offense will see New England's Rob Gronkowski/Aaron Hernandez combo and raise you Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Big Blue's receiver duo rolled through the second half of 2011. At least one of those New York receivers has managed 100 yards receiving or more in nine of the Giants' last 10 games.

Now here's a scary thought: throw Mario Manningham into that mix and realize that the Patriots will have to put Julian Edelman on one of those guys. Yikes.

But the stars of this show will be the Giants' defensive front. Somehow they find a way to keep Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul in the mix and create pressure on the opposing passer. While Tom Brady has established himself as a master of hot reads, he'll more likely see defensive fronts on Sunday where the Giants rush only three and drop eight into coverage.

If Brady isn't able to huddle and keep his opposition's substituting at bay, he could be in for a long night. 

The Giants have peaked at the right time, and they'll give New England all they can handle. While victory is nowhere near imminent, recent history tells us that this will be a close game (three of the last four Super Bowls were decided by seven points or less). Everything here says to take the Giants and to take the three. 

Eli Manning for Super Bowl MVP at +225

Twenty-four of the first 45 Super Bowl MVPs were quarterbacks, so it stands to reason that picking the quarterback we expect to win the game is a solid bet for winning the MVP award. That would be Eli Manning in this case, who also represents a better value than Tom Brady (+140).

Hakeem Nicks at +1,200 and Justin Tuck at +7,500 are appetizing flyer bets if you're looking to hit big. 

Kelly Clarkson Sings the National Anthem in Over 1:34 at -120

I'm not a big music guy, but I really dig Kelly Clarkson. The 29-year-old Texan was waiting tables almost a decade ago when she decided to try out for a new televised singing competition called American Idol.

She has made a comeback of sorts, having fallen off the face of the earth after the show continued to produce new talent with each passing year, while each winner was more boring than the last. It's a tough industry, and it's cool to see her hanging in there. 

Anyhoo, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is one of those songs that people like to elongate, but even when performed at a standard rhythm, it's a minute-forty or minute-forty-five song. I think this is an easy one...but I have no idea what she'll wear out on the field.

Clear Liquid or Water Dumped on Winning Coach at +150

Sports drink diversity runs rampant on NFL sidelines. Some teams like the classic lime-flavored stuff, some have red, and it's just a mess to sort all of that out. But all the teams have water some place, and I wouldn't expect too much discrimination during the joy of the closing seconds of a Super Bowl win.

TV Rating for Super Bowl over 47.5 at -110

Remember, this is the Nielsen rating that we're predicting. It's not 47 and a half million viewers and it's not 47 percent of all TVs on at the time. In fact, I'm not even sure what this is, since it's a metric that nobody uses anymore. All I know is that a buttload of people are gonna watch this game.  

The Opening Coin Toss Will Be Tails at -105

Tails never fails. Except when it does.