By Kim J. Harmon

I’m glad that the National Basketball Association finally began its 1999-2000 season on Tuesday because the basketball fans out there can get back to the repetitive and horribly tedious task of talking ad nauseum about the injuries suffered by Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks. I mean, it wouldn’t be a day of talking about basketball if some simpleton didn’t call up WFAN and whine about Ewing being hurt, right?

Well, if we’re going to make predictions in this column allow me to make some predictions about the NBA season which began this week and will end about a million years from now when the Earth crashes into the sun.

Forget San Antonio or the Los Angeles Lakers – I like the Minnesota Timerwolves (40-to-1 odds, by the way) to win it all. There is no team, not even the Knicks, that will scare anyone in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference is so stacked with teams that someone has to win it and since all the yahoos will jump on the bandwagon of the Spurs (repeat!), Lakers (Phil Jackson, baaaabbbbyyy!), or Jazz (never too old, my man!), I’m going out on a limb.

Yep, it will be Kevin Garnett and the T-Wolves, baby.

Mark my words.

Or – better yet – don’t.

Now, on to football.

Sunday

JACKSONSVILLE (-6.5 ) at ATLANTA: Jacksonville seems to be feeling a lot better on offense with that 41-point performance against Cincinnati. And the defense has always been strong. This one should be easy. (KH – Jaguars; SB – Falcons)

ARIZONA (+7) at NEW YORK JETS: For a Jets’ team that is 1-6, having the Cardinals come to town could be a shot in the arm. After all, Dave Brown is going to be the QB. Dave Brown! That guy never could play in the Meadowlands. (KH – Jets; SB – Jets)

CHICAGO (+10.5 ) at GREEN BAY: On Monday night, all I needed was for Ryan Longwell to kick a couple extra points and one chip shot field goal and I would win my Fantasy Football League game and be tied for first in my division. But Brett Favre was too busy throwing interceptions and fumbling that Longwell never got the chance. Favre is on the list. (KH – Packers; SB – Bears)

BUFFALO (+4.5 ) at WASHINGTON: Doug Flutie’s performance has been going downhill in recent weeks and the question is, how low can it go? The ‘Skins are still the highest-scoring team in the league. I don’t know if the Bills can stop ‘em. (KH – Redskins; SB – Bills)

KANSAS CITY (+4) at INDIANAPOLIS: The Colts are for real. But the Chiefs’ defense is just a little bit better and that will make all the difference here. (KH – Chiefs; SB – Chiefs)

PHILADELPHIA (+5) at CAROLINA: This is one of those games that could bring out a yawn or two, that’s for sure, but with two lousy teams you have to go with the home team. (KH – Panthers; SB – Panthers)

ST. LOUIS (-3.5 ) at DETROIT: The Rams will probably finish the regular season 14-2 and get the top seed in the NFC playoffs, but this week is when they get their second loss. The Lions are not a bad football team and they are at home. (KH – Lions; SB – Lions)

BALTIMORE (-3.5) at CLEVELAND: The Browns finally won a game . . . a game they should have lost. The Browns are really the worst expansion team to come into the league since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (KH – Ravens; SB – Ravens)

TAMPA BAY (-4) at NEW ORLEANS: The only reason the Bucs will win this game is because the Saints have no chance to score any points. (KH – Buccaneers; SB – Saints)

PITTSBURGH (+3) at SAN FRANCISCO: It would be one thing if the absence of Steve Young was the reason the Niners are 3-4, but it’s not. The defense can’t stop anyone. (KH – Steelers; SB – Steelers)

DENVER (-1.5 ) at SAN DIEGO: The Chargers are 4-3 but have been outscored by 23 points. The Broncos are 2-6 but have been outscored by 24 points this season. How in the heck does that happen? (KH – Broncos; SB – Broncos)

CINCINNATI (-14) at SEATTLE: I would like to think that this is far too many points for the Seahawks to be coughing up, but there is nothing on the Bengals team that makes me thing it will be able to score any points on Sunday. (KH – Seahawks; SB – Seahawks)

TENNESSEE (+3) at MIAMI: This is one of those lines that comes out of left field. The Dolphins are a bad 6-1 team with a second-string quarterback. The Titans are a good 6-1 team with a first-string quarterback coming off a win against, arguably, the best team in the NFL this year. This game should be at least a pick or the ‘Fins should be getting one. This I don’t understand. (KH – Titans; SB – Dolphins)

Monday Night

DALLAS (no line) at MINNESOTA: The novelty of Jeff George has probably worn off a little bit considering that the Vikings only beat the 2-6 Broncos by three points last weekend. Can a collapse be far behind? (KH – Vikings; SB – Cowboys)

SCOREBOARD

KIM HARMON   7-6-1     57-53-4

STEVE BIGHAM 5-8-1     64-46-4