To know list: 8 noshes of brain food.(KNOW IT ALL)

[1] WINTER WONDERLAND

A blizzard of green awaits baseball's free agents

When the winter meetings begin in Dallas on Monday (see page 14), the developments we expect to see include the Blue Jays spending as never before, the Mets continuing to overspend and the Marlins doing anything except spending.

And this is what we know we'll see: free agents ending up with plenty to spend. Not since the winter of 2000, when the meetings last were held at the Wyndham Anatole, has the market been so favorable for players.

There won't be any $252 million deals, which Alex Rodriguez got that year, but then again, there aren't any Alex Rodriguezes available. There are, however, plenty of solid players set to receive star-type contracts.

Catchers Ramon Hernandez and Bengie Molina could land deals similar to the four-year, $40 million contract Jason Varitek got from the Red Sox a year ago.

Righthanders Kevin Millwood and Matt Morris are expected to cash in with long-term deals after having to sign one-year contracts last winter. Their suitors will conveniently forget that Millwood went 9-11 in 2005 and Morris had a 5.32 ERA in the second half.