The company that makes the software sets the lines, they use spreads with half points so there are no 'pushes', every game has a winner and a loser.
As for what day the next week's games are available to be picked I'll have to check on that, probably Tuesday or Wednesday. In the cases of games played on Thursday or Saturday you can make those picks and come back and make the rest of your picks for Sunday and Monday night.
Deadline for getting picks in for Sunday is 1 PM EST. I won't be able to help anybody if they're late. We'll send out reminders and of course on the board here.
Don't miss getting your pick in for the first game of the season on Thursday night!
http://www.natnetpickem.com