expiration dates

It's football season and time for the old "option" play - with Cisco Systems, IBM and Hewlett-Packard lining up in the backfield.

Options are a riskier way of investing on stocks. Essentially, options allow you to buy or sell a company's stock at a stated price and a stated date.

Investors who bet the stock will go down buy "puts" giving them the right to sell the stock at a higher price. Investors who think a stock will go up buy "calls" which give them the right to buy the stock at a lower price on a specified date.