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Sonics surprise
Ron "Flip" Murray:
This is not a typo: unknown guard is 4th (!) in NBA scoring (24.6 ppg), incl. 29 he hung on the T'wolves last night (last 2 at buzzer to win).
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
TRADE. ROD.
Talk about "Moneyball." About three
years too late, now the Texas Rangers realize
that Alex Rodriguez's $25 million a year can buy a lot
of players. In other words: The sum of many new
contracts will be much greater than their current
hole.
So at the GM meetings this week, the Rangers
finally admit: "We'll listen." The rest of
baseball hears:
Ack! A-Rod's deal is choking the life out of
us! Please, somebody take him! Just make us an
offer: David Eckstein and a few arms ... a Don
Mattingly rookie card and Mariano Rivera's rosin
bag ... a Dodger dog and a copy of that Paris Hilton
video ... Mo Vaughn's remaining contract!
Let's make a deal? More like "Let's make a fire
sale."
MLB Awards
Today: Manager. Clear-cut picks: KC's
Tony Pena (AL); Florida's Jack McKeon (NL). As usual,
this award's rule of thumb is "underpromise,
overdeliver." And the vice versa award goes
to ... Buck Showalter (AL) and Art Howe (NL).
AL Cy mea culpa: Upon further review
(and thanks to your emails, most of the
put-down-the-pipe variety), picking Pedro over Roy
Halladay was, at best, earnestly misguided (otherwise,
staggeringly lame).
AL Rookie postscript: Hey, the Boss has a
right to be ticked; voters who make up their own rules
shouldn't have the privilege.
Van Gundy Battle
Frankly, watching the two sibling NBA
coaches wrestle with each other at center court
would have been infinitely more entertaining than the
drek produced whenever the Heat (0-7, 77.9 points per game) takes the floor.
Scoring Sooners
Unbeaten Oklahoma is guaranteed at least
one no-win
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IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ THE FULL QUICKIE |
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| TODAY'S THREE HOTTEST STORIES |
1 A-Rod reportedly on the trading block: Who'll bite?
2 More MLB: Top managers to be named (prob: Pena, McKeon)
3 LeBron at Heat tonight: Could get his 3rd W in a row |
| THREE STORIES YOU SHOULD JUST LET GO |
1 Kellen Winslow Jr.'s outburst: He's benched this weekend
2 M. Dunleavy's coaching wins: Such thing as "quiet 400?"
3 Lupica-Okla. "feud": OU overreacted, but writer wrong
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scenario: That 52-plus 'spread vs.
Baylor (started as 5th largest ever).
Damned if do:
Critics cry "Run up!"
Damned if don't:
Bettors Fans fume "What the?!"
Preseason All-Americans
Now with best-case NBA
comparison!
Emeka Okafor (Bill Russell)
Jameer Nelson (Baron Davis)
Rickey Paulding (J. Richardson)
Ike Diogu (Kurt Thomas)
Raymond Felton (Gilbert Arenas)
Next LeBron
Looking for the "next LeBron"? (Well,
at least the next ultra-hyped prep player?) Brooklyn
PG Sebastian "Bassy" Telfair will be on ESPN2, Dec.
11.
"I wish all my games were on ESPN." He's got
LeBron's confidence and flair -- but is about nine
inches and 90 pounds smaller. A prep-to-pro point
guard? Tough sell.
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But how about that "female LeBron"? Illinois
high school sensation Candace Parker committed
yesterday on live national TV to attend
Tennessee. The struggling WNBA should bring her in
after her freshman year.
Auction Watch
As far as conversation pieces go,
acquiring the infamous Cubs-Marlins Game 6 "Steve
Bartman" foul ball would be up there. On Dec. 1, it's
going up for auction (starting bid: $5K).
If I was Bartman (wherever you are!),
I'd use a broker to buy it. After all, I need a good
prop for the lecture circuit when I finally realize
that a lifetime of abuse deserves some
compensation.
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"Carolina prowler"
Idiot super-fan apologizes to the Panthers and fans for inane P.A.-system "cheerleading" (firing up the Bucs!) on Sunday.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| P2: Worst Uniform Bracket |
| IN: MLB Rumor Central |
| NBA: The LeBron Line |
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| Ranking NBA Teams: |  Lakers
| 75 Ws out; still title faves
|  Pacers
| Ron Artest for All-Star!
|  Spurs
| Better with TD, TP back
|  Rockets
| Next year is here
|  Kings
| | Totally slept on |
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Wednesday's hottest sports town: Rochester, N.Y. Host
first regular-season major-sports event (NHL: Devils
at Sabres) since '71 ...
Shawn Kemp bought into the USBL's Oklahoma Storm, at
which point he immediately upgraded the team to an
NBA-caliber buffet table ...
The mediocre Browns may have no use for their top
receiver Kevin Johnson (released), but a
real contender will ...
Someone install the Harlem Globetrotters as a Final
Four contender! ('Trotters 83, Syracuse 70 in
exhibition) ...
Ideal gift for b-day party attendance: "Book of Ages
30," random facts about turning the big three-oh (Ex:
At 30, James Naismith invented hoops. The Quickie
suddenly seems so ... inadequate).
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