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Mark Messier:
Scored in what might be his final game in Madison Square Garden, then was treated to what might have been the first cheers heard there all season.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
APRIL. FOOLS.
The Cubs are going to beat the Red Sox in
the World Series this fall!
See, normally, something like that would be followed
by "April Fools!" This season, it's not just a wild prediction -- it's practically
conventional wisdom.
The massive fan interest generated during last
season's playoffs was not hard to decipher. The long-suffering Cubs and Red Sox
-- and the tantalizing prospect of their World Series
meeting -- spiked the playoff fever.
MLB is kidding itself if it thinks that last fall's
postseason frenzy will translate into similar
mainstream attention (span) for the regular season;
but when the Cubs and Red Sox are contending again --
capped by a World Series -- it will be the biggest
thing to happen to baseball in decades.
Top Storylines
The biggest "if" in the National League
is "If Mark Prior is healthy." If he is, the Cubs would have the best rotation in
baseball, and one built to dominate
in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, in the AL the storyline -- sorry:
THE storyline -- is Red Sox vs. Yankees, with
"Can the Moneyball A's keep up with the free-spending
Angels?" as a distant second.
(For more storylines, see "Big 5")
*MLB Awards*
One "common sense" ("Yawn");
one "under the radar" (UTR):
AL MVP
Yawn: A-Rod (NYY)
UTR: Vlad Guerrero (ANA)
No longer buried in Montreal
NL MVP
Yawn: Albert Pujols (StL)
UTR: Richie Sexson (ARI)
West is wild, wide open
AL CY
Yawn: Curt Schilling (BOS)
UTR: Jose Contreras (NYY)
Needed a year to acclimate
NL CY
Yawn: Kerry Wood (CHC)
UTR: Jake Peavy (SD)
Petco a pitcher's park
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Quickie NL Cy contender Kerry Wood: 5-0 spring (1.05 ERA)
Stanford junior Josh Childress: Will test NBA draft interest
Magic: T-Mac out? Lose to Bulls? No. 1 pick, here we come! |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Or "No ... mar?" BoSox SS out for 3 weeks; how fan-friendly
Jeriome Robertson: P demoted to AAA, then traded to Tribe
The "Brian Giles for NL MVP" movement: Not in *that* park |
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*MLB Picks*
American League
East: Red Sox; Central: Royals
West: A's; Wild Card: Yankees
("Yanked Out": Angels)
National League
East: Marlins; Central: Cubs
West: Padres; W.C.: Astros
(Braves streak: Over)
Series: Cubs over Red Sox
So crazy? Should have happened LAST
year.
Foolishness
The McDonald's All-American hoops game last
night featured any number of fools: Including half the
12 kids on the rosters who will try to go pro -- and
the even more deluded half-dozen NBA GMs who will
draft them.
NBA East
The Pacers clinch ... what,
exactly? Home-court advantage throughout the
Eastern Conference playoffs? Right: Because the five
East playoff teams that will be under .500 present
such rough comp on the road.
NBA West
Why does late-season jockeying matter?
Home-court advantage in the deep playoff rounds. Take
a glance at the West's juicy playoff picture, with the
remaining games for the top four teams.
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The Kings lead the Lakers and T'wolves by 1 game for
the best record in the West; the Spurs are only 1.5
games behind the T'wolves for the Midwest Division
lead.
Remaining games:
Kings: @CAL, @HOU, NO, MIN, @PHX, LAL, @DEN, @GS
T'wolves: WAS, MEM, @SAC, @ GS, UT, @MEM
Lakers: HOU, @SEA, SA, POR, MEM, @SAC, GS, @ POR
Spurs: @UT, @LAL, SEA, POR, @LAC, @POR, DEN
NFL Celly Penalty
Does the NFL's new 15-yard "excessive
celebration of 2 or more players" (a.k.a.
menage-a-TD penalty) signal the end of the
choreographed creativity that brought us the
Celly?
Sadly, most likely. But hold out for those
ambitious mid-level players trying to make a name for
themselves, ignoring the rule and continuing to
stretch the boundaries of good taste and
sportsmanship.
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Paul Hornung:
For once, instead of "regret" after the fact, how about someone actually exercising some judgment BEFORE they open their mouths.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Page 2 Dream Job |
| NCAA Tournament coverage |
| Fantasy baseball coverage |
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| More MLB '04 Storylines: |  Bonds vs. Ruth
| BB 50-some HR from Babe
|  Moneyball/SABR
| This really news to people?
|  Phenoms
| Who is this year's Dontrelle?
|  Steroids
| Psst, media: Fans don't care
|  Unknown
| | Who saw Sosa's cork coming? |
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Reportedly, UConn C Emeka Okafor suffered another
nerve problem in his arm at practice; track
this story heading into Saturday's semis...
Mike Williams' agents don't have to worry about their
player being S.O.L. if the Clarett ruling is
overturned; no judges would let the NFL screw him --
and there's a quality lawsuit if they do ...
Does shooting too much cause injury? T-Mac joined AI
on the "done for the season -- perhaps done for career
with team" list ...
McD's star Dwight Howard was expected to play big (19
pts), but co-MVP J.R. Smith (25) stole the show. He's
UNC-bound (or IS he?) ...
Ravens trying to trade for Browns WR Dennis Northcutt;
let's see if this is for real, or if he just wants to
play in Philly, too ...
The party's finally over for boxing: Senate passes
bill to create federal agency to oversee sport. Sure,
keep calling it that ...
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