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Willie McGinest:
Pats QB Tom Brady may get all the hype, but it's the
LB who keeps making huge plays vs. the Colts; this
time, a critical sack-for-loss.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
EYEING. IVAN.
Aside from the unfortunate reasoning,
is it such a bad thing that Ivan has moved the
Titans-Dolphins season-opening NFL game to Saturday at
1? NFL a day early is kind of a treat, no?
Five more solid W1 subplots:
b>Game of the Week: KC at DEN. Broncos draw
toughest opponent to test revamped D against. (8:30
pm, ESPN)
Welcome back: I predict that, at least in Week
1, unretired Joe Gibbs will be less rusty than
unretiring Deion Sanders.
FFL bonanza: Jamal Lewis feasts on the Browns,
who let him run for a zillion yards in one game in
'03. This year? Two zillion.
Vick Watch: Michael Vick is always must-see,
particularly against a sorry 49ers D.
Fast starter: No team busts out of the gates
like the Vikings. Nevermind Weeks 9-17; for now, they
are the Cowboys' problem.
See Big 5 for more subplots.
Pats Keep Rolling
16 Ws in a row, and Tom Brady (335 yds,
3 TDs) looks ready to make the leap from simply a
playoff-clutch QB to one of the NFL's top
week-in/week-out performers. And what was up with that
early-game no-huddle? Belichick flexes the genius. No
reason to sweat my pick of Pats Super repeat.
AL East Ripple
Oh, what a difference a day makes:
Nothing shifts mo' like winning a double-header
(Yankees), then watching your rival lose in a late
West Coast game (Red Sox).
That's a 1.5-game swing, and instead of a
tenuous 2-game division lead (or worse), New York is
up 3.5. Gotten so used to Boston winning every night,
an L -- especially to lowly Seattle -- is a strange
feeling.
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Royals: Score 26 runs in DH opener (then blanked in G2!)
St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli: Gets new deal through 2012
US Open All-US women final: Lindsay, Jenny need semi wins
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| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Candace Parker: Top NCAA hoopster done for season (knee)?
NHL labor progress: Do I even need to say it? Non-starter
US Open All-US men final: Roddick, Agassi both bounced |
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Watching NL WC
In the NL: Two streaks ended, as they
were bound to. The Astros split a DH with the Pirates;
the Marlins lost (to the Mets... ugh). Florida has a
huge DH with the Cubs on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ivan forcing schedule changes isn't
that odd. But relocating the Marlins to play "home"
games vs the Expos at Chicago's U.S. Cellular
Field? That's just unnatural. The upside: Novelty
begets interest; White Sox fans can finally root for a
World Series champ.
Miami/FSU, Cont'd
The road to hell Miami
is paved with the ACC's good intentions. Having these
two teams meet in their season opener is a dramatic
debut for the revamped ACC, but means one contender
limps off with a BCS-cramping loss.
Good thing, then, that the media-coaches axis
of polling evil persists with the ridiculous myth of
"better to lose early than late."
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More Coll. FB
Five match-ups to watch:
7 Mich/ND: Irish eyes crying
19 AUB/MS St: Croom for more?
16 Utah/ARIZ: Utes sexy pick
8 TX/ARK: Hogs d. Horns in 03
E Mich/11 FLA: I'll be there
Five match-ups to watch:
7 Mich/ND: Irish eyes crying
19 AUB/MS St: Croom for more?
16 Utah/ARIZ: Utes sexy pick
8 TX/ARK: Hogs d. Horns in 03
E Mich/11 FLA: I'll be there
Glide: Hoops HOF
Inducted Friday: Like many of his era,
Clyde Drexler played in the shadow of Jordan (Glide
was even the reason Portland skipped drafting MJ). But
Drexler won a ring, won O.G. Dream Team gold and
proved that a guy with an ungainly bald spot could
still sky with the best of 'em.
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No. 17 Missouri:
Took advantage of prime-time exposure on ESPN2... to
lose in an upset to Troy (albeit in Alabama). Brad
Smith for Heisman? Or not.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Page 2 |
| The Morning Quickie |
| Fantasy Football |
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| Even more NFL subplots: |  NYG/PHI
| Coughlin, TO in debuts
|  SEA/NO
| RBs: Alexander vs. Deuce
|  CIN/NYJ
| Marv expects W; Herm, hot seat
|  DET/CHI, JAX/BUF
| All 4 have big expectations
|  ARI/StL
| | Upset? Don't be surprised |
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Week 1 office-pool suggestions: SEA, CIN, StL, TEN,
OAK, HOU, BUF, CHI, BAL, WAS, ATL, MIN, PHI, KC, CAR
(Knock-out pool pick: MIN)...
Ichiro Hit Watch: Thu: 2. '04: 229, breaking own AL
single-season hits record. Needs 29H in 23G to break
Sisler's all-time record...
MLB weekend WC-obsessed series to watch: (NL)
FLA/Cubs, HOU/PIT, SF/ARI; AL scoreboard-watching is
BOS/SEA, NYY/BAL...
Smarty Jones' stud fee was set at $100,000 per live
foal; heard Ivy grads with good hair who played sports
can do similarly well...
Boxing reality: Congress should act on Muhammad Ali's
testimony supporting a U.S. Boxing Commission to
oversee the sport...
Only 2 NFL games that didn't make Lead Item or Big 5
subplot preview: OAK/PIT and SD/HOU. The absence
should tell you everything...
Must-see: Starting Saturday, 1 and 2 a.m.
SportsCenters will be broadcast from Camp Arifjan in
Kuwait...
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