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Brett Favre:
It's a great Monday Morning tossup: Is the bigger
story Randy Moss' moon-job or Favre's meltdown,
perhaps career-ending?
QUICKIE LIVE! 9-10 a.m.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
MOON. LANDING.
Call it "Wardrobe Function."
Moss' "Moon" move to celebrate his game-clinching TD
catch in the 4th quarter was more than crass; it was
the boldest celebratory gesture of the season (take
that, T.O.).
Ugly? Hardly: It was awesome!
More important, it was catharsis for a team given no
chance to stumble into Lambeau and glide out with the
biggest upset of wild-card weekend.
He didn't just turn a cheek at the Packers' end-zone
fans. His move was for the haters in the media, the
doubters in Minnesota and the fans of top-seed Philly, suddenly a little more
nervous.
Sure, he'll be fined and undoubtedly excoriated
everywhere in the media -- except here. (Hey, it's not
like he actually dropped his drawers.)
Here's the NFL's dirty secret: If you make plays, you
can do what you want. And Moss delivered a TD. And
another. And, as a bonus, the most telegenic hair in
football.
There's a new rallying cry for the Vikings:
'Fro the ball to Randy!
Favre Done
Join me in jumping off the Brett Favre
bandwagon. (Gasp!) When the guy can throw four
picks -- and throw away a home playoff game, maybe he
isn't Super-Brett anymore. Established in 1997, his
rep's credit line is nearly used up.
"Should he retire?" debates are lame, because
that's the player's decision; but let the "Can he
deliver in the playoffs anymore?" debate rage.
Wayne's World
Of course Peyton would set an NFL
playoff record for passing yards in a half (a whopping
360). But the real revelation was Reggie Wayne (221
yards, 2 TDs).
Who are the Pats going to key on -- Wayne or Marvin
Harrison (or Brandon Stokley? Or Dallas Clark? Or
Edge? Or Rhodes?)
Broncos Posterized
"Even funnier the second time around!"
is how the critic blurb on the movie poster for
"Colts-Broncos II" might read.
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Ted Cotrell: Vikings D-guru (not Tice) gets Gatorade bath
Suns: Have won 6 straight; 30 Ws already better than '04
Anna Kournikova: Seen insta-infamous "yellow bikini" pics? |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Sonics doubters: Seattle beats Heat for 2nd time in a week
Vijay Singh: Chokes away Mercedes, leaving it for Appleby
Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston: Yes, the dream really is over
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Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, like Mike Holmgren, is another coach whose Super aura fades
more with every subsequent playoff dud.
Jets' Fumes
What does it say when the winning
team's highlight is their head coach and RB coach going toe-to-toe on
the sidelines? Has a team ever backed ALL THE WAY to a
Super Bowl?
Schotty job: How ironic that the day Marty
Schottenheimer is awarded NFL Coach of the Year, he
delivers his perennial playoff choke, complete with an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that sealed the team's
fate.
Some might say this doesn't take away from the
Chargers' dream season. And they're idiots.
8-8 Mania!
After the ugliest NFC regular season ever, how much more appropriate could it be for
the conference's Super Bowl rep to have entered the
playoffs 8-8? All the signs point that way.
Before this weekend, no 8-8 team had ever won a
playoff game. The NFC got two, both winning on
the road (the Vikings in a substantial upset; Mike
Martz, just because he likes to mess with
everyone).
The Eagles are limping (and under more pressure than
ever); the Falcons' O isn't so great that the Rams can't
pull the upset on Atlanta's dome turf.
With this wild start -- and this weak conference -- a
few more Ws for either the Rams or the Vikings isn't
such a wacky notion.
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NFL Look Ahead
To next week's Divvy Round:
MIN/PHI: No TO; lots o' Moss!
StL/ATL: Fear Rams on carpet!
IND/NE: PM vs. Pats 2ndary
NYJ/PIT: Back-Ins vs. Big Ben
Beltran to Mets
Hot Stove Exec of the Year? Mets GM
Omar Minaya in a walk, with the Carlos Beltran deal (7
yr/$119 mil) sealing it. No team in baseball made a
bigger splash with free agents, and suddenly the
floundering Mets are must-see.
(But will they win more? Well, does that
ever matter in Hot Stove World, where "on
paper" is the kindling?)
Ballgate!
Does the ball from the final out of the World Series belong to Doug Mientkiewicz (who caught it) or the Red Sox? Amazing how
this has never been an issue before (of course,
there's never been a World Series champ like the Red
Sox before).
For a group that puts so much emphasis on the
psychological relief of wining a title, Red Sox Nation
sure is pathetically attached to a small physical
symbol. Get over it, folks! Can't you just enjoy your
title?
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Mike Holmgren:
Needs to find a team that appreciates his unique brand
of mediocrity. Like the 49ers, for whom 9-7 and annual
1st-round playoff exits would be miraculous.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie Live! |
| Len P: Colts gear up for Pats |
| Crasnick: End of line for Clemens? |
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| Ranking NFL Weekend MVPs |  Randy Moss
| 2 TDs and crass gesture
|  Peyton Manning
| 457 yards and 4 TDs
|  Chad Pennington
| 2 TDs and a weak arm
|  Marc Bulger
| Did enough to win
|  Brett Favre
| | Ha: Just kidding ... |
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How about that? On back-to-back weekdays, we've got two moons
dominating the news (Moss' and Mickey Rooney's) Scandal makes strange
bedfellows ...
With Beltran off the market, the top remaining free
agent is Carlos Delgado, pursued by Baltimore,
Texas, Florida and more ...
College hoops statement game: Kansas (without injured
star Wayne Simien) goes into Kentucky and beats the
Wildcats; remember for March ...
Shawn Green trade watch: Reaches deal with Arizona
(3yr/$32m), so expect that trade with Dodgers to
happen (finally!) ...
Hold on: A college football playoff (or Plus-One) is
rejected as "too NFL-like," yet the NCAA readily (and
greedily) agrees to a 12th game? ...
Saints retain coach Jim Haslett: That collective groan
was from fans in New Orleans. Fat Tuesday will be
drunker than usual this year ...
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