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Roger Clemens:
Reportedly near a deal with Houston to make him the highest paid pitcher in MLB history (more than $17.5 for one season). He's certainly earned it. QUICKIE LIVE! 9-10 a.m.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
TOP. BILLING.
Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts
It's not just a reality-TV gimmick; it's a decent snapshot of the
battle between Patriots "genius" coach Bill Belichick and Steelers
"gritty" coach Bill Cowher:
Econ vs. Emo
Calculation vs. Cheerleading
Schemes vs. Steamroll
It's also the NFL's current dynasty versus its team with the best
record from 2004 -- and who obliterated the dynasty's record winning
streak. Stakes? Couldn't be higher.
Well, except in Philly, where -- from a national viewpoint
looking in -- the Eagles-Falcons NFC title game looms as the biggest
game in the history of the city.
So let it snow on Sunday: Fans shouldn't be anywhere but in
front of the TV.
Pats at Steelers
NE O vs. PIT D: Storylines
NE O: Martial Dillon
RB Corey Dillon will have more yards on his first carry than
the Pats gained in the entire Week 8 debacle.
PIT D: Dinks'll Kill Ya
As pointed out by the Morning Quickie fanalysts, Blitzburgh needs to
take away Brady's short passes and challenge him to go over the
top.
NE D vs. PIT O: Storylines
NE D: Bus Stop?
Overwhelming Peyton Manning is actually easier than holding
back the punishing Steelers running game.
PIT O: Big Ben's Hands
All that talk about the gloves this week? On or off, they're a
built-in excuse if they lose.
Intangibles and X-Factors:
The Genius; Cowher's penchant for freaking out; Vinatieri's clutch;
home-Towel advantage; and, obvs, the weather.
AFC Pick: Pats
As the earliest on-the-record adopter to pair
"Patriots" with "dynasty" (way way back, the morning after the
Pats won the Super Bowl last January), I'm claiming prediction
high ground:
Pats 30, Steelers 18.
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Freddie Mitchell: Either end of mania -- or just a start!
T-Mac: Boo this, Magic fans! Leads Rockets to W in Orlando
"Trajectile Dysfunction": Cleveland Golf has smart ad folk |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Angels: Did they even ask LA if it WANTED to be in name?
Gonzaga: Lose to U.-San Fran; Quickie midseason F4 jinx?!
Texas: Leading scorer out (grades); play at OKLA on Sat
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Falcons at Eagles
ATL O vs. PHI D: Storylines
ATL O: Run, Run, Run
Then, run some more. With three backs with distinct styles (Dunn,
Vick, Duckett), an O/U in single-digits for Vick pass attempts isn't
crazy.
PHI D: Contain Vick
So trite, but so true. It's not like ATL's WRs are a threat. Philly
doesn't want to lose because Vick runs for 150. Jevon Kearse wants the
job.
ATL D vs. PHI O: Storylines
ATL D: Spy Games
More from the Morning Quickie fanalysts: "Spy Westbrook" from some;
"spy McNabb" from others; the truth probably takes a little of
each.
PHI O: All on Westbrook
His absence was a convenient excuse last year; this year, T.O. is the
excuse (and Westbrook has to touch the ball 25-30 times).
Intangibles and X-Factors:
Pressure on Philly to finally win; Falcons PR Allen Rossum; pressure
on Philly; Jim Mora's inexperience; weather. Oh, and pressure on
Philly.
NFC Pick: Falcons
Fatalist in me sees far too compelling a storyline of a
fourth straight NFC debacle for Philly to go against the
intuition.
(Happy to be wrong, because two weeks of T.O. speculation and Philly
expectation would be fun, too. NFC is losing to the AFC,
anyway.)
Falcons 23, Eagles 20 (OT)
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Weekend Weather
In Pittsburgh: 3 to 5 inches of snow likely on Saturday
with temp in mid-20s, dropping into mid-teens on Sunday.
In Philly: 3 to 5 inches of snow projected for Saturday
afternoon, with the temperature holding in the mid-20s through
Sunday.
Source: Weather.com
GameDay: Hoops!
Debuts Saturday at UConn:
Starring...
Jay Bilas as Kirk Herbstreit!
Digger Phelps as Lee Corso!
Rece Davis as Chris Fowler!
Actually, that was Dickie V's analogy. But the "GameDay" model of
bringing the studio pre-game show to campus is one of the most fun
innovations in sports TV in the last decade. It'll be cool to see it
with hoops.
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Turley-Martz Feud:
A new flare-up: Krazy Kyle goes on Patrick Show, sounds off about Mad Mike, noting that a good relationship with him is "not too important to me at all."
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie Live! |
| NFL IQ test |
| Sal P. on the Eagles |
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| NFL X-Factors: |  NE K Vinatieri
| Isn't he always?
|  ATL PR Rossum
| Sub-X-factor: Weather!
|  PIT WR Ward
| Tougher than Troy B.
|  PHI WR Pinkston
| Freddie draws double
|  ATL Owner Blank
| | Will love conquer? |
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CBB Game of Weekend: ESPN.com midseason Final Four pick Wake Forest at
VERY underrated Cincinnati (Sat, 1, ESPN)...
CBB Upset Special: Will Fla St suffer let-down from beating Wake
let-down from beating UNC? Noles host unbeaten Duke (Sat, 6,
ESPN)...
NBA Friday: Spurs at Suns. If Steve Nash is playing, I'd even give PHX
the edge, because after all, he is NBA MVP (10:30, ESPN)...
NBA All-Star Voting: Yao leads Shaq for most votes, with starters to
be announced 2/3. VC, G-Hill, JO in tightest race, for East
F...
Lance trouble? Don't pay much mind to the French investigation into
doping allegations about Armstrong; it's likely to be
dropped...
NHL labor talks: Even the ones without the honchos there fail to go
anywhere; wait: did we even care if it did?...
Super Bowl premature pick coming Monday...
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