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Duke:
Starting 2 walk-ons and getting a careerh-high 38 from
Redick, Duke silences critics with a convincing,
high-octane win over ACC (and Top 10) rival Wake. QUICKIE LIVE! 9-10 a.m.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
REMEMBERING. HUNTER.
In Page 2's earliest days, Hunter S.
Thompson was the face of the maverick new ESPN.com
section.
When people first talked about Page 2, they usually
mentioned the fact that we featured HST (see Q It Up
for his column archive).
His inclusion set a tone: Page 2 was different. In
HST's case, very different.
Even as recently as last Tuesday, Page 2 posted a
column from him where he described a conversation he
had with Bill Murray about a new sport he invented:
Golf with shotguns.
Like his journalism and his books, Hunter Thompson
stretched the boundaries of what a sports column could
be.
If nothing else, everyone on Page 2 who rode in those
fumes in the four-and-a-half years since Page 2's
debut:
*Everyone who gets to spout a seemingly wacked-out
piece of analysis (lucid truth buried somewhere
inside)...
*Or everyone who gets to try, say, a funky new
format...
Tip your glass in his memory.
NBA ASG Wrap
Visions that materialize during
my marathon SportsNation host-session for the All-Star
Game last night:
My unofficial MVP vote went to AI (15 pts, 14
ast), for leading the East comeback in the 2nd. LeBron
(13/8/6) made a late run, though.
Shaq's shoe-phone. Amazing.
The surreal halftime show got mostly the
following fan reaction: What the...?!?!
VC's highlight-of-game dunk (call it an "All-I
Oop") is the answer to the frequent question: "Why is
Vince Carter on this team?"
ASG Sideshows
Saturday's Big Winners:
Phoenix Suns: Dominated every event, from
Majerle (3-on-3 Shootout) to Nash (Skills Comp) to
Q-Rich (3-Point) to Amare (Dunk runner-up).
Josh Smith: Dunk champ's moves were great;
fashion homage to 'Nique was classic.
More Steve Nash: Even stole Dunk show with his
soccer-style assists to Amare. (But can Nash pull off
the "header" in a real game?)
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
B.C.: Silences critics with "prove-it" win over Syracuse
So. Illinois, Nevada, Pacific: Bracket Buster big winners
Paris Hilton's Sidekick hacking: Oh. My. Goodness. |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Randy Moss trade: New Vikes owner Fowler nixes trade talk
Kansas: (I *never* liked 'em for the Final Four, anyway)
Jose Canseco: Who wants to buy a 2000 World Series ring?
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Daytona 500
Left, left, left, goose! Analysts who
know better say Jeff Gordon made a bold move at the
end, and I'll trust their judgment while kicking off
my second season as a NASCAR padwan.
Like many sports fans, I maintain my ultimate respect
for NASCAR's rise to prominence, while continuing to
be mystified by its nuances. (The combination of
CarCam and CarComm is fascinating; anyone else catch
that one driver's F-bomb during one of the
crashes?)
Frankly, no other sport (i.e., MLB's floating "Opening
Day" or NFL's four-day "Kickoff Weekend") puts its
biggest event of the year at the front. For that
alone, NASCAR is counter-intuitively smart.
NHL: No Deal
No such thing as bad publicity:
That must be the NHL's strategy, considering that the
NHL has received more attention in the last week than
they have in the past few years, combined.
Wouldn't it be funny/genius if this entire
labor battle was one big ruse to increase
interest?
How else to explain the weekend rumors of
"un-cancellation," lapped up by the few sorry
schlubs remaining folks who still care
about the NHL.
NYC 2012
Wooing IOC reps ain't what it used to
be. Remember the good ol' days of graft? Now THAT'S
how you pick an Olympic city.
Not NYC 2012: Jazz concerts? Dinner with the
mayor? Carriage rides around Central Park? A
convention of middle managers from Topeka gets a
rowdier time than that.
At least the visiting media have no
restrictions on how extravagantly they can be wooed.
(Go ahead and make the checks out to
S-H-A-N...)
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A-Rod Responds!
To the A-Ripping! On the same weekend
that Foulke, Arroyo, Varitek and Millar pile on the
A-Rip bandwagon, A-Rod spoke out... well, sort
of:
"As far as earning your stripes, I really couldn't
agree [more] with Trot Nixon and the guys that have
said that... when I pay the price... then the fans of
New York would realize that, hopefully, I'm a
Yankee."
He even took a shot at himself:
"Blame it on me. If there's one guy to blame, you've
got to look right here."
But he couldn't resist a back-handed slap at
the Red Sox:
"It just tells you how classy our organization is. Our
players, they don't get caught up in that everyday
stuff. And I appreciate their position."
Or commenting on the infamous
front-handed slap:
"I thought it was a brilliant play. We almost got away
with it... I gave it my best karate; I only got to
yellow belt... [In] Game 6, you do silly things and
perhaps it was a silly thing."
Last word on Boston to A-Rod:
"The bottom line is they won. They've earned the right
to say whatever they need to say."
That's the most sense anyone in this debate has made
all week.
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Voshon Lenard:
Defending 3-point champ didn't just lose; he was
humiliated, showing up mockably hefty (TV guys were
brutal). New nickname: "Chunky Atkins?"
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie Live! |
| Hunter Thompson archive |
| Stein on All-Star Weekend |
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| All-Star Game MVP Ballot |  Iverson
| 15 P, 14 A, 5 St
|  LeBron
| 13 P (6/11 FG), 8 R, 6 A
|  Shaq
| 12 P, 6 R, 3 Bl, 3 St
|  Ray Allen
| West-hi 17 pts (5 3s)
|  Kobe
| | 16 P, 7 A, 6 R |
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NBA debunked ASG trades: Lakers being pitched trading
Odom for Jazz PF Boozer OR Kings combo of Peja/BJax.
Neither happen; trade front is iffy.
NFL weekend rumors: Will Travis Henry get his wish
with a trade out of Buffalo (to the Cards)? Is Jets RB
Lamont Jordan heading to Oakland?
MLB weekend rumors: Clemens-Vioxx connection is
interesting; did a certain NYC columnist float a rumor
that Vioxx is just his handy excuse?
Hoops Hall: Boeheim, Dumars and 'Nique are
among the first-time nominees (and, frankly, locks).
'Nique not NBA Top 50, but HOF-worthy.
NFL cuts: Lave Coles (by the Skins) and a TON of
Titans, including Derrick Mason, Samari Rolle and
others.
Catch the Dream Job Season 3 preview last night? Be
sure to check out my newest installment of "Dream Job
Couch Judge" on Page 3 later today.
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