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Washington Nats
Win spring training opener 5-3 over the not-so-new
Mets. Instant History take? Jose Guillen (HR) is
WAY-early fave for Offseason Pickup of the Year.
QUICKIE LIVE! 9-10 a.m.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
BIG. DEAL.
The NHL needs boldness, if nothing
else.
Not just bold ideas, which are dime-a-dozen (I
give 'em out like free candy in this space).
But "Money-Mouth" execution.
Sports in general suffers from a lack of inventive,
innovative solutions. And that's why this proposed NHL deal from a Wall Street buyout firm
rules.
Owners dig investment return?
Here's $3.5 billion, gents.
Players want stability?
(Uh: Here's $3.5 billion.)
Advertisers want efficiency?
Decision-making streamlined.
Media wants radical change?
New owner would try anything.
Fans want management?
End to local (mis-)ownership.
That said, I went to my go-to Harvard MBA
colleague (and only NHL-fan friend) for his analysis.
He summed it up:
"Allocating value on a franchise-by-franchise basis
would be as civil as a Royal Rumble."
According to Forbes' annual list of NHL franchise
values, the 30 NHL teams are worth something north of
$5 billion. (Of course, that was in November 2004 --
ancient history.)
However, for $3.5 billion, they could buy 25 of the 30
teams -- all but the top 5. That would give them a
humongous say over how the league is run.
Translation: It's the best idea to happen to
hockey -- perhaps ever -- but it's going to be
like trying to score on a full-ice slap shot and
five guys piled in front of the net.
But the wild bid emphasizes that it will take a bold
shot like this to save the league.
Brady to Re-Sign?
The Pats, to their credit, are financially
efficient. They are not, however, stupid.
One player on the team, however, is worth as much money as they
can squeeze out: Tom Brady, who is reportedly
about to sign a mega-deal extension.
The Pats arguably wouldn't have won jack without him
(and that's the only NE player you can make that claim
about, besides maybe Vinatieri).
Brady's stats might not say "Peyton," and his flash
might not say "Vick," but his results are worth the $100 million those two QBs (and McNabb) have
gotten.
Raiders Upgrade
Oakland's best offseason deal won't be
trading for Randy Moss. (Most exciting? Moss,
definitely.)
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Celtics: Win ... again! 3-0 since return of Walker (16/13)
Larry Hughes: Returns to Wiz, scores 31/6/4 in W over HOU
Jim Calhoun: Wins 700th; back-to-back Final Four run next? |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Chris Webber: Mere 10 pts in 76ers' 3rd L in 4G since swap
Stewart Elliott: "Smarty" jockey arrested on old assault
Temple: Delaying decision on John Chaney until offseason
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Snagging RB LaMont Jordan -- a front-line NFL
RB hid behind HOF'er Curtis Martin in NY -- will fix
the Raiders' NFL-worst rushing.
Flashy vertical TDs are nice, but a 4.9
yards-per-attempt career average is what carries a team to
the playoffs.
Daunte: Not My Fault
Speaking of Moss, today Daunte
Culpepper is defending himself from speculation that
he was behind the Moss exile.
I believe him: Culpepper didn't need to gripe to get
Moss banished; Randy did the job just fine all by
himself.
Free Agent Scorecard
Count the early winners:
Vikings: DT Pat Williams
Much-needed bolster to D.
Cowboys: DT Jason Ferguson
(And CB Anthony Henry, too!)
Bengals: WR TJ Housh.
Retain their own WR bookend.
Redskins: C Casey Rabach
And retain own LT Samuels.
Giants: LB Antonio Pierce
Swipe Redskins' top tackler.
Jags: DE Reggie Hayward
Making tough D even tougher.
Browns: OG Joe Andruzzi
Romeo building Pats Central?
Pats: CB Duane Starks?
Near trade, for 3rd-rd pick.
Kobe Settles, Loses
If Kobe's off-court troubles were good for his
on-court game, is it possible that off-court
resolution will result in his game suffering?
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Don't scoff: He settled the suit yesterday, then
promptly went out and fizzled vs. the Celtics,
dragging L.A. to its third loss in four games.
Scheduling Irony Note: Zo could make his
on-court Heat debut tonight ... at New Jersey. (Also:
Possible NBA Finals preview? Pistons at Suns.)
Bubble Watch
Just eight spots left, according to
ESPN.com's Bubble Watch (going to nightly
updates, see Q It Up).
Bubblicious: Georgia Tech, which lost a tough
one Wednesday to Wake Forest, blowing an 11-point
lead.
RPI: 44/sched strength: 35. With a 7-8 record
in brutal ACC, finale at home vs. Clemson is a
must-win.
C-Week
One of my most radical sports-fixing ideas is
that college hoops end the Tyranny of 64 and open the
NCAA Tournament to all 300-some teams.
Short of that, Championship Week is a nice proxy. Even
the worst team can string together a couple of wins
and play their way into Big Dancing.
Frankly, small-league C-Week action is as much a
reason March is "Mad" as first-round upsets,
buzzer-beaters and Sweet 16 Cinderellas.
See Q It Up for the schedule.
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Baseball HOF Veterans Committee:
It's like a Zen koan: If a Veterans Committee is
formed, but doesn't vote anyone into the Hall, does it
need to exist and waste everyone's time?
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie Live! |
| Hoops: Championship Week |
| More hoops: Bubble Watch |
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| Worst NBA Coaching Gigs |  Hornets
| No money, mo problems
|  Blazers
| At least deep pockets
|  Knicks
| Unless you're winning
|  Warriors
| Better now with Baron
|  Hawks
| | And no one's watching! |
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Everyone knew
Maurice Cheeks started a countdown-to-ouster clock
from his first day on the job. Blazers are Knicks East: Too much money with troublesome talent evaluation.
Mag's Olney continues to own the GM-roids connex in
his Insider blog. Why did Padres' Towers not do
anything? Simply (and weakly): Performance.
Circle the calendar: March 17, when Congress has asked
Jose Canseco, MLB (and, possibly, Bonds and McGwire)
to appear before them re: roids.
Boss on Sox' season-opening ring thing: "Boston
deserves all the credit, and they can give their rings
out anytime they want. They deserve that."
Between the launch of new blogs and the addition of an
NBA stat-guru (Brick Index? Brilliant!), why aren't
you an Insider subscriber yet?
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