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Brett Favre:
Will return to the Packers in 2005. But Packers fans mystified at the team's offseason moves might ask: "Returning to WHAT?"
QUICKIE LIVE! 9-10 a.m.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
ATTRITION. FRIDAY.
The 48 hours heading into Selection Sunday has
bounced MLB/Congress from this week's lead item like
West Virginia bounced B.C. from the Big East
Tournament.
Big-conference quarterfinals, semis and title games over
the next three days offer as many compelling matchups
as an Elite Eight or even Final Four.
ACC: UNC/Duke/Wake
How many No. 1 seeds here?!
Big East: Syracuse vs. UConn
And that's just a semifinal!
Big 12: Kansas/Okla St/Okla
Who'll emerge from the scrum?
And that doesn't include the other teams
jockeying for a No. 1 seed (Illinois, Kentucky,
Arizona, Louisville) ...
Or, at the other end, the teams on the Bubble
fighting for inclusion (UAB, N.C. St.,
Minnesota-vs.-Indiana)
Or, most compelling, teams not even good enough
for the Bubble that are surviving league tourneys in
hopes of a true Cinderella spot (Iowa, Memphis, St.
Joe's)
Buckle in, and see ya Sunday.
Bubble Watch
The Freakiest Place on
Earth!
Looking good: Iowa St., N.C. St., West
Virginia
Hating it: ND, Maryland, G'town, Miami, Vandy,
TX A&M
Close call: UCLA, DePaul, UAB, Indiana*,
Minnesota*
*- Play Fri. in B10 Quarters! Is it an unofficial
"play-in?" (Hey, here's a novel idea: Both are so
mediocre, give the spot to a deserving
Mid-Major!)
ACC: N.C. St./Wake
As first anticipated in the Quickie on
Monday, a rematch of the "groin/grudge" battle from
the ACC regular-season finale.
For those just tuning in: Wake Forest All-American PG
Chris Paul hit Wolfpack star Julius Hodge in the
(ahem) "Julius," then spoiled N.C. St.'s upset
bid on a buzzer-beater.
Today (7, ESPN2), Paul is suspended from the game, and
7-seed N.C. St. can look forward to some nasty payback,
in the form of beating the 3-seed Deacons and possibly
costing Wake a No. 1 seeding on Sunday night.
(Yes, I recognize that the committee could discount
any Wake loss without Paul and still give them
a No. 1. But a guy can dream, can't he?)
More ACC quarters:
1 UNC/9 Clemson (12, ESPN2)
Heels gun for 1 on S-curve.
4 Va Tech/5 Ga Tech (2, ESPN2)
Winner off bubble and in.
2 Duke/11 Virginia (9, ESPN2)
Watch those weary legs!
Big East Battles
Count the semi subplots!
2 UConn/3 Cuse (9, ESPN)
National game of the day
4 Nova/8 WVa (7, ESPN)
2 bandwagons for price of 1!
Whither B.C.? (KO'ed by WVa)
Sunday 1-seed? Ha! Try 2 (3?)
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Mike Williams: WR quickly wows scouts at private workout
Miami Heat: Crush T-Wolves for 7th straight W (Shaq 33/13)
Bubble teams' P.R. campaigns: Love it! (Indiana, call me!) |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Uniform drug policy: Nice try, Congressman. Not happening
Texas: Loses to Colorado in B12 1st rd; Big Dance-unworthy
Kerry Wood: Flies back to Chicago to have shoulder exam |
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More National Semi Action:
Pac-10: Is Stanford legit?
1 Arizona/5 Oregon St
2 Washington/3 Stanford
C-USA: Watch that 7/11 semi!
1 L'ville/4 UAB (4:30, ESPN)
7 Memphis/11 South Florida
A-10: Easy to root for Joe's
E1 St. Joe's/W2 Xavier
W1 G. Washington/E2 Temple
Quarterfinal Mania
Feeling bleary-eyed ...
Big Ten: Who can stop Illini?
1 ILL/8 N'western (12, ESPN)
4 Indiana/5 Minny (2, ESPN)
2 Mich St/7 Iowa
3 Wisconsin/6 Ohio St
Big 12: OU/KU/OK St battle
1 Oklahoma/8 Missouri
4 Texas Tech/5 Iowa St
2 Kansas/10 Kansas St
3 Oklahoma St/11 Colorado
SEC: Kentucky earns 1-seed?
W5 Ole Miss/W1 Alabama
W3 Miss St/E2 Florida
E5 Tennessee/E1 Kentucky
W6 Auburn/W2 LSU
MLB/Congress Feud
The MLB/Congress battle over next Thursday's
scheduled hearing got interesting, with both
sides scrapping like NCAA Bubble teams to win the p.r.
battle in the media.
ESPN.com's Q&A summary is a must-read (see Q It Up),
but after consuming all the different angles, ploys
and feints, I have a few lingering questions, with
answers to be found by reading within the
lines:
1. Will this happen Thursday?
Guess: Perhaps not, and not just because
Congress figured out that it's competing with the
first day of the NCAAs.
Negotiations between Congress and MLB super-lawyer
Stanley Brand could take this past next week (and if
that doesn't work, Brand's legal challenge can do the
trick).
2. Will questions be limited?
Guess: The scope of Congress' questions is
another huge negotiation point is; its invite list is
arbitrary enough.
Should players be forced to deal with "Have you
ever ...?" questions that will be replayed a million
times? That's where Brand's "prurient" criticism comes
into play.
3. What about that immunity?
Kind of depends on the answer to Question 2, doesn't
it? Jose Canseco's already asked for it (surprise,
surprise).
But Rep. Tom Davis' spokesman is on the record as
saying they're not planning on granting any.
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Tice Admits Scalping
Mike Tice finally admitted he scalped
tickets, as recently as this past Super Bowl!
So how should he be punished?
The NFL can't fire a coach, but it can -- and should
-- certainly punish this moron to the fullest
extent.
If a player can be suspended and fined severely for a
game for unsportsmanlike conduct, why can't a
coach?
(Frankly, an NFL head coach scalping tickets is
way more unseemly than a provocative end-zone
dance.)
I say: Suspend him two games and fine him $100,000.
After all, this is as much about deterring future
offenders than actually punishing Tice.
P-Jax Return?
Phil Jackson's agent puts his return at
"50-50." Far more complicated is where he might
land:
Knicks? Lakers? Wolves? Mavs?
It'll take money and talent, and not
necessarily in that order. See Big 5 for a
"speculisting."
Alexander on Block
Seahawks actively shopping 2004 NFL TD
king and NFC's leading RB Shaun Alexander.
In lieu of pre-empted PTI today, how about a little
"Toss-Up":
Who's more trade-worthy: Alexander or Edge
James?
As long as neither team is asking for a first-rounder,
I'm going after Alexander. His Week 17 whining bothers
me, but not as much as James' history of knee
problems.
Remember: Corey Dillon was a griper, too. You can
repair a bad attitude; fixing bad wheels is
more problematic.
Ding!
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Maryland:
I'm a big Terps fan, but if you can't beat Clemson
ONCE in THREE tries (especially in a must-win!), you
deserve that NIT.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie Live! |
| Bubble Watch |
| MLB Roid Q & A |
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| Phil Jackson Destinations |  Knicks
| Nothing tops NY homecoming
|  Mavs
| Cuban willing to spend
|  T-Wolves
| KG a star in MJ mold
|  Lakers
| No Shaq? Why go back?
|  Blazers
| | Good $, Bad dysfunction |
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Canseco wants immunity for the hearings. Congress says
it's not planning on granting any. Jose will yap
anyway; but what about the others?
Plaxico Burress eyeing Vikings: Wouldn't this just be
replacing one lanky head-case WR for another?
More NFL FA Watching: Vikings stay busy, pursuing
Packers S Darren Sharper; Jets nearing a deal with Jay
Fiedler; Steelers eyeing Ty Law?
Six Red Sox players tested for steroids: Good thing
they weren't testing for other substances.
Happy retirement to Purdue coach Gene Keady; no Final
Fours (live vicariously through protege Bruce Weber?)
but the best comb-over in sports.
Selection Sunday note: Log on after the brackets are
announced for a Very Special "Tourney Quickie" (give
me until around 8, but check it out!)
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