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Felix Hernandez:
He's the new Zach Duke! Seattle's 19-y.o. pitching
phenom makes his MLB debut tonight in the Mariners'
biggest must-track game of the season.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
ROOKIE. SENSATION.
Phenomenal rookie pitchers who emerge
like revelations in midsummer are one of baseball's
true untainted joys.
With the Raffy scandal popping earlier this week and
dragging the sport down with it, baseball fans need
stories like Felix's more than ever.
Pirates rookie ace Zach Duke won the NL Rookie of the
Month award for July. Frankly, the fan bandwagon has
him on the Cy Young Watch List for 2006.
(Premature? Nah: He's off to one of the best starts
for a pitcher in MLB history. Plus, it's
fun.)
Not only do rookie pitching phenoms spark up
baseball's otherwise dog days of August, but they
offer hope to the teams that need it the most.
Duke gives Pirates fans reason to believe in 2006.
Hernandez has M's fans thinking about Randy Johnson in
his prime. Cubs fans herald Rich Hill as the next
Prior.
For fans of teams out of contention, this is
priceless.
And for fans sick of the soul-sucking, 24/7 coverage
of the Palmeiro story, it's summer-saving.
Palmeiro Update
Congress wants back in, and nothing in
D.C. could be more predictable (unless you count the
Nats' 2nd-half crumble).
They demand to see Palmeiro's MLB test results, to
determine if he perhaps committed perjury during his
once-famous, now-infamous finger waggle.
To his credit, Raffy is all about cooperating, hardly
the attitude of someone with a guilty conscience. His
agent, Arn Tellem, has the money quote:
"I hope that the public will wait to make a final
judgment about Rafael until they hear his story in its
entirety."
Ha-ha: Good luck with that.
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Twins 6-game losing streak: *Finally* beat A's to do it
Reds: Have gone 13-6 since All-Star Break (2 li'l 2 late)
Matt Millen: 16-48 record as Lions prez nets 5-yr deal ext |
| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Mets bullpen: Wastes another big effort by Pedro, Piazza
Nick Van Exel: Blazers give no "amnesty" and simply dump
Dick Vermeil's retirement: Hints he might stay past 2005 |
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Manny Being Manny
When Ramirez goes to the Hall of Fame,
Wednesday night's game can be cited as typical:
Manny bashed his AL-leading 30th HR and 100th RBI,
continuing his sizzling return since his weekend pout
and near-trade.
Then Manny had to leave the game after pinballing with
SS Edgar Renteria on a fly ball. (For the record,
Manny made the catch.)
T.O. Watch
Forget Owens' lame, near-scripted TV
interview. The critical detail from Wednesday's
practice:
Nearing a group of fans, T.O. was met with jeers and
heckling. When he motioned back in defiance, jeers
turned to cheers.
As usual, Philly fans talk big about bitterness, but
end up being softies. That's a foreshadowing of fan
reaction once he returns full-time.
NHL Frenzy
Just like fantasy!
That should be the NHL's marketing campaign to casual
fans, as the league enjoys the frenzy of free-agent
signings this week.
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Sure, it's great the Flyers are spending freely (key:
Forsberg) or the Pens are taking advantage of the
Crosby windfall to invest (key: Gonchar).
But for casual fans, it's a blur of strange names and
unknown value. The NHL needs to work harder to
reintroduce itself to the mainstream.
X Games 11
The original and the best, not to
mention the hottest groupies in sports. Tonight's
opening coverage: BMX Freestyle Vert Finals and Moto X
Best Trick Finals (9-11 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Quickie 50/50: CA
Impressions of California:
NoCal: 49ers dominance, Stanford-Cal rivalry,
Bonds and McCovey Cove, freaky Raiders fans, the Bash
Brothers.
SoCal: Showtime, Fernandomania, USC football
mini-dynasty, Kirk Gibson's HR, Shaq/Kobe/Phil, John
Wooden and UCLA hoops.
Vote Best of California
here!
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Cubs:
What kind of "walk-off" baseball L hurts worst? Walk,
balk, HR all make the final ballot. But how about last
night's walk-off passed ball for Chicago?
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie live! |
| P2: Envy/Love |
| Fantasy FB index |
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| Cali sports stars (Current) |  Leinart/Bush
| USC pair is CFB's best
|  Randy Moss
| Suddenly, king of NoCal
|  Kobe Bryant
| Another dud year ahead?
|  Alex Smith
| Good luck with 49ers, kid
|  Baron Davis
| | Golden State renaissance? |
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NBA "Amnesty": Blazers G Derek Anderson is the first
to get it. Lakers, Rockets both reportedly in the mix
to sign him (on the cheap?).
Stephon Marbury is open to being Larry Brown's
2-guard. Does that mean LB doesn't like him as PG?
It's not like the Knicks have depth there.
More NHL Free: Arguably the biggest star, Jarome
Iginla signs 3-year/$12 million deal to stay in Calgary (rather
than take a 1-year deal and walk next year).
Happy retirement to uber-successful jockey Pat Day.
Everyone sing together, in his honor: "We are the
jockeys, jockeys are we..."
More T.O.: Memo to player and agent: The team still
ain't budging.
Clayton (Vikings) and Pasquarelli (Browns) have
must-reads from NFL Training Camp. (Coming later
today: Chiefs)
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