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Terrell Owens:
We'll finally see T.O. on the field, Friday night vs.
the Bengals. How will he communicate with McNabb?
Words? Hand signals? Sharpie? Cursing?
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
KING. LANCE.
"There's a setup here and I'm stuck in
the middle of it ... I absolutely do not trust that
laboratory."
Lance was brilliant to take his case Thursday night to
Larry King, the refuge of choice for the scandalized. Check
out more of his rhetorical genius:
"A guy in a Parisian laboratory opens up your sample,
you know, Jean Francois so-and-so, and he tests it --
nobody's there to observe, no protocol was
followed..."
That's good: Throw a little Francophobe jingoism in
there. U.S. fans don't need much of a nudge to
discount claims from "Jean Francois
so-and-so."
"And then you get a call from a newspaper that says
'We found you to be positive six times for EPO.' Well,
since when did newspapers start governing
sports?"
Here he's showing uncanny media savvy: If U.S.
consumers don't trust any source right now, it's
newspapers. Let alone French newspapers.
"A samples," "B samples": Fans have never shown
interest (or expertise) in the scientific details. Ask
fans who World Anti-Doping honcho Dick Pound is and
they'd probably think you're telling a joke.
So often, fans see athletes bungling scandal
management, mostly by staying quiet in the face of
wild claims.
Sure, the accusations are discounted because they (a)
come from France, (b) are 6 years old and (c) take on
the reigning king of U.S. sports.
But the most important factor is that Lance has stayed
aggressive this week, and that's really why
he's winning this PR battle.
Schilling Shelled
5 IP, 9 H, 6 R ... to the Royals. That's
right: In his return to the starting rotation, Curt
Schilling got rocked by K.Bleeping.C. So how
does that project he'll do against, say, the Angels in
the ALDS?
NFL Pre: 14 Games!
Shallowest preview anywhere!
Friday:
CIN/PHI: Chad J does best T.O.?
BAL/NO: Saints are serious
NYJ/NYG: Giants' QB situation
PIT/WAS: Hines Ward sighting?
BUF/CHI: Tale of Two QBs
CAR/CLE: Questions at RB for both
NE/GB: Brady vs. Favre?
SD/MIN: Watch L.T.'s touches
TEN/SF: Alex Smith, backup QB
ARI/OAK: Rolle vs. Moss?
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Shawn Chacon: Wins 3rd in row (3-1, 1.80 ERA) for Yankees
Marlins batboy: Endorsements? Minor-league gigs? Stud!
La Russa: Passes Sparky for 3rd on all-time MLB W list
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| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
Sidney Ponson: Arrested for DUI; year from hell continues
Vikings' Birk in '05: All-Pro C to have surgery, miss 3 mo
Dwight Gooden: Ends life on lam, turns self in to police |
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Saturday:
TB/MIA: Fins O is terrible
HOU/DAL: DeMarcus Ware rules
IND/DEN: Broncs' bad memories
SEA/KC: Monitoring Priest
Thu. wrap: ATL 23, JAX 7
Watch ATL WR Jenkins (2 TDs)
LLWS Finale!
The West Oahu bandwagon is the place to
be.
The kids from Hawaii earned a spot in the U.S. title
game Saturday vs. Rancho Buena Vista-Calif. after
they used (what else?) a HR to squeak past the Cardiac
Cajuns from Lafayette-La., 2-0.
In the international final, Curacao will play Japan after
advancing Thursday with a 16-1 win over Guam.
The winners will meet Sunday for the LLWS championship.
Prep FB Mania
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- As I'm filing today from
Florida's First Coast, I can't help but be caught up
in ESPN's prep football showcase this weekend:
Catch one of the top 5 QBs in the Class of 2006 on
Saturday (noon, ESPN) when
local St. Aug star QB Tim Tebow travels to Alabama to
match up with mighty Hoover.
Interesting subplot: In addition to being Class of '06
rivals, Tebow is rumored to be coveted by Alabama
while in-state Hoover rival Neil Caudle (Spain Park)
is committed to Auburn.
(OK, so the average athlete's age in the last two
items is 14.5. Don't blame me; it's the era we're
living in.)
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Quickie 50/50: Wknd
Three stops!
(Click on state name to vote)
Friday: Connecticut
Quickie Impression:
College hoops; home of ESPN!
Saturday: Maryland
Quickie Impression:
Ripken, old Colts, Len Bias
Sunday: Louisiana
Quickie Impression:
Superdome, Aints, B. Cannon
Quickie Pick 'Em!
Don't forget to sign up to be part of
the first-ever Daily Quickie Pigskin Pick 'Em group!
Group: Daily Quickie Readers
Password to join: None needed
(Already in another group? So what! Use the "Create
Another Entry" function; you get to play in up to
three leagues! See Q It Up.)
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New BCS "Human" Poll:
Forced to replace five voters, still packed with
sketchiness (and *still* without a female voter). This
train wreck ain't coming; it's already here.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Quickie: Live! |
| Quickie Pick 'Em! |
| SEC Preview |
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Class '06 Prep QBs
(via ESPN Insider) |  Matthew Stafford
| TX stud steps in at UGA?
|  Mitch Mustain
| Staying in-state at AR?
|  Neil Caudle
| Will play at Auburn
|  Tim Tebow
| Might play at Alabama?
|  Jevan Snead
| | Urban's Gators snag Texan |
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Tonight's Must-Follow MLB: Mariners' 19-y.o. pitching
sensation "King" Felix Hernandez takes on the White
Sox. Could be special.
AL Wild-Card Watch: OAK, NYY, CLE all win. (MIN loses,
drops to 3.5 GB.) This weekend? Toss-ups: A's at
O's, Yanks host KC, Indians at Jays.
Schilling wannabe David Wells on Raffy: They should
make him take a lie-detector test, and if he fails,
erase his records. (Hunh?)
NBA Free: Finley hears from Spurs (would be his best
fit). Meanwhile, would Spree be a poor man's Finley in
Denver? (via DEN Post)
Hey, any St. Augustine locals who read the Quickie
(you know you're out there!) know a good place to
watch tomorrow's game? Email me below!
Coming all next week: The Quickie's 2005 College
Football Preview!
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