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Beyonce Sapp:
Warren's TD-catch celebration hop-n-twirl modeled after "Crazy in Love" video move. (Good thing he didn't try her trademark rump-shimmy.)
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
CARDS. HOUSE.
A good tagline for NFL parity would be: Even the sun shines on a dog's ... some
days.
In an office knockout-pool wrecker, the
Cardinals took advantage
of record 106-degree heat to escape the winless column
with a huge 20-13 upset over the Packers.
From Cards' house to "house of cards": That
"sun shines ..." motto goes for the 3-0 Seahawks, too.
There's the definition of "mismanaged
expectations." As for the three other 3-0 teams:
The Colts? Reggie Wayne is not Marvin
Harrison.
The Vikings? Check "back" with Daunte Culpepper
in six weeks. (No fibbing about injury status,
please.)
The Chiefs? No team looks more like the real
deal.
NFL Hot/Not
Un-something:
Hot: Seahawks (3-0)
Not: Chargers (0-3)
Juggernaut offense:
Hot:Chiefs
Not:Bills
Rams' blame:
Hot: Defense
Not: Bulger
NYC doghouse:
Hot: Jets
Not: Giants
What injury?:
Hot: Steve McNair
Not: Daunte Culpepper
Extreme MAC-over
The MAC's weekend football surge is an easy
one to root for, but the league is a long way from
BCS-worthy.
Remember, the BCS is about two related things:
Generating a 1-2 title game and making money. The MAC
should forget about the former; but for the latter --
the BCS cabal is always willing to talk.
If the MAC wants to be included, it should
invest more in marketing itself. And don't try
to
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WINLESS JAX, CINCY, SD (OK) ... BUT THE JETS? |
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| THE SET-UP: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR TODAY |
1 MNF: Oak at Den. Will Broncos leave 'em panting?
2 NL playoffs key games:: Fla/Atl, SF/Hou
3 AL playoffs key games: Bal/Bos, Sea/Ana
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| THE SIT-DOWN: DROP THESE FROM YOUR HOT LIST |
1 Chris Perry, Heisman frontrunner: Not with only 26 yds
2 Expos in P.R.: Players nix split home, may reconsider
3 K.O. pools: Only took 3 weeks; blast, those Packers! |
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sell it as the whiny "We belong!" Embrace the
fan-friendly "Cinderella League" factor.
Pedro: Mr. September
The definition of denial: Qualifying
top AL Cy Young contenders (Loaiza, Halladay, et al)
with " ...besides Pedro."
Not enough innings, not enough wins:
What bunk! In winning all four of his September starts
(including Sunday's 11-K gem), he's carrying the Red
Sox when it matters most. Martinez is the AL's
best by far; give him the hardware to recognize
it.
MNF: Raiders at Broncos
The best rivalry in pro football:
20-plus years of sustained loathing. As fans' short
attention span changed the definition of "dynasty,"
the condition has also gutted the concept of
"rivalry." Look at the weak crop this season so
far:
* Bucs-Eagles? Certainly not in '03
* Shockey-Parcells? Jeremy backed off
* Favre-Hovan? Not even; all hugs now
* Holcomb-Couch? Not after yesterday
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* Shanahan-Media? No one disagreed with him
* NFL-Clarett? Ah, now you're talking.
Clarett Watch
Since the NFL knows it's going to lose any
draft-rules lawsuit, their strategy has got to be
"prolong the inevitable."
So when Clarett's lawyers meet with league reps
today, the NFL should simply offer Maurice an
exemption. Let some other, less high-profile kid try a
lawsuit -- in 2004.
Women's World Cup
The real Miss America? Mia Hamm. Bag resuscitating the WUSA -- Hamm remains the
perfect headliner for a traveling team of U.S. soccer
stars who can raise fan interest in
women's soccer. (Oh, right! That's called the
"U.S. National Team.")
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Falcons uniforms:
Black on black? Less Johnny Cash tribute; more ugly target for Bucs D.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| P2: What the Heck Were They Thinking? |
| NFL: Week 3 Wrap-Ups |
| CFB: Heisman Watch |
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| Best End-Zone Celebrations: |  The Sharpie
| Will TO ever be topped?
|  The Fun Bunch
| Points for group dynamic
|  The Salute
| Defined Broncos' SB rides
|  Ickey Shuffle
| A 1-hit wonder
|  The Six-Gun
| | Un-P.C. '70s maneuver |
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Ohio St. gets 5 first-place votes?! How about judging
performance, not rep? If the name on the helmet was
Toledo, they'd be unranked ...
Extremely rare to see modern pitchers set career
records: Maddux's 16 straight 15-win seasons is
awesome ...
Speaking of history: At this point, how can you NOT be
rooting for the Detroit Tigers to lose? ...
NFL commish commands, "No more lying about injuries!"
If he cared about game's integrity, he'd allow for "No
comment" ...
With Cubs idle today, Wrigleyville rooting for Giants to beat Astros (and create first-place tie in NL Central) ...
The Emmys blew it when they decided they needed any
more comedians than the brilliant Jon
Stewart ...
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