ESPN.com - Cast Page 2's 'Sopranos'

ESPN.com: Page 2

Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Updated: September 12, 12:05 PM ET
Cast Page 2's 'Sopranos'

Page 2 staff

"The Sopranos" finally returns for its much-anticipated fourth season Sunday night on HBO. But since everyone has had so much time to think about everybody's favorite TV mob family, Page 2 decided to open up a Casting Call to replace the main characters.

And we're only looking for candidates from the world of sports.

Take a look below at six key characters in the show, then send us your ideas on which sports personalities would be best suited to play those roles. We'll compile the best nominees for each character and poll you to pick the winners Friday.

Tony Soprano
(James Gandolfini)
He's the head of two families, only one of which -- the crime family -- pays any attention to what he says. It must be his "tough love" thing. And whoever said fat men are jolly never met Tony. Still, he makes a good living as a mafia chieftain, which seems to work as a babe magnet.


	George Steinbrenner

All in all, he's a complex guy -- tough on the outside, an anxiety-ridden marshmallow on the inside. Think Bobby Knight with a gun.

Page 2's suggestions: George Steinbrenner, Scotty Bowman
Click here to offer your suggestion

Carmela Soprano
(Edie Falco)
As the mom in "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding" says, "The man might be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck ... and you can't turn the head without a neck." (Or something like that.) And Carmela, with her heart of gold and an overwhelming desire to do the right thing, is one fiercely loyal neck.


	Steffi Graf

She knows Tony has been cheating on her -- and that he always will -- but she has made her bed and she's going to lie in it ... forever, if need be.

Page 2's suggestions: Steffi Graf, Georgia Frontiere
Click here to offer your suggestion

Dr. Jennifer Melfi
(Lorraine Bracco)
Nothing in medical school or psychoanalytic training prepared the good shrink for a patient like Tony Soprano. She'd like to get out of the relationship and go back to her relatively comfortable existence before she met Tony, but she's also fascinated ...


	Mary Carillo

and determined to give the mafia leader what every American is entitled to -- the right to good psychotherapy. Think Billy Crystal (from "Analyze This"), only with breasts and no sense of humor.

Page 2's suggestion: Broadcaster Mary Carillo, Pat Summitt
Click here to offer your suggestion

Anthony "A.J." Soprano Jr.
(Robert Iler)
Tony and Carmela's only son is a sullen loser -- and he's fat, too. But let's face it, he's in a bad position, caught between the expectations of his saintly mother and the living example of his powerful and dangerous father, who is one extremely bad role model.


	Aaron Alvey

Still, beneath his puffy exterior, you can almost sense a defiant and annoying teenager trying to claw his way out. Plus, he's the only one with the guts to tell Tony, "It sucks to be you."

Page 2's suggestions: Kentucky Little-Leaguer Aaron Alvey
Click here to offer your suggestion

Paulie Walnuts
(Tony Sirico)
The old pro, he can always be counted upon to do exactly what Tony wants -- even arranging the murder of a mutual friend ... except he has a lamentable tendency to screw up at the most inopportune time (like when he and Christopher blew a hit on the Russian gangster and ended up stranded in the frozen tundra of a New Jersey wildlife preserve). Great hair, a whimsical sense of religion and extremely prideful, he takes orders


	Jim O'Brien

-- and crap -- from only one man ... and by the end of last season, he didn't seem to keen on even that, which has left many observers wondering if he's ripe for the "Big Pussy" treatment this season.

Page 2's suggestion: Boston Celtics coach Jim O'Brien, Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen
Click here to offer your suggestion

Christopher Moltisanti
(Michael Imperioli)
Tony's favorite -- the son he's never going to have -- is a monumental screw-up and an extremely dangerous man. His big plans for himself never quite work out the way they're supposed to, and that always sends his impulse control mechanism into haywire mode.


	Max Kellerman

Toss in easy access to an unlimited supply of guns, and you've always got the making of one helluva social disturbance. Think cross between Adam Sandler in "Bulletproof" and Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll.

Page 2's suggestion: ESPN boxing analyst Max Kellerman, Darcy Tucker
Click here to offer your suggestion