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Isiah Thomas:
His Knicks (led by All-Star-snubbed Steph Marbury) drop rival Bird's Pacers (Zeke's old team). The East is more wide open than ever.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
NORMAL. KNIGHT.
It's over. Texas Tech chancellor David
Smith has lost -- probably permanently -- the
perception-of-power battle with his school's
basketball coach, Bob Knight.
It's not the toothless reprimand, rather than a
suspension (which, frankly, Knight didn't deserve
anyway); it's that Smith has let Knight dictate the
story's spin -- starting with the triumphant image of
Knight walking into his home arena last night to a
cheering mob.
The spin continued in Knight's postgame press
conference:
Smartly, Knight proclaims:
He didn't instigate the spat.
Makes Smith look like:
The overbearing aggressor.
Smartly, Knight accepts:
Blame for letting it escalate.
Makes Smith look like he had:
No control over the situation.
Smartly, Knight says:
Would've fought a suspension.
Makes Smith look like:
He backed down, intimidated.
Love him or hate him: Knight's real genius is
that he manipulates media as brilliantly as he manages
man-to-man D.
Marino Resigns
Translating Dan Marino's front-office "resignation speak":
After further reflection, it became clear that [the
job's lifestyle change] adjustments were ones that my
family and I are not prepared to make at this
time.
Really means:
I'm already sick of people joking that my position
is nothing more than empty figurehead and/or hatchet
man when Dave Wannstedt screws up again.
NBA All-Star Snubs
Is there an incinerator in New Jersey
currently destroying tens of thousands of "LeBron"
All-Star jerseys?
Blame the coaches: What kind of whacked-out
selection system lets LeBron (and Carmelo) get
snubbed? If nothing else, it's proof that David Stern
isn't as all-powerful as we thought.
LeBron, Carmelo, 8 scrubs (and maybe a Janet
Jackson halftime) would be more of a draw than the
batch of subs selected. (Because
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BUSY? READ THIS NOW; BOOKMARK QUICKIE FOR LATER |
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| TODAY'S THREE HOTTEST STORIES |
1 Knight: Who has power? Well, BK was courtside last night
2 All-Star Snubs: How can LeBron, Carmelo be missing?
3 College FB Signing Day: USC is the rich getting richer |
| THREE STORIES YOU SHOULD JUST LET GO |
1 Signing Day as is: Next year, preps will get to go pro?
2 Eric Lindros: Mercifully, he starts to talk "retirement"
3 "Joementum" jokes: Lieberman drops out of primaries |
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you can't gripe
"Take LeBron!" without booting a player who made it.
Hello, Michael Redd ...)
Maddux to Dodgers
The Cubs missed their window: Instead
of wrapping up a homecoming deal with Greg Maddux
(only the perfect mentor for Mark Prior), they
can battle it out with the Dodgers, reportedly also
interested in Maddux.
If Maddux wants to win, he should take Chicago
over L.A. (Wow, there's a sentence that would have
seemed ridiculous five years ago.)
More Fall-out Fallout
Two questions about implementing a
few-minute delay on live TV events, so producers can
avoid future mammary moments:
(1) Why wasn't that part of the original
plan for something as massively watched as the Super
Bowl?
(2) Will it gut the thrill of watching "live"
TV?
Pats Party
Aha! Another flaw for Tom Brady: Based
on his Not-Quite-Madsen-But-Not-Quite-Nelly dancing
skills at the Pats victory celebration, the guy has
no rhythm. (Hey, we'll take 'em where we can get
'em.)
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Meanwhile: Bucs coach Jon Gruden gets a
two-year extension to watch Bill Belichick win Super
Bowls. How does Chucky feel to have his own SB title
suddenly re-positioned as an anomaly during Pats'
dynasty?
Signing Day
Other university departments could take
a lesson from the hoopla generated around the college
football program's Signing Day festivities.
Maybe if the English department had a big
event, proclaiming: "We nabbed the No. 6-ranked
freshman class in the country, strong on Chaucer and
Early-20th Century American Lit."
Then someone like Tom Lemming could say, "But
they were out-hustled by Harvard for my top-ranked
James Joyce specialist." (see "Q It Up")
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Dolphins owner
Wayne Huizenga:
Says he "can't worry about perception at this stage of the game." Probably should, because perception of Marino leaving is, well, bad.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| P2: Good times at Saint Joseph's |
| CFB: Signing Day |
| NBA: All-Star Game coverage |
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Ranking 1st-time
NBA All-Stars |  Sam Cassell
| Career year at 34: 21 ppg
|  Ron Artest
| Image rehab? 17.7 ppg
|  Andrei Kirilenko
| Underrated: 16.3 ppg
|  Kenyon Martin
| Dunk machine: 17.5 ppg
|  M. Redd/J. Magloire
| | More worthy than LeBron? |
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Forget our country's political or class divides; watch
the culture divide between those offended by boobs and
those who aren't ...
Another wonderful PR moment for the MLB players union:
Baseball World Cup talks have stalled over
drug-testing issues. Shocker ...
Today is College FB Signing Day: Small redemption for
Florida fans upset over last night's late collapse vs.
Kentucky on ESPN ...
Underrated: Florida State (beat Ga. Tech last night);
Overrated: Cincinnati (lost to inspired -- but
underwhelming -- Xavier) ...
Can already spot NBA All-Star Game highlight: "Anthem"
duet mixing Marvin Gaye's '83 ASG version with his
daughter, Nona, live ...
Wondering if "Lost" will "Translate" from movie
theater to DVD? No question that Quickie Top 5er
Scarlett Johannsen will ...
LeBron didn't help ASG cause with 5/19 FG
shooting last night; look for a binge on ESPN stage
tonight vs. Lakers (9 ET) ...
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