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U.S. men's gymnastics:
Sometimes, in the "gold rush," fans can forget that unexpected silver can often be just as fulfilling. Congrats to these guys.
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The Lead Item
Two Words For You:
GRECIAN. FORMULA.
If you've been wondering where all the
Greek fans are (based on the empty seats almost every
event), just watch the U.S.-Greece hoops game today,
where 14,000 rabid fans should make things interesting
for the U.S. (Difficult? No, the Americans do that for
themselves.)
If yesterday was about assigning blame, today is about
suggesting short-term fixes. Start with these
two:
Bench the clankers, or -- frankly -- stop
shooting 3s altogether. Richard Jefferson shouldn't
have more shots than Tim Duncan. Pound the ball inside
and abandon the jumpers. Unless they ...
Import some help, a.k.a. "The Red Reserves."
Would it be so hard to put Michael Redd, an NBA
3-point ace, and J.J. Redick, the best shooter in
college hoops, on a plane to Athens?
And if all else fails:
Send someone home: If Larry Brown is frustrated
by egos, make an example of the worst offender by
booting him. Doesn't matter who it is. Everone
needs to commit.
Pujols Hits 37th
Was I saying Scott Rolen was the NL MVP
leader? I meant teammate Albert Pujols, who hit
his MLB-leading 37th HR last night (his 5th in 4
games). With the Cards up 14 games, one of 'em
is going to win it.
Wheaties Watch
Little bit cheerier Tuesday:
1. Natalie Coughlin
Gold: 100m back
2. Women's softball
Fourth straight shutout
3. Men's gymnastics
Silver: First medal since '84
4. Aaron Peirsol
Gold: 100m back
5. Jacobson, Zagunis
Fencing: Medal guaranteed!
On radar: Women's gymnastics
Phelps on Demand
Eight golds was Sunday's non-starter,
and seven was foiled Monday night with a bronze (and
head-to-head loss to Ian Thorpe)
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CHECK OUT THE QUICKIE EVERY WEEKDAY MORNING! |
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| WHO'S GOT THE MOMENTUM ... |
Paul Lo Duca: Cheers in LA homecoming, then Marlins win
Doug Mientkiewicz: So good at 1B, BoSox make him play 2B
Oprah: Most famous/powerful woman to sit on murder jury
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| ... AND WHO'S GOT NO MO' |
NFL Players Union: Contests Q. Carter release; halfhearted?
Indians: Just when bandwagon gets crowded, lose 2 in row
Kellen Winslow: Levels mate in practice; intense, or nut? |
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in the 200m free.
Don't expect the trend to end tonight:
Phelps' chance for six will evaporate when his
4x200 free relay team loses to those irrepressible
Aussies, who own this event and have reason to want it
even more after losing gold in the 4x100 to the South
Africans.
But wait! Phelps is must-see tonight in the
200m fly. (World record alert! That's not an
actual spoiler, by the way; I'm just
projecting.)
NFL: Simms City
Forget Carson Palmer: The 2003 NFL
draft QB of the future might be Bucs backup Chris
Simms, who stole the thunder from Palmer's mediocre
debut (2 series, 1 INT) by throwing for 110 yards on
12/15 passing. The Bengals O looked anemic in a 20-6
loss.
Meanwhile: The Packers learned why the Browns
were so quick to release Tim Couch. Ouch.
Prime Time Mania
Brian Billick knows as much as the rest
of us. Now, you've probably said that about his
play-calling, but this time, it's in the context of
Deion Sanders' rumored/possible/maybe
comeback.
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"Never say never": Apparently, Deion is going
to train for a few weeks, then see how he feels. Come
on, man: It's just to be part of a nickel package, and
it's not like Sanders likes to tackle anyway. Just do
it.
ESPN25: Best Ad?
"Who's No. 1?": Best Ads (8 ET, ESPN).
I will be accused of being a "homer," but there's no
better sports-related ad campaign in the last 25 years
than "This is SportsCenter," which did more to
establish the ESPN brand than the show itself. The ads
were not only brilliant, but consistently
brilliant, over dozens of versions.
See Big 5 for my Top 5 ballot (and see Q It Up to
vote for yourself!)
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Gary Payton:
Threatening to quit, rather than relocate to Boston (understandable, but still inappropriate). Should C's even want him? What a griper.
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Today on ESPN.com
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| Page 2: Simmons and friend |
| Vote: Best commercial |
| IN: NBA summer grades |
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| ESPN25 Best Sports Commercials |  This is SportsCenter
| Best campaign ever
|  MJ (Gatorade)
| Be like Mike? Yes.
|  Bo Jackson (Nike)
| Bo knows ... a classic
|  Barkley/Tiger (tie)
| No role model/I am Tiger
|  Miller Lite
| | Entire TG/LF campaign |
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|  |
NFL now demands teams list specific body parts when
reporting injuries: Power of TV contracts -- or power
of gamblers? ...
Ryder Cup: Haas, Cink named U.S. "Captain's Picks":
How the Ryder can be taken seriously without Els, Singh playing ...
Chipper Jones hit his 300th HR: Did he get the memo
yet that 300 is the new 200? ...
The Dolphins signed Band-Aid WR Antonio Freeman, and
the over-under until he gets the injury bug is Week
3 ...
More Celtics: Ainge signs his personal fave, Tom
Gugliotta (doesn't it feel like he hasn't been in the
league for years?) ...
Watch this AL Central mid-week dynamic: The Twins host
the Yankees (playoff preview?), while Cleveland
continues at Texas ...
NL wild card race might be too intense to follow
breathlessly day to day: Still, let's try -- Giants
move up 1 on Padres, Cubs ...
Congrats to SUNY-Albany, ranked as the No. 1 party
school (up from No. 14 in '03 ... that must have been
some year!) ...
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