Check out over one hour of ESPN footage from the turn of the century that includes Chris Berman, Dick Vitale, Mike Greenberg, Kirk Herbstreit, Karl Ravech, Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and many more.
Lakers [Applause] Spurs [Music] Holiday Hoops gives us the defending NBA champs traveling to La La Land to battle this season’s best team. It’s going to be a big challenge for us. They they are playing really good basketball. Uh it’s kind of how it was last year. LA and Portland at a certain point in the season were the best teams in the league and we kind of caught up at the end. I think they’re playing the best basketball in the league. Um they have a very talented team. They’re very well coached. Uh Shaq is just, you know, being Shaq. Uh Kobe is back. So, you know, they bring a lot to the table. With the Lakers, everything starts with Shaquille O’Neal. When the season started, Tim Duncan, of course, was much of the focus of the MVP talk, but Shaq has taken his game to another level. He’s made himself a more intimidate intimidating presence inside. Uh not only on the on the defensive end with the shot blocking, but also his rebounds are up. The first year I came to Lakers, I didn’t have any injuries. And second and third year, even last year, I had a lot of, you know, stomach injury, knee injuries, and I was a step or two too slow, but I’m injuryfree this year. I’m I’m back to where I was. Oh, he’s contesting shots. You’re a little more aggressive. you’re not as uh concerned about somebody getting by you and and shooting layups back in as a force. The Spurs enter tonight’s game struggling a bit. A six and six record this month after a 14 and3 start. The Lakers are redhot in their first year under Phil Jackson having won seven in a row and 14 of their last 15. They’re playing well. They’re playing together and I mean it looks like they’re playing without any egos and I think that’s very important. There’s still some mystery, you know, even amongst ourselves as far as how good we can be. And I think I believe that’s a good thing because we really don’t know. So each night we have to just go out there and try and do it. Phil has the tools and we all have the tools now. So hopefully if we get to that position, we can get over the hump. All right, welcome to Mobile. One match up to watch tonight, Rod. The nation’s leading rusher, Leenian Tomlinson of Texas Christian, against East Carolina’s defense, which is their strength, especially their linebackers, Pernell Griffin and Jeff Carr. Yeah, chance to talk some defense and these guys can play it inside. A lot of speed at the inside linebacking spot. Help them cut their defensive points allowed from 35 a game down to 18 this season. Leanian Tomlinson, I guess enough said. He led the nation in rushing. Yeah, how about leading the nation? How about 406 yards in one single game? NCAA record. This guy can do it. Like any great back, he makes people miss. Inside with power, outside with speed. A lot of people have asked his coach, Dennis Franchion, are his numbers for real? Is he that good? People have their thoughts on who he played and things like that, but uh 27 years in coaching, I’ve been around a few backs that were pretty good. And this young man is is a very good player. He deserves to be mentioned in the circles that he’s being mentioned in. And when you start talking preseason Heisman candidates next year with Drew Brees and Michael Vic, you’ll have to include Tomlinson as well. All right, so it’s the very first Mobile Alabama Bowl. It’ll be fun to watch Tomlinson. It’ll also be fun to watch Rod drive the boat. We got to get to the stadium. We’ll be there on ESPN 2 shortly. I get to drive. Yeah. Oh, cool. Two starts, two comebacks, two wins against co-deision leaders. Shawn King knows how to kick off a career. This kid just has something special within him and it’s hard to put your finger on him. Most people just talk about his poise and him being confident. I think it’s a little bit more than that. I think is him having that inner fire that burns in him that I can do this. You always think about how you’ll play when you first get in there, but then when you get in there, it’s never what you expect. And uh I think Sean, it must have been what he was expecting cuz he certainly seemed very comfortable in it. Like he’d been there all the time. What do you like in the huddle? I’m calm. You know, uh I’ve always been taught ever since I played quarterback that, you know, the offense feeds off you. ever since started here on the neighborhood streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. As a little boy, he’s always had leadership abilities. You know, he’s always wanted to be the leader. He’s never been a follower, you know. He’s always known exactly what he wanted, typically his way, you know, and he was willing to fight for it. There’s always that smile, but he’s he’s such a competitor. He doesn’t he doesn’t want to lose it. It it doesn’t matter what it is. And he rarely does. Consider Gibbs High had never been to the playoffs before Shawn took the ball and they haven’t been back since. I went outside and I saw the kid throwing 50 yard 70 yard down the road at a true 10th grader and I said, “Wow, he got an arm there.” So I that when I start believing that one day he might be a super quarterback. I remember watching him watching him in high school and I think the number one thing that jumps out at you is is that he wins. you know, wherever you throw him, whatever you throw him into, he finds a way to win. In fact, he hasn’t lost a game since November of 97, a streak of 16 straight, during which he led to Lane to their first undefeated season since 1931. Even in the pros, uncommon success appears to be contagious. People have seen in these last couple games, you know, that he’s he’s made some mistakes, but it certainly hasn’t phased him. and and there’s an awful lot of veterans who have a hard time letting letting the last play go. And I think he has a unique ability that way. One thing that seems to stand out, especially for rookie, that you’re not afraid to make mistakes. He can’t be. You know, I tell people all the time, you know, if you go out and you, you know, if you’re hesitant about making plays because of what may happen, you’re not going to play your best. He had a dream of being quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers. you know, it was real serious to him, but you know, we kind of like, okay, how many young kids actually realize that type of a dream? When he was a little kid, he had the Bucks uniform and he told his parents, I’m going to be a Tampa Bay Buck. What a horrible childhood. No, his mother has a picture of him as a little kid, a picture of him now. Oh, that’s crazy. And that’s just a dream come true for him. You know, it’s a situation where hometown fan and I mean, hometown fan of the Bucks and hometown hero pretty much. He led Gibbs and I don’t think they’re too good at anything either. And he’s won at every level, you know, high school, college, and now he’s winning here. And I’m just happy he’s on my ball club. [Music] Let’s start at the top with the only things we know to be mathematical certainty. First, the road to Atlanta goes through St. Through the tears and after all these years, Big Rile has the inside track to return to the big dance almost two decades later. The only other thing we can confirm is that the Niners, Eagles, Falcons, and Saints will not go marching in. That’s what we know. As for the rest, fasten your seat belts. This is going to get complicated. Ironically, it’s the team coming off the worst loss in its dubious history that has the inside track for the number two seed. Despite their 45 nothing grubbing in Oakland, the Bucks remain the only team in the NFC besides St. Louis that could win more than 10 games. For Tampa, it’s win and you’re in. And if the Lions and Vikings also lose, the Bucks get the central. If we’ have started the season and somebody said going into week 15, you’d be a game ahead of everybody. um you know, we would take that. So, uh we’re didn’t play as well as we wanted to, but we know we’ve got a chance to again lock up a playoff birth at home and uh that that’s got to be our focus. In the East, the focus is still on our nation’s capital after a week in which every team but the Eagles lost. It’s an appropriate summation of the season this division has had. No one running away because no one deserves to. The Skins can wrap up their first division title of this administration and their first since this one with a win at San Francisco coupled with a Dallas loss or tie. When dealing with the wild card hopefuls, you can see we haven’t eliminated that much from the deck. If the season ended today, the Central Division would have four of a kind. Just as in 94, four teams from the division would make the playoffs, beginning with Detroit and Minnesota. Both at 8 and six, a game ahead of the rest of the field, but in vastly different moods with the Lions off a bad loss and the Vikings off a huge win. We we can’t be feeling sorry for ourselves and and that’s what I don’t want to do. I mean, we can’t do that. I mean, we we’ve got a we got two more games to go and I’m assuming we got a chance, okay, because everybody else lost, too. If we don’t win, we’re not we’re not uh it’s going to be harder for us to get in the playoffs because we’ve got two teams that are very tough. We only have eight wins and no eight eight win teams going to the playoffs in my opinion. Even though Brett Favre and company came up short Monday, the Packers would grab the final playoff spot, winning a four-way tie because they lead the Giants in net conference points. In other words, the 50 points they allowed Washington in week two is still haunting the Gman. It’s not exactly where I want it. But get it down to this point in time and all we have to worry about is the next two games. We win those two games, we’re in the playoffs. Slam dunk. It won’t be easy for Big Blue, they’ll have to slam dunk the Vikings and Cowboys to get there. And speaking of Dallas, that’s a team that could have been master of its domain if it hadn’t lost a terrible home game to the Jets Sunday. I remember hearing Bishop Jay preach on the a sermon called the sad memories of a lost opportunity. and uh we have had our opportunities and and we continue to let them slide away. The Panthers also could be tiebreakers leave them last among the seven and sevens right now, but they’re probably playing the best football and they finish with two very winnable games at Pittsburgh and home to the Saints. [Music] We’re joined now by our basketball analyst Dick Vital aka Hoops Malone. Now Dick, has the shock worn off from last night? tonight. I mean, you have the number one team in the nation that falls and and an Iowa team that frankly was picked near the bottom of the Big 10, the team that upsets him. I’ll tell you, I’m totally shocked and I’m still shocked. I’ll believe me. Last night about 2:00 in the morning, we’re all sitting around talking and we still can’t believe that Duke and Connecticut will be playing in a consolation. I was not so shocked with the Duke Stanford game, obviously, because both clubs really young, talented, but basically teams with inexperience. What shocked me was the Yukon game because I thought Yukon would be food dominant for Iowa. You’re 100% right. Iowa lost seven out of their top 10 rebounders and scorers from last year. A new coach, a new system. You would think they need time for that transition. They came out with a great game plan. They attacked and they played with a lot of enthusiasm and you got to credit that to Steve Alford. What a way to start your coaching career in a new environment. Yeah, I think he might be kind of popular these days in Iowa. Now for Connecticut, the question coming into the season we knew was going to be who was going to step up along with Khaled Elamine, the team leader. Who was going to be the next Richard Hamilton, a guy who could make plays down the stretch? And after one game, that’s a question that Jim Calhoun is still wondering about. Well, you know, when you looked at Connecticut last night, certainly the first half you threw out the window, everybody was non-existent. They didn’t play with any enthusiasm, any energy, and it could have been a situation with the Elamine uh uh situation concerning the the car. That could have been a problem that could have affected him, but they needed that catalyst in the second half. He really stepped up big time. He had 24 points in the second half. However, no one else lend a helping hand to him. The bottom line is they got nothing out of their front court. Vos, Freeman, and Saunders were nonproductive. They have to have balance in their offensive attack, and they have to find that balance and get other people involved. And Morin’s going to have to make some shots from the perimeter. Now, this is really hard to believe, but after this tournament is over and it finishes up tonight, but either Duke or Yukon is going to be 0 and2. I mean, that’s unbelievable. 0 and2 November 12th. Think about this. Both clubs only lost two games all of last year. And think about this fact, the last time Duke had been 0 and2 was 1958-59. The last time Connecticut was 0 and2 was in 6869. But you got to remember in those days used to play a bunch of cupcakes early and get those quick W’s. Now there aren’t any more cupcakes and to have them playing at 6:30 in the consolation in Shock City out here in the Big Apple. I bet Dick, we’ll catch you later at the Garden. Well, thanks a lot, Larry. The Seahawks went back to their old blitzing style on defense to stop the Chiefs power running game. Coach Mike Homegrren told his assistant coaches to get out of their comfort zone and shoot linebackers and defensive backs on first down. The result was three turnovers and a victory that sets up next week’s division clincher against the New York Jets. Two of the stars of the game were Jeff Figgles, who had six punts inside the 20 and coverage teams that on average gave the Seahawks possession at their 44 and pinned the cheese at their 19. Figos likes kicking in domes so much that he hopes the Kingome gets a reprie from the wrecking ball. His best hope is a home playoff game, the Seahawks first since 1988. Everything the Buccaneers worked on in practice this week paid off, including a fake punt at the end of the first quarter. Punter Mark Royal said it was definitely a momentum swinger and it worked almost as planned. When he saw that Damen Robinson hadn’t turned out of his break yet, his only choice was to throw the ball a little higher. Robinson said it felt like the play was in slow motion. To which Royals responded with a laugh, “Not as much as I did. I thought the ball was never going to come down.” Royals said, “You know, it’s funny. When a play like that doesn’t work, everyone says, “What were you thinking?” When it does work, everyone says, “Great play.” After the game, Randy Moss said, “My goal is to play in the Super Bowl.” The Vikings took their first step toward achieving that goal by beating the Giants and qualifying for the playoffs. It was a strange game, said Jim Fossil. He’s never coached a team that has controlled the ball for over 37 minutes and lost. Well, one of those big plays was a Randy Moss to Chris Carter touchdown. Carter said, “Great route, bad throw.” He was only kidding, of course. Now, defensively for the Vikings, I could not leave their locker room with almost every defensive player and coach telling me, “Hey, Ron, don’t believe the statistics. We can play good defense. You watch us down the road.” Well, I looked up a stat over 15 games, the Vikings defense has only given up three touchdowns or more three times. That’s pretty good. For the NFL Blitz, I’m Ron Jorski, ESPN. [Applause] Every year, this swami is always the most challenging to pull off. Not because the games are tougher to pick at this time of the season. Not because there’s only a week left to do Christmas shopping. Although, you got to admit, just rumbling, bumbling, stumbling through the shopping malls at this time of year, just to buy one item makes it necessary to become Earl Campbell or Bronco Naguski just to make it through. I mean, you almost need top NFL coaching just to get it done. If you look at this play, what we’re trying to get is a seal here and a seal here and try to run this play in the alley. Shopping to daylight. Love it. No, the reason this schwam is high on the old rer scale to pull off is well, it’s always the day after the ESPN company Christmas party. Well, you know, we call it uh Advil Friday, but here at ESPN, we’re professionals and no little headache is going to get in our way. I I I mean, you got to play with pain, right? But as I was saying, you see, well, everyone here is just as dialed in as any other day. The swami has well that was good eggnog, wasn’t it? 20 years of togetherness here at ESPN, it’s good to know that we all share in the merment e equally. As for the party, some spread, huh? Sure was. And speaking of spreads, not only has it been a storybook and breakout season for the Rams and the Colts, it’s been one for their backers. If you put a shekele on the Rams every game, your Christmas shopping has been made easier. The Rams are 11-2 against the points. In fact, you don’t have to know anything about spreads to play them. 11 wins, all them covers. Their only two losses against the number with their two losses on the field against Detroit and Tennessee. The Colts have been almost as good, 92 and two. Both ties, interestingly, have been against the Jets. Their second loss came only last week to the Pats. Tampa Bay with six straight covers and Chicago have been great plays out of the Nars. When the mighty fall, everybody suffers, especially a team’s backers like those of us who closely follow the Niners. The Niners 8game losing streak were all spread losers. Thanks to our friends at the Gold Sheep, we can say that the Niners are the worst against the number this year at 3 and 10, but not much worse than NFC West buddy New Orleans. And interestingly, Minnesota also at 39 and one. Now, we show you this not as much as spread information, but this can reiterate which teams are playing much worse than they are perceived, like the Vikings, apparently, and those playing much better than they’re perceived, which is certainly true for the Bears. Despite the dismal season in San Francisco, though, we would be remiss not to include one of the true feel-good stories about a player this season, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bryant Young. We all remember the scene Monday night against the Giants a year ago, November 30th. Young carded off with a nasty broken leg, broken tibia, a broken fibula. Doctors optimistically predicted mid-season for his return. Instead, working superhumanly to get back. He played in week one. Now he’s his old dominant self. Last week’s win against Atlanta, Young at a safety for one sack as well as another sack gives him nine for the year. In fact, last five games, nobody has more than his seven sacks ties him over that spam with Kevin Carter of the Rams and Javon Kur of the Titans. Perseverance, dedication, and now top performances again, all while keeping his mouth shut. Bryant Young has epitomized what we’ve all grown up thinking athletes should be. Perseverance, dedication, and top performances. Again, that’s the Schwam as well. Our personal thanks to the Buccaneers who have made a three star and two star selection jump to life. 4-2 last week puts us just one below 500 waiting to pounce. Maybe Brad Young will help us pounce again against his old coach, too. The Niners keep it close Saturday against George Seafford’s Panthers. Carolina wins at 2724. This will be a tough spot for the Bucks, but a win and they’re in. And playoffs are where we told you they were going for week one. Bucks 1916 at Oakland. Dallas is undefeated at home, but the Jets seem to have more zip. Cowboys, but just by three over the game, Jets. Colts at home. The Colts anywhere. As we’ve shown you, this team is too young to have a letown. 34-24 in a fun game against the Skins. See how we get this all together. There’s no better headache remedy than a dose of the Schwam. As bad as that two- win season was in 1992, Shane Beamer remembers his dad trying to be the father he’d always been to his younger sister and him. He would ask her and I both, you know, you guys doing okay. You know, this is I know it’s tough on the whole family, but he always said, you know, I promise, you know, we’re just going to keep working at this thing and we’re going to get these we’re going to get this thing turned around. I probably didn’t realize, be honest with you, that it was as bad as it probably was because I just wasn’t listening. I wasn’t reading. I was I was really uh focused in on trying to make this job uh this this school a winner. But 15-year-old Shane was not so focused easily. He recalls the last loss of the season at home to Virginia. He was about 10 yards in front of me and you know a lot of people thought that was going to be his last game. So people were standing up over the tunnel as we walked off the field and you know some fans really didn’t know were just saying you know like bye-bye Beamer and stuff like that and you know and uh and uh you know as his son I mean I just wanted to jump up there in the stands and go after him right then and um but you know he just he never looked up he just kept on walking head down and straight ahead that’s how Frank Beamer did it how he made good on that promise to his children how he transformed the hokes into heroes I don’t think I get as much satisfaction as what it’s meant to me and I really mean this as to what it means to all the the people supported this program cuz it’s been a long hall but long hauls toughing it out are Beamer’s specialties not just in coaching but in all of life he’s mentally and physically tough you know I don’t know if you know about the the scars on his face from the fire he was in as a child to go through that I mean you got to be tough he was seven when the can of gasoline exploded and the burns to his face chest and shoulder meant numerous operations over the next 4 years. I can remember sitting there and feeling sorry for myself and my mom would get me out of that bed and make me walk down the hospital floor and show me all these people that was worse off than I was. And it didn’t take long till you understand understood how fortunate you were. Uh you know, everybody’s got some problems, but everybody’s got some problems that’s worse than yours. Perhaps that perspective is why Beamer never panicked, never changed at Virginia Tech. He’s the same way right now at this moment than he was that he was, you know, in 1987 when he got the job and won two games or in 1992 when we won two games and almost got fired. He really hasn’t changed. He’s the same. I never like those people that one day they’d walk in the office and they were all bubbly and happy and the next day they walk in and you you better get the heck away from him. You know, I never wanted to be that way. Coming here, he was a big reason why I came to Virginia Tech. I saw the program coming on the rise and he never let me down from year to year. So he got I mean he got all my attention. The most loving family man that you you you’ll ever meet and uh uh his family means the world to him. Um this team means the world to him. Great head coach. I mean just like a brother, a father. So Shane isn’t the only son he has on the team. No, he has he has about 100 sons on this football team. Everybody love Coach B. even those who called for his job just seven years ago. But even now as he plays for a national championship, you won’t hear Frank Beamer gloat. You know, things can change so quickly. You know, from 92 to 93 for us was a big change. And I understand what a thin line it is in this business from being okay and and not being okay. But in every situation, you know, I feel fortunate that, you know, that I was able to stay at Virginia Tech. John, we’re going to have the first playoff game here since 1988. You’re a New Yorker. What is this place going to be like for game three? I’ll tell you, it’ll be loud. I mean, the uh the crowd noise, I’ll do the jet noise going over, that’s for sure. Uh I was here for a playoff game in 1988 and they were loud and I think 11 years in between uh uh they’ve had a lot of uh uh getting ready to start yelling, hooting, and hollering here. And after last year and this year, I think they’re just ready to give out a couple big screams. I’m pretty tired after the last few days and you guys have been through an awful lot the last two weeks. What’s the fatigue factor for you and this club? Well, I think uh we’re more mentally drained and physically drained and knowing that every game that we played before got into the playoffs could have been our last game and we had to play every game like it was the last game of the World Series. So, uh uh mentally I think we’re a little drained and then flying back and forth coast to coast. That has a tendency to wear and tear on you. after just such a long wait for you. Did you stand on the mound the other night and say, “Hey, this is the playoffs and I’m in them.” Yeah, I mean, I wish our circumstances were a little different coming in, faces loaded and one out, but uh you know, sometimes uh you know, you got to go out there and pitch whatever the circumstances are, but uh you know, finally get out there and uh got the butterflies out of your stomach and uh did a good job and then hopefully tomorrow night uh I’ll be called upon to uh you know, get a batter out or pitch an in. [Music] Now, news on the march. One game, five interceptions, a disappointing return to the spotlight. Newspaper headlines help fuel the debate. Did Dan Marino come back from injury too quickly? I guess you can say that. I mean, and looking at the play, you know, possibly I did. He took like five, six weeks off and so obviously and to come back with two days of practice, I mean, that that’s hard on anybody. I felt pretty comfortable, but not as comfortable as I needed to be. And really what it came down to is I made some, you know, couple bad decisions early in the game that hurt us when we didn’t get points. Short drop Marino. He’s thrown to Gaston and this one will be tipped and intercepted in the end zone by Deon. [Music] Looking back on it, I mean, it looks bad. You throw five interceptions, but at the end, those couple at the end, it didn’t matter anyway. Now scrutiny stares intently at Marino after the shutout loss to Dallas on the effects of a pinched nerve still limiting his throwing ability or is age finally catching up with the 17-year veteran quarterback. I’ve been you know watching Dan here for for four years and and really I don’t think arm strength was a factor in the ball game and I don’t think Dan thought it was a factor. that was a problem anywhere else on my body, I would be able to play, you know, and the thing is, you know, I heard a nerve that directly is related to what I do best, and I throw the football. And that that was tough. Dan’s a tremendous competitor. I I think with anybody, uh, if you have some adversity, you’re going to be focused in a little bit better here the next week. You can tell that by uh like the questions he he may ask and and seriousness on his face. He takes it personally and I and I think being the quarterback of a team, he he wants to show everybody that that he still can do it. Marino has been down this road before. Case in point, week four against Buffalo. Miami Signal caller throws two interceptions in a 2318 loss to the Bills. Johnson publicly criticizes Marino’s play afterward. The following Sunday, Marino rallies his team from a 9-point fourth quarter deficit in Indianapolis. throws into the end zone. It is caught. It is a touchdown. All right. Faced with a similar scenario this week against the Colts, Marino has another opportunity to redeem himself. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m going to continue to do it the way I’ve been doing it for 17 years. And uh I just love the competition factor of it and I believe we got a chance to be a special team and I’m going to keep working at it. This is News on the March. Our next guest is the man of the hour, Steve Francis joins us on the NBA today. Steve, congratulations on the new deal. You seem happy. Did you get everything you wanted? Uh, I’m real happy and I’m real excited to be here in Houston and uh I look forward to to good things coming to me and also the team. If there had been no deal, if there had been no trade eventually struck, would you have played in Vancouver? I think, you know, I’m I’m a good basketball player and and I’m I’m real smart and and I think something like that would have been in my future and I would have loved to play basketball anyway. Do you feel you left that situation on bad terms with them? Stu Jackson obviously was upset with the way things shook out. Do you feel that that things were left badly with the Grizzly organization? I I don’t think so. I I think that my representative worked real hard and they have a good relationship with him and uh you know I I just want, you know, um for for both sides to be happy and I’m pretty sure that he respects me as much as I respect him. Tell us about what this last 6 weeks or so has been like going back to right before the draft. So many thought you would go number one. you might go to Chicago and all that’s happened. What have you learned from these last couple of weeks to get you ready to be an NBA player? I just learned that uh about people, you know, people can uh make, you know, bad assumptions without even knowing you. People can say anything about you and try to make other people believe it. So, I think that I learned a lot as far as, you know, the way people act and the way people think in the NBA. Well, here’s your opportunity to tell everyone why is it you didn’t want to go to Vancouver? Uh, I think I said it before, you know, um, it wasn’t nothing about the city, it wasn’t nothing about the organization, the players or anything like that. I think it was for me mentally that I don’t think that I was mentally ready to play there uh, with my family members, my grandmother, my brother, my sister, and I just thought that, you know, it’ll be good for me to to try to get around that situation. Final thought for you. You join a team filled with legends with Aake Elijah and Charles Barkley and Scotty Pippen. Have you talked to those guys yet about what you should expect? I talked to him this morning when I worked out this morning at the practice facility. Um, they all had good good things to say to me and and some things that, you know, that I should try to work on before I come into training camp. All right, Steve Francis, thanks so much for taking the time to be with us. Best of luck. All right, thanks. And wait, let’s touch. Charlie Ward waits for a cutter. Got Spreewell underneath the glass. Double team fires at the buzzer. No, the San Antonio Spurs win their first ever NBA championship. In San Antonio, you have to give them much respect, but it was a short season. They won, but you can’t really give let them be the have them be the favorites coming into this season. It’s going to be a lot longer. A lot of teams got stronger. They’re defending champs, but you know, they going to have that bullseye on the back and it’s going to be hard for them to do that cuz their bench is not really that deep as a lot of other teams. The defending champs perceived weaknesses and the lack of one player who pushes his team head and shoulders above the rest of the league makes the first full season of the post Jordan era wide open. There’s no more dominance as when boys had their run. It’s wide open right now. Chicago’s gone. It’s up for grabs, man. You know, it depends on uh who uh stays rock solid defensively and offensively down the stretch. Whoever’s consistent down the stretch and healthy uh will come out on top. I think in in the West, you’ve got one through eight that can possibly get get to the finals. Um I think the West is wide open. There’s so many great teams out there. And I think in the East, um, just watching New York and everything that they did, I think teams are going to be wide open. It will be an interesting year. I think it’s one of those years where who’s ever playing good basketball or whoever’s playing decent come playoff time, if they can get on the road, can be the team to come out of e either division. But as far as picking a clear-cut favorite, well, of course, San Antonio, Minnesota, I think Portland, Indiana will probably come in as a favorite again. Seattle like New York. Sacramento will be a lot stronger this year. You know, the Clippers are going to be the Clippers, unfortunately. I think Phoenix has because, you know, I’m going there and hopefully I can bring a lot to the team. Not trying to be uh really arrogant or anything. I think Phoenix did help themselves out by bringing me in and I’m just going to try to do as much as I can for that team. I think that Toronto has helped themselves out a lot. I think you got to look for them to really do some damage this year in the East. Walls turns Faway off the glass. Oh no, he did not do that. My pick is, you know, nobody’s going to be talking about is Charlotte. You know, Charlotte’s going to have a great team. you know, they got Eddie Elden, they got Anthony Mason back. They’re going to have a great team. They got a good rookie and Brian Davis. So, Charlotte is going to be a team that everybody got to work with. You just have to look at so many teams that have gotten better throughout the course of the year. Um, there’s going to be some dangerous basketball teams that’s added some talent, that’s made some changes that that added a draft pick that’s going to be better. So, it’s going to be very interesting. And we are joined now by the MVP of the WNBA Finals, Cynthia Cooper, a three-time champion. Those have to be great words for you, Cynthia. Congratulations. How do you feel? I feel great. And it there are definitely wonderful words for me. I mean, you you win one championship, two, and then when you go for the third one, you have a target on your back. And it seems that way that we’ve had that target on our back all season long, and it’s been a tough season. What a way to end it. Three, third championship. We won it for Kim. Give God the glory. We are just ecstatic out here. Obviously, we’ll talk about Kim Parat in just a moment, but I do want to talk about this notion of three repeating. They say it’s so difficult to win back-to-back championships in sports today. How was this team able to do it, not just twice, but three times to keep it together and to keep the hunger? But perseverance. I mean, it was really perseverance. We had we had to go through so many different tough times this season and just we just stuck together. We stayed focused even in the tough times. We stayed focused and and we just really wanted to win. We wanted to win it for for Kim, but we also wanted to win for the city of Houston. We also I mean there are a lot of ABL players that came in this year and so people were saying that this was the year that was going to really define women’s basketball and a true champion was going to be crowned this year. I think when we came out and played extremely tough this year we established ourselves early on and then we went for our third championship just to establish ourselves in history. Speaking of establishing yourselves early on, you and your teammate Cheryl Swoops did that right off the bat Sunday as if to say the last second shot of Saturday is not going to knock this team down, but can you talk about what the emotions were of yourself and your teammates after that unbelievable loss Saturday afternoon? Well, we couldn’t believe it. First of all, we hadn’t played extremely well, but we still had a chance to win the game. And then with 2.4 seconds to go, you toss up a shot from half court, well beyond half court, and it goes in. I was standing under the basket and I said, “You know what? That looks like it’s going in.” And I when it went in, I was just like, “I can’t believe it.” I was walking off the floor and I I saw the officials and I said, “Does that count?” They said, “Yeah.” And I said I said, “All right.” So, I went into the locker room and I just started preparing myself mentally for the game the next day. I mean, thank God it wasn’t a championship winning shot. It just won game two. And I just thank God that I got a chance to redeem myself from shooting one for 10 uh Saturday. and I got a chance to come back out Sunday and do my job. Redeem yourself. He most certainly did coming out on Sunday with 24 points. You mentioned obviously Kim Parat earlier in the interview and that had to be an incredible time. Can you describe what it’s been like emotionally for this team over the last month having suffered such a loss and now such a huge win? Well, you know, it’s been a roller coaster really all season long, but extreme the last month has just been really really hard. I mean, it’s been very hard not only for myself, but my teammates. We were all very close to Kim and to see her not only go through the illness but to eventually uh pass away from the illness has it was just a tremendous heartbreak and we really felt the the pain throughout the playoffs. I mean we had to go in there and we had to do our job but I mean Kim was with us. Her spirit was with us the entire time and for us to actually win the championship. It really pays a a wonderful tribute to Kim and the memory of Kim. What are your plans now? You you’ve got experience in celebrating championships. I know there’s the parade on Wednesday and then what does the rest of the year hold for Cynthia Cooper? Well, first of all, I just want to savior the moment. I mean, this is a tremendous um accomplishment for our team and you not many people win a championship, let alone three in in in three years and and so I want to just savior the moment. We have the parade tomorrow and then I go on my book tour. She got game is out in the bookstores and go on the book tour and then you know what? I’m disappearing off the face of the earth. No cell phones. Nobody’s gonna know where I am and I’m just gonna take some time off to myself, kind of recharge the batteries and get myself together emotionally and spiritually. Welld deserved, Cynthia Cooper, thanks so much for the time. Congratulations. Thanks for having me. For all the talk of the Vikings defense being the team’s weak link this season, they have played their best in recent weeks. In fact, after 15 games, they have more sacks than all of last year, particularly by the defensive line. An attitude adjustment also came about after a players only meeting two weeks ago. We said, “Look, we’re all going to be accountable for our actions and things that we do on the field and defensively.” Yes. And um you know, we took it upon ourselves, everybody do the extra little bit. We’re going to run to the ball like like wild hyenas. And you know, we’re doing that. And I think good things are happening are happening because of it. When guys started looking at things in the positive and not in the negative, I think their whole mental attitude changed as far as uh you know what they were doing out there on the field. I think right now we might be a better football team than we were last year. You know that was 15-1. We’re hitting our stride at the right time. The same could be said for Dolman, who finally appears to be back to his dominating disruptive self at right defensive end, which has enabled John Randall to move inside to tackle. The threat of those around him, whether it’s Dolman, Dwayne Clemens, or a healthy John Burrow, has also given Randall fewer double teams to handle. I know that he enjoyed playing outside, but I think he really felt that he was visiting. He wasn’t at home. You know, his home was really being inside. And once he got back down there and he was able to do what, you know, he has done for so many years, it kind of it it it had an awakening to him. As for the Vikings injury situation, Chris Carter practiced just enough on Wednesday to keep the rust off, but he told me he’ll probably take Thursday off since his ankle is still swollen and sore. He’s been trying everything to rehab the ankle sprain for which the best prescription is really rest. He’s used chiropractic, acupuncture, ruling, vitamins, even herbal packs. Carter continues to amaze and inspire his teammates who just shake their heads at his healing prowess with the Vikings. I’m Andrea Kramer, ESPN. It’s a great football game and and I you know it’s a shame somebody has to lose and u as happy as I am to win I I hate to see it end the way it did with a with a missed extra point but I uh I am so proud of the guys on this football team because uh if you’re lesser caliber men you you got a lot of chances to quit in there and they never quit throughout this season. Our best quarter has been our fourth quarter and you know that it’s a credit to all these guys back here. But like I said, I I’m just a part of this. And Dave Trell making those catches and the defense stepping it up. I mean, what better way to go as a fifth year senior as an Orange Bowl victory. Everywhere he goes, everything he does, Ricky Williams wears his helmet. Why? They can see my eyes. What do you want to look at his hair? You know what he looks like. It’s a clear visor. I think the kid is a little bit shy and I think he’s a little bashful. I can see my eyes right there. Right in the little glare of the glare of the glare. Where will it end? What if Williams does in the pros what he did in college? Set records, win games, inspire children. [Music] Where will it end? Will this be the next big thing? Certainly a different look, but I think it’s going to work. Could Buffalo went out was arguably the strongest division in football, the AFC East. Uh, they’re playing the Colts, you know. The Colts have Edan James. I mean, Ed James has got to replace Marshall Faulner. The guy can run, he can catch. The irony is that it was in New Orleans that people used to be ashamed of their team. Someday soon, the Saints logo could be everywhere. [Music] for talent level, intensity, gamesmanship, you have to love Florida versus Florida State. Much of the focus here has been on the quarterback situation. And there’s a feeling among many Gator fans that even at 9 and one, it’s been kind of a down year because the fun and gun offense hasn’t really been clicking. Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer have frustrated Spurer all season, but now in the biggest game he’s got, he’s just going to try to coach him up. I have as much confidence in both those quarterbacks as any two quarterbacks I’ve got on this team right now. So, I want to say that they’re our two best and they’re going to go at it and uh we’re going to call the ball plays and see what happens. That is vintage. You’ll see Johnson start some kind of rotation. And it worked a couple years ago here with Johnson and Noan Bindes as they they pulled the upset that day against Florida State. Well, when you talk to Steve Spurer, one of the things he will talk about is trying to light a fire under his quarterback. And I think that’s exactly what he’s trying to do with Doug Johnson, sitting him down last week, trying to send a message to him, especially with the way Jesse Palmer performed. He didn’t play all that well, yet he stuck with him. Again, sending that message. I think the key tomorrow for Florida won’t be the quarterback play. It’ll be the running of Erdis Graham and the big playability of Travis Taylor. He’s returned now from the ankle injury for five games. He hasn’t looked the same. He needs to be able to perform very well along with Daryl Jackson to give them that one-two punch. No matter who that quarterback is, they need to be able to throw. Speaking of running, Florida State you’re going to use Travis Miner to tail back and run him directly at the Florida defensive tackles. Why? Because Vanderbilt made 125 yards in that area. And Travis has been great against the Gator. The two times he played against them, he’s run the ball 51 times, 269 yards. That’s an average of five yards per carry. Travis Miner right in the middle. This game means a lot to a lot of players, but Chris Winky, who was injured, could not play against the Gator last year, now gets his chance here as a 27y old. Huh. Yeah. Chris Winky has had Chris more freedom on the line of scrimmage by calling automatics than any other coach quarterback they’ve had in a long time. Why? He’s mature. He’s intelligent. He has a great grasp of the game. In fact, he grades out 90% correct, Kirk, on the line of scrimmage when he changes the plays. Now, the problem is the noise. Yo. Well, he he is he is conditioned somewhat because of the game down at Death Valley at Clemson. So, he’s used to that crowd. How will he be able to play in front of this crowd at Florida Field in the Swamp will be a completely different story. The thing I like about Chris Wanky, the maturity level. Chris mentioned he’s 27 years old, very poised. He’s been on the buses with minor league baseball. So, he’s not going to be intimidated at all. It’s just whether or not he can deal with the different defensive coverages that John Hope, the Florida defensive coordinator, will throw at him. They’re going to throw a ton of things at the Florida State offense and Chris Winky. How will they be able to adjust? We’ll have to wait and see. Winky and that Nullles offense, they have struggled early in games on the road against Clemson and Virginia. Florida’s been a great starting team. The NLES a great finishing team. We hope you’ll start your day with us 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, college game day. Plenty more with the Winky, with Warick, and with both coaches on the biggest college football game of the season. [Music] Everybody wants to know what the Raptors will do about free agent to be Tracy McGrady. Toronto doesn’t want to give him the maximum on a new contract, but it can’t run the risk of him leaving to the likes of Orlando or Chicago for nothing next summer, and trade rumors have been flying for weeks. The latest involves the Lakers trying to get a three-team deal going, involving, of course, Glenn Rice. But Toronto is no more inclined to pay Rice a maximum contract next summer than the Lakers. Source says that the Raptors would rather save the money and make a bid for Grant Hill next summer. The Pacers are back in first place in the Central Division. And not coincidentally, Reggie Miller is back on top of his game. When Indiana started slowly, there was more than a little speculation that Miller was unhappy that he hadn’t received a contract extension during the summer. But GM Donnie Walsh never believed it. He just doesn’t let those things affect him, Walsh said of Miller. Just doesn’t talk to me for a while. Charlotte swingman Eddie Robinson is one of the season’s best stories so far. The undrafted free agent is now starting at shooting guard for the Hornets in place of the injured Eddie Jones. Robinson initially made his mark in Charlotte off the bench with rookie Baron Davis and Bobby Phills. And Robinson very easily could have been doing the same for the Knicks this season. He was impressive at their summer camp, but New York opted to keep David Windgate instead of Robinson. And Charlotte says thanks. The league is taking no Y2K chances. Teams have been sent memos with emergency phone numbers of top officials in case the league offices in New York are shut down by Y2K related computer glitches. With a quarter of the season gone, the Spurs haven’t been able to find anyone to replace everything that Shawn Elliot gave them. Now they’re looking for more offense from a familiar face, David Robinson. Which is ironic since Robinson so willingly gave up his points last season to help the Spurs win the title. Otherwise, San Antonio may have to look to acquire the likes of a Tim Thomas or a Chris Mills to help fill the small forward scoring void. on the NBA beat. I’m David Aldridge, ESPN. 117 yards in the first quarter. 30-3 halftime lead. Was it as easy as it looked? No, the offensive line did a great job and also the Eagles, they wanted to try to stop Marvin. That what it looked like. So, they gave us the opportunity to run the ball and we made use of the opportunity. When you when you look at the injuries you had offensively going into this game, did you feel more pressure on yourself to perform? No. Before the game, we all got together. We huddled up. Peyton called everybody up and he um he made everybody aware that we need some people to come up come and step up and everybody stepped up and you know we just put everything behind us and just went out and made plays. It it appeared early in the game that the Eagles were playing more to stop the pass. They only had seven in the box and you beat him up real early with the runs. Then they changed to putting eight in the box to stop you and then you beat him with the pass. You really had them on a string offensively getting up. Yeah, our offensive coordinator, they do a great job of recognizing what the other teams are doing and just give us we we try our best to take advantage of it and anytime a team wants to put eight eight men in the box, we’re going to we’re going to try to hit them deep every time and if they back off, we’re going to run the ball. That’s the way this offense is designed and we’re going to just try to keep making plays and making it happen every Sunday. You know, there were many people that looked at this game as a trap game. You know, it was the Eagles a losing record and you may look ahead to the Jets, the Bills, and the Dolphins, but you took care of business today. Now, looking ahead, how do you feel? Yeah, we feel great. You know, coach, he did a great job this week of practice. He’s, you know, he put that victory we had last week behind and he made everybody aware of the situation we’re we’re in and how team get content and they kind of lose games of this caliber. So, he made us practice hard. He was made us get back on the ball all week. So he I it’s just compliments of our coaching staff. They did a great job of preparing us for this game and made sure that we didn’t let down. All right, Edin, thank you very much. A terrific game. Back to you guys in the studio. Is it possible to become better without the answer? In the case of the 76ers, without injured star Alan Iverson, the answer so far is yes. Entering Wednesday night, the Sixers were 3-1 with last year’s scoring champ relegated to cheerleading duties on the sidelines. Meanwhile, the Sixers have discovered there is actually a team in Philadelphia, not just four guys in Allen. Other players have stepped up into Larry Brown’s game, a passing game that he loves to coach. Me being out, that’s a lot of scoring out. So, other guys have to step up and put the ball in the basket. I had the utmost confidence in. One of the players who stepped up is secondyear swingman Larry Hughes. After averaging only 11 points per game before Iverson’s injury, Hughes has hit for 18 a game in the last four, including a 25point performance Tuesday against the Knicks. The Sixers may have found at least a short-term answer. I’m ready to take on that challenge. Um, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t have left school if I didn’t think I was ready. So, I’m just ready to take on a challenge. Speaking of challenges, Philly was faced with one Wednesday at Miami. However, the Sixers came out strong, doing things offensively that they normally would not do with Iverson in the lineup. One, they worked the pick and roll, getting open shots and making the most of them. And secondly, they made the extra pass when the Heat defense was scrambling. Instead of Iverson attacking the basket, it was Aaron McKe or Eric Snow getting the ball to the open man, creating high percentage shots that resulted in a tie game at halftime. Offensively, that’s where everything picked up. What happened? The oldfashioned way. They started to score baskets, moving the basketball, hitting the open man. There was no one there holding the basketball, playing one-on-one, dominating the ball. They force the defense to play defense for the entire 24. Guys are stepping up, making shots. Think of the confidence that Larry Hughes is building. Think of a the confidence that Aaron McKe is building because they’re getting more shots. They’re making more plays. I mean, this is going to be good for our team. The Sixers looked primed for the upset in the fourth quarter as the unselfish play continued. Larry Hughes drives baseline. Meanwhile, George Lynch has the presence of mind to seal his man away from the ball, allowing Hughes an angle to the basket. This forces Alonzo Morning to help, leaving Tyrone Hill open, who Hughes hits for the easy dunk, bringing the Sixers within three. However, all good things must come to an end. And with under two minutes to go and Philly down six, Billy Owens, not known for his three-point marksmanship, misses an ill-advised three and left the Sixers on the short end for the night looking for answers with the National League most valuable player, Chipper Jones. Congratulations, Chipper. And after June 15th, you really exploded the 30 home runs, almost 80 runs batted in. Was it the second half? Was it the series against the Mets that in your mind clinched this award for you? Uh, well, I don’t know. I’d leave that up to you guys, but uh certainly got hot at the right time this year. Um you know, with the Max series, uh coming up, series coming up, uh you know, it was a perfect situation with the amount of attention that uh the series were getting and and uh the amount of media attention that follows New York around. Anyway, it was a good time to to have a good series. By its very nature, the MVP is an individual award. Who along the way back when you were 2, three, four years old up through high school really helped pave the way for Chipper Jones to become the player he is? And who do you think feels as good about this award as you do? Oh man, there are a lot of people. Uh I don’t know if I can sit here and name them all, but uh you start with you start with mom and dad. Uh, obviously, uh, you know, everybody thinks, uh, dad’s going to go out and throw BP, which he did, but, mom was out there shagging the flies and making sure I got as many repetitions as I could in. And, you know, I mean, coaches all on the way, burning Abbott, uh, Richard Hast from Little League coaches, Don Serion, my high school coach, they’re all, uh, hopefully hopefully beaming today. And Don Baylor certainly for what he did this year. Let me ask this question before we say so long to you. Is it Chipper or is it Larry? Which do you prefer? Which should we go with? I like Chipper. It’s a little more unique than Larry is. Uh the the folks up in New York kind of wore it out. Well, thanks very much for being with us. Good luck next year. Obviously, we hope that the Braves are a healthier team. Thank you very much. We have one goal, one goal, and that is to dominate. To dominate. To dominate. This defensive team is made up of players that have maturity, but it’s made up of players that really enjoy playing and it really doesn’t make any difference who starts. They all know that they’re going to play and they all know they’re going to make play. It’s more like brothers out there. You know, there’s no quote unquote superstar out there. You know, everybody’s playing playing their own game and we respect each other. You know what our job is on the field and that’s what we try to do on our defense. We have a saying that don’t wait for somebody else to make the play, you make the play. I kind of, you know, want to be basically the quarterback of the defense is what it amounts to and let me call the plays, which is the defenses, and uh hope that they work. The way coach done do it, he’s he’s not he doesn’t play an ordinary defense. We got some linebackers who go down and play in a little bit. We play with five defensive backs and that allows us, you know, to keep from getting a lot of matches with running backs on our linebackers. We come with so many different looks. You never know who’s coming. You never know what coach we in. The corners constantly moving. You know, you never know what we in. A lot of times we may be blitzing or playing like outside linebacker. Um, it really just depends what formation the offense is in. Our guys really have done a really good job this year of hustling to the football, getting a lot of folks around the ball. Coach Dunn, he takes guys, you know, may not be the biggest or, you know, the strongest, anything like that, but, you know, they’re fastest, the smartest, and, you know, basically we we just try to use our speed and use what we have to our advantage. Everybody on the defense loves to live on the edge, and we like to have fun and and when you got guys like that on the team, you know, makes everything a lot easier. Every game, we go out there wanting to earn our respect. We don’t like we don’t like being given respect. We want to go out there each week and prove that we are the best defense in the nation. One goal to dominate. Dominate. And if you haven’t heard of us, haven’t heard of us by now, you will. You will. He winds the O2 pitch. Swing and a miss. Strike three. The Red Sox have won it. They charge the mound. And Pedro Martinez, the best pitcher in baseball, has pitched six no heat innings in relief. The Expose made Pedro Martinez who and what he is today. And then they sent him away. Not because they wanted to, but because they had to. [Applause] The list of former expose reads like the roster for an all-star game, including both starters. Until Monday, only Gaylord Perry had won the Sai Young in both leagues. It’s now been done twice in 48 hours, twice by former Expos. The Seattle Mariners are the champions of the American League West. After pitching just 11 games for Montreal in ‘ 89, Randy Johnson was dealt to Seattle for Mark Langston and a player to be named later. Johnson became the most dominant left-hander of his era. While the Expose got just 24 starts out of Langston before he made his obligatory free agent departure, and at last check, the player to be named later, Mike Campbell, turned into the player to contribute never. Larry Walker was a 281 hitter in six seasons with the Expose. Since his free agent departure, he’s been an MVP, two-time batting champ, and one of baseball’s toughest outs. As everyone seems to, poise as a lose added considerably to the resume as a former Expo, including winning the World Series in Florida in 97 and an all-star appearance the following season for Houston. You remember Andres Galaraga in an Expo uniform, winning two gold gloves and hitting 300 twice. Since departing in 92, the Big Cat has led the league in average once, home runs once, and twice in RBI’s. Then there’s John Wetland. He had 105 saves in three seasons in Montreal. While the closer was winning the series MVP in 96, the man for whom he was traded, Fernando Seanol, was hitting .239 in Del Marva. None of this, by the way, is a ‘9s phenomenon. This migration south of the border dates back as long as they’ve played in Montreal with Gary Carter, Tim Reigns, and Andre Dawson among those to contribute to the mass exodus. And oh, by the way, in June of 81, the Expos used their eighthround pick and a guy you may have heard of. There it goes. Can you count to 70? They never signed Mark Maguire. Happy new year to everybody and uh what a way to end the year for the Tennessee Titans. At times, Tom, we look for Tennessee to show us something. The game they played on ESPN against Miami and the one game they played against Baltimore that where were they? But Tennessee made a major statement as we said in NFL prime time against Jacksonville and and I don’t know whether they have their number or not or if Steve McNair is just starting to become the quarterback that Jeff Fischer and company hope that he is. Certainly Jeff Fischer knew that he had to put points on the board against a Jacksonville offense that potentially could put put up huge numbers. They played outstanding defense, the Titans did. But Steve McNair throwing the ball to his wide receivers downfield, finding people as he improvises. And I think sometimes we tend to forget what a great athlete Steve McNair is. He has this tendency of running around, running for scores. People say, “Where are the throws?” You saw what he can do when he gets on the move and keeps his head up and keeps it down fielding and five touchdowns. know in is a career day for him. I know it’s not likely that the Bengals would go into Jacksonville and win, especially after the goose egg that they laid, but Brunell, we don’t know about him and we won’t know till the week goes on. So, you know, Jacksonville has to be shaking their head a little bit. They have to be really disappointed with the way they played. I think the major question for the Jacksonville Jaguars and they’ve heard it all year. You have played a soft schedule. Uh when you played a team that that has a winning record, you have lost. So, now you can’t tell me that they don’t It’s human nature. You can’t tell me that they don’t go back to Jacksonville thinking, you know what, maybe we’re not as good as we think we are, regardless of what our record is. And that’s a big question when we’re now getting to week 17. Go to the AFC West where it’s hard to say down the stretch. A four-ame losing streak isn’t a killer. But if you’re ever going to lose four in a row, Seattle may have done it and may have caught themselves at the right time. They win the tie break if both they and the Chiefs win next week or they both lose next week. Although the Jet the Seattle is a tough game at the Jets, but we saw the Seahawk team that race to that 8-2 start kitting under control and the defense showed up well and the offense didn’t turn the ball over and you saw this defense I think showed that they could be physical at the line of scrimmage. A great job of stopping Kansas City’s running game. That was key for them. In the NFC, we know five of the six playoff teams. The six team will come from the bunches of seven and eight. Dallas, the Giants, Carolina, and Green Bay. Detroit got in, but neither Detroit nor any of those seven and eight are really going very far. Question, Washington, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay, the contenders. St. Louis is the heavyweight champ. Can any of those teams go into St. Louis after what we saw again against Chicago and win that game? I mean, you don’t see it when you look at it because they don’t have the balance. You’ve got Washington and Minnesota have outstanding offenses, but they certainly struggle on the defensive side of the ball. Tampa Bay has an outstanding or potentially outstanding defense, but they struggle to put points on the board. When you look at the Rams, what you see is this great balanced ball club playing at the top of their game and they’re going to be playing at home. They’re going to be very, very difficult to beat. The only time you might get to the Rams, I know we’re getting ahead of ourselves, is that in their first game, if they play a team like Minnesota who’s going to score points, and they’re a little jittery, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves because what the Rams are doing is unreal. They seem to have things in control on that astroturf. Let us wish everybody a happy new year and um let the playoffs get started soon. Well, the Crimson Tide of Alabama in its 50th bowl game. 28 of those previous 49 have been victories. So many of them under the legendary Bear Bryant. Jean Stallings won a national championship a handful of years ago. And now here, Mike Deose has an Alabama team that offensively is so much different than what we’ve been used to seeing. They’re imaginative. They’re creative. There there’s something that you’re not accustomed to seeing an Alabama offense do. They’ll use five wide receivers at times. They’ll use three wide receivers stacked in an eye at times. Sometimes they’ll put Freddy Mills, their wide receiver, at quarterback. They do a lot of things and I think it’s all good for the offense. Well, we saw five quarterbacks in the SEC championship game, albeit two of them were in mop-up duty, but three guys that saw it a lot. Alternating series with Zho and Watch. And then, as you said, Milan’s a quarterback. It was a time share situation at quarterback with Watts and Zho. And then Freddy Millers Milan likes to get in there five to 10 snaps a game and when he gets in there, he is explosive. He can make some big things happen. He had only one reception in that SEC championship game. Still ended up being the most valuable player. That’s true. Because he took a took an option on to the left and on the reverse ran it all the way back to the other side. Touchdown and with no help all by himself. Well, part of the reason they’re not going to have as much help, Chris Samuels, their Outland Trophy winning left tackle, not expected to play in this one. That’ll make Shawn Alexander’s job quite a bit tougher in this 66th Orange Bowl. [Music]
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Greeny Throwback 😂😂😂😂😂😂.
When ESPN was good and still respected.
2:03 so awkward haha