Le Batard: Rickey trots into the record book
MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2001
Extra Point (morning) -- Dan Le Batard: "The baseball season moves on much as Rickey Henderson has done so often, and so his greatness gets lost in the playoff push just as it got lost in the celebration of Barry Bonds and the farewell tour of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. Gwynn and Ripken have always been gentlemen, ambassadors, pillars of honor, but they were not the players that Henderson was -- not even close. One of the most unbreakable records in sports now belongs to Henderson. Do you know how impossible and astounding it is that this man would walk more than anyone ever -- more than even Babe Ruth -- and become one of two dozen players ever to have 3,000 hits. Think about that for a second. Henderson walked more than 2,000 times in his career and still had 3,000 hits. He was a better player than Gwynn and Ripken. Far better."
Extra Point (afternoon) -- Rece Davis: "There's a reason they say you have to knock out the champion to take his belt. Like membership, winning has major privileges. As three-time reigning world champions, some of us overlooked the privileges the Yankees have earned. Sure, their jabs are a tad slower, their knockout punch takes a little longer to get wound up, but their heart never wavered. It should never be questioned. It's not that I thought they'd fade meekly into an October sunset. They've been through too much, accomplished too much, faced too much adversity. But I admit this time I thought they'd met their match. Time and chance had caught up to them. They faced a better team. No way they could go into the A's house and win two straight. Their starting pitcher allowed 11 baserunners in 5 2/3 -- 11 -- but he did enough, just as they always do. I knew the Yankees would come back to New York. I just thought their baseball season would be over when they did. I still think the A's are better, but I also think the '96 Braves were better than the Yankees, and we all know how that turned out, don't we?"
Extra Point (afternoon) -- Brent Musburger: "I know. You can't wait for tonight's big showdown -- the Redskins and Cowboys in the 'OverexposedOwners.com Bowl.' But just in case your remote control comes a-beggin', here are some alternatives. Let's see, 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Third Watch,' an 'I Love Lucy' marathon, and oh, yes, Game 5. Who would have thought, after the A's took the first two from the Yankees, there would be a Game 5 in this series? But here they are, back at The Stadium tonight to decide it. Oakland's Mark Mulder, the lefty who took New York five nights ago, is rematched with Roger Clemens, bad hamstring and all. If Clemens has any trouble, you can bet Joe Torre will have Andy Pettitte up and throwing ... and fast. What's interesting to me is that a year ago I felt there was all sorts of pressure on the Yankees in Game 5, which was played in Oakland. Then they exploded for six in the first, and they were on their way to title No. 26. Now there's more pressure on the A's. Art Howe talked the talk, they opened up that two-game lead, then they put both hands around their throat. Making matters worse was the loss of Jermaine Dye to a broken leg yesterday on a freak foul ball. Not only do they lose his bat, but they lose Jason Giambi's best security in the batting order. All the drama plays out tonight at 7:45 Eastern on ESPN Radio.

"Of the 11 remaining unbeatens, six are still in the hunt for college football's national championship, and if you're looking for a playoff, how about this? In the next seven weeks, there are three games matching those six teams: Oct. 27, Oklahoma at Nebraska; Nov. 10: Oregon at UCLA; Dec. 1, Miami at Virginia Tech. And in my opinion, with the top six beating up on one another, once-beaten Florida and Michigan -- yes, Michigan -- are still in the mix for a title spot. By the way, the 'underground' BCS preview has Oklahoma at No. 1 followed by UCLA, Nebraska, Oregon and Virginia Tech. Miami may be No. 1 in the traditional polls, but the 'Canes are no better than sixth in the BCS."

"The first of baseball's postseason awards are here and now -- the annual All-'SportsBeat' team. We start behind the plate with Mike Piazza, who led the Mets' late charge. We'll put Cal Ripken at third, not just for old times' sake, but because he put up some credible numbers. At shortstop, it's 'A-Rod.' Don't look at the money, look at the 52 homers. At second base we have Seattle's Bret Boone, who made himself into an MVP candidate. At first base it's Albert Pujols. I know, he didn't play that much at first, but baseball's best-ever rookie season had to be represented. The outfield is loaded with Barry Bonds in left, Luís González in center and Ichiro in right. What, no Sammy Sosa? Not in the outfield. We'll make him our DH. As for our pitchers, how about Roger Clemens as a right-handed starter, Randy Johnson from the left side and San Diego's Trevor Hoffman as the closer? And the best of the bunch? The Player of the Year? No question, it's Barry 'Just Call Me "73"' Bonds. As he put it the other day, 'I finally had a good October.'"

"So the Tennessee Titans are 0-3, and the Minnesota Vikings are 1-2. I'm just guessing that was your Super Bowl matchup. Now both teams are going to be lucky to make the playoffs. The winless Titans look up from the bottom of the AFC Central and welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Nashville this Sunday. I can't imagine a team you'd rather see less than the Bucs when you're looking for your first win. You can beat 'em, but it's that low-scoring, fierce defensive game that can wear on a winless team. Meanwhile, Minnesota has a layup. The Vikings should win their second game as they host the hapless Detroit Lions. By the way, what was the league thinking about putting the Lions on Monday Night Football against the Rams last week? This week, it's Washington at Dallas. What's next? 'Ishtar' vs. 'Water World'?"

It's downright painful these days to watch Emmitt Smith run for the Dallas Cowboys. In Sunday's loss to the Raiders, Emmitt, had 16 carries for 25 yards, at one point he had 10 carries for 2 yards. Clearly the man who's trying to become the all-time leading rusher in NFL history, has lost a step or two or three. But it's really hard to tell where Emmitt Smith is in relation to where Emmitt Smith was, because the rest of the team around him offensively is downright awful. It begs the question, considering all Emmitt has done for Dallas shouldn't Dallas do the right thing and let Emmitt run to glory with a team that may be HELPING his quest for history, instead of hurting it? It certainly wouldn't be a first, Tony Dorsett of course finished his hall of fame career as a Bronco, not a Cowboy. Would anybody think less of Emmitt Smith if he became the #1 star without wearing the star?

"Meanwhile, the main event will be in the NL Central, where the Astros and the Cardinals will take their duel down to the wire against one another starting tomorrow in Saint Louis. But first thing's first. Houston still has to wrap things up tonight with the Giants at "Ten-Run" Field, where Barry continues to look for that elusive number 70. The Astros will counter with Dave Mlicki. Bonds has two lifetime home runs in 23 at-bats against the journeyman right-hander. As for the weekend, Houston suffered a huge jolt this week when rookie pitcher Roy Oswalt's groin injury didn't fully mend. He'll miss the rest of the regular season, and even if he's ready to go in the first round of the playoffs, you have to wonder if he'll be as effective as he has been most of the year."

"Three teams remain undefeated in the NFL, and one of them is San Diego. Six teams remain winless, and one of them is Tennessee. Who'da thunk it? Those zeroes make their games this Sunday all the more meaningful. Odds makers in Las Vegas expect the Titans to drop to 0-and-3 in a field-goal loss at Baltimore, even though Steve McNair is expected to be back in the lineup after resting his injured shoulder. The bigger question here may be whether the Titans offensive line shows up. Meanwhile, the Chargers take their 3-and-0 record to Cleveland, where the Browns have jumped off to a 2-and-1 record partly because of a better-than-expected pass defense. Doug Flutie will certainly test that bunch this Sunday. In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints host a ball-control bunch from Minnesota. You heard right. Daunte Culpepper and Cris Carter both say you'd better get used to the Vikings eating up the clock this year instead of making the quick strike. Folks, I'll believe that when I see it week in and week out. And in Tampa, the Bucs are a three-point pick to give the Packers their first loss of the season, even though Warrick Dunn is out with a toe injury, and even though the Bucs offense has scored only two touchdowns in its first two games."

"Let's not forget one OTHER superstar. Barry Bonds tries again for number 70 tonight in Houston, where he'll face rookie Tim Redding. Better him than closer Billy Wagner, who never gave Bonds a chance last night in the ninth inning. You can hear the Giants and the Astros tonight at 7:37 Eastern on E-S-P-N Radio."

"The Astros lead the N-L Central by one game over the Saint Louis Cardinals, who are in Milwaukee. While both teams appear locked and loaded for the playoffs, winning the division could be HUGE. That's because the runner-up will be a wild-card, stuck with Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Whoever WINS the division will get the survivor of the N-L East in Round One. Which brings us to Atlanta, where the Braves and Phillies begin the three-game showdown that should determine who plays-on past this week. Atlanta leads by two games with six to go, and tonight, left-hander Randy Wolf of the Phillies meets the Braves' Greg Maddux, who has not won since August 22nd. Wolf, meanwhile, is coming off his best outing of the season. Remember he threw a one-hit shutout against Montréal just last week. A huge factor this week will be the health of third baseman Scott Rolen. He's been out with a sprained ankle, and the Phils desperately need his bat in the lineup if they're going to have a chance against the Braves pitching staff." Extra Point Monday- (Morning) -- Dan Le Batard: "I suppose it was fine for Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green to sit out a game last week because of his religious beliefs, even though his team was in the middle of a pennant race, even though he was the team's leading home-run hitter, even though I might not be quite so fine with it if I were his teammate. Still, if they were so inclined, the Dodgers should have had the right to dock him the day's pay, too -- $70,000 in his case. Just like Green is entitled to believe he shouldn't play on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, the Dodgers are entitled to believe they shouldn't pay someone who doesn't show up for work on said day. Green didn't work. He shouldn't be paid. Period. This seems simple enough math. This wasn't a sick day or an injury or a death in the family. Yom Kippur or not, good message or not, this was Green choosing not to work because he rather literally didn't feel like it. Dress it up however you like, he did not do anything to earn a penny of it that day."
Extra Point Monday- (Afternoon) -- Karl Ravech: "This season the stars all seem to have lined up where baseball is concerned. The races in the national league are all very good, Barry Bonds is on his way to a record number of homeruns, other milestones are falling by the wayside. Sunday the dream fell apart, a ticket to Pac Bell was coveted. Bonds was going to hit his 70th, Ricky Henderson was going to score a run to match Ty Cobbs all time mark, Tony Gwynn was going to pinch hit and deliver another hit, but none of it happened. Bonds didn't go deep. Rickey didn't go home. Tony didn't get to first. Where did the magic go, how can forty-thousand plus walk home empty handed, another hundred or so stranded in the bay with nothing to take home but a sunburn and some empty cans. But look beyond the moment, that is the magic of baseball, the beauty of the game, it can't be predicted, it's outcome is never pre-determined. We are blessed by its ability to surprise us. The stars are in fact lined up. Sunday was magical and mystical, that there is no mistaken."
Sportsbeat -- Brent Musburger: "Hello, Dallas. The Rangers are 39 games out of first place. The Cowboys? They're what ... FIFTY games out? But a little ray of sunshine is coming. The Red River Shootout is only five days away, and the Oklahoma-Texas game is the biggest it's been since 1984, when it was "one" versus "two." Without a doubt, the biggest football game this weekend - pro or college - will be at the Cotton Bowl. And hello, San Francisco. Barry Bonds remains one home run away from Mark McGwire, and two away from immortality. Barry has the day off and takes dead aim tomorrow night on the friendly confines of "Ten-Run" Field in Houston. It's the first of three games against the Astros, who are locked in a struggle with the Saint Louis Cardinals for the NL Central title. Houston leads by one game with six to play. Just like yesterday, when he faced 10 balls and one strike against San Diego, Bonds will NOT get anything good to hit as long as Houston has a chance to win the game. Just like everybody else, the San Francisco 49ers are chasing the Saint Louis Rams, the most impressive team in the National Football League. Tonight they also have to deal with the hottest team going in prime time. The New York Jets have won their last four Monday-nighters, including last year's Midnight Miracle, rallying from 23 down in the fourth quarter to beat Miami in overtime. The 49er defense will have to handle the physical offensive line of the Jets. They clear the way for Curtis Martin. Jeff Garcia needs 24 to 30 points for the 'Niners to have a chance in this one. Oh, after spinning the satellite around the N-F-L yesterday, here's a list of teams who will NOT play in the Super Bowl, wherever and whenever it may be. The Bills, the Seahawks, the Lions, the Redskins, and the Cowboys. Like I said, Dallas, the Red River Shootout is only five days away."