To know list: 8 hearts that beat as one

[1] LOUD AND PROUD

Chirpy Tejada keeps the Birds on high

The Orioles' best player just happens to be their biggest chatterbox. When shortstop Miguel Tejada is in the dugout, moments of silence are rare.

"He's nonstop," first baseman Jay Gibbons says. "I've heard, 'We're the best team in baseball!' about 200 times this year."

Tejada, a native of the Dominican Republic, rattles off his favorite phrases in accented, occasionally broken English. "Let's knock down the giant!" he might shout when the Orioles play the Yankees, especially when they're facing Randy Johnson, or the Red Sox. When other Orioles are at bat, Tejada will scream, "Don't let him get you out on a bad pitch!"

"If I've got two strikes and the pitcher throws a ball in the dirt, I can hear him from the dugout," Gibbons says, laughing.

The Orioles say Tejada's relentless chatter helps keep the mood in the dugout light and upbeat, to the point left fielder Larry Bigbie says, "He makes your slumps seem a lot shorter."

First baseman Rafael Palmeiro adds: "I don't know how he does it. His emotion, it's almost like football. I can't do it that way. I can't sustain it. He can."--Ken Rosenthal

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[2] YOU HEARD IT HERE

'Shane Battier. Mike Miller. Dahntay Jones. Brian Cardinal. That's it.'

--An NBA G.M. on which players the all-screwed-up Grizzlies will keep this offseason (page 49)

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[3] ACHES AND STRAINS

NFL rookies enter a new world of hurt

Welcome to the NFL, rookie. Here's the hot tub.

Among the high-profile first-year players who were injured in their initial minicamps were Browns receiver Braylon Edwards (groin), Titans cornerback Pacman Jones (leg), Jaguars receiver Matt Jones (hamstring), Ravens receiver Mark Clayton (hamstring), Bills tight end Kevin Everett (torn ACL), Cardinals cornerback Eric Green (hip), Redskins running back Nehemiah Broughton (hamstring) and Cardinals safety Ernest Shazor (hamstring).

Coincidence? No way.

"How many guys are ready to go full speed in two-a-days now?" one NFC head coach says. "You have rookies trying to win jobs, free agents trying to impress everyone and vets trying to skate by. It's a bad combination, and it all happens too fast."

The problem is rookies are not physically prepared for three days of intense practice. Take Eagles second-round pick Matt McCoy: He spent the last few weeks before the draft flying around to visit NFL teams and put on 10 pounds because he wasn't working out. He wasn't injured in the Eagles' minicamp, but it wouldn't have been a surprise if he had been.--Dan Pompei

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[4] TSN STAFF POLL

Whose 'do works better for you?

79.4%

Venus Williams'

20.6%

Vladimir Radmanovic's

[5] TV WINNERS

Five rings, five Emmys

NBC might not have been the big winner at the most recent Primetime Emmy Awards, but thanks to the Olympics, it cleaned house at last week's 26th Annual Sports Emmy Awards. The 2004 Olympics raked in five awards, more than any other sports program. Other notable honorees were the SPORTING NEWS' own Joe Buck, for outstanding sports personality in the play-by-play category (OK, so it was for his work on FOX), and ABC's Monday Night Football (outstanding live sports series), which begins its last season on the network in September. Shockingly, endless replays of the Pistons-Pacers brawl last fall did not win any awards.--Tricia Garner

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[6] GIANT HITS

No Barry? No problem (so far)

Barry Bonds has undergone three surgeries on his right knee in a little more than three months. Incredibly, the Giants' offense barely is suffering without him.

The Giants began the week ranked first in the National League in on-base percentage and second in runs. Their pitching staff, however, was 14th in ERA. A midseason promotion of righthander Matt Cain, one of the game's top pitching prospects, might be necessary.

The good news for the Giants is the N.L. West figures to remain a topsy-turvy division all season. Every team but the Rockies already has had a winning streak of at least six games.--K.R.

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[7] NBA PLAYOFFS

One and done?

On the day after the Bulls' season ended, general manager John Paxson cheered up a gloomy city by telling reporters, "I think our young corps, in two, three, four years, could be one of the best teams in the league." Hey, why not next year? Of the teams that were knocked out in the first round, the Bulls head the list of candidates to shake off this year's disappointment and reach Round 2 in '06.

* Bulls. They had eight players who were 25 or younger this year--four of them starters.

* Nuggets. A better start than 17-25 will keep them from having to face San Antonio in Round 1.

* Nets. There are many "ifs," but a nucleus of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter is a good start.

Of course, there also are the teams that should be glad just to have made a first-round appearance this year--they probably won't be back in the playoffs next year.

* Grizzlies. This roster has issues from top to bottom. Jerry West's toughest summer is just ahead.

* Celtics. Danny Ainge will have to get back to the youth movement.

* Kings. Lottery, anyone?--Sean Deveney

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[8] DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Will they stay or will they go?

Of the 45 U.S.-based players who announced their NBA draft entry, nearly half insisted they were not hiring agents, thus retaining the option of resuming (or commencing) their college careers. Among those who will have decisions to make by the June 21 deadline to withdraw:

Dee Brown, PG, Illinois. It's unlikely any NBA team will gamble on a 5-11 player with limited point guard experience, but playing at the June 7-10 Chicago predraft camp should help him.

Prediction: Back to school.

Jarrett Jack, PG, Georgia Tech. He has the game to do well at the predraft camp, but he'll still rank no better than the fourth point guard. In 2006, he could be a lottery pick.

Prediction: Gone.

Ike Diogu, PIF, Arizona State. With his strength, toughness and skills, he ought to go in the top 10. The only question is how many lesser players will be chosen ahead of him.

Prediction: Gone.

Matt Walsh, SG, Florida. A great shooting week in Chicago could excite pro scouts. He knows how to get open and has become better at creating his own shot. He'll have to show he has 24-foot range.

Prediction: Back to school.

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--Mike DeCourcy

COPYRIGHT 2005 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning