To know list: 7 turnovers gift-wrapped just for you

(1) ELITE EIGHT

First impressions might surprise you

With several races close, not every postseason team will have its best pitcher available to start the Division Series opener. But even if every contender could line up its rotation in the desired order, the identities of several Game 1 pitchers might surprise you.

Chris Carpenter, Cardinals. Another guy who did not pitch in the majors last season while recovering from shoulder surgery. One Cardinals pitcher predicted in spring training that Carpenter would replace Matt Morris as the staff ace, and sure enough, it happened. Since August 1, Carpenter is 3-1 with a 1.60 ERA.

Orlando "El Ouque" Hernandez, Yankees. What, you expected Kevin Brown? Hernandez, allegedly 34, signed with the Yankees for $500,000 after missing all of last season following shoulder surgery. He joined the team July 11 and became its best starter about 3 minutes later. He's masterful in the postseason: 9-3 with a 2.51 ERA.

Roy Oswalt, Astros. Roger Clemens is the obvious choice, but at age 42, it would be difficult for him to come back on short rest, if necessary. Oswalt, 27, has pitched better than Clemens in the second half and is averaging nearly as many strikeouts per nine innings.

Carl Pavano, Marlins, Not even Josh Beckett, last year's World Series MVP, could argue: Pavano, who began the week tied for first in the N.L. with 17 wins, has been the Marlins' best pitcher all season. He also went 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA in eight postseason appearances, including two starts, a year ago.

Curt Schilling, Red Sox. After Pedro Martinez told reporters that Schilling was the "No. 1 ace," Schilling described Martinez in similar terms, saying, "I understand where I belong, and it doesn't bother me." Schilling, though, is more durable and better suited to pitch twice in a best-of-five series.

Jeff Weaver, Dodgers. Nevermind his brief, tortured stint with the Yankees; Weaver leads the N.L with 22 quality starts. Odalis Perez's ERA is a half-run lower, but he has tightness in his left shoulder and averaged only five innings in his past four starts.

Jaret Wright, Braves, Manager Bobby Cox likely would prefer Russ Ortiz, a more established veteran, but Wright is 8-1 with a 2.59 ERA since the All-Star break. Ortiz has allowed 11 homers in his past six starts. Wright has allowed only nine all season.

Carlos Zambrano, Cubs. Kerry Wood is an option, and Greg Maddux began the week 6-2 with a 228 ERA since the All-Star break. Zambrano, however, has been the team's most consistent pitcher all season, ranking second in the N.L. with a 2.80 ERA.--Ken Rosenthal

(2) AN AGENT FOR CHANGE

Bartelstein's business is booming

OK, we know what you think of sports agents. Hair grease, slick suits and sacks of cash for coaches and parents, right? Not necessarily.

Take Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports and Entertainment. Bartelstein has cobbled together a distinctive--mostly NBA--clientele. He specializes in the reject, the marginal prospect who makes it with guts and guile. Brad Miller, the two-time All-Star who was undrafted coming out of Purdue, is the perfect example.

"We get the kids who fall through the cracks," Bartelstein says. "The pampered guys are going to be the top picks, and they tend to approach agents with their hand out. We don't get into that. We get the hard workers, the overachievers."

In part because the Pistons won the NBA championship with hard-working no-names last season, the summer has been a boom time for Bartelstein. His client list includes Brian Cardinal, who got a six-year, $39 million deal from the Grizzlies, Mark Blount (six years, $42 million from the Celtics) and Derek Fisher (six years, $37 million from the Warriors). In all, 12 of Bartelstein's clients signed for a total of about $170 million.

"Everything seemed to fall into place," says Bartelstein, who also got an NFL contract worked out this summer--for new Giants quarterback Kurt Warner. "In the NBA, teams are looking for these kind of players, and we had a lot of them that were at the end of their contracts this year"--Sean Deveney

(3) YOU HEARD IT HERE

'I think Rich Gannon is going to have a heck of a season. In fact, I think he'll be the comeback player of the year.'--Troy Aikman, on his weekly Sporting News Radio show

(4) A BEAR OF A STREAK

Favre adds to his legacy

The NFL is the most unpredictable league in sports, but here's something you can take to the bank: Brett Favre will throw a touchdown pass against the Bears on Sunday. Why? Because he has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of the past 24 Green Bay-Chicago games, a streak that began in Favre's fourth NFL start in 1992. Favre is tied with Dan Marino for the longest touchdown streak by any quarterback against one opponent since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger.

Twenty-eight different players caught TD passes from Marino during his streak, and 16 have caught scoring passes from Favre during his. Two receivers caught touchdown passes from both quarterbacks: Mark Clayton and Keith Jackson.

The owners of the five longest such streaks are an extremely impressive group.--Dave Sloan

Quarterback (years)          Opponent     Streak     TD passes
                                                   during streak

Brett Favre (1992-present)     Bears        24          48
Dan Marino (1985-98)           Jets         24          59
Dan Fouts (1978-87)            Raiders      17          34
Joe Montana (1980-89)          Falcons      15          28
Steve Grogan (1976-90)         Colts        14          20

                             Favorite receiver     Team record
                                  (TDS)            during streak

Brett Favre (1992-present)    Antonio Freeman (8)         20-34
Dan Marino (1985-98)          Mark Clayton (10)           13-11
Dan Fouts (1978-87)           Kellen Winslow (10)          7-10
Joe Montana (1980-89)         Dwight Clark (8)            10-15
Steve Grogan (1976-90)        Stanley Morgan (7)           8-6

(5) THE CHOICE IS YOURS

What is this thing?

A) A telemetry scanner that tells Michael Waltrip where teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. is. Keeping tabs on your own teammates is within the rules. Keeping tabs on other competitors is prohibited. Getting caught doing so is an automatic 10-point fine.

B) A television camera that allows networks to show viewers how close cars get to one another. Call it a bumper's-eye view of the action at 200 mph.

C) NASCAR's latest money-making scheme. Fans are encouraged to try to land a quarter on this plate. If you do, you win the car. If you miss, NASCAR gets the quarter.

D) A satellite receiver through which NASCAR controls Michael Waltrip's car. All cars have them, and they allow NASCAR to script races, a step above the ear pieces pro wrestlers wear to know what moves to do next.--Matt Crossman

(6) TSN TOP 25s

League leaders

It's official: The new-look Ace is in a league of its own. Or maybe it's just way overrated. Led by Florida State and Miami, which faced each other last week (page 28), the ACC accounted for nearly a quarter of the teams in TSN's college football preseason top 25. And the preseason rankings in TSN's college basketball yearbook, on newsstands in early October, also have a distinct ACC flavor.

Preseason top 25 teams

Conference     Football  Basketball  Total

ACC               6          6        12
SEC               5          4         9
Big 12            4          3         7
Pac-10            3          3         6
Big East          1          4         5
Big Ten           3          2         5
C-USA             1          2         3
MAC               1          0         1
Mountain West     1          0         1
West Coast        0          1         1

(7) GAINS AND LOSSES;

A weighty offseason

Admit it, you've always wanted that feeling: You know, you go away for a few weeks, come back with a new physique, and everyone around the office is saying, "Did you see what (Your Name) looks like?" Well, in the NBA, three guys could be getting that feeling when camp opens in October.

Chris Bosh, Raptors. Bosh showed potential as a rookie, averaging 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds. But he was too thin--210 pounds--to hold his ground in the paint. Then Bosh spent the summer in Dallas, bulking up his chest, neck and arms with trainer Ken Roberson. According to his agent, Henry Thomas, Bosh is around 230 now.

Eddy Curry, Bulls. Coach Scott Skiles, forever frustrated by Curry's weight, was unhappy earlier in the summer when Curry reportedly was 320 pounds. The Bulls want him at 285. But Curry hired new agent Darren White midway through the offseason, and White has pushed conditioning and diet. Curry now says he is down to his target weight.

Shaquille O'Neal. O'Neal's extra pounds limited his effectiveness in his last days in Los Angeles. But, heading to Miami with a chip (or, rather, a rice cake) on his shoulder, O'Neal has used a combination of diet and his most intense offseason exercise regimen to drop serious pounds. He says he finished last season at 355 but is down to 315.--S.D.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning