More sports

Tom Jones'

Quotes of the Day and other fun stuff

By TOM JONES
Published September 4, 2007

Quote of the day

"I'm so excited about this season. This is the year I get over the hump. When people talk about me, I want them to talk about me like I'm one of the best quarterbacks in the game."

Quarterback Byron Leftwich, right, to Sports Illustrated's Peter King, on Aug. 17. Leftwich was released by the Jaguars over the weekend.

Your two cents

If I can venture an opinion. The Bucs should get rid of Jon Gruden and his buddy, Jeff Garcia.

Dom Digeronimo

Largo

Organ of the day

When someone says Lance Armstrong has a lot of heart, they mean it. Literally. Researchers in France have discovered that those who compete in the Tour de France generally have a heart 20 to 40 percent bigger than the normal person. The difference is attributed to the rigorous training that expands the cyclists' hearts. However, researchers have not yet determined whether the athletes' hearts were bigger to begin with.

The list

Andoni Biurrarena, editorial director of ESPN Deportes, names his top five Hispanic athletes in the United States:

1. Cuauhtemoc Blanco (soccer). With the signing of Blanco, the MLS and Chicago Fire have brought to the United States the best Mexican soccer player of the last two decades.

2. Oscar De La Hoya (boxing). He is the most powerful Hispanic athlete in the United States and in boxing.

3. Alex Rodriguez (baseball). The Dominican-American has the talent to possibly become the best baseball player ever.

4. David Ortiz (baseball). "Big Papi" has conquered the hearts of all Boston fans.

5. Manu Ginobili (basketball). Considered the most underrated player in the NBA. Without Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan wouldn't have won three NBA championships.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Other voices

Subject: USA's title in the FIBA Americas basketball championship.

There's no question coming off this performance that the United States will again be favored to win the Olympics.

And it would be foolish to be so presumptuous.

In Las Vegas, the U.S. team faced no serious competition. In Beijing, the U.S. team will be in a very competitive field that will include Spain, Lithuania, Croatia, Italy, Greece and China. Oh, and don't forget the real Argentina, which played the Americas tournament without starters Andres Nocioni, Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto, all of whom figure to be in the lineup next August when Argentina defends its Olympic championship.

Unlike the last two weeks, there will be plenty of teams in China whose players believe they can beat the United States. Not only has the intimidation factor been lost forever, international teams now can't wait to play Team USA, no matter who's in uniform.

Michael Wilbon,Washington Post

TV news of the day

Despite the critical and commercial success of their recent miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning, ESPN executives tell the Hollywood Reporter that no other scripted series are "planned or likely to be green-lighted anytime soon."

Apparently, ESPN is going to devote its immediate resources to news-oriented shows, including the launching of a new investigative series, ESPN Reports, in the fall. It's supposed to be similar to, say, HBO's Real Sports.

However, the buzz is ESPN eventually will produce more scripted series and/or movies and maybe even an animated series. Among the documentaries that should appear on the network in the coming months are Black Magic, a Dan Klores' film about black athletes in the 1950s and 1960s, and a movie about Japanese baseball as seen through the eyes of former major-league manager Bobby Valentine, who now manages in Japan.

[Last modified September 3, 2007, 23:46:01]