Patriots break 32-Year mile-high drought, 28-19
by Alan Greenberg
The Hartford Courant
October 02, 2000
DENVER - Sonic of their fans may
already have given up on this season.
Rut it's obvious that the Patriots have
In this hostile place where no Pa
triots team had won in 32 years -that's
11 consecutive losses - the Patriots
played what was easily their best
game of the season. Heck, this was
their best game since they spanked
the hapless Cardinals in Arizona last
Halloween.
The Drew Bledsoe offense that had
been so inept in the red zone for four
games was near-flawless against the
Broncos Sunday. So was the Patriots
defense, which shut down the Bron
cos running game and forced sore
shouldered (torn muscle) Brian
Griese to throw a record 50 times.
That isn't the type of record a team
that relies on ball control and its run
ning game wants to set.
The Patriots, after failing to make
the big plays in an 0-4 start, made a
bunch of them Sunday at Mile High
Stadium and beat the Broncos 28-19,
a score that only seems close because
Denver scored a touchdown with I :56
Wrapping up the upset Olympics
by Amy Shipley
The Washington Post
October 01, 2000
SYDNEY, Australia - The Sydney
Games were an organizational mar
vel, an aesthetic wonder, a smashing
success from transportation to ticket
sales. Nobody disputes those facts.
But what about the sports? One of the
great ironies of the Olympics, the big
gest sporting event in the world, is that
the Games tend to be evaluated on
everything but the athletic competi-
tion itself.
If the buses run on schedule, no
bombs are dropped and no guns fired,
the Games score well. But what about
the games that are actually played?
In many ways, these were the Up
set Olympics. The Games of the Un
derdog. The David-beats-Goliath
storyline began back in 1993, when
Sydney stunned Beijing - considered
the favorite - in the International
Olympic Committee's secret selection
ballot for host city of the 2000 Games.
The Aussies won in the fourth round
of balloting.
Seven years later, Australian run
ner Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron,
signifying the start of the Summer
Gaines, and the upsets continued. On
the first day of competition in Sydney,
favored Aussie Michellie Jones lost
the triathlon, outsprinted in the home
stretch by a Swiss woman named
Brigette McMahon. Two weeks later,
on the last night of track and field
competition, the U.S. women's 4xloo
relay team failed to win the gold for
the first time in four Olympics.
"Expect the unexpected," Austra
lian breaststroke silver medalist Leisel
Jones had said presciently during the
first week of competition.
A few favorites came through. Free
man and Michael Johnson won their
Bledsoe, who threw four touch
down passes against the Broncos af
ter throwing only three in the first
four games, passed Steve Grogan to
become the Patriots' all-time passing
yardage leader (27,033).
"When I'm done with my career
and I look back," Bledsoe said, "those
things (individual records) will prob
ably be important to me. But right
now, all I want is to win ball games."
The Patriots won because it was the
first time they have scored more than
19 points this season. Their 28 points
were the most they have scored since
their 31-28 victory over the Colts in
week two of 1999.
And they won because, although
the Broncos had first-down at or in
side the Patriots 10 on two drives, the
Patriots defense limited them to three
points.
"The difference was better execu
tion in the red zone on both sides of
the ball," said Patriots coach Bill
Belichick. "And guys like Terry
Glenn really hung in there downfield
making blocks to spring Troy
(Brown) and Kevin (Faulk) after they
caught the ball. These little things
make a big difference. You never
know when those 10-yard plays turn
400 sprints. Marion Jones and
Maurice Greene won their 100 s. The
U.S. men's and women's basketball
teams defended their gold medals;
Australian swimming star lan Thorpe
won his in the 400 freestyle; Ameri
can Toni Dolan kept the gold in the
400 individual medley; Britain's leg
endary rower Steven Redgrave won
an unprecedented fifth straight gold
medal at 38.
The United States, as usual, won
more medals than any other nation.
Americans will bring home 97 med
als - 39 gold. U.S. men won 54, the
women won 4I , and mixed teams won
two. Marion Jones won a record total
for a track female with three golds and
two bronze. Russia finished second in
total medals and gold, with 88 and 32.
After 15 world records fell in an
amazing week of swimming, not a
single world mark was broken in track
and field. Freeman, Johnson, Jones
and Greene won frequently but didn't
rewrite record books.
It was the unknown gold medalists,
the Dav ids in a Games of Goliaths,
who defined these Olympics.
Their efforts were, time and again,
rewarded by an Australian public that
clearly identified strongly with over
achieving, underpromoted, surprise
Olympic champions. Australians con
sider themselves an international un
derdog in some ways. "I think Aus
tralia is underestimated for what it can
do," said Colin Diamond, a Sydney
resident.
And Australians recognized great
performances regardless of the
source. Fans graciously saluted Neth
erlands swimmer Pieter van den
Hoogenband, even after he upset the
revered Thorpe. The strongest root
ing, of course, came for athletes in
yellow and green. About 10 minutes
before the start of Freeman's highly
into 60-yard plays. You've got to keep
hustling and keep working and good
things happen."
Good things happened for the Pa
triots because they scored touch
downs on their first two possessions,
the first time they'd done that in four
years. Willie McGinest, who hadn't
played since the first half of the Vi
kings game because of a pulled ham
string, sacked Griese on the Broncos'
first possession and was alert enough
to recover the fumble. The Patriots
took over on the Broncos 29, and four
plays later, instead of Adam Vinatieri
trotting on for a field goal attempt,
he was kicking an extra point.
After scoring only three touch
downs on 14 red zone possessions
during their 0-4 start, the Patriots
scored touchdowns all three times
they were in the red zone Sunday.
And while McGinest gave them
great field position the first time, the
Patriots' other touchdown drives
were long ones - 80, 77 and 81 yards.
Bledsoe spread it around, throw
ing two TDs to Brown (six catches,
124 yards), one to Glenn and one to
rookie J. R. Redmond.
Bledsoe completed 18 of 27 passes
for 271 yards. With his patchwork of
fensive line playing better each week,
anticipated 400 final at Olympic Sta
dium, a woman madly pulled down
the shutters on the coffee stand at
which she worked in the concourse.
Asked if the stand had closed for
the night, she said, "It will re-open in
20 minutes. I'm going to watch
Cathy."
Freeman held the nation's attention.
Others had to grab it when they could.
Wyoming-born wrestler Rulon
Gardner might have claimed the
Games' greatest upset, defeating the
biggest, baldest wrestling champion
in the world, Russian Alexander
Karelin, who hadn't lost in 13 years
and goes by the nickname King
Kong. "After I won, I think I have
had about 10 hours of sleep in four
nights," Gardner said Sunday.
The United States beat Cuba in
baseball, and U.S. manager Tommy
Lasorda called the result bigger than
winning the World Series. "I managed
the Dodgers for 20 years and there
were a lot of great moments," Lasorda
bellowed. "But this is the greatest
moment of my life."
Other underdogs earned a place in
Olympic lore. Norway toppled the
U.S. women's soccer team, the de
fending Olympic gold medalists and
world champs. American Misty
Hyman shocked herself when she
handed Australian swimmer Susie
O'Neill her first defeat in six years in
the 200 butterfly. Said Hyman: "I had
to look at the scoreboard three times."
The Australian swim team gave the
U.S. 4xloo relay team its first loss
ever in the Olympic Games; unknown
U.S. diver Laura Wilkinson limped
to a gold in the 10-meter platform
event; the American beach volleyball
team of Dain Blanton and Eric
Fonoimoana stunned Brazil in the fi
nal on sunny Bondi Beach.
Germany's Nils Schumann surpris-
he had more time to throw than he
had all season. And Brown and
Glenn, mindful of the big cushion the
Broncos defensive backs were giv
ing them, caught short passes and
piled up serious yardage after the
catch. Bledsoe didn't try to throw a
home-run pass all day. He didn't have
to. With room to maneuver, his re
ceivers kept turning 3-yard receptions
into 13-yard gains, 10-yarders into
20.
"They play some unique coverages
that are very different from anyone
else in the league, - Bledsoe said.
"But every defense has holes,"
Brown said, "and we knew where
they were."
Th.: Patriots defense also under
stood the Broncos' offensive strength.
The Broncos love to get the lead and
then just pound the ball with Terrell
Davis, especially inside their oppo
nents' 20. But the Patriots knew that,
and with middle linebacker Ted
Johnson playing better each week,
they limited one of the NFL's best
rushing teams to 79 yards on 21 car
ries. Davis, recovering from an ankle
sprain, had just 24 yards on nine car
ries and gave way to rookie Mike
Anderson in the second half, who
barely did better.
ingly kept Denmark's Wilson
Kipketer, the world record holder,
from his first Olympic gold in the 800.
Konstantinos Kenteris stole the 200
sprint title from a field that included
Trinidad and Tobago's Ato Boldon,
giving Greece its first Olympic medal
in a men's running event in 104 years.
Boldon did not bemoan the loss.
che Olympics is about who sur-
vives. - he said
Van den I loogenband not only de
feated Thorpe, he broke Thorpe's
world record in the 200 meters. U.S.
swimmers Gary flail Jr. and Anthony
Ervin later stunned Van den
Hoogenband. keeping him from the
gold in the 50 freestyle. Little known
Nick Elvsong won the men's pole
atilt, bringing home the first U.S.
gold medal in that event since 1960.
The U.S. men's soccer team made
it to the medal round for the first time.
The American rowing eight boat,
three-time world champions, didn't
get a medal of any color, finishing a
crushing fifth. Kenyan Noah Ngeny
ran down Morroco's Hicham El
Guerrouj in the 1,500 meters, and
Guerrouj broke down in tears during
the post-race interviews.
"It can he difficult, - El Guerrouj
said. "to take this pressure."
It wasn't difficult, though, for those
who survived it to celebrate. Gardner,
a 286-pound man, did a cartwheel and
a somersault when his victory over
Karelin became official. The men's
4xloo relay team celebrated with
such arrogance they caused a small
international furor.
Thorpe tried to put his gold medal
in the 200 meters into words.
"When I finished the race, I didn't
know what to do," he said. "I just felt
this sheer energy inside of me when I
touched the wall and realized I had
become an Olympic champion."
Baseball award
recommendations, leading
with Thomas and Bonds
by Jon Heyman
Newsday
With several worthy candidates in
most every major category, award
voters are going to work overtime this
year. The toughest of all the tough
calls is National League MVP, almost
a four-way dead heat. All our choices:
•AL MVP•
1. Frank Thomas, White Sox, DH.
Carlos Delgado has the best stats and
Alex Rodriguez is the best player. But
no one is more valuable than Thomas,
Chicago's big force from the start. The
DH thing doesn't bother us.
2. Alex Rodriguez, Mariners, SS. All
around skills will help in battle with
three one-dimensionals, Thomas,
Delgado and Jason Giambi.
3. Jason Giambi, Athletics, 18. Big
September quickly moved him into
the picture.
•AL LVP• (Least Valuable Player):
Juan Gonzalez, Tigers RE. Much ado
about very little. Carl Everett gets dis
honorable mention for misbehaving
all year and showing why the Mets
had to trade him.
•NL MVP•
1. Barry Bonds, Giants LF. Giants
people say Jeff Kent is MVP, but we'll
take Bonds for his superior stats and
huge finish. He'd have led the league
in on-base percentage and slugging
if Colorado's Todd Helton played in
a real ballpark.
2. Mike Piazza, Mets C. Second
straight woeful September cost him
the top prize in our minds. It's almost
unfair to ask someone to catch 130
games and carry a team, too.
3. Jim Edmonds, Cardinals CF.
Brought everything Ken Griffey Jr.
was supposed to: power, defense and
wins to an NL Central team.
•NL LVP• (Least Valuable): Griffey.
He engineers a trade back to his
hometown, then has trouble cracking
.270 (he finally did).
•AL Cy Young•
1. Pedro Martinez, Red Sox SP. Little
suspense here. Lefthanded batters hit
.153 against him, righthanded ones
.186. With luck, he could have won
23.
2. David Wells, Blue Jays SR That's
two years out of two he's outdone
Roger Clemens. Maybe that No. 33
ring should have been his.
3. Andy Pettitte, Yankees SP. Quiet
19-game winner. Barely beats
Oakland's Tim Hudson.
•AL Cy Old• (Worst Pitcher):
David Cone, Yankees. Denny Neagle
made late run.
•NL Cy Young•
1. Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks SP.
He's tops in ERA and strikeouts.
2. Robb Nen, Giants RP. The No. 1
reason the Giants are feared in this
playoff derby. Has not blown a save
since July 2.
3. Greg Maddux, Braves SP. Maybe
we're becoming immune to the ac
complishments of Maddux and Tom
Glavine. We'll take Maddux over
Glavine for putting together a late
391/3-inning scoreless streak.
•NL Cy Old• (Worst Pitcher): Jose
Lima, Astros. A one-man argument
for the juiced ball, with 48 dingers al
lowed.
•AL Rookie of the Year•
1. Kazuhiro Sasaki, Mariners RP.
Some are going to say that such an
accomplished player should not count
as a rookie. But Hideo Nomo won be
fore him. Thirty-five saves in 38 tries.
2. Benjie Molina, Angels C. Hitting
.294, nailing 38 percent of base-steal
ers. What's not to like?
3. Mark Quinn, Royals OF. A very
nice year gives K.C. outfield glut,
with Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran
and Jermaine Dye.
•NL Rookie of the Year•
1. Rick Ankiel, Cardinals SP. He
won't win because pitchers are over
looked.
2. Rafael Furcal, Braves SS-28. Bet
ter at second than short.
3. Jay Payton, Mets OF. Good pop,
excellent defense and a superb
attitute, to boot.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2000
•AL Manager of the Year•
1. Jerry Manuel, White Sox. Tak
ing on Thomas over a spring-train
ing drill worked; he has everyone's
respect.
2. Mike Scioscia, Angels. Another
big loss for the Dodgers.
3. Art Howe, Athletics. Just like AL
West, a tight race between Howe
and the Mariners' Lou Piniella.
Worst Manager: Johnny Oates,
Rangers. Texas stopped playing in
May.
•NL Manager of the Year•
1. Dusty Baker, Giants. This will
be his third.
2. Tony La Russa, Cardinals. Team
kept going without Mark
McGwire.
3. Bobby Valentine, Mets. Bobby
Cox has better team.
•NL Worst Manager• Don Baylor,
Cubs. Fouled up lineup card Open
ing Day, and it was downhill from
there.
•AL Executive of the Year•
1. Ron Schueler, White Sox. Fu
ture looks even better than present.
2. Billy Beane, Athletics. If Dodg
ers job opens, he might take it.
3. Pat Gillick, Mariners. Moves to
the top of the list if he can some
how keep Rodriguez (highly un
likely).
•NL Executive of the Year•
1. Brian Sabean, Giants. Now must
lock up Baker.
2. Walt Jocketty, Cardinals. Even
Will Clark trade worked.
3. John Schuerholz, Braves. Chip
per Jones' $9O-million deal a good
one.
Buck Showalter, likely to be out
as Diamondbacks manager shortly
after the season ends, has told folks
he'd have a new job within a few
weeks. If he does go, Jerry
Colangelo will wind up giving
Showalter seven years of pay for
three years of managing.
A column in the Arizona Repub
lic listed some negative incidents
involving Showalter, and they re
minded us of George Steinbrenner.
According to the Republic,
Showalter berated a clubhouse at
tendant for bringing ketchup in a
plastic bottle instead of glass, got
on a scoreboard operator for show
ing Craig Counsell's picture after
an error and screamed at Hall of
Fame broadcaster Joe Garagiola Sr.
in response to a strategy question.
The last one is a gamble, given that
Garagiola's son, Joe Jr., is the Dia
mondbacks' general manager.
Word is there's tension even be
tween Showalter and a couple of
his most trusted coaches.
New D-Back Curt Schilling has
been the one vocal clubhouse sup
porter of Showalter. But another
Diamondback said, "I wish
Schilling could pitch every day.
That way we wouldn't have to hear
him."
There was a rumor that Boston
might hire Showalter, but a Red
Sox official shot that down, say
ing they've heard the stories about
Showalter's controlling nature. If
Manager Jimy Williams and GM
Daa Duquette can't make up, it's
more likely that a lesser-known
person such as Indians coach
Grady Little or Red Sox coach
Dave Jauss would be hired.
Perhaps Bob Watson will get a
closer look as a general manager
after the job he did as GM of the
gold medal-winning USA squad.
Despite restrictions, Watson picked
a superb pitching staff, led by Cuba
conqueror Ben Sheets (a Brewers
prospect), plus Kurt Ainsworth
(Giants), Jon Rauch (White Sox)
and Ray Oswald (Astros).
"I've always been from the
school where pitching's the name
of the game. You build with pitch
ing first, then catching, second
base, shortstop and center
field,"Watson said. Watson would
consider a big-league GM job but
he's busy assisting son Keith with
his financial-consulting business,
Watson and Company, and starting
a promotions company. Watson
said, "I'll tell you one thing, I will
not do it the way I did in New York,
working 108 hours a week."