|  YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST
Roy Halladay welcomed himself to his first postseason with just the second no-hitter in postseason history. (Maybe you remember having someone tell you about Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series because it happened 54 years ago.) Halladay shut down the Reds on 104 pitches. It's worth mentioning that those same Reds led the senior circuit in hitting this season (see: .272 team batting average). So was it the greatest playoff debut of all times? Maybe? Probably? But these guys had first times to remember as well:
LeBron James - In his third year in the NBA, the King made his playoff debut with the Cavs (remember them?) in 2006. And he hung a triple-double on the Wizards at home to the tune of 32 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in an 11-point win. Only Johnny McCarthy and Magic Johnson had ever recorded a triple-double in a playoff debut.
Roberto Luongo - In his seventh season in the NHL, Luongo made his playoff debut between the pipes in 2007 for the Vancouver Canucks. All he did was make 72 saves in a four-overtime win over the Dallas Stars. It was just one save short of the all time playoff record (see: Kelly Hrudey in 1987).
Tom Brady - In his second year in the NFL (and in just his 15th NFL start), Tom Brady made his playoff debut in 2002 and rallied the Patriots from a ten-point fourth quarter deficit against the Oakland Raiders. It's the game that will be remembered for "The Tuck Rule", but don't forget that Brady was nearly flawless in the fourth quarter and overtime - running for a touchdown before driving the Pats into range for the game-tying field goal, then going 8-for-8 in overtime (including a fourth-and-four conversion) to start their Super Bowl run with a 16-13 win - all in a blizzard.
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|  YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
Randy Moss returns to practice today as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Practice begins just before 1:00 ET, and he's expected to address the media just after it ends, alongside his new quarterback. (Shelley Smith is there with complete coverage throughout the morning on SportsCenter.) Brett Favre probably remembers Moss as a Viking quite well from his days in Green Bay. And he probably hopes that Moss remembers how to stretch the field, since his current crop of receivers doesn't seem to. And he probably also hopes Moss doesn't remember how Favre once ripped his new favorite target for taking plays off.
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|  HOW YOU SEE THE WORLD
The NHL opens the regular season this afternoon. Or, technically, right at noon ET when the Hurricanes and the Wild face off from Helsinki. ("As in Helsinki, Sweden." "Finland.") More than 1600 miles southwest of there, the Lakers continue their NBA preseason European Vacation in Spain where they'll face FC Barcelona (2:30 ET on ESPN2). That's the club that lost the likes Pau Gasol to the Grizzlies but beat out the Timberwolves for the likes of Ricky Rubio. That's also the football club that features the likes of Leo Messi (and what's not to like), and the one that Kobe Bryant likes as well.
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|  WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
Both ALDS will each probably have two games already in the books before the NLDS between the Braves and Giants even starts. They'll play Game 1 tonight out in San Francisco (9:37 ET). The Giants batted .197 against the Braves this season. That was their lowest batting average against any opponent this season. In fact, only three other teams in major-league history had a sub-.200 regular-season batting average against a team that they went on to play in the playoffs. Yet all three went on to win those postseason series easily:
- The 2005 Astros hit .175 against the Braves, but won the NLDS 3-1.
- The 1983 Phillies hit .187 against the Dodgers, but won the NLCS 3-1.
- The 1971 Orioles hit .185 against the A's, but won the ALCS 3-0.
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| 7 | The Yankees have won 7 straight postseason games against the Twins, despite the fact that the Twins owned a lead in all 7 games. That's the longest such winning streak in postseason history. (The next best/worst run belongs to the Indians/Red Sox, who won/lost five straight games that way from 1998 to 1999.)
Recap | Highlights |
| 130 | The Rangers look to take a 2-0 ALDS lead back to Texas after this afternoon's matchup against the Rays (2:37 ET). They'll send C.J. Wilson to the mound for his playoff debut (see: Halladay, Roy). Wilson led the team in wins, innings and ERA among starters. But it's his first full season as a starter, and he's won just once in six starts since the start of September while posting a 5.85 ERA. And the 204 innings he's pitched so far are 130 more than he threw last year.
Preview |
| 5-0 | No. 7 Nebraska enters tonight's game at fellow unbeaten Kansas State with each team looking for a 5-0 start. Historically, when Nebraska starts a season 5-0, that season usually ends well. Since 1990, the Huskers have started 5-0 11 times. 5 of those times, they went on to win the conference championship (see: Big 8 in 1993-1995, Big 12 in 1997, 1999). And over that span, they've also played for the national championship 5 times, and won the national title 3 times.
Preview |
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| "Right now I'm out there to hit open shots, teach John the ins and the outs of the game, and then eventually go on and move on. I'm on my way." Agent Zero is already gone from the Washington Wizards. But will Gilbert Arenas give way to John Wall and be gone as well? Maybe he's just misunderstood.
Read More | "You have to go out there and do whatever you can for your family and for yourself because when it comes to management and owners, they don't care about you. That right there showed that they feel you're expendable." Terrell Owens has weighed in with his take on the Randy Moss trade.
Read More |
| Which playoff debut was most impressive? - Tom Brady
- Roy Halladay
- LeBron James
- Roberto Luongo
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9AM ET | Josh Elliott, David Lloyd | 12PM ET | Robert Flores, Chris McKendry | 3PM ET | Mike Hill, Cindy Brunson on ESPNEWS | 6PM ET | Jay Harris, Ryan Burr | 8PM ET | Kevin Negandhi, Adnan Virk on ESPNEWS | 11PM ET | John Anderson, Scott Van Pelt | 1AM ET | Neil Everett, Stan Verrett from Los Angeles |
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