chris: what is that? john: that's the nhl preview, "espn the magazine," out now. patrick kane and the blackhawks. chris: hockey's almost here, john. hang on a week longer. john: i want a full report tomorrow, he willot. chris: coming up on the show, we're going to talk about marion barber, an update on his health, and why ochocinco, smarter than you may have thought. isn't that right? josh: that's right. and a michael vick update as well. here it comes. >> just go to the end and we've got a lot of work ahead of us. [captioning made possible by espn, inc.] closed captioned by the national captioning institute ---www.ncicap.org--- john: yankees the first to clinch a postseason spot. but are they the world favorites? and tebow and colt mccoy having big seasons but who's contesting them in the heisman race? todd mcshay on the other top five guys. plus controversy in washington. hear why a former nfl hall of famer is calling out jim zorn on his decision-making. john: and still a hall of famer. but first at this hour, michael vick, set to make his debut in philadelphia this weekend against the winless kansas city chiefs. he's eligible to play for the eagles, practicing and preparing with andy reid's squad. >> i think he's in pretty good shape. i'm not sure, you know, exactly, how we'll use him or, you know, if he'll play or how much he'll play, so -- but he -- you know, i think he's in better shape than he was at that particular time. you know, he'd put on a couple pounds, i mentioned that, when he was out of football, and he's back down now. looks like he's moving around pretty good. john: so kevin kolb expected to get the start, but michael vick now lurking in the shadows. kolb completed nearly twice as many passes in week two against the saints than he had combined in his previous two seasons. that was his first nfl start against the saints. kolb threw his first nfl touchdown in nine career games. dethrow three interceptions, though, and for his career, has seven picks to go with his two touchdown passes. so kolb expected to start, but michael vick eligible to play somewhere. also at this hour, hey, no stroke of luck that chad ochocinco found bengal fans to embrace his lambeau leap on sunday. 85 gave out four free front row tickets to cincinnati fans to wear the bengals garb, risk their health and be there for chad. chris: yankees at angels stadium. a win to clinch. also a win needed for the sick key. top four, no score. alex rodriguez off santana, putting the yankees up 2-0. bottom sixth we go, angels down 5-4. two out, bases loaded. vlad guerrero to third. a-rod, the fine stop and the good play getting the yankees out of a jam. meanwhile, in oakland, the yankees getting some help. the rangers were at the a's, and in the top of the ninth, ian kinsler right back to the pitcher, doubles off hank blaylock at first. ballgame. rangers lose 9-1. so about 55 minutes yet to go in the yankees' game, but the angels making it fun, although the yankees already clinched. howie kendrick taking off chone figgins' throw, and this is jorge posada's throwaway, offering kendrick to third. next batter up, izturis, singles to right, kendrick scores, angels come back from 5-0 to tie it up at 5-5 against the yanks. top nine we go, we're still tied at 5-5 with two aboard. first base is open. mark teixeira takes the intentional walk, possible double play. next batter is a-rod. rodriguez lines out. brett gardner, though, coming home and torii hunter's throw, not in time. yankees go up 6-5. gardner key to that raleigh. he singled, stole second and then scored a run. bomb nine, posada gets willis trying to steal the double play. rivera, 41 saves. yanks get the spot in the playoffs. it's 6-5. a-rod drives in three runs. big win at angels stadium. >> it was big. i mean obviously where we expect to be every year. obviously the division is the main goal. it takes me back to where we were in february and march in colorado and tampa. just feels good to be a part of it and to contribute a little bit. it's good to be in, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. chris: the yankees clinch a playoff appearance for the 14th time in the last 15 years, but as is the case with the yankees, it's not just getting in. they must win. new york hasn't won a championship since 2000, even a playoff series since the 2004 division series. and for skipper joe girardi, his first playoff appearance as manager. we're joined by "espn the magazine" senior writer tim kurkjian. tim, i touched on the all-or-nothing expectations that forever surround the yankees who clinch a postseason berth for a record, oh, by the way, 48th time. now, as they sit four wins shy of 100 on the year, are they the favorites to take it all this year? >> well, chris, this is baseball. you could make a case for five or six different teams, but yes, i think the yankees will be the team to beat going into the playoffs. their defense on the right side has been so terrific, their bullpen is so much better than it was last year, but ultimately, it's going to come down to a.j. burnett and andy pettitte. if a.j. burnett is the pitcher that we've seen at points this year, and he's their number two starter going in and he's really good, to follow c.c. sabathia, that's a great situation for the yankees. if andy pettitte gets healthy, which he really hasn't been until his last start over the last two weeks or so, then they've got a number three starter also. it's going to be difficult for the yankees to win it all without three solid starters going in. but if they do, they have everything else to be the favorite going into the playoffs. john: all right, tim, stay right there. arguably baseball's best pitcher on the mound last night in kansas city. 25-year-old zack greinke. remember the last time he pitched in detroit, he took this line drive right near his right elbow bow, tricep, bicep area. that happened in the fourth inning. he would leave after the fifth. back to last night, gets kevin youkilis there. meanwhile, needs run support. paul byrd, that looks like a pretty good pitch. but it was 3-0 anyway. he walks mike jacobs, forced in david dejesus. byrd allowed five runs in the first, a bloop falls there. top right. from there he pitched very well. in fact, the royals didn't score again after the first and the red sox have time to score some runs but they're going against greinke. there's the high cheese. he can really bring it up. nice little get-me-over pitch there against youkilis who has struck out 115 times this year and then gets ortiz. from there the bullpen was very good. from here the bullpen was very good as greinke gets ortiz. cologne very good. the royals are 12-3 in the last 15. so they're plague very good baseball. gren -- playing very good baseball. greinke's e.r.a. is down to 2.08. greinke, the first 15 game winner for the royals since 2002. that doesn't include six starts he didn't win, despite giving up one run or less. he's a 20-game winner if he gets any sort of run support. look across all of the statistics on espn.com, and he is pretty much the leader of all of them. we mentioned that e.r.a., 2.08, could become the first american leaguer to post an e.r.a. under 2.0 since pedro as 1.74 in 2000. we looked at it. he's got a chance, six or seven innings, one run in one game, none in the other. he could get under two. and 229, the strikeouts, second only to justin verlander's 245. his next scheduled start on sunday at home against the twins. his final two starts should be against the minnesota twins. so here are your big four contenders in the american league. greinke across the board looks really good with all of his numbers. hernandez is the closest to him from all those numbers, and then verlander and sbadgea. sbadgea has the most wins. look at the e.r.a. difference between greinke and sabathia. more than a run. a healthy, healthy margin there. tim kurkjian is back. tim, in my mind, this is no argument at all. zack greinke is by far the best pitcher in the american league this year. what about his performance this year and what do you think about the cy young? >> well, i agree with you completely, john. he's going to win the cy young and he will deserve it. you talked about that e.r.a. it's remarkable, 2.08 in this -- you know, hitting era that we're in. keep in mind in the d.h. era in the american league, 1973 on, only four pitchers have had an e.r.a. as low as greinke's now in the 200-inning season. roger clemens, pedro martinez, and jim palmer. no pitcher in the american league has not won the cy young with an e.r.a. as low as greinke's since roger clemens in 1990 and that was the year bob welch won 27 games. that's why he won the cy young. we might not even have a 20-game winner in the american league this year. that's why a 15-game winner will probably win it he should win it. the numbers across the board are just spectacular. john: even stolen bases against five. i mean stuff like that. the guy's been unbelievable. thanks so much, tim. >> thank you, john. chris: some nfl "quick hits,," chiefs' coach todd haley sticking with matt cassel the starting quarterback for sunday's game against the eagles in philly. haley said he's not going to hesitate to switch to brodie croyle if cassel struggles. news from the cowboys, running back marion barber hopes to play against the panthers monday night. an m.r. confirmed a strained quad. felix jones, the options at running back for dallas, they're deep. in his second community outreach event since arriving at philly, michael vick toked to kids at a middle school. he told the kids, quote, use me as an example of what not to do. that's the message the eagles want to hear him saying. i'm joined by espn nfl reporter michael smith with injury updates. let's start right there with marion barber. how's the team handling him this week and what are the chances we'll see him monday night? >> carefully, considering what you said in the open. they're deep in running back. we don't need to remind everybody how tough marion barber is and of course he wants to play. he's day to day with that quad strain. good thing they have an extra day, considering that they play on monday night, for him to heal, get treatment, that sort of thing. we're going to keep an eye on how he practices, if at all, in the days leading up. with felix jones the guy they want to get the ball to more anyway, 96 yards and just seven carries last week, he proved how capable he is of handling the workload they're not going to put marion barber out in week three and reaggravate an injury when they need him long term. chris: they're taking on the panthers monday. let's move on to l.t. ladainian tomlinson missed just the second regular season game of his career with the ankle injury just last week. is he playing against the dolphins? >> that was the first game he's ever missed for injury reasons in his career and he's a guy that as he's gotten older, he's also gotten wiser. in previous years, he was worried about being a guy that was going to be remembered as showing up every single sunday. well, last year, he played on that turf toe throughout the season, didn't look good. it got worse as the year went on and he wasn't there when they needed him most at the end of the season. he's smarter now knowing if he's not right with that ankle injury he's not going to go out there and play. they're confident in darren sproles. bennett will also get more touches. talking to the chargers this morning, they felt really good about how they were able to move the ball considering not only were they without l.t. but also two starting offensive linemen. they ran the ball better than the numbers indicated. so they'll sit l.t. and he'll sit if his ankle's not 100%. chris: how about the patriots, last week to see tom brady without his security blanket in wes welker and they lost to the jets, so now they get the falcons. are they going to have welker back? >> they're an angry bunch right now. the way you said it, you know they lost to the jets so you know they're upset in foxboro. wes welker, that was a weird situation, and weird patriots injuries that all goes hand in hand as we all know, but wes welker comes out and warms up before the game and all of a sudden he's just inactive. now, luckily for the patriots, they do have almost a carbon kevin: of wes -- carbon coip of wes welker in julian edelman. walker's probably going to be a game time decision this week. we'll see how he practices throughout the week. you're right, chris, that offense is not the same without welker. he'll try to give it a go. when you play the way he does in terms of taking that much punishment and running option routes from that slop position and cutting as sharply as he does his knee has got to be right. if he's not right in warmups he probably won't play. i'll be there sunday so i'll tell you sunday morning whether or not he's going to be playing. chris: ok. we'll wait for your text. nfl reporter, michael smith. thanks, michael. >> thanks. john: more nfl drama in washington. pro football hall of famer calling out the redskins and jim zorn' play calling. wait till you get a load of this. also ahead, tim tebow, colt mccoy, early frontrunners, but hear who else is contending. todd mcshay, his other top five heisman players coming back. 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( celebrating ) mouthwatering toppings, fresh-baked pizzeria taste. i like to think i deliver more than just pizza. for fresh delivery taste without the delivery price, it's digiorno. john: hey, welcome back to "sportscenter." i'm john buccigross. chris mckendry by my side on this live "sportscenter." tigers began with a three-game loss column lead. look at this defense by the indians. it was valbuena with the glove. cabrera, 4-6-3. bottom of the second. first and second, tigers trying to put this thing away in the a.l. central. trevor crowe singles in matt la porta, or does he? you are out! watch it again. great effort there by ryan rayburn, the throw and gerald laird with the nice tag. all right. edwin jackson has not been good since the all-star break. so this is a good sign the 26-year-old has gone over 200 innings. maybe he's got a second wind now. six innings, no earned runs. miguel cabrera, career high .331 average this year, 400 on base guy, 93 r.b.i.'s. he's 26 years old. he's an elite player. brandon lyon. the tigers, they hold on, jackson's 4-0 against the indians this year and went seven scoreless. chris: so how about the twins coming in having won 7-8 trying to make a charge on those tigers, taking on the white sox with a rookie on the mound, jeff manship. gordon beckham takes him, bottom of the third, deep for a two-run shot. manship lasted just 2 1/3, giving up four runs and five heights. top five, though, we're -- in five hits. top five, though, we're with a runner on first, joe mauer lines one to right center. scott podsednik gives it a dive but doesn't make the catch and cabrera coming around from first. the r.b.i. double for mauer. twins take a 5-4 lead. but their second lead of the game was very short-lived. francisco liriano on in relief, walked beckham, and then paul konerko doubles to right and beckham scores. so this ballgame's tied up at 5-5. top sixth, we're still tied at 5-5. michael cuddyer off john danks. cuddyer, what a game, he was a triple short of a cycle. twins up 6-5. later in the inning, matt tolbert off danks drives one deep to left. top of the fence, and with a bounce, it's gone. his second of the year. take another look at this. carlos quentin leaps at the wall just out of his reach. so despite blowing two leads, getting a rough start from a rookie, the twins, 8-6. eighth win in nine games to keep pace. the problem is tigers serving for the match. both teams winning last night, keeping the tigers up 2 1/2 in the central. both teams counting on rookies to get it done on the mound tonight. rick porcello against the indians, duensing going against the white sox. john: let's talk football. 49ers-vikings, the only match up of 2-0 teams in week three. titans-jets, titans 0-2, a near must-win situation. jets the only team in the nfl that's not allowed an offensive touchdown. saints and bills, drew brees has thrown nine touchdown passes in the first three games. saints have scored 93 points. the bills, you know, if t.o. doesn't fumble against the patriots they could be 2-0. patriots will be in a bad mood but they're playing a very good falcon team. we're joined by, as promised, mark schlereth. and falcons looked to me like the real deal. matt ryan, of course, the quarterback, bringing in tony gonzalez who's been very good. >> right. john: you're going to go espn axis on us to explain what? >> yeah, well, to explain what tony gonzalez does for you as an offense. and essentially, there's so much focus on him in the middle of the field that he just ties people up. and that's the big question. you're going to get one-on-one's because of gonzalez. here you're going to see an excellent execution as an offensive player right here. matt ryan, you've got a trail linebacker underneath, a safety over the top. there's a very tight to throw it to. look at gonzalez, extend, reach out, get that ball and knows how to finish with it, tuck it in, scoring a touchdown. that is one of those things, you just can't make that stuff up. that's the kind of presence that a tony gonzalez brings you. watch him coming off the edge at the tied tight end position, hand down. not only is the linebacker going to drop and try to cover and trail underneath, but also you'll get that safety over the top. what does that do? it opens up your for your running back. it's an easy completion there. look at the yardage right there. just chunks of yardage. another touchdown in the red zone. red zone scoring is so efficient for the atlanta falcons. lastly, you're going to look at gonzalez again in the slot right here. anytime you got him in the slot, that big body, that basketball skill, turns his back, basically blocks people out, what do you get up top? white who was a pro bowler last year, one-on-one coverage, he's going to run that inside slant and catch that touchdown. so much of the focus for this offense now going to tony gonzalez. and rightfully so. he's one of those guys that's such a great complementary piece to an offense because he ties up safeties and you just -- you're just going to have to give it up. you're going to have to say listen, white, michael jenkins, you're going to get one-on-ones on the outside because we've got to take care of tony gonzalez in the middle. john: 12 catches, that's a 96-catch pace, that's what he had last year for the team. matt ryan coming back to new england, went to boston college, now takes on the patriots. interesting discussions going on in washington. the redskins last week, they beat the rams, but 0-5 in the red zone, and as far as scoring touchdowns, of course their legendary announcer, sonny jergensen, the hall of famer who played 11 years with the redskins talking with jim zorn on the radio about jim zorn's play call, which included a halfback option pass. >> third down, i'm the quarterback, or you're the quarterback, and you called the halfback throwing the ball for me, i'm calling time-out or calling an audible. i'm not letting a halfback throw it that's what you pay me for. >> then i would have to take you out of the game. as soon as you called a time-out, i'd say what's wrong with my play, because -- >> it didn't work! >> no, but i called it to work. all right? we called it to work. it didn't work. there was a lot of plays that didn't work. and i'd take you out of the game. sorry, sonny. john: again, for the younger viewers out there, sonny jergensen, the 75-year-old announcer for the redskins, hall of fame player, he's legendary. >> he's the guy. and you know what? rightfully so. you're going to call out play calling, i understand. if it works, it's genius, right? john: right. >> but i think it goes beyond the fact that that's the play that was called. you have to look at it from jim zorn's standpoint. you look at this redskins team in general, they went out in 2008, they tried to revamp basically their red zone package by drafting three guys in the second round. they got thomas kelley, they got thomas the wide receiver out there, fred davis, tight end from u.s.c. -- or malcolm kelly, excuse me, and devon thomas. they went out and tried to draft guys for that red zone and that red zone has been a problem. their quarterback hasn't been great in the pocket at times this year. i mean he has looked lost in the pocket at times this year. so you, as a coach, are trying to give your team an opportunity to score in the red zone right there. if that play works, it's genius, right? john: he must have saw something. you you see something up above. >> got to give the rams credit, they played it pretty well but they've been aneek imic in the red zone -- anemic in the red zone anyhow. i understand sonny's point. he's a hall of famer, it's a little different than what's going on in washington these days. john: mark schlereth, "nfl live," 4:00 eastern. chris: coming up, college ball to talk about as the u. is back. the canes ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2005 but miami cannot look too far ahead. >> todd mcshay here. anyone else sick and tired of talking about tim tebow and colt mccoy? i know i am, so coming up next on "sportscenter," we're going to look at five other players that are legitimately in this year's heisman race. i'm here on this tiny little plane, and guess what... i've still got room for the internet. with my new netbook from at&t. with its built-in 3g network, it's fast and small, so it goes places other laptops can't. anything before takeoff mr. kurtis? 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