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 By  Staff Reports Published 
4:25 am Monday, January 21, 2002

Dadgum, are the Rams that good?

By Staff
Jan. 21, 2002
Mulling over Monday morning musings while wondering if Terry Bradshaw wore a helmet while he was playing football
Man, the St. Louis Rams are really good.
That, of course, does not mean that they will win their second Super Bowl in three seasons, but they still are really good. Really, really good.
It should be illegal to have as many offensive weapons as the Rams have. They have four receivers they can go to, the MVP at quarterback in Kurt Warner, and the fellow some thought was the real MVP Marshall Faulk at running back.
The defense is very underrated and the team seems to like to play together.
That sounds like a pretty unbeatable combination to me.
The Eagles may give them a run for their money in the NFC Championship game next week, but the real challenge will likely come from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
If the Rams and Steelers do square off in the Super Bowl, then it could be a real classic. If the Patriots and Eagles play on Feb. 3, call me and tell me how the game comes out because I probably won't be watching.
Prep Soccer coming down to last week
Schedule-makers love it when the last week of a sports season actually means something.
That certainly is the case with prep soccer in the area. Especially when it comes down to the boys teams of Clarkdale and Northeast Lauderdale.
The Trojans of Northeast Lauderdale are in an absolute must-win situation on Tuesday when they host Laurel and it would certainly do Clarkdale's cause a lot of good to win on the road against Philadelphia High School on Tuesday.
NEL's Tuesday match is set for around 7:30, with the girls beginning at 6 p.m. The Clarkdale-Philly showdown at Harpole Stadium on Tuesday is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Addition of Sheffield an interesting one
I can tell you that the catchers for the Atlanta Braves in the early 70s were Bob Tillman, Bob Didier, Paul Cassanova and Earl Williams.
I know that Ralph Garr a speedy left fielder in the 1970s was nicknamed the roadrunner.
I actually know who Marty Perez, Sonny Jackson, Rowland Office and Micky Mahler are.
That qualifies me as someone who knows at least a little something about the Braves.
Therefore, I like it when the team has a roster full of classy players.
There have been a few Dale Murphy comes immediately to mind.
There have been some on the other end of the spectrum John Rocker comes immediately to mind.
So, when it was announced that Gary Sheffield was coming to Atlanta for the 2002 season I really didn't know how to feel.
I suspect his presence in the clubhouse may cause a few problems, but then again a team that survived Rocker and his hand grenade mouth can probably survive anything.
What I do like is the numbers he is bringing with him. The guy can really hit, can really produce runs and whether most fans recognize it or not, doesn't mind playing hurt.
While Brian Jordan did get the job done last year, he is not a proven year-in, year-out power commodity like Sheffield is.
With Sheffield in right, Chipper Jones in left and Andruw Jones in center, the Braves may have one of the most potent offensive outfields in the game. But, then again, Sheffield could tear the team apart from the inside.
I guess, we will just have to wait and see. But with all the moves the Mets were making, the Braves had to do something.

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