Who's Hot / Who's Not

WHO'S HOT

Casey Hampton
Big day for the big man! Pittsburgh's 6'1" 325-pound nosetackle--a guy coach Bill Cowher calls "a rock in the middle of the defense"--had his first sack of the season on Super Sunday, stunting a Seahawks drive. Now he's headed to Honolulu, a late addition to the Pro Bowl roster.

Mavericks
Oh, yes! That's 11 straight wins, a rise to the top of the West and a relentless defense ordered up by January's Coach of the Month Avery Johnson. Forward Josh Howard to The Dallas Morning News: "We've all bought into Avery's system."

Miami ( Ohio)
The RedHawks' hoopsters won three straight, the hockey team climbed to the No. 1 national ranking, and it was a pretty fair weekend for a prized alum too: phys-ed major Ben Roethlisberger.

Tim Thomas
Where'd he come from? Not the injured Bulls forward but the Bruins' 31-year-old rookie goalie--12 years ago he went 217th in the NHL draft. He has led Boston on a 7-2-3 run, resurrecting playoff hopes, and has a gorgeous .941 save percentage.

WHO'S NOT

Roses
Out of the cold, into the fire for NBA forward Jalen Rose (right), shipped from the lowly Raptors to the lowlier Knicks; Pete Rose, banned from baseball for betting on the game, showed up in Vegas over Super Bowl weekend; and it's a scary time to be a rose by any name--you're liable to get picked for Valentine's Day.

Bobcats
Oy, vey! That's 17 losses in 19 games, the worst record in the NBA and an offense sagging without injured Emeka Okafor (left). Coach Bernie Bickerstaff to The Charlotte Observer: "Effort and playing hard can only take you so far."

QB Legends
Absent from a ceremony for past Super Bowl MVPs--reportedly because they wanted more money--were Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana. (Both deny money was the issue). Tom Brady was there and, while doing the coin flip before all those Steelers fans, was roundly booed.

Jos� Th�odore
Where'd he go? Winner of the Hart Trophy in 2001-02, an All-Star in '03-04, Canadiens goalie has an ugly .881 save percentage and was benched after being yanked in three of four starts. More worries: Replacement Cristobal Huet has back-to-back shutouts.