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CNN Live At Daybreak

Talking Sports with Chris Cotter

Aired December 23, 2002 - 06:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk sports now. Chris Cotter of the "790 The Zone" here in Atlanta, try to sort out this mess, NFL playoff.
CHRIS COTTER, "790 THE ZONE": You want me to try and sort it out for you?

CALLAWAY: You know, we were talking about this earlier, Chris, and how many teams let and nobody's winning? Is that what it is and why there's so many?

COTTER: Well, that's the thing, over the last couple of weeks, teams that have had a chance to solidify their playoff position have lost.

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: And yesterday, really there are nine teams in the AFC still alive for four spots.

CALLAWAY: Wow.

COTTER: And the top five teams all lost over the weekend. So all these other teams that are kind of behind them are saying, boy, we still have one more short. Just one week left and there are nine teams still alive for those four spots.

CALLAWAY: That's amazing.

COTTER: So it's all going to come down to the games next week.

CALLAWAY: I guess it's good for the franchise, but wow.

COTTER: Oh, it's great for fans, you know, to be, we can go this far and have almost...

CALLAWAY: We're still alive.

COTTER: Before the weekend started, 11 teams. You could have had an 11 way tie for first place in the AFC. That's how incredibly crazy it was. But yesterday's day didn't go that far in terms of stetting everything right. But, you know, there were some games yesterday that kind of helped clear the picture a little bit.

CALLAWAY: We'll skip the highlights. Right.

COTTER: Last night Jets and New England playing. This was a very, very important game, another game where a team like New England could have really helped themselves out with a win and eliminated the Jets. Ha-ha, the Jets won and they were able to keep themselves alive in this one and the Jets, really, I mean the law two weeks they've blown it. This is another situation where during the season teams have these highs and lows. They go two, three weeks winning all the games and it looks like they're the team.

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: But then the last couple of weeks the Jets have lost two in a row, putting themselves on the back burner, but now winning last night they get themselves right in.

Oakland here, this was a huge win for them. They really appear to be probably the best team in the AFC, beating Denver for the second time this year, just about eliminating Denver. They still have a little bit of hope, but not much of a prayer, and they were my mid- season pick to go to the Super Bowl. I really screwed that up this year. I mean my pre-season picks have been awful, my mid-season picks have been awful. I'm the kiss of death.

This is a huge upset here, Cincinnati beating New Orleans. Cincinnati's only second win of the year and New Orleans...

CALLAWAY: I know. I love that.

COTTER: Now New Orleans has to hope that other teams lose because, I mean, you have Atlanta and the Giants in the NFC and if they win next week they're in and New Orleans is out. New Orleans had their destiny in their own hands and they screwed it up by losing to lowly Cincinnati. You can't do that.

CALLAWAY: Bill Hemmer's squirming in his seat right now as you're saying that.

COTTER: Oh, I mean, it's a killer loss.

Tennessee, meanwhile, they're the hottest team in the AFC. They beat the Jaguars and they are going to the playoffs. They captured their division. So watch out for them. No one wants to play them in the playoffs. They've kind of come out of nowhere this year. The first half of the year no one was talking about them. McNair has been injured but he's been playing great, their quarterback, Steve McNair, and now they get the win at Jacksonville. They're definitely going. They're one of the few teams in.

And here's Baltimore and Cleveland, too. This, the cardiac kids, back in the late '70s, the Cleveland Browns were known as the cardiac kids because they were coming back every single weekend and now they've revived this here. Their hated rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, a team that packed up and moved out of Cleveland a few years ago to become the Ravens, they lose here, 29 seconds left to go. You see it, Cleveland with another last minute win. Eleven last minute games for them this year. They've won some, they've lost some, but 11 games that they've played in have gone to the last minute.

CALLAWAY: Football, this is a great season for football fans.

COTTER: Oh, I love it. And also, by the way, the Bowls are coming up.

CALLAWAY: Yes?

COTTER: Twenty-eight Bowl games in the next week or so, the next 10 days, 28 Bowl games. I love it.

CALLAWAY: You're going to be bowled over.

COTTER: I love it. This is what the season's all about for me. Well, maybe not what it's all about.

CALLAWAY: Maybe not.

COTTER: It's a big part of it.

CALLAWAY: See you later, Chris.

COTTER: See you.

CALLAWAY: Have fun with all the Bowls coming up.

COTTER: OK. I love it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 23, 2002 - 06:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk sports now. Chris Cotter of the "790 The Zone" here in Atlanta, try to sort out this mess, NFL playoff.
CHRIS COTTER, "790 THE ZONE": You want me to try and sort it out for you?

CALLAWAY: You know, we were talking about this earlier, Chris, and how many teams let and nobody's winning? Is that what it is and why there's so many?

COTTER: Well, that's the thing, over the last couple of weeks, teams that have had a chance to solidify their playoff position have lost.

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: And yesterday, really there are nine teams in the AFC still alive for four spots.

CALLAWAY: Wow.

COTTER: And the top five teams all lost over the weekend. So all these other teams that are kind of behind them are saying, boy, we still have one more short. Just one week left and there are nine teams still alive for those four spots.

CALLAWAY: That's amazing.

COTTER: So it's all going to come down to the games next week.

CALLAWAY: I guess it's good for the franchise, but wow.

COTTER: Oh, it's great for fans, you know, to be, we can go this far and have almost...

CALLAWAY: We're still alive.

COTTER: Before the weekend started, 11 teams. You could have had an 11 way tie for first place in the AFC. That's how incredibly crazy it was. But yesterday's day didn't go that far in terms of stetting everything right. But, you know, there were some games yesterday that kind of helped clear the picture a little bit.

CALLAWAY: We'll skip the highlights. Right.

COTTER: Last night Jets and New England playing. This was a very, very important game, another game where a team like New England could have really helped themselves out with a win and eliminated the Jets. Ha-ha, the Jets won and they were able to keep themselves alive in this one and the Jets, really, I mean the law two weeks they've blown it. This is another situation where during the season teams have these highs and lows. They go two, three weeks winning all the games and it looks like they're the team.

CALLAWAY: Right.

COTTER: But then the last couple of weeks the Jets have lost two in a row, putting themselves on the back burner, but now winning last night they get themselves right in.

Oakland here, this was a huge win for them. They really appear to be probably the best team in the AFC, beating Denver for the second time this year, just about eliminating Denver. They still have a little bit of hope, but not much of a prayer, and they were my mid- season pick to go to the Super Bowl. I really screwed that up this year. I mean my pre-season picks have been awful, my mid-season picks have been awful. I'm the kiss of death.

This is a huge upset here, Cincinnati beating New Orleans. Cincinnati's only second win of the year and New Orleans...

CALLAWAY: I know. I love that.

COTTER: Now New Orleans has to hope that other teams lose because, I mean, you have Atlanta and the Giants in the NFC and if they win next week they're in and New Orleans is out. New Orleans had their destiny in their own hands and they screwed it up by losing to lowly Cincinnati. You can't do that.

CALLAWAY: Bill Hemmer's squirming in his seat right now as you're saying that.

COTTER: Oh, I mean, it's a killer loss.

Tennessee, meanwhile, they're the hottest team in the AFC. They beat the Jaguars and they are going to the playoffs. They captured their division. So watch out for them. No one wants to play them in the playoffs. They've kind of come out of nowhere this year. The first half of the year no one was talking about them. McNair has been injured but he's been playing great, their quarterback, Steve McNair, and now they get the win at Jacksonville. They're definitely going. They're one of the few teams in.

And here's Baltimore and Cleveland, too. This, the cardiac kids, back in the late '70s, the Cleveland Browns were known as the cardiac kids because they were coming back every single weekend and now they've revived this here. Their hated rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, a team that packed up and moved out of Cleveland a few years ago to become the Ravens, they lose here, 29 seconds left to go. You see it, Cleveland with another last minute win. Eleven last minute games for them this year. They've won some, they've lost some, but 11 games that they've played in have gone to the last minute.

CALLAWAY: Football, this is a great season for football fans.

COTTER: Oh, I love it. And also, by the way, the Bowls are coming up.

CALLAWAY: Yes?

COTTER: Twenty-eight Bowl games in the next week or so, the next 10 days, 28 Bowl games. I love it.

CALLAWAY: You're going to be bowled over.

COTTER: I love it. This is what the season's all about for me. Well, maybe not what it's all about.

CALLAWAY: Maybe not.

COTTER: It's a big part of it.

CALLAWAY: See you later, Chris.

COTTER: See you.

CALLAWAY: Have fun with all the Bowls coming up.

COTTER: OK. I love it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com