Underdog

NEW ORLEANS -- Throughout Super Bowl week, the New England Patriots have fielded underdog questions from the media hordes. Some Patriots have dismissed the 14-point spread separating them and the favored Green Bay Packers with a shrug of their shoulders. Some have expressed disgust over the lack of respect the oddsmakers have afforded them.Through it all, Patriots coach Bill Parcells, who owns two Super Bowl rings from his New York Giants days, has been viewed as the equalizer capable of producing a game plan that will help the Patriots keep the game close, or spring a huge upset.

MINNEAPOLIS -- One team wasn't given much of a chance to make the playoffs, which put it a step ahead of an opponent that wasn't supposed to exist. Could there be a better angle to the American League Championship Series? Or a more unlikely, rags-to-riches story, with enough pages for two cities? The Anaheim Angels have gotten here by brushing off a 6-14 start, earning the wild card with a franchise-record 99 victories and dismissing the New York Yankees in four games in the Division Series.

HUNTINGTON, Ind. -- Casting himself as an underdog and a fighter in America's culture wars, an older, grayer Dan Quayle entered the 2000 presidential race yesterday at a raucous rally in his old Midwest hometown.Greeted with ear-splitting cheers, band music and a shower of indoor fireworks, the former vice president vowed to confound the experts who say he doesn't have a chance.Quayle signaled his intention to run as an anti-Washington outsider who would "reclaim the values that made America great."

DETROIT -- When the Pittsburgh Steelers arrived to town yesterday, it was apparent they were uncomfortable about their footing heading into the Super Bowl. After rallying around the underdog theme in winning three road playoff games, the Steelers find themselves as a four-point favorite against the NFC's top-seeded Seattle Seahawks. It's a story line that has caused the Pittsburgh players to shake their heads. "We are still the underdog," Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend said. "We're the same team that everybody wrote off seven weeks ago."

NEW ORLEANS - The New England Patriots' man in the middle is right in his element. Tedy Bruschi is five days away from colliding with the Greatest Show on Earth, the high-scoring St. Louis Rams' offense. His team is a two-touchdown underdog, which has created the third-widest point spread for the Super Bowl. And his coach has yet to name a starting quarterback. But beating the odds isn't a challenge for Bruschi. It's a way of life. Considered too small for the NFL at 6 feet 1, 245 pounds, Bruschi has jumped from part-time player to starting middle linebacker, using a relentless motor to deliver at a position few believed he could succeed.

NEW YORK -- Pete Sampras has no trouble remembering what it's like to be an underdog at the U.S. Open. Even if it was eight years ago, it's still vivid in his mind.It was 1990 and he pulled off one of the biggest surprises in Open history, when he upended Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals and went on to win his first Grand Slam title."It was a great feeling in 1990, when everyone was rooting for me and I could just go out there and swing away," Sampras said yesterday after overcoming Paul Goldstein of Rockville and a partisan crowd on the Open's former Center Court that is now Stadium Court 2. "Maybe when I'm 33, I'll be the underdog, again.

The circle is complete. It's been nearly 50 years since J.R.R. Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings made its literary debut and gave a generation of readers unsure of their place in the world a realm in which to battle fears. Now, a true-to-the-book film version is rekindling fond memories among those who identified with the underdog hobbits and raising hopes that it can perhaps offer comfort - and safety - to another generation. "Anyone who feels like an underdog can relate to these books, and most teens feel like underdogs," says Michael Stevens, 42, of Baltimore.

There is no one willing to argue with the cold, hard facts of this week's Navy-Notre Dame game. The Fighting Irish have beaten the Mids 38 straight times, an NCAA record for consecutive victories over an opponent. And more than a few of those games have been blowouts in favor of Notre Dame. But it's also true that a couple of times in the past few years, the Midshipmen have put a heck of a scare into the Irish. In 1997, Navy lost just 21-17, and in 1999, Notre Dame needed a last-minute, fourth-down conversion to keep an eventual game-winning drive alive in a 28-24 victory.

LAS VEGAS -- Since Mike Tyson turned his first comeback fight with Peter McNeeley into an 89-second workout, promoter Don King's publicists have been trying to legitimize Buster Mathis Jr. as a more worthy opponent for the former heavyweight champion.They have relied heavily on the "Buster" angle for Saturday's fight at the MGM Grand. After all, five years ago, another Buster -- Buster Douglas, a 40-to-1 underdog -- left Tyson groping for his mouthpiece in a Tokyo ring in one of boxing's greatest upsets.

LAS VEGAS -- Five years ago, when Tyson vs. Holyfield was first proposed, fight fans considered it a dream match.But when it finally happened last night, it was even more spectacular than anyone could have envisioned. And the ending more shocking as Evander Holyfield, a 10-1 underdog, butchered and battered Mike Tyson before referee Mitch Halpern stopped this classic heavyweight brawl at 37 seconds of the 11th round, giving Holyfield the World Boxing Association heavyweight crown.Holyfield, 34, whose well-being had been questioned by Nevada ring physicians after losing his third fight with Riddick Bowe a year ago, displayed a heart bigger than the arena in battling Tyson from the opening bell.