PREDICTION I've loved how the Mavs have handled success in these playoffs. Calm and cool, like a veteran, mature team carrying a briefcase instead of waving pom poms. Of the Mavs' nineman rotation, seven players are 30 or older and Dirk and Peja and Kidd and Terry and Carlisle are all fueled by playoff failures.That remains to be seen. But hiring Mel Tucker as defensive coordinator and having him basically keep Lovie Smith's system intact shows a lot of savvy and little ego. The Bears fired Smith after a 106 season, 84 career victories, three division titles and a Super Bowl appearance.

Other finalists include Curtis Martin, the fourthleading rusher in league history (14,101 yards) and one of the most dependable running backs the league has seen, and wide receivers Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed. Carter was second in career receptions (1,101) and touchdowns (130) when he retired after the 2002 season. Brown was third with 1,094 catches when he left the game followi