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To: abstract who wrote (46666)	1/18/2002 2:20:36 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Hey abstract! Dead! Huh? Veddie Interesting!! Now you tell me after I told JW he won. Dang it! I don't know why I let JW sway me like he does. dealie (gotta start thinking on my own.) :-)

To: abstract who wrote (46666)	1/18/2002 5:50:42 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

Enron's Lay Hypes Stock in Sept Transcript Friday January 18, 5:34 pm Eastern Time By Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay told employees the company's stock was ``an incredible bargain'' on Sept. 26 -- only weeks before Enron fell apart and its stock price plunged, according to a transcript of an Enron intranet chat site obtained by Reuters on Friday. ``My personal belief is that Enron stock is an incredible bargain at current prices and we will look back a couple of years from now and see the great opportunity that we currently have,'' Lay wrote in reply to an employee question on Enron's ''ethink'' intranet site, the transcript showed. In a succession of statements in the transcript, Lay reassured Enron workers the Houston-based energy trading giant was safe and sound, even as it teetered on the brink of one of the biggest corporate collapses in U.S. history. Just over two months after the Sept. 26 chat session, Enron filed the largest U.S. bankruptcy ever, wiping out billions of dollars in investor equity, destroying over 5,000 jobs and stirring controversy from Wall Street to Washington. ``How he could do this in good conscience is anybody's guess. This is unconscionable,'' said Eli Gottesdiener, who heads a Washington law firm that is suing Enron on behalf of Enron employees who had 401(k) retirement accounts. Gottesdiener provided Reuters with the ethink transcript, which he said he got from a fired Enron manager who is now a client and involved in the Enron legal action. Ethink was a no-holds-barred internal Enron site where employees could ask top corporate executives questions, said Eric Thode, an Enron spokesman in Houston. Thode said the transcript was authentic, but declined comment on Lay's remarks. ``This is part of the documents that have been sent to Washington. It's an authentic transcript,'' Thode said. Eight congressional committees, the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Labor Department are investigating Enron and combing mountains of documents. ANDERSEN ``APPROVED'' OUTSIDE PARTNERSHIPS -- LAY In one passage of the ethink transcript, an Enron employee asked Lay about the company's heavy use of special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), or outside partnerships, in its finances and the role of the company's long-time auditor, the accounting firm Andersen, in reviewing the vehicles. Lay replied: ``In many cases, not only has the local Arthur Andersen office approved these vehicles, but they have also been approved at Arthur Andersen's headquarter office from some of the world's leading experts on these types of financing.'' On Thursday, Enron fired Andersen as its auditor. The firing came two days after Andersen said it had fired the lead partner in charge of its Enron audits. The Big Five firm said the partner ordered audit-related documents to be destroyed after learning that they were being sought by federal agents. Asked about Lay's comments regarding Andersen's approval of the SPVs, Andersen spokesman Charlie Leonard said, ``Andersen has been a strong advocate of getting the truth out about what took place in Houston ... Andersen is on record as a strong advocate of changing these disclosure rules to bring more transparency and greater accountability to the audit process.'' Documents obtained by congressional investigators have shown top Andersen executives discussed concerns about Enron's finances, but set them aside, as long ago as February 2001, when Enron's stock was $70-$80 a share. Lay was personally warned of financial trouble in August by Enron vice president Sherron Watkins in a whistle-blower letter that was obtained by congressional investigators. At the time, the stock was worth $35-$45 a share. In the Sept. 26 transcript, an employee worriedly asked Lay how workers could help to boost the Enron stock price, which by then had fallen to about $25, far below an August 2000 all-time high of $90.56. Lay suggested Enron employees ``talk up the stock.'' He said, ''The company is fundamentally sound. The balance sheet is strong. Our financial liquidity has never been stronger.'' Three weeks later, Enron reported its first quarterly loss in four years, took $1 billion in charges on poorly performing businesses and wrote down shareholder's equity by $1.2 billion, triggering a crisis in investor confidence. Asked by another employee about declining morale at Enron and the slumping share price, Lay replied: ``I encourage you to continue to do the very best job that you can and if you, and all of our other employees, do the same thing, we will ride the up trend in the stock price together.'' Between February 1999 and July 2001, Lay sold more than 1.8 million shares of Enron stock for total sales proceeds exceeding $101.3 million, according to a lawsuit filed against him and other Enron executives in Houston by Amalgamated Bank. Enron's stock was booted from the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. On Friday, it closed at 51.5 cents a share in the Pink Sheets market.

To: abstract who wrote (46666)	1/19/2002 5:24:42 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Bears are dull, but try to beat them... Big offensive, defensive lines, Thomas make Chicago tough COMMENTARY By: Don Pierson NBCSports.com Jan. 17 — The sound of Jim Miller and the Chicago Bears doesn’t have quite the luster of Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles, Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams or Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. BUT THERE IS a familiar ring to the unlikely Miller and his unbelievable Bears. How about Trent Dilfer and the Baltimore Ravens? If you don’t think these Bears are for real, remember the Ravens. They rode a defense with fat tackles and fast linebackers to a Super Bowl title. The Bears have even fatter tackles and faster linebackers. Then there’s Miller, an efficiently boring quarterback, handing off to a rookie running back. Anthony Thomas gained more yards than the Ravens’ Jamal Lewis did last year in carrying his offense down the stretch. The biggest difference between the Bears and Ravens? Chicago coach Dick Jauron is as quiet and circumspect as Baltimore coach Brian Billick is loud and brash. The Bears blend into the NFC playoff tapestry because nobody has paid much attention to their stunning turnaround from 5-11 to 13-3. They remain as unspectacular as their coach, and also as solid. Except for back-to-back overtime wins on interceptions by safety Mike Brown, their wins have been workmanlike, barely memorable. They benefitted from a fifth-place schedule, but they did things their NFC counterparts couldn’t do. Green Bay couldn’t beat Atlanta at home or Minnesota and Tampa on the road. The Bears beat all three on the road. The Rams couldn’t beat the Buccaneers at home. The Bears did. The Eagles couldn’t beat Arizona or Washington at home or San Francisco on the road. The Bears beat Arizona and San Francisco at home and Washington on the road. Don’t tell the Bears about the fifth-place schedule. Of all the playoff teams remaining, the Bears are first in turnover ratio at plus 13. They take care of the ball, the most important single thing in playoff success. They are No. 1 in the NFC in stopping the run, a most revealing statistic for Super Bowl success. Their punter, Brad Maynard, and kicker, Paul Edinger, have been outstanding. And they play in Soldier Field Saturday knowing 21 of 22 NFC playoff teams with byes have won Divisional rounds since 1990. For those who consider the Bears more lucky than good, they are glad to accept the accolade. When asked whether he expected such a dramatic season, Jauron said quickly and earnestly: “Absolutely. Every coach better go into every season expecting great success.” The Bears are big and solid on both offensive and defensive lines. Their five offensive linemen, featuring Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz and Pro Bowl right tackle James “Big Cat” Williams have started every game this season. Their defensive line, bolstered by the addition of huge tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor, averages well over 300 pounds. Linebackers Brian Urlacher, Warrick Holdman and Rosevelt Colvin are as fast and productive as any trio in the NFL. Urlacher is the fastest middle linebacker bar none, maybe ever. The speed of the three give them confidence they can run and cover anybody, including the Rams’ Marshall Faulk. Cornerbacks R. W. McQuarters and Walt Harris join Brown and Urlacher on the list of Bears who have run back interceptions for touchdowns this season. Thomas makes it all go on offense, with help from 100-catch receiver Marty Booker. When the Bears lost deep threat Marcus Robinson to injury, Booker stepped up from his spot as the third receiver and became a go-to guy in the Bears’ conservative, short-passing attack. “We’re facing one of the better running backs we’ve seen,” said Eagles’ defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. “He’s a good downhill runner, an inside runner. He breaks tackles and has good vision.” What makes the Bears most dangerous is their attitude, ala the Ravens. They know nobody knows or respects them. Miller is the stepchild of the playoffs, a castoff who started after Shane Matthews got hurt. Thomas is angry about being a second-round draft choice. He thought he was better than the three backs drafted ahead of him-LaDainian Tomlinson, Deuce McAllister and Michael Bennett. “There are a lot of teams that passed me up,” Thomas said. “And now I can say, ‘Your loss. I’m going to play against you one day, I know that.” They have been playing the no-respect card so much this year you would think Rodney Dangerfield is their coach. He’s not. Jauron is farther from Dangerfield than he is from Billick. But Jauron has encouraged the rather mild motto: “Why Not Us?” It’s hardly offensive and it expresses the truth of a surprising season. When did it all click? The Bears disagree on the exact time and place, but one candidate is the season opener-in Baltimore against the defending world champions. Nobody gave the Bears a chance. The Ravens won 17-6 but the Bears found out they could compete at the highest level. “That was the turning point,” said linebacker Holdman. “Any team that is up and coming has a turning point and that was ours. We started practicing with a sense of urgency and we haven’t looked back yet.” “We thought we beat ourselves,” Miller said. The Bears thought the same thing even when Favre and the Packers beat them twice. You would think the Bears might be shying away from a third meeting with Green Bay, but it’s more likely the Packers wouldn’t want to try to make it three in a row in Soldier Field with a Super Bowl trip on the line. ----------------------------------------- Don Pierson writes regularly for NBCSports.com and has covered the NFL for the Chicago Tribune since 1972.

To: abstract who wrote (46666)	1/19/2002 8:41:38 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 65232

Miller's injury changes game for Bears By NANCY ARMOUR AP Sports Writer January 19, 2002 CHICAGO (AP) -- Jim Miller got hurt at the worst possible time. The Chicago Bears quarterback separated his throwing shoulder on a vicious hit late in the first quarter of Saturday's playoff game against Philadelphia, and his absence doomed the Bears. Chicago's offense, not exactly potent to start with, was left in disarray and the Eagles took advantage. Philadelphia won 33-19 and advanced to next weekend's NFC Championship. The Eagles will face the winner of Sunday's Green Bay-St. Louis game. The Bears go home 13-4, losing in their first playoff appearance since 1994. Leading receiver Marty Booker and safety Mike Brown also left the game briefly with injuries, but they returned. Miller has had some bad luck since joining the Bears. He went from the third quarterback to the starter in 1999, only to be suspended for the last four games of the year for taking a banned substance in a nutritional supplement. After being the backup at the beginning of last season, he tore his Achilles tendon in his second start. He's made a remarkable comeback this year, and been the heart of Chicago's offense. He may not be the swiftest of quarterbacks or have the strongest arm. But he makes things happen, and his teammates believe in him. But with the Bears trailing 6-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter, Miller was intercepted by Philadelphia safety Damon Moore at the Eagles 2. During the return, Eagles defensive end Hugh Douglas went at Miller and threw him on the ground. Miller got up holding his right arm, and was led to the sidelines. He sat on the bench for several minutes and was then taken to the locker room. Shane Matthews replaced Miller. While Matthews has thrived in this situation before -- he led the Bears to an overtime victory against San Francisco on Oct. 28 after Miller suffered a hip pointer -- he was at a distinct disadvantage this time. He hasn't played since Nov. 4. And with the Bears preparing for Philadelphia's speedy defense and multitude of blitzes, Matthews likely didn't get much time with the first unit in practice this week. He was just 8-of-17 and was picked off twice. The Bears went to the running game, but that didn't fare very well against Philadelphia's stingy defense. Chicago had 110 yards rushing, but 47 of those came on Ahmad Merritt's TD run in the second quarter. Chicago's next-longest run was only 15 yards. The Bears' other TD was courtesy of the defense, a 39-yard interception return. Anthony Thomas, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, had 36 yards rushing on 15 carries. Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb had 37 yards rushing.