1.   And now, after having to back up starter Darren Daulton last year, Piazza gets center stage tonight.

2.   Ceballos was chosen along with Karl Malone and Detlef Schrempf to back up starters Barkley and Shawn Kemp at forward.

3.   Faoa, who missed practice Tuesday to appear in court, will continue to back up starter Kenyon Coleman.

4.   For the moment, Serlenga is backing up starter Lorrie Fair while Michelle Akers recovers from a shoulder injury.

5.   He and Kerry Cash will back up starter Andrew Glover.

6.   In the outfield, Rickey Henderson and Michael Coleman are poised to back up starters Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Trot Nixon.

7.   Jablonski became expendable in January when the Canadiens brought up rookie goalie Jose Theodore to back up starter Jocelyn Thibault.

8.   Petros Papadakis, who was sick Tuesday, returned and could back up starter Sultan McCullough, with freshman Chris Howard also available.

9.   The additions of Damarius Bilbo, Rahshan Johnson and Dawan Landry will give Tech talented quarterbacks to fight to back up starter George Godsey.

10.   The Cleveland Browns also have talked to McMahon about backing up starter Vinny Testaverde.