"I'm definitely expecting to see better things from 'E.' " Appointing franchise saviors is almost an annual rite for the Knicks.

Some N.F.L. scouts believe Collins never adapted to his role as the franchise savior because he hated being in the spotlight.

He did not dismiss or play down his role as the would-bee franchise savior.

At the Garden, Stephon Marbury is the franchise savior.

That is what some of the Nets have begun to do since his celebrated arrival as the franchise savior from the University of Massachusetts.

He's been called a can't-miss prospect, the best quarterback prospect to come along in a decade, and a franchise savior.

Auditioning for the role of franchise savior is never easy.

Every player drafted by the Bulls in the past six years has been viewed in some manner as a franchise savior, only to disappoint.

In many of the Nets' losing seasons, this was the time that departures were hatched for failed franchise saviors.

On the Giants, Hasselbeck has played in the shadow of the franchise savior, Eli Manning.