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"  Near the halfway point of first-round play, top-seeded Megan Fox trails the streaking en fuego Helen Mirren, who&amp;#039;s clearly out to show that her automatic bid as the Big 60 conference champion was no fluke. The game is far from over for Fox. She made a last-minute push over the weekend (perhaps when voters went back to look at some of her old game footage, or just because she&amp;#039;s a fox) and has narrowed the gap to a slightly more manageable 39 percent to 61 percent. (She had been trailing by as much as forty percentage points.) Mirren, however, remains cautiously humble \u2014 and as poised as her championship team in 1980. We caught up with her briefly on her way to the locker room. ESQUIRE: Were you surprised to be doing this well?  DAME HELEN MIRREN: I was surprised and flattered to be included at all. Personally I think Ms. Fox is one of the smartest, coolest, and sexiest creatures in the Western Hemisphere. I am gobsmacked. ESQ: Are you upset that the selection committee only gave you a 16 seed?  HM: Well, I don&amp;#039;t quite know what that means, so I guess I don&amp;#039;t mind. ESQ: Does veteran experience help in a tournament like this?  HM: Sometimes the veterans have a way of surprising you \u2014 think Brett Favre. ESQ: If you win, do you have any words of consolation for your opponent?  HM: If I win \u2014 big if \u2014 I would say to Megan, &amp;quot;You actually still are one of the smartest, coolest, and sexiest creatures in the Western Hemisphere.&amp;quot; ESQ: Do you think it&amp;#039;s your free-throw percentage that&amp;#039;s gotten you this far? HM: It is more the fouls that I have gotten away with. VOTE: Click here for the Fox vs. Mirren matchup &amp;amp;gt;  IN-GAME UPDATES: Erin Andrews, Victoria&amp;#039;s Secret &amp;amp;amp; More &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;gt; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/interviews/a7159/helen-mirren-interview-032210/>