My Bucket List

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The Maui Invitational provides a chance to catch up with some of the nation's top teams -- and their coaches -- early in the season. AP

1. Alabama-Auburn

In the magazine I've described Duke and North Carolina in basketball as "the one rivalry all other rivalries secretly wish to be." But I don't stand by that comment quite as stoutly as I would if I'd seen the Tigers play the Tide, a feud I've been curious about ever since spotting my first AVOID THE RUSH -- HATE AUBURN EARLY bumper sticker.

2. Elf Steden Tocht

This speedskating jamboree -- literally, "Eleven Town Tour" when translated -- is organized in a scramble as soon as the canals in Holland's Friesland province freeze over. It's open to all Dutchmen and Dutchwomen willing to strap on their skates, and is usually won by some utterly unknown tulip farmer who has been training diligently in solitude for years. (Forget about actually being there, I'd be pleased even to learn that the Elf Steden Tocht is taking place. Because of climate change, the race has gone off only once in the past 23 years.)

3. The Maui Invitational

I've done the Great Alaska Shootout and Oahu's Rainbow Classic, but I still need to punch my ticket for this non-Lower 48 holiday classic, where D-I basketball powers cycle through Lahaina to begin the college season. Big-name coaches relaxed and approachable in aloha shirts: Not just a sight to see, but also an interviewing opportunity to take advantage of.

4. Paris-Roubaix

The king of the one-day classics on the pro cycling circuit, the race goes over cobblestones and hills in the raw early spring of northern Europe. Fans line the route to partake in the mud-splattered mess and witness the bone-shattering crashes. Seeing a video of it as a teenager, American cyclist Joe Parkin has said, reminded him of every World War II movie he'd ever seen, and moved him to sign with a pro team in Belgium. I'd want to see it to know why others want to see it.

5. The Oregon Relays

I don't really know track, but Eugene is ground zero for the sport in the U.S., and this is the Ducks' gemstone event. There's nothing -- seeing a pattern here? -- quite like watching others watch an event in which they're deeply invested.

My Favorite: The French Open.

For the city. For the time of year. For the ochre of the clay and the teal of court-level signage. For the mesmerizing length of the rallies. And for the way the Eiffel Tower pokes just above the tops of the trees.

SI's Bucket Lists   Kelli Anderson I love tennis, but I've never covered it at the professional level. Why not start at a Grand Slam in my favorite city? I know the red clay at Roland Garros poses a grueling test for the world's best players ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Lars Anderson NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson had the ultimate "Man's Day" -- his term -- a few years back when he was on the sidelines for both the AFC and NFC championship games. (A bottle of Grey Goose also was involved.) Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Michael Bamberger Mavericks, in Half Moon Bay, Calif., a half-hour south of San Francisco is one of the best large-size surf breaks in the world. As I can barely stand on two feet of warm Atlantic mush, the idea of surfing one of the most radical waves in all of wavedom ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Mark Beech When it comes to watching livestock race through the streets of an ancient European city, this turf writer remains partial to the 90-second spectacle of the Palio di Siena. Twice a year, every July and August, the cobblestones of this Tuscan hill town's Piazza del Campo are covered with a thick layer of dirt, and its stone walls are layered ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Richard Deitsch The legends now broadcast from the booth in the sky: Mel Allen and Red Barber came and went long before my time; Harry Kalas recently passed and Ernie Harwell has long retired. Only Vin Scully remains, a lyrical constant between Jackie Robinson and Manny Ramirez. Others will rank exotic sports destinations at the top ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Adam Duerson By some stroke of luck I got to attend Super Bowl XL in 2006 as a "photo assistant" (meaning that I had to hand rolls of film to Walter Iooss Jr., who sat next to me, every several minutes). It was the Steelers versus the Seahawks ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Michael Farber Bone weary of a manicured lawn and you-da-man/in-the-hole galleries, and distinctly unmoved by the self-consciousness of Augusta, I yearn for golf au natural. A little rain. A lot of wind. Gore-Tex instead of Spandex. Bump and runs. Fescue up to Anthony ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Damon Hack I don't remember my first brush with Wimbledon, but my mom does. I was 3 years old in the summer of 1975 when Arthur Ashe defeated Jimmy Connors in the men's final, a moment that she celebrated by picking me up, holding me in front of the television ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Lee Jenkins I have never been to Omaha, but I imagine a baseball utopia smack in the heartland where for two weeks every June teams from the South and West Coast gather to eat grade-A steak and settle the one major college championship that is still relatively pure. I watch at least half-a-dozen games on television every year ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Peter King Not sure where, but in places like Billings, Mont., and Casper, Wyo., with the sun setting over the left-field fence, with purple mountains majesty above thy fruited plain. Preferably with a local microbrew in my right hand. Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Tim Layden I was once a good runner. Not Olympic/NCAA good, but better-than-most-road racers good. I ran 32:50 for 10K and 50:59 for 15K and several times tried training for a marathon, but on each occasion got injured. This was 25 years ago ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Jack McCallum In 1980, I was covering the Philadelphia Phillies for a newspaper in Allentown, Pa., when, in early August, I left to take a job at the now defunct Baltimore News-American. So I missed that team's memorable run to the 1980 championship ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   S.L. Price I really wanted to do this when it was run on the purist Paris-Dakar route -- the ultimate marriage of wine and dust -- but instability in Africa the last few years has led the looniest road race on the planet to be cancelled or moved to South America ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Alan Shipnuck I grew up in the area and have attended the tournament since I was a kid, spellbound by the beauty of Pebble Beach and intoxicated by the commingling of golf and entertainment royalty. A 49ers fan is never going to get inside the huddle but every year 150 or so regular guys -- albeit well-connected and usually filthy rich ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Gary Van Sickle Hockey, like baseball, is a game of anticipation. Except there's not much anticipation factor during a Vancouver-Columbus game in January. Ah, but the Stanley Cup playoffs are different. Every game is vital. Every rush up the ice you can feel the excitement swell. This is the time, this is the play something could actually happen! Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists   Alex Wolff In the magazine I've described Duke and North Carolina in basketball as "the one rivalry all other rivalries secretly wish to be." But I don't stand by that comment quite as stoutly as I would if I'd seen the Tigers play the Tide, a feud I've been curious ... Gallery: SI's Bucket Lists