Leading Off

Departments

13 Catching Up With...
14 Letters
94 The Life of Reilly

17 Scorecard

Derelict drug enforcement
Hall of Famers 1999
Swap: pitcher for catfish
World Cup ref vindicated
Obscure sports quiz
The Curt Flood law
Faces in the Crowd
SI View

Inside...

80 Motor Sports
84 The NFL
88 Baseball

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY AL TIELEMANS

Baseball
32 Houston, We Have Liftoff
The arrival of Randy Johnson sent expectations of the Astros and their fans skyrocketing
by Tom Verducci

Pro Football
38 Mad Dash
The 40-yard sprint has become the football coach's most trusted measurement of a player's foot speed, despite the fact that it's totally unreliable
by Ivan Maisel

Hockey
46 A Prague Summer
After dominating the Olympics and the NHL season, Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek returned to his hometown, near the Czech capital, for a hero's welcome
by William Nack