Leading Off

? For more Leading Off pictures, go to SI.com/photos.

Legal Use of Hands

Escorted by young soccer players onto the field at Giants Stadium, European champion Barcelona, led by Ronaldinho (with headband), and the Red Bulls of MLS met last Saturday night. Barcelona completed its preseason tour of the U.S. with a 4--1 win before 79,002 fans. Ronaldinho scored twice.

House of Cards

A sellout crowd of 63,400 turned out last Friday for the unveiling of Cardinals Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale and to watch the home team beat the Steelers, 21-13, in a preseason game (page 54). The $455 million facility, whose exterior design (inset) was inspired by a barrel cactus, features a retractable roof (shown here closed) and a natural-grass field built on drawers so that it can be removed to help the grass grow and for nonfootball events.

Octuple Jump

Heptathlete Carolina Kl�ft, a 23-year-old Swede, placed first in the long jump with a leap of 6.65 meters en route to winning her seven-event specialty on Aug. 8 at the European Athletics Championships in G�teborg, Sweden. Her total of 6,740 points was a meet record.