Who's Hot / Who's Not

WHO'S HOT

Houston
Yao Ming may be overrated (see below), but he has helped the Rockets go 6-2 since returning from toe surgery. As Space City readies for NBA All-Star weekend, locals can see bling on a native son: speedskater Chad Hedrick (above and page 42) who has a medallion of gold.

Wisconsin Hockey
The No. 2-ranked women's team, with top scorer Sarah Bauer (left) clinched its first WCHA title; the No. 4 men beat Ohio State before a hopped-up, Badger-lovin' crowd of 40,890 at an outdoor game at Lambeau Field. Injured, Hobey Baker-quality goalie Brian Elliott is back soon.

Art Shell
He's back! Raiders great-a Hall of Fame offensive tackle and the first black coach in the modern NFL when he led Oakland from 1989 to '94-will again patrol the Oakland sideline. "It's coming home to finish what I started," he chirped.

Whiteouts
The Blizzard of 2006 appeared to have struck indoors last week: at men's hoops games at Connecticut and Texas A&M and at a women's game at Oklahoma, fans wore all white in solidarity with their teams, each of which won.

WHO'S NOT

Pro Bowl
A tough watch any year, and this year excruciating. Ten turnovers (six by the AFC), a couple of botched snaps (by Steve McNair), a fumble by Tiki Barber (above), four field goals (thrilling!) and a 23-17 NFC win that amounted to the fewest Pro Bowl points in seven years.

Grandma Luge
About to become the first fiftysomething female (she's 52) to compete in a Winter Olympics, slider Anne Abernathy of the U.S. Virgin Islands-who says her conspicuous red helmet is "in honor of women over 50"-crashed during practice and broke her wrist, ending her sixth trip to the Games.

Art Shell
He's back-even though Raiders owner Al Davis admitted Shell wasn't his first choice for coach. Now Shell has the job few wanted. Davis has discarded five coaches over the past 11 seasons; the Raiders are 13-35 over the past three.

Gonzaga Fans
The Bulldogs most rabid faithful-they call themselves the Kennel Club-were criticized by faculty and by a campus "gay-straight alliance" after chanting "Brokeback Mountain" at opponents during a game with St. Mary's.