Who's Hot / Who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Cavs 'n' Mavs
Cleveland (with LeBron James scoring madly) and Dallas (17 straight behind MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki, above, who, among other feats, had sunk 57 of 58 free throws) had combined to win 23 of 24 games through Sunday—the lone loss when the Mavericks nipped the Cavaliers by three on March 1. Hmmm, was that a Finals preview we got?

Sammy
Comebacking slugger Sosa (SI, March 5) sure has his whammy so far: He was hitting .476 (that's no misprint) including a two-hit day against his former team the Cubs: "Sometimes they think you are finished," he philosophized, "and I am not."

Wright State
The Raiders snagged their first NCAA berth in 14 years. (Now, says guard DaShaun Wood, right, "We have to keep going.") The baseball team blasted Air Force 52--11 in a four-game sweep and is feeling proud: Sidearming alum Joe Smith hadn't allowed a run in his bid to make the Mets as a reliever.

John Amaechi's Head
Out of the closet, into the sales force: Gay, bald ex-NBAer, got a deal to endorse—no, not Snickers—HeadBlades, makers of fine shaving products for the skull.

WHO'S Not

Nets 'n' Hornets
After failing to trade Jason Kidd (above) or Vince Carter, New Jersey has been off-kilter. With five straight losses through Sunday the Nets may miss the playoffs—supplanted by the rival Knicks!—for the first time since 2001. N'awlins-- Oklahoma City had dropped five straight, too, dimming its chances in the West.

Savarese
Soccer star Giovanni, the top scorer in Red Bulls (n� Metro-Stars) history, was reportedly fired as director of the team's youth program. According to bigapplesoccer.com, a glum Savarese said in a letter, "The decision to terminate my employment was theirs alone."

Coppin State
No NCAAs for the 12--20 Eagles men's team. The women will settle for the NIT after their 49-game conference win streak was snapped by Morgan State. ("Unfamiliar territory," coach Derek Brown said after the team blew an 11-point lead.) No respite on the diamond: Coppin's baseballers started 0--14.

Tim Hardaway's Head
Where was it at? Since his anti-gay rant, the ex-NBAer has lost endorsements—most recently with Bald Guyz, makers of grooming products for the shiny domed set.