Sports Superguys

Even when he's asleep, former Syracuse tailback Walter Reyes doesn't get caught napping. On June 11, Reyes, 25, who's trying to win a job with the Dolphins this summer, was staying with a friend, charity event organizer Lauren Russo-Duby, in Syracuse. In the wee hours, Reyes (left) says, he was awakened by a car alarm; he ran outside and found a man sitting in the front seat of Russo-Duby's SUV--where she was keeping thousands of dollars in cash and checks for charity. Reyes chased the thief and his two accomplices; they escaped but didn't make off with any money. Said Russo-Duby, "Walter saved everything." He also joined an exclusive club: Athletes who swoop in to perform good deeds, often in the face of danger.

May 29. Eagle-eyed Texas freshman quarterback Colt McCoy and his father, Brad, swim 300 yards across a lake in Graham, Texas, to aid Ken Herrington, 60, who is having a seizure on his backyard dock. After checking on the victim, McCoy (right) runs to flag down an EMT crew looking for the house; a week later Herrington is home after a hospital stay. "It was a true hero story of how everybody came together and saved a life," says his wife, Patina. She adds that she hopes McCoy wins the job as Vince Young's Longhorns replacement.

October 2005. While sitting in his waterfront Charlestown, Mass., condo, former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra hears a scream and a splash. He and his uncle Victor race down to find two women have fallen into Boston Harbor. Garciaparra (left) jumps in the water and helps pull the women to safety; once on shore, one of the women asks, "Are you Nomar?"

July 2005. NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus, a former lifeguard, performs CPR to save an unconscious boy pulled from the pool at the Disney World resort where Rosenhaus is vacationing. "I dropped my phone, which is pretty rare," says Rosenhaus (right), whose clients include Terrell Owens. "It was nice to be a good guy for once."

April 2005. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, in Boston to play the Red Sox, sees an eight-year-old boy wander into traffic on Newbury Street. A-Rod (left) grabs the boy and pulls him out of the path of a truck. Still, the save doesn't endear Rodriguez to Fenway fans. Asked later how A-Rod was received, Derek Jeter says, "They didn't sound any different today."

April 2002. Driving on a Georgia interstate at 3 a.m., then Falcons linebacker Chris Draft sees a car lose control, hit a retaining wall and burst into flames. He pulls over and helps drag out the driver; the man suffers only minor injuries. What was Draft (right) thinking? "I'm going to get him out, or we're going to blow up together."