Who's Hot/who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Young Phillies

Rookies Ryan Howard (19 RBIs in 95 at bats) and Robinson Tejeda (2--2, 2.90 ERA) and sizzling sophomore Chase Utley (.312, 54 RBIs) have Philly in the playoff hunt. After Utley (above) belted an 11th-inning homer on Friday, then beat out a grounder to help ice a 2--0 victory on Saturday (Tejeda got the win), manager Charlie Manuel said, "This kid is playing some kind of great baseball."

Chamique Holdsclaw

Last summer she battled depression, which sidelined her for the last month of the WNBA season. This year? She's pacing the L.A. Sparks, leading the league with 18.9 points per game.

U.S. Soccer

The men survived a grueling tournament--high heat, injuries, coach Bruce Arena's one-game ban--to nip Panama on penalty kicks, win the Gold Cup and move to an alltime high No. 6 FIFA ranking. And the women's new generation looks ready: By blanking Iceland 3--0, the U.S. stayed unbeaten (7--0) since Mia Hamm's farewell.

East Coast Big Men

The 76ers reportedly ponied up more than $60 million (for six years) to keep 6'11" center Samuel Dalembert, who averaged a modest 8.2 points and 7.5 rebounds last year. This, 10 days after the Knicks handed 7'1" Jerome James (4.9 points, 3.0 rebounds with Seattle) $29 million over five years. Tall is good.

WHO'S Not