For The Record

Won
By Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, the National League MVP award. Howard (above) batted .313 and led the majors in home runs (58) and RBIs (149), power numbers that are the most ever by a second-year player. Howard received 20 first-place votes to 12 for Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, the reigning NL MVP, who had similar numbers (.331, 49 HRs, 137 RBIs) and led his team to a World Series win. Pujols has now finished second in the MVP voting three times. Said Howard, who turned 27 on Sunday, "It's a good birthday present."

Announced
By commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens, that the LPGA will begin testing for performance-enhancing drugs in 2008. "While the LPGA has had no evidence" of drug use among players, Bivens said, "we recognize the concerns regarding drug use in sport." The details of the testing plan are yet to be worked out, but the LPGA will work with the National Center for Drug Free Sport, which runs the NCAA's testing. "I don't think you're going to see anything out here," said Annika Sorenstam, who is ranked No. 1 in the world. "So it might be a waste of time. But if it's peace of mind for people and if we need to prove that the LPGA's clean, then let's do it."

Arrested
On federal charges of participating in an Internet operation that booked more than $3.3 billion in illegal sports bets since 2004, baseball scout Frank Falzarano, 52. Falzarano, a Long Island resident and one of 27 people indicted, was a former Giants and Marlins scout and a part-timer for the Nationals this season. New York City police commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the site, called playwithal.com and operated by 52-year-old professional poker player James Giordano, was "the largest illegal gambling operation we have ever encountered." Falzarano, whose contract was not renewed by Washington when it expired on Oct. 31, faces between three and 25 years in prison if convicted.

Awarded
To former Bears kicker Bob Thomas, $7 million in damages in a libel suit. Thomas, 54, who attended night school while playing for the Bears from 1975 to '84 and is now chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, sued the Kane County Chronicle after one of its columnists, citing anonymous sources, wrote several stories in 2003 alleging that Thomas had traded judicial votes for political favors. The Chronicle is planning to appeal, and the case could land in the Illinois Supreme Court. Said Thomas of the jury that gave him what is likely the largest libel award ever in Illinois, "I do feel they gave me my name back."

Signed
By prized recruit O.J. Mayo, a letter of intent to attend USC. Mayo, 19, a 6'5" guard who transferred to Huntington (W.Va.) High in September after starring at Cincinnati's North College Hill High for three years, is ranked as the top high school senior in the country. (He averaged 28.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and five assists per game last season.) Mayo (above) said he wanted to announce his decision now so speculation over where he would go wouldn't be a distraction when Huntington's season started. "[USC] Coach [Tim] Floyd has been an NBA coach ... and the city of Los Angeles is a great marketing city," Mayo said. "Hopefully, if everything goes well, I can market myself better for the next level."

Covered
By 76ers guard Allen Iverson, the funeral expenses for a 22-year-old Philadelphia man who died on Nov. 14 from complications following a 2003 shooting that occurred after he refused to surrender his Iverson jersey to a group of teenagers. Kevin Johnson, who had recently graduated from high school, was paralyzed by the shooting and recently fell into a vegetative state. His family took him off life support last week; his funeral was scheduled for Wednesday. "If they were that serious," Iverson said of the muggers, "I would have given them 100 jerseys."

Died
At age 79, of respiratory and circulatory failure, former Hungarian national team captain Ferenc Puskas (right), one of the giants of international soccer in the 1950s. Puskas, known as the Galloping Major in honor of his rank in the Hungarian army, scored 84 goals in 85 games for the national team and led Hungary to an Olympic gold medal in 1952 and the final of the '54 World Cup. He also starred in one of European soccer's most famous matches, scoring two goals in Hungary's shocking upset of England at Wembley Stadium in 1953. In 1999 Puskas was voted the sixth best player of the 20th century.

Announced
Eight days after North Texas football coach Darrell Dickey was fired, that the school's athletic facility will be named for him. Dickey led the Mean Green to a 42--63 record in nine seasons and after a 3--8 start this year was axed on Nov. 8. The move angered Jim McIngvale, a Houston furniture magnate and one of North Texas's highest-profile boosters, who gave the school an ultimatum: Honor Dickey or he would redirect a $1 million gift he gave the athletic department to the music program. Said athletic director Rick Villarreal, "You have to keep the boosters' best wishes in mind."

Announced
By Chinese health officials, that mice will be used to test the safety of athletes' food at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. China has had a rash of food-poisoning incidents this year; last month 200 students and teachers were sickened at a school in the southern part of the country. To prevent such problems during the Games and fend off possible terrorist plots, mice will sample ingredients 24 hours before meals are prepared. The mice develop symptoms within 17 hours if the food is tainted, faster than lab testing would provide results. It isn't the first time testers have been used—human tasters were employed at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Cloned
In Austin, Scamper, a gelding that won a record 10 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association barrel racing championships between 1984 and '93 (SI, Dec. 15, 1986). The male foal, Clayton (above), was born on Aug. 8, but his birth was kept a secret until last week; he looks almost identical to Scamper (below), who is still alive at 29. "Scamper was one of the greatest horses ever," said Charmayne James, Scamper's owner and rider and the alltime leader on barrel racing's money list. "I wanted to get in and save his genetics, because if they were ever able to clone a horse, Scamper would be the horse to clone." James plans to breed Clayton and says he won't be raced for fear of injury.