Who's Hot Who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Hester
The Bears are back—and so's their elusive kick returner. After a long impasse Devin Hester got a $40 million contract extension ($15 million's guaranteed), and Chicago's clearing the way for the third-year jitterbugger to become their No. 1 receiver.

Antonio Margarito
He takes it, and he dishes it out. The intractable welterweight (right) pounded previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto to snag a belt and a payday worth more than $1.5 million. Next up? Well, the Oscar-watch is on, but De la Hoya may not want to visit Margarito-ville.

History-Making Females
At the 71st Soap Box Derby in Akron, girls won five of the six trophies—an unprecedented haul for the fairer sex. The youngest winners were 11, and 16-year-old Courtney Rayle of Washington, D.C., was the oldest. Said Courtney to the Beacon Journal, "This has been my dream ever since I can remember."

Big Brown
Forget the last-place pull-up in the Belmont—the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner (right) is back and breezing. He went six furlongs in 1:10.86 (that's fast, folks), ahead of Sunday's Haskell Invitational. His sore feet? Brown swears (via his translator, trainer Rick Dutrow) that they feel fine.

WHO'S Not

Hampton
The Steelers are up and running—but not so their massive Pro Bowl nosetackle. Casey Hampton arrived way overweight (when he's in shape, he's 6'1", 325 pounds), sputtered on a conditioning test and got banished to the physically-unable-to-perform list.

Julio Castillo
Out of control. During a minor league brawl, the Peoria Chiefs pitcher tried to wing a baseball into the other team's dugout but instead clocked a fan on the forehead. The fan went to the hospital; Castillo, 21, went to jail. He faces time, and a fine, on a felonious-assault charge.

Prehistoric Felines
Despite a late rally the San Jose SaberCats' bid to repeat as Arena Bowl champs was scotched by the Philadelphia Soul. Why didn't the final score (an arenaesque 59--56) go San Jose's way? Said QB Mark Grieb, who threw an interception and fumbled a ball into his own end zone, "We just made too many mistakes."

Da'Tara
The long shot Belmont Stakes winner (left) couldn't follow up. In his first race back, the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, Da'Tara set a scorching pace but faded to last. Jockey Alan Garcia to Albany's Times Union: "He wasn't going to run nowhere."