December 25, 1989 | Volume 71, Issue 27

"Call your mother," the hotel operator said with a chirp. "She says it's urgent." I gulped. Urgent? Mother of eight, jaded veteran of countless emergency room visits, Pat Murphy was not one to use...

THE OTHER SHOE DROPS

Andrea Stinson is the girl with the jericurl in the middle of her forehead. When she is good, she is very, very good. But when she is bad—and in the largely male pickup basketball precincts that...

MEN: Nathan Buntin, a 6'8" forward for No. 4-ranked Missouri, averaged 24.5 points and 15.5 rebounds as the Tigers beat Arkansas 89-88 and Bradley 86-77. Buntin made 21 of 33 shots from the field...

Brett Hull, Bobby's son, is a star in his own right

A photographer creates an insect alphabet

PRO BASKETBALL—A Knick edge in a sibling rivalry helped New York beat the Hawks 113-109: The Knacks' Gerald Wilkins scored a season-high 29 points, four more than his older brother. Atlanta...

JEFF STUBEFLORISSANT, Mo.Jeff, a senior goaltender at St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy High, had five consecutive shutouts in the 20-4-6 Falcons' five-game run to the state Class 1A-3A soccer title. He...

Sport in the '80s was altered for richer and for poorer

Physically, at least, Galen Rowell's life has had its ups and downs. Since 1972, when he sold his auto repair shop in Berkeley, Calif., and committed himself full time to nature and adventure...

SEISMIC ACTIVITY

•Candy Davis, wife of relief pitcher Mark Davis, marveling at her husband's new four-year, $13 million contract with the Kansas City Royals: "You'd think he discovered the cure for cancer or...

After a weekend that settled almost nothing, but generated fierce physical and verbal combat in Ohio, an NFL-record 17 teams push into the final week of the regular season with a chance to land a...

•The most renowned defensive lines in recent times—the Rams' Fearsome Foursome, Minnesota's Purple People Eaters, Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain—never had as many sacks in a season as the Viking line...

The best teams always get the most attention. Here are four units that quietly excelled on teams that didn't.

With top rookies often holding out in pursuit of high salaries, many NFL executives may be willing to give up two No. 1 draft picks—the compensation for signing a premier free agent—to land a...

1) Joe Montana, 49er quarterback, Week 3. Playing its third straight game in the eastern time zone, San Francisco trailed Philadelphia 21-10 with 13:40 to play. Montana had been sacked seven...

Being a good and honorable football coach isn't always enough, as the firing of Toledo's Dan Simrell suggests

Where shall we begin the story of SI layout artist Magdalena Deskur, a tale that has an enchanting resonance as walls tumble in Eastern Europe? We could start with a little something about her old...

1954-89Congratulations on your 35th anniversary. To my mind SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is the repository of the best contemporary writing to be found anywhere.

Images from a year of roses and thorns