September 14, 1998 | Volume 89, Issue 11

April 27, 1987

If Tampa Bay ever makes it to the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer playing quarterback, I'll eat my cheese head.—Tim Zillig, Hiawatha, Iowa

Letters to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer. They may be mailed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, New York,...

Watching a record run is what passes for a sense of community these days

•That Kansas State, having reached football prominence, stop scheduling cupcakes like last week's 66-0 victim, Indiana State.

96Losses this season for the South Bend Silver Hawks, a Diamondbacks' Single A affiliate; hence, the price, in cents, of admission to the team's last home game.

YESForget the 0-5 preseason, which was essentially a get-acquainted session for rookie coach Chan Gailey. Forget last year, when distractions and the horrible coaching of Barry Switzer put Dallas...

There's no question that Roger Maris's 37-year-old home run record was the most hallowed mark in sports, partly because of its longevity, but even more because it has survived so many serious...

Phil Jackson urges Michael to think it over, but good bud Charles Barkley says Jordan is leaving for sure. Stay tuned....

The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association dropped Montana State as the site of the 1999 College National Finals Rodeo because the school refused to let sponsors Copenhagen and Skoal pass out...

YOGI BERRANew York Yankees immortal, reminiscing about his baseball career to the 1998 Little League World Series champions from Toms River, N.J.: "If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it all...

Saturday 9/12

One esteemed St. Louis sportscaster was able to share in Mark McGwire's glory last weekend while another was notable for his absence. Jack Buck, 74, did the local radio play-by-play for Big Mac's...

Adam Seri, Audubon, Pa.TennisSeri, a sophomore who just transferred to Georgia, won the singles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Summer Championships with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat...

With an electrifying jolt, Mark McGwire passed the Babe and caught Roger to set the stage for the record breaker

Departments

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and CNN team up on the Internet to offer up-to-the-minute sports news and stats. This week stay on top of the action at the U.S. Open: SI's Jon Wertheim serves up exclusive...

Ebulliently stalking the Babe and Big Mac, bashing baseballs and merrily mangling his adopted lingo, the Cubs' fan-friendly Sammy Sosa is having the time of his life—on and off the field

Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez are neck and neck in the American League Cy Young race. Too bad nobody's paying attention

Number 61When Mark McGwire ripped Cub Mike Morgan's first-inning delivery or Monday (left), he, catcher Scott Servais and awed ump Gary Darling (following photo) immediately knew that McGwire had...

Using a high-octane offense to compensate for their sputtering defense, the 49ers beat the Jets and served notice that they'll be tough to stop

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning showed flashes of brilliance in his NFL debut, but his inexperience led to a Dolphins victory

The game was over, the game had just begun. Agent Leigh Steinberg leaned against a wall in the guts of Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday and played spin doctor. Yes, his client, San Diego Chargers rookie...

Led by a corps of unheralded and inexperienced receivers, Washington lit up eighth-ranked Arizona State in a season-opening surprise

After a season of frustration and an off-season that was worse, Notre Dame and its beleaguered coach, Bob Davie, regained respectability by whipping Michigan

It's taken Clippers center only three years to go from novice to No. 1 draft pick, but he knows he'll be in deep water in the NBA

BASEBALL

Seattle SwoonThe Mariners' defense of their division title has been a disaster

When the-c'mon, you can say it—world champion Marlins started dumping players like overweight prom dates last off-season, fans went ballistic. Owner Wayne Huizenga was destroying a championship...

HousewarmingThe Ravens opened a new stadium but seemed stuck in the same old rut

1. Destiny's Child: Nice summer for Vikings coach Dennis Green. He loses 40-plus pounds and gains the league's biggest new star, rookie wideout Randy Moss, who grabs two touchdown passes in the...

The Ravens' Jeff Mitchell got pumped up to face the vaunted Steelers

I get a tremendous sense of déjà vu from the strange quarterback situation in Washington, which will crystallize on Monday night when Trent Green goes against the 49ers in his first NFL start.

Early-season kickoff and punt teams aren't all that they should be

•Central Michigan's 38-0 loss to Iowa was its ninth in a row and ended the Chippewas' 167-game scoring streak, fourth longest in the nation. The longest scoring streaks: BYU (287), Texas (202) and...

•Texas (1-0) at UCLA (1-0)

BRIAN WESTBROOK

Burning RubberTire-tampering charges didn't slow Jeff Gordon in a win at Darlington

39Number of Winston Cup drivers who have won more money this year than Richard Petty did in the richest season of his 35-year career. Petty earned $531,292 in 1979.

CART driver Adrian Fernandez races in the shadow of death

Spice and SpiteThe repackaging of Anna Kournikova is big-and bitter-business

22,000Amount, in dollars, earned by 17-year-old Taylor Dent in two singles and one doubles match at the U.S. Open, his debut tournament as a professional.

To my granddaughter,