May 31, 1999 | Volume 90, Issue 22

Wait, Mr. Professional Athlete!

May 21, 1956

Hosannas for a HeroThough I don't consider myself a huge hockey fan, I now understand what Wayne Gretzky meant to the game (One of a Kind, April 26). Thank you for capturing the essence of a true...

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,...

DON'T MISS

7.4Local rating (equal to 162,000 homes) on Boston's WSBK for Game 6 of the Bruins-Sabres Stanley Cup playoff series. Against it, the Red Sox-Yankees game on New England Sports Network got a 4.2...

If the National Spelling Bee on ESPN (Thursday, noon) keeps drawing big numbers—last year it outrated the network's regular programming in the time slot—how will sensationalist Fox respond? We...

Shopping catalogs found on airlines are stuffed with flighty gifts for the sports-minded

We'll soon see if soccer's Mia Hamm can measure up to Mia mania

•That U.S. broom makers acknowledge their debt to the Hawks, Lakers and 76ers.

1,000Circulation of The Ant Man Report, a stock-market tip sheet published by Chris Antley, Charismatic's jockey.

The Daily Grind

When Yankees outfielder Darryl Strawberry was busted in Tampa on April 14 for allegedly possessing cocaine and soliciting prostitution, assistant state's attorney Robin Fuson figured the case was...

Golfer Jesper Parnevik and his wife, Mia, named their newborn daughter Pebble Peach.

KEVIN KEEGANCoach of England's soccer team, on his job description: "It's my job not to get beheaded."

Sting Like a Ph.D.At Columbia's commencement ceremonies last Wednesday linguist Noam Chomsky argued that "athletes aren't really heroes. One just happens to play better than the others." On the...

Sarah Steinmann, Lilburn, Ga.SoccerSarah, a sophomore forward at Providence Christian Academy, scored two goals during the girls' Class AA-A state title game, in which the Stars beat defending...

For And 1, it's not about the shoes, it's the shtick

Once the Super Bowl of motor sports, the Indy 500 now competes for fans' attention with three other races on Memorial Day weekend: NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, CART'S Motorola 300 and Formula One's...

Browning Nagle is out to revive his career—and prove his old coach wrong

Slouching Toward FargoBy Neal Karlen Spike, $23

The Columbus Crew has a home that may be the model for the sport in the U.S.

Fearless Sudsy Monchik has sliced and diced his way to the top of his sport

Doctors are now using cartilage cultured in labs to repair injured knees

In a carticel implant to repair a knee, the procedure pioneered by Dr. Peterson, an arthroscopic biopsy is performed first to harvest a sample of healthy cartilage (1). From this sample, new...

Every duffer knows there's more to spoiling a good walk than a John Feinstein book. If your white wing tips leave your dogs barking, and they just can't take any more six-mile hikes through mud...

This week Marty Burns scouts the NBA conference finals, and Phil Taylor answers your playoff questions. Plus, watch all the games in-progress on our NBA livecasts.

With veteran resolve and a rejiggered rotation, Indiana blitzed Philadelphia to remain unbeaten in the postseason

Is new-look New York good enough to knock off its nemesis, Indiana?

Long all but unhittable, Greg Maddux of the Braves has misplaced his pinpoint control and is getting rocked. Is the redrawn strike zone to blame? Harder baseballs? Or bad eyes?

Nosed OutBraves base runner Bret Boone gets a leather facial from Cubs third baseman Tyler Houston while trying to stretch a double into a triple during a 5-1 Chicago win.

Diamondback Luis Gonzalez fresh from a 30-game hit streak, is a player who spreads around his bucks and his bingles

Thanks in part to precocious rookies Milan Hejduk and Chris Drury, Colorado was giving Dallas all it could handle in the Western finals

With Dominik Hasek out, wily Buffalo turned to a backup goalie and jumped ahead of Toronto in the East finals

THE NBA

J.R. Is O.K.Isaiah Rider's timing was perfect for Portland

That groan you heard out of Secaucus, N.J., last Saturday during the draft lottery emanated from the Raptors. They badly want to choose Maryland guard Steve Francis in the first round, but the...

Arie's Last RideIn his final race, pole sitter Arie Luyendyk wants his third Indy 500 win

Battling long odds, Ricky Craven tries to get back to Victory Lane

Some top big league prospects have been broken by the breaking ball

Four days before Blue Jays DH Dave Hollins, a switch-hitter throughout his 10-year career, went on the DL on April 20, Toronto skipper Jim Fregosi announced that henceforth Hollins, who was...

There may be an increase in home runs this season (1.14 per team per game through Sunday, compared with 1.00 to the same point in 1998), but not everyone's going yard. While some pseudo-sluggers...

May 22, 1999 Tigers 6, Indians 2

Lou Boudreau had Cleveland riding high in 1948

The Mets' Roger Cedeño dashed to the fore while subbing for his hero

Back to BasicsThe Oscar De La Hoya of old punched out a tough Oba Carr

While only one member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, David Reid, proved to be worth his weight in gold, overall the Olympians have thrived as pros. The 12 boxers, who won five bronze medals in...

Call what you want—bizarre, deceitful or, perhaps, mad—but be sure of one thing: He has brilliantly guided the careers and lives of his daughters Venus and Serena, the hottest players in tennis

Freed from the pain that has dogged him for a decade, a reinvigorated Jack Nicklaus hit the tour again

Watts Barred from U.S. TeamRyder Wrong

What do these players have in common?

Who of the following is most likely to win a major first?

The minor leagues are the province of young prospects in most sports, but not in golf in 1999. The average age of winners on the Nike tour this year is 33.2, while on the PGA Tour it's 32.7....

Hey, NBA: Playing 36 holes one day doesn't mean you can't score 36 points the next

Brandon Christianson, Valencia, Calif.Brandon, 13, a 0.6 handicapper, won his Toyota Skills Challenge regional qualifier for the second year in a row, topping 705 players aged six to 90. Brandon,...

Comebacks Keep ComingBen Hogan would have appreciated the '99 season. First, Steve Elkington wins at Doral a year after nasal surgery, then José María Olazábal (feet) and Greg Norman (shoulder) go...

Jenny Chuasiriporn's senior year at Duke was a dream come true

After dominating a strong field in Heidelberg, Tiger Woods looks ready to reclaim his title as golf's marked man

At the Colonial, Corey Pavin she that he Is only one small step from finally ending a mysterious slump