May 01, 2000 | Volume 92, Issue 18

Chinese Take-outLaila Ali stings like a bee during her bloody fourth-round TKO over Kristina King in Guangzhou.

Next year you'll predict that the Cubs will win the World Series.—Zachary H. Shotland, Boynton Beach, Fla.

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, 135 West 50th Street, New York, N.Y....

April 5, 1971

Highlights

Last week, the home page of The Sporting News's Web site (www.sportingnews.com) posed the following question: "Is there an Elian Gonzalez-type sports story that you just wish would go away? If so,...

When it conies to on-court look and feel, the hot new film love & Basketball' is more hit than miss

Cal alumni and Bay Area celebrities contribute some golden items to an on-line auction

"What do I remember about Charles? His gluteus maximus. That's the Number 1 thing. That's the biggest gluteus maximus in the world. I didn't have enough gluteus maximus to defend him."—Heat...

Wicked cricket, a shot to the skull, a horseless head: just a typical day of sports coverage abroad

Drawing out the NBA's first round to absurd lengths could kill playoff drama

Wristed from the right circle, off a defenseman's left leg, nothing but net. The magical third-period goal by Jaromir Jagr that clinched the Penguins' opening-round upset of the Capitals was...

2Times that Suns center Luc Longley was bitten by a scorpion while sorting through his CD collection.

Seeking Good CarmaThe Niners look to Hofstra, of all places, for their quarterback of the future

Confiscated•Yarmulkes bearing the Nike swoosh, from Judaica shops in New York City. Unlicensed use of the Nike trademark on Jewish skullcaps is part of a growing trend to adorn the traditional...

Giving new meaning to the term occupational hazard, in January, Troy Harman—cohost of MTV's Senseless Acts of Video—skydived from one plane to another, which was nosediving at 120 mph with the...

Looking for a package of Champ prophylactics featuring Ted Williams's unauthorized image? Hungry for a piece of wedding cake from Joe DiMaggio's 1939 marriage to starlet Dorothy Arnold? Seeking a...

Major League Baseball this season will fine players who put personal messages, including the number of an injured teammate, on their uniforms.

SERGEI FEDOROVRed Wings center, on media scrutiny of his relationship with tennis vixen Anna Kournikova: "When I was with her, I was living in a soup bowl."

No Trick: When Ray Pelletier speaks, coaches listen and players respond

Pitching Around Fidelby S.L. PriceHarper Collins, $24

Nancy Derrick, Johnston, S.C.BasketballNancy, a senior guard at the Wardlaw Academy, scored all 40 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Patriots in a 40-30 win over the Avalon Academy to lead...

Two themes have dominated the U.S. distaff soccer landscape since last summer: the effort to start a topflight women's pro league by 2001 and the tension between men's and women's soccer. The...

He may be next to invisible, but Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero might be the best player in baseball, and he's off to the kind of start that could produce a historic season

Here's SI's lineup of baseball's best players age 25 and under

Even in Portland's postseason opener, forward Rasheed Wallace, who's as tempestuous as he is talented, couldn't stop himself from drawing yet another technical foul

Though his statistics don't suffer much when he gets whistled for a T—which he did a record 38 times this season—the Trail Blazers' performance does. Here's how Wallace and Portland fared during...

Things are looking up for the Devils and their goalie, Martin Brodeur, who put their recent postseason failures behind them with a sweep of the Panthers

How strong academic requirements, a suicidal schedule and an unproven coach have taken the fight out of Notre Dame

Stay prepped for the playoffs: Phil Taylor answers your NBA questions and Kostya Kennedy responds to your NHL queries in their virtual mailbags at cnnsi.com/si_online.

THE NBA

Courting DisasterIn a playoff-opening loss, the Raptors had to cope with a bizarre lawsuit and awful shooting

After taking over as the Pistons' interim coach on March 6, George Irvine repeatedly said he had no interest in the job beyond this season. But now, after getting endorsements from Grant Hill and...

No PikerDashing diver Mark Ruiz took over the indoor national with two come from behind

Hit by a truck, flying glass and cancer, triathlete Karen Smyers rides on

Marquee NameAspiring actor Cedric Cobbs will get star billing at Arkansas this fall

North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers knew he would have to miss the first couple of weeks of spring practice because he was filling in as the backup power forward on the Tar Heels'...

First-rateA passel of rookies did big things during the first round of the playoffs

MAY 1, 1965BLACKHAWKS VS. CANADIENSJean Beliveau scored the winning goal to lead Montreal past Chicago 4-0 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, at the Forum. After the series Beliveau, who had...

Although the NHL office doesn't like to admit it, there's a different standard for supplemental discipline in the playoffs from that of the regular season. A league official told a team exec last...

Relief at LastLed by closer Kazuhiro Sasaki, the pen is no longer a Seattle headache

Tigers batting coach Bill Madlock, whose hitters failed to produce a run four times in their first 14 games, is scrapping the daily batters' meeting in which a plan of attack against the opposing...

April 19, 2000Twins 7, Royals 6

After a year at poolside, Kevin Elster is making a splash in Los Angeles

If any of you in the state of Indiana had a spoonful of guts, you'd walk up to Bob Knight, pull that stupid red sweater over his face and punch him flush in the nose. That's what you should do...

It is often said that there's nothing new in golf, yet the quest for knowledge in this most unconquerable of games has never ceased. While the most influential instruction has always come from the...

He heads the first family at the last plant in the U.S. where golf shoes are handmade

Tour Lull Offers OpportunityLife in the Dead Zone

The LPGA will never be big time until it plugs the holes in its schedule. A month ago the women had buzz. The Sorenstam sisters put an emotional end to Karrie Webb's winning streak, only to have...

What do these players have in common?

A very good year, 1957. It gave us classic versions of the Chevy Nomad and the T-Bird, Sputnik and Miles Ahead. It was also the most abundant year for spawning championship golfers. Born in 1957...

•DeadheadAfter Greensboro, Hal Sutton is the only man alive with a shot at the Dead Zone triple crown.

Hal SuttonDead ZoneJustin LeonardAdam ScottRoyal Canadian Golf AssociationDead ZoneSpring BreakCell phonesAaron BaddeleyRoyal and Ancient Golf Club

William Ely, Boynton Beach, Fla.Ely, an 88-year-old retired lieutenant general, shot a one-under 71 at Quail Ridge Country Club. Since 1987, Ely has bettered his age more than 1,300 times. A World...

It's time people stopped bad-mouthing Vijay Singh and started giving him respect

David Duval took a giant step backward with his latest close call in a major

For pros looking for a breakthrough win, places like Greensboro are golden