January 28, 2002 | Volume 96, Issue 4

February 21, 1983

HeroesI felt the need to thank you for the piece by Michael Bamberger about Mike Carroll and his brothers of Ladder 3 (Everybody's All-Americans, Dec. 24-31). Your magazine has been a source of...

Letters

Whether cruising or schmoozing, John Madden is the U.S.A.'s ambassador to itself

the guide

Greg Anthony, guard, Chicago Bulls

The online auction items of the week

He's been called the Canadian Cosell (and a lot worse), but no broadcaster in his country is more popular than the jingoistic Don Cherry, the star of Coach's Corner on CBC's Hockey Night in...

How to determine whether Michael Jordan is the NBA's MVP

Bob Pettit, Hawks (1955-56)Led league in scoring (25.7 points per game) and rebounds (16.2), but St. Louis's .458 winning percentage is lowest ever for team with MVP.

Almost from the moment Lisa Bonder splashed onto the pro tennis circuit in 1982 as a 16-year-old, she made headlines. In '83 she beat Chris Evert Lloyd in the semis of a tournament in Tokyo,...

79Percentage of respondents in an online poll conducted by NBC's Charlotte affiliate who, when asked, "What do you think of the Hornets' possible move to New Orleans?" answered, "Let them go."

Q Why aren't there more left-handers in pro golf?

Who says agents don't have a soft side? Bring up the subject of baseball in South Central Los Angeles, and Dennis Gilbert, the slick former agent who set salary records for clients like Jose...

CreatedBy a University of Utah graduate student, a microscopic facsimile of the Olympic rings out of live nerve cells. The student made the rings to illustrate a cutting-edge bioengineering...

Harry Kalas, 65, has been an announcer for the Phillies for 30 years and has narrated videos for NFL Films since 1975.

Who knew that Irish rockers U2 were such big football fans? Not only will the band be featured in the Super Bowl halftime show, but also the video for its single Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get...

The Class A Daytona Cubs are giving lifetime passes to fans who get tattoos of the team's logo.

RICK PITINOLouisville basketball coach, on forward Joseph N'Sima, who through Sunday was II for 26 from the foul line this season: "I'm a coach who's a big believer in execution. And when I watch...

This week L. Jon Wertheim tells you what's up Down Under at the Australian Open as Peter King and Dr. Z keep you poised and prepped for the NFL postseason.

The U.S. scraped by South Korea in a preview of their crucial World Cup match

Jordan Leopold, GOLDEN VALLEY, MINN.HockeyLeopold, a senior at Minnesota, became the Golden Gophers' leading career goal scorer among defensemen when he had two in a 2-1 victory over North Dakota...

The Steelers smacked down the defending Super Bowl champs by playing defense the way the Ravens used to and offense the way they never could

With Tom Brady, their unflappable quarterback, playing like a seasoned veteran, the Patriots are a force to be reckoned with

After coming of age against Chicago, Donovan McNabb leads the Eagles into the NFC Championship Game as one of the league's elite quarterbacks

Got My Drift?Patriots linebacker Roman Phifer uses Raiders running back Charlie Garner to check the level of snowfall during the teams' AFC divisional playoff game in Foxboro (page 32).

Emerging from the shadow of the vaunted offense, the defense turns the Rams into a two-headed monster

New England at Pittsburgh

Five years after the Bruins made him their No. 1 pick, center Joe Thornton has finally developed into the beast everyone thought he would be

Boston's Sergei Samsonov and Joe Thornton (above) rank one-two in NHL career scoring among players drafted in 1997. Thornton, the first guy picked that year, through Sunday was second in the...

SI had a bird's-eye view when Kansas took on three ranked teams in eight days. Here's an inside look at a big-time program, on and off the court

While leading the Nets from perpetual futility to the best record in the East, Jason Kidd has also come to grips with the domestic abuse that nearly ended his marriage

The NHL

Blackhawk UpAn I'll-show-you attitude has helped hard charging left wing Eric Dazé to fly high

Last week Viktor Fedorov, the father of the Red Wings' Sergei, said that his son should leave Detroit when his contract ends because the Wings have been playing the perennial All-Star center on...

Luc RobitailleRED WINGS LWConsistent if not flashy, he had 612 goals—more than anyone else at his position-in 1,173 NHL games as of Sunday. He has scored at least 36 goals in II of his 15 seasons.

Take That You Mets!Gary Sheffield may give the Braves the punch needed to stay ahead of New York

The Angels lost slugging first baseman Mo Vaughn, but they still might be the most improved team in the American League West. Veteran righthanders Aaron Sele and Kevin Appier are solid additions...

Youth MovementPrecocious freshman guards are making their points across the country

LUKE WALTONJUNIOR, FORWARD, ARIZONA

A mix of players from seven nations has given Hawaii an international flavor and a winner

Fit for the ThroneFinally committed to the Kings, Chris Webber has them shooting for a crown

So eager is Nick Van Exel to be traded out of Denver that he is offering to opt out of the last two years of his contract to negotiate a more cap-friendly deal with a title contender. Van Exel...

On the Heat, which was 12-26 at week's end, seven games out of the final playoff berth in the East:

Charles Smith—no, not that Charles Smith—is giving the Spurs a boost

Good morning and welcome back to the Today show. I'm Katie Couric, along with Matt Lauer. That last segment was fun, huh, Matt? Sampling all the new kinds of beer you can serve at your Super Bowl...

Phil Mickelson made up for lost time with a win at the Hope

Ty Tryon will wait longer for his first pro victory than the most recent 17-year-old phenom, Justin Rose, who won last week after 3½ years of toil as a pro. Rose, a Brit, was a more accomplished...

Phil Mickelson, the Tour's top wedge player, showed his stuff at the Hope by stiffing a flop on the 90th hole to set up a win in OT

When hitting the flop shot, amateurs tend to open the club face too much, put their hands too far forward and position the ball too far back in a very open stance. That's a perfect recipe for a...

With his 20th career victory Phil Mickelson earned a lifetime exemption to the PGA Tour....

Think Tiger Woods already is omni-present? Just wait. "Our goal is to make Tiger as much a part of bar culture as a jukebox and a pool table," says Bob Cooney, VP of business development for...

Encouraged to run a marathon by his fiancée, Amanda Beach, who has completed three, Justin Leonard (above, in sunglasses) ran his first on Dec. 9. He finished Dallas's White Rock Marathon 1,018th...

DURING PRO-AM tournaments like the Hope and Pebble Beach, does TV devote too much, too little, or just enough airtime to the celebrities?

Always instigating, always intimidating, Jim Thorpe bet that being bad would one day turn into something very good