September 30, 2002 | Volume 97, Issue 13

San Diego defensive end Marcellus Wiley has an interesting slant on his team's 3-0 start. "We are climbing up the the food chain in terms of our opponents," he says.

John Madden is prime time now—Monday nights, magazine covers, video game boxes and, who knows what's next, the $5 bill?

Coach ChuckyThank you, S.L Price, for showing Jon Gruden's true colors (Coach Chucky, Sept. 9). I had the pleasure of being Jon's teammate for two years at Dayton. No one on those Flyers teams...

LETTERS

Like the athletes they cover, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S writers and photographers rely on teamwork to do their jobs, discussing the tone and direction of a story when they receive an assignment and...

If you spent your summer vacation visiting Six Flags Over Butte, or the Hanging Gardens of Gary, or just dozing in a lawn chair—the new Tom Clancy A-framed across your gut—you might envy the go-go...

Vince McMahon's once mighty wrestling empire is on the ropes—for a reason that fans of real sports can appreciate

Suzy Whaley earns a PGA Tour start—and a shot at women's golf history

Last week, after volatile Metrostars forward Clint Mathis got his most recent red card, New York/New Jersey coach Octavio Zombrano publicly suggested that Mathis see a sports psychologist. We went...

$100 millionProfit from the 2002 Winter Olympics announced by Salt Lake Organizing Committee president Fraser Bullock.

CaughtBy several members of The Edmonton Eskimos, a woman who jumped from The fourth floor of a burning apartment building in downtown Edmonton. The 24-year-old woman, who lives in the same...

Despite tight security, players and coaches must watch their backs

In its fall fashion preview Esquire heralded the return to hipness of "big, flowy pants, with things like pleats, cuffs and waists that actually reach the waistline." That's too bad for major...

Thanks, you're too kind. I missed the Emmy Awards. Help me out here: Did Tom Arnold win for Best Supporting Sycophant?

Last Sunday former Cowboys and Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson, 59, ended his self-imposed two-season football exile, emerging from his oceanfront spread in Islamorada, Fla., to rejoin Fox NFL Sunday...

Sprinters Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones share a whole lot: title (World's Fastest Man/Woman), coach, agent, even footwear—Montgomery set a then personal best in the 100 meters last year wearing...

Vindbjart, a Norwegian soccer team, sold striker Kenneth Kristensen to division rival Floey for the player's weight in fresh prawns.

Curiously strong, indeed. While touting Altoids—and flexing deltoids—30-year-old Jill Mills of San Antonio toted quite a pair of 65-kilogram (143½ pound) weights during last week's World's...

LOU PINIELLAMariners manager, after kicking his cap during an argument with an umpire: "I'm going to send the picture to Jon Gruden. If he needs a field goal kicker halfway through the season, I'm...

SEPTEMBER 27-OCTOBER 3

Fox drops Tyson, Solid Solheim for NBC, Tiger ratings roar

Barbara Jordan, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.Track and FieldJordan, 66, ran the 80-meter hurdles in 17.38, setting a U.S. record for the 65-69 age group at the National Masters Championships in Orono,...

When Tyrone Willingham first applied for the Notre Dame coaching job, the school told him he wasn't rah-rah enough. Look who's cheering now

Michigan State's star wide receiver, Charles Rogers, boosted his Heisman chances and his NFL stature

Next up for Willingham and the Irish: Stanford, the school that gave him his first head coaching job

Should A-Rod win the AL MVP? Who deserves the NL Cy Young Award, Schilling or Johnson? Can a Rockies pitcher really be Rookie of the Year? Answers below

1 ALFONSO SORIANO, 2B, YANKEES2 ALEX RODRIGUEZ, SS, RANGERS3 JASON GIAMBI, 1B, YANKEES4 MIGUEL TEJADA, SS, ATHLETICS5 GARRET ANDERSON, LF, ANGELS6 TORII HUNTER, CF, TWINS7 ERIC CHAVEZ, 3B,...

In the closest Cy Young races ever, it's teammate versus teammate

1 PEDRO MARTINEZ, RED SOX2 DEREK LOWE, RED SOX3 BARRY ZITO, ATHLETICS

1 RANDY JOHNSON, DIAMONDBACKS2 CURT SCHILLING, DIAMONDBACKS3 JOHN SMOLTZ, BRAVES

Pitch-by-pitchmen: Get on-scene analysis throughout the playoffs from SI's Tom Verducci, Stephen Cannella and Jeff Pearlman at cnnsi.com/baseball.

Barry Bonds will add another record to his list: his fifth NL MVP

1 BARRY BONDS, LF, GIANTS2 ALBERT PUJOLS, LF, CARDINALS3 LANCE BERKMAN, CF, ASTROS4 SHAWN GREEN, RF, DODGERS5 RANDY JOHNSON, P, DIAMONDBACKS6 CURT SCHILLING, P, DIAMONDBACKS7 JEFF KENT, 2B,...

Honoring the Most Ridiculous Performances of the 2002 season

New Orleans moved to the top of the NFC with its third consecutive victory over a Super Bowl contender

As the Carolina Panthers clomped up the ramp to the visitors' locker room at the Metrodome on Sunday, after having defeated the Minnesota Vikings 21-14, defensive end Mike Rucker talked as if he...

He brought Olympian speed to the NFL, and it changed the face of defensive football, but there were demons in life that he couldn't outrun

The Seniors pool of potential Hall of Famers includes many players who deserve to be inducted, according to SI's Paul Zimmerman. Here are his top five.

The eccentric, thrill-seeking former NBA center set sail in the South Pacific with his girlfriend and his brother, then disappeared. What happened?

Looking back on his college years, the author of The Lords of Discipline and The Prince of Tides finds that his greatest love—and toughest teacher—was basketball

Patriotic FervorNew England wide receiver Troy Brown (80) anticipates a score by tight end Daniel Graham despite the efforts of Chiefs safety Greg Wesley (25) in the Patriots' 41-38 overtime win...

To the thickly muscled pros who will hit golf balls freakish distances at next month's World Long Drive Championship, length is all that matters

College Football

Rocky ToppedWhile Tennessee fumbled and stumbled in the rain, Florida swamped its SEC rival and revived Gator Nation

Iowa State QB Seneca Wallace versus Nebraska DE Chris KelsayWallace may become the Cyclones' first all-conference quarterback in 21 years, because of his scrambling ability. Just ask Florida State...

"We're going to take a big bite out of the MAC," Central Florida coach Mike Kruczek said at an alumni function in June, a reference to the Knights' entrance into the Mid-American Conference this...

Reverse FieldOffensive-minded coach Mike Shanahan can thank his deep, cat-quick defense for the Broncos' 3-0 start

TRADING E-MAIL WITH...Vikings special teams player Harold Morrow

Rounding up the heroes and zeros from a vivid Solheim

Nick Faldo is going to be the star of the Ryder Cup as NBC's guest commentator—if he can wrestle the microphone away from Johnny Miller. Faldo has a bone-dry English wit as well as an analytical...

Tiger Woods has now won at least five tournaments in each of the last four years. The last player to do that was Arnold Palmer, in 1960-63....

Whether it was Tiger Woods at the American Express Championship or the U.S. team at the Solheim Cup, the key to victory was great putting

A proper setup is the foundation of a consistent putting stroke. Tiger Woods's perfect address position has several checkpoints, including a pro move (in yellow) that's common among the Tour's...

On the charter flight from the Pennsylvania Classic to the American Express Championship in Kilkenny, Ireland, a blackjack game broke out featuring, among others, Mark Calcavecchia, Chris Riley...

The Gravity Golf guru takes wing with a new teaching center amid the bustle of Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport

VOTE AT GOLFONLINE.COM

The U.S. reclaimed the Solheim Cup by once again dominating singles

Based on their play in Ireland Tiger Woods and his U.S. teammates should be in fine form at the Belfry