September 08, 2003 | Volume 99, Issue 10

Cowboy BillPeter King asks what it will take for Bill Parcells to win in Dallas (Summer School, Aug. 18). That's easy—Bill Belichick. Parcells has gone to three Super Bowls with Belichick running...

LETTERS•Please e-mail us at letters@si.timeinc.com or fax us at 212-467-4049. Letters should include the writer's full name, address and home telephone number and may be edited for clarity and space.

Check me out. I know I'm arm candy, a trophy husband, a pretty boy whose primary purpose is to look dynamite at court-side. And I've known it from the first week of my marriage to professional...

Sinking boats, 60,000 stray dogs and protesting hookers: With the Olympics less than a year away, Athens has a lot of work to do

It's been a long, rough stretch for one of the NBA's greats

WHY CAL RIPKEN JR. MIGHT READ THIS AND WEEPWebster, 54, has surfed for 10,226 consecutive days (since Sept. 3, 1975), earning him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records and a segment in Step...

$20,000Prize money earned at the U.S. Open by Justin Gimelstob, the only player to lose in the first round of singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

HospitalizedFor exhaustion after missing Sunday night's game against the Diamondbacks, the Giants' Barry Bonds. The 39-year-old slugger had returned to San Francisco's lineup last Saturday in...

Resisted

So, Mars is now the closest it's been to Earth in 60,000 years. Are you like me? Are you waiting for Bud Selig to announce that the Expos will play 22 games there next season?

The 63-year-old Hall of Fame tight end, Super Bowl-winning Bears coach and restaurant owner is the national spokesperson for the NFL's new Tackling Men's Health campaign.

SEPT. 5-11

Gator's Tale, Martina's Next Move

No, that wasn't a comely new mechanic turning heads in the pit at the Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C., on Sunday. That was Jersey girl Michelle Rodriguez (left), the star of S.W.A.T. and The Fast...

A cable network is installing talking ads for its college football programming in the urinals at 500 bars.

There was something in the hair in Saint-Denis, France, as Allyson Felix. 17, flipped her 'do before the quarterfinals of the 200 meters at the world championships. After finishing sixth,...

PAUL AZINGERPGA golfer, on fellow pro Phil Mickelson (left), who failed in his tryout as a pitcher with the Triple A Toledo Mud Hens: "The last time I batted was in Little League, and that's the...

Closing Time

Paige Railey, CLEARWATER, FLA.SailingPaige, a junior at Clearwater High, won the girls' single-handed event at the 33rd International Sailing Federation Youth Sailing world championship held near...

SAVING GRACE: d. John Wetteland of the Yankee set the major league record of 24 consecutive appearances with a save, from May 31 to 14, 1986.

To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, go to Sl.com/magazine.

The storied track at DARLINGTON bid farewell to its Labor Day 500—and a beloved tradition

For more about sports in South Carolina and the other 49 states, go to si.com/50.

The once-retired coach explains why he returned to the state and the Gamecocks

South Carolinians weigh in on sports*

To view archival stories and photos from the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry, revisit famous FACES IN THE CROWD or submit your favorite Palmetto State sports memory, go to...

After a tumultuous off-season, college football finally kicked off—and no team was happier to hit the field than the besieged Buckeyes of Ohio State

For more college football coverage,' including Tim Layden's Insider and a photo gallery from the week, go to si.com/football/ncaa.

USC's Matt Leinart looks prepared to pick up where Heisman winner Carson Palmer left off

GATOR FACTORMiami junior quarterback Brock Berlin's girlfriend, reigning Miss Louisiana Brittney Rogers, won $50,000 on Fear Factor after she ate fermented squid guts, dived into a tub filled with...

In fashion-forward neon yellow uniforms, Oregon came on like lightning

Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers will do whatever it takes to restore his reputation

Under Larry Brown, the U.S. reasserted its dominance of hoops in the hemisphere, qualifying for the Olympics and erasing humiliations past

The epic proportions of the Boston-New York rivalry—the game's best—were undiminished by yet another Yankees triumph in the first of two crucial series

Revisit past Red Sox glory and Yankees dominance in the Curse of the Bambino Timeline at si.com/baseball.

The A's and the Cubs are SI's picks to win the wild cards

To sign up for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED's free subscriber-only e-mail newsletter, go to sicustomerservice.com/siextra.

For complete coverage of the U.S. Open, including scores and daily dispatches from courtside by L. Jon Wertheim and Richard Deitsch, go to si.com/tennis.

Mental illness still carries a powerful stigma in pro sports, but there are signs that teams are finally facing the problem and trying to help troubled athletes

Track

Tigers PauseThe Clemson football team makes its traditional run down the Hill before its opener, at home against Georgia last Saturday (page 48). During the game, however, the Tigers took a...

Last-minute U.S. golds brightened a controversial week at the worlds

Free-agent-to-be Vladimir Guerrero has kept Montreal in the playoff race

With Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis reeling lately (the lefthander allowed 17 runs and 26 hits in his last 18 innings through Sunday), Mets shortstop Jose Reyes suddenly became a leading...

The U.S. Open's home-team advantage is star-spangled marketing gone awry

Lacking Andy Roddick's game, James Blake's looks and Robby Ginepri's celebrity girlfriend (Minnie Driver), Mardy Fish is the George Harrison of the Fab Four up-and-coming Americans. He's so...

Nine-Month MiracleBack from a career-threatening hit by Warren Sapp, tackle Chad Clifton is blasting holes for the Pack again

Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback, every week on si.com/football.

Don't believe the hype. These are not crucial games, not at this stage of the year. But it could be a week in which some off-season questions are answered.

Dr. Z's Inside Football, every week during the season at si.com/football.

Mike Ditka mangled it. Bea Arthur smoked it. Mel Gibson risked his life trying to do it. *NSync asked to do it. Oprah refuses to do it. On a 90° day Joe Frazier froze in the middle of it.