December 22, 2003 | Volume 99, Issue 25

Us vs. ThemAlthough I may be tempting the wrath of Woody and die-hard Ohio State fans, congratulations to Michigan on a well-played game and its outright Big Ten championship. I thought that...

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.

SEPTEMBER 5, 1977

It is now possible in sports to hold a meaningful conversation entirely in acronyms or initials, as when Shaquille O'Neal, asked which teams ought to be in the BCS title game, answered, "LSU-USC."

Those frontline soldiers in the war on steriod abuse—the pee collectors—are finally making a splash

JinxedBy light-hitting IBF welterweight champion Cory Spinks, the heavily favored WBC and WBA king, Ricardo Mayorga, in a majority decision at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Following in the...

Died

Good to be here. I don't want to pile on, but are you wondering if Grady Little would have left Saddam in the mud hut just a little longer?

The three-time national figure skating champ defends his title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships next month

At the end of a solid year for sports books, SI picks a top 21

Brilliant—and beautiful—reissues by a writer who couldn't just watch

WHAT TO WATCH AND WATCH FOR

•BEE PLUSHere's an eight-letter word for the fastest-growing form of competition on television: S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G. Fox has green-lighted Celebrity Spelling Bee, a two-hour special featuring...

Christopher Reeve hasn't let the riding accident that left him paralyzed eight years ago diminish his love for horses. He frequently travels from his home in Westchester County, N.Y.—he lives...

Joe Theismann and Lawrence Taylor are selling autographed photos of Taylor snapping Theismann's shinbone in a 1985 game.

Last week Maurizio Cheli did what no Formula One driver has done in years. He came out ahead of Michael Schumacher. O.K. he used a Eurofighter Typhoon, but still. Cheli's jet beat Schumacher's...

JIM HASLETTSaints coach, on receiver Joe Horn (left), who has been penalized for behavior such as Sunday's incident in which he called his mother from the end zone on his cellphone. "He'll learn....

Haley Exner, SAN DIEGOField HockeyHaley, a senior goalie at Scripps Ranch High, had her 67th career shutout, a national high school record, in a win over El Capitan on Nov. 18. She helped lead the...

To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, go to SI.com/faces.

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

For more on Peyton Manning—including SI flashback stories from his days at Tennessee and his rookie season with the Colts—go to si.com/siexclusive.

The LAKOTA NATION INVITATIONAL honors the sports passion and culture of American Indians

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

Little-school feats are the big moments for natives such as NBC's anchorman

South Dakotans weigh in on sports*

An SI flashback story on sports adventures in the historic Black Hills and a gallery of photos and facts about Adam Vinatieri and other Mount Rushmore State stars at...

Four HandNorth Dakota defensive back Adam Stratton (26) breaks up a pass intended for Grand Valley State's Micah Staley during the Division II championship game last Saturday in Florence, Ala.,...

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is having the best season of his six-year career, but to silence his critics he has to win in the playoffs

Michael Silver's Open Mike, every Thursday at si.com.

After a wide-open race, the Colts' Peyton Manning has emerged as the man to beat

A streetwise Philly marketer, with some juice from hip-hop stars, has turned the throwback jersey into a big-bucks fashion frenzy

What turns a moldering jersey or forgotten shoe into a retro fashion fever? Two case histories

New retros for the holidays—and next year

NBA fans already know top picks LeBron and Carmelo, but 19-year-old Chris Bosh is making a name for himself with the rejuvenated Raptors

In trading for overpriced Antonio Davis, Bulls rookie G.M. John Paxson got the short end of his deal with Toronto

Maybe he's no Patrick Roy, but first-year starter David Aebischer learned a lot about goaltending—including how to win—from the master

At the winter meetings the specter of irascible Yankees owner George Steinbrenner sent rival AL East teams on a spending spree

Quick, which was the last team other than the Yankees to win the AL East? Answer: the 1997 Orioles. It's been Groundhog Day in the division ever since, with the five teams finishing in the same...

Hazing is often winked at as a benign initiation ritual, but it has a tendency to spiral out of control, as it did in the horrific events at Long Island's MEPHAM HIGH

What can schools and parents do to stop hazing? An expert in the field, Dr. Norman Pollard, who is the director of counseling at Alfred (N.Y.) University, has several suggestions.

The NFL

Guns for HireTeams in need of a passer should look at veterans like Mark Brunell

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

TRADING E-MAIL WITH...Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, the NFL's ninth-rated passer

Here are the reasons why the Vikings should upset the Chiefs in the Metrodome on Saturday:

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

Missouri tries to focus on wins rather than on an NCAA investigation

1. Louisville's Francisco Garcia is courageous. During the same week that his 19-year-old brother was fatally shot, the 6'7" sophomore forward averaged 22.5 points and five rebounds in wins over...

CenterpiecePavel Datsyuk has filled the void in the middle of Detroit's top line

The runaway MVP candidate through the first two months of the season was Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, who had seven shutouts and a stunning 1.53 goals-against average through Sunday. Brodeur...

The following is not a paid endorsement. The author received no gifts or services in exchange for this column. Not that he didn't try.

This holiday season adventure racers get a gift: the return of the Eco-Challenge in '04

End of the Earth: Voyages to AntarcticaBy Peter MatthiessenNational Geographic; 242 pages; $26.00

When Playboy bunny Danelle Folta was infected by a flesh-eating bacteria that turned her right foot black and gangrenous during the 2002 Eco-Challenge in Fiji, she never dreamed her misery would...

I customarily use the December column to gaze back on my year in adventure, much the way I was constantly craning my neck to look behind me last August during the 24 Hours of Tahoe, a...

SI.com/adventure

Born a methamphetamine baby, 13-year-old Roger Carver is channeling his often out-of-control energy into brilliance on a board

The Return of the KingFive years after leaving the pro surfing circuit, Kelly Slater came back to force a not-so-friendly showdown with Andy Irons at the Pipe Masters

It's no surprise that ice queen Kim Csizmazia (left) lives in Canmore, Alberta, the subzero climbing mecca of the world. There, the two-time winner of the Ouray (Colo.) Ice Festival braves...