For The Record

SWIMMER JESSICA LONG is a big fish in the Paralympic world, but she knew she was in a much larger pond when she attended the Sullivan Award banquet in New York City last week. Long, 15, was one of 15 finalists for the award, which has been given to the nation's top amateur athlete annually since 1930. Among the other nominees were Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, Florida forward Joakim Noah, Tennesee forward Candace Parker and six Olympic medal winners. Long won nine gold medals at the Paralympic world championships in Durban, South Africa, in December and has set 14 Paralympic swimming world records, but she figured she'd be applauding for someone else. She didn't even prepare a victory speech.

But Long's name was called, making her the first Paralympian to win the award. A home-schooled high school freshman from Middle River, Md., Long was born in Irkutsk, Russia, without most of the major bones in both of her legs. She was adopted from an orphanage by Beth and Steve Long in 1993; after she arrived in the U.S., doctors amputated her legs below the knee.

To aid in her therapy the Longs encouraged Jessica to be active: As a child she wore prosthetic legs that allowed her to participate in rock climbing, basketball, gymnastics and skiing, and at age 10 she took up competitive swimming. She began winning races for disabled swimmers within a year, without prosthetics. "She inspires us every day," says Steve, a supervisor with Baltimore Gas & Electric Company. "The way she goes about life, she's fearless."

Long won three golds at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. In South Africa she set world marks in the 100-meter freestyle, 400 free, 100 butterfly, 200 IM and 4 � 100 freestyle relay. She's already making plans for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. "I want anyone with a disability to be able to say, 'If she can do that, I can do something else,'" she says. "I want them not to be upset about their disabilities, because there's nothing they can't do."

Won
By Ruslan Chagaev, the WBA heavyweight title with a majority decision over Nikolai Valuev in Stuttgart, Germany. Despite giving away 11 inches and 90 pounds to the 7-foot, 319-pound champ, Chagaev (above, right) stood toe-to-toe with Valuev and outslugged him. He improved to 23-0 1; Valuev dropped to 46--1, dashing his hopes of surpassing Rocky Marciano's career mark of 49 wins without a loss. Chagaev, a 28-year-old from Uzbekistan who calls himself White Tyson said, "For everybody who said Nikolai was too big and heavy for me, well it's not important that I am smaller now, is it?"

Lost
By Floyd Landis, the latest round in his ongoing battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Last week an arbitration panel ruled that USADA can test more of Landis's urine samples from the 2006 Tour de France, which he won after making up a huge deficit in the 17th of the race's 20 stages. Landis tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone after that stage. The new tests will be performed on B samples from earlier stages. In each case the A sample showed no banned substances. "Judging by their actions, USADA is on a fishing expedition," said Landis, who faces a USADA hearing on May 14.

Suspended
By NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the entire 2007 season, Adam (Pacman) Jones, 23. The Titans' cornerback has been questioned by police at least 10 times since entering the league in 2005. Bengals receiver Chris Henry, 23, who was arrested four times between December '05 and June '06, was banned for eight games. After announcing the penalties, Goodell unveiled even tougher personal conduct standards. The new policy includes longer suspensions ( Goodell didn't specify how long), and teams can now be held responsible for their players' off-the-field behavior, which could result in a team being docked draft choices. The suspensions and the new policy were welcomed by most players and coaches in the league—but not by Jones. "I really didn't agree with it," he said. "But for the most part, I'm taking it like a man. I'm going to appeal it."

Died
At age 84, novelist Kurt Vonnegut. In 1954, Vonnegut—a talented young writer who confessed to knowing next to nothing about sports—was hired to write for SI, which had yet to begin publishing. One of his first assignments was to write a caption about a racehorse who had jumped the rail at Aqueduct and galloped across the infield. Vonnegut pondered the task, typed one sentence and then walked out of his office, never to return. His caption: The horse jumped over the f—ingfence. SI's loss was literature's gain. Cat's Cradle came out in 1963, and in '69 he published his most famous work, the semiautobiographical Slaughterhouse-Five.

Died
At age 73 of complications from a stroke, Warren Strelow, an assistant coach on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. A longtime goaltending coach, Strelow mentored Jim Craig, who didn't allow more than three goals in any of his seven games as the U.S. won the gold. Strelow was also an assistant on the 2002 U.S. team, which won the silver. He worked for the Capitals and the Devils, where he developed Martin Brodeur, before joining the Sharks in 1997. "We will miss him, but he will always be in my heart," said Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov. "The one thing he always wanted was a Stanley Cup, so we've got to give it to him."

Selected
By the U.S. Olympic Committee as its candidate to host the 2016 Summer Games, Chicago. The city, which has never hosted an Olympics, would have to build several new facilities, including a temporary 80,000-seat stadium in Washington Park. Los Angeles, which hosted the 1932 and '84 Games, was the other finalist. "It's just beginning," said Patrick Ryan, Chicago's bid committee chairman. "It's a long road." The IOC will award the Games in 2009. Bids are also expected from Madrid, Prague, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.