October 25, 2004
Cardinals Rule
October 25, 2004
In our story about New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield (Swinging Away, Oct. 11), we wrote that Sheffield, while with the Milwaukee Brewers, had "flattened" teammate Mark Knudson after the...
October 25, 2004
LETTERS
October 25, 2004 | L. John Wertheim
What does the club that had the worst record do next? Unload four starters
With two stars gone and one on the mend, this team is in for a long season
A rebuilding team's fortunes will depend heavily on one rebuilt knee
A 290-pound rookie will help lighten a rising star's load in the frontcourt
There's hope for winning hearts and minds--but little for winning games
Is a sharpshooting journeyman the final piece they need to win it all?
A lack of depth at point guard won't be the rap on this title contender
Same old story: How will they overcome injuries and off-season losses?
Starting afresh, the NBA's top scorer has a few points he wants to make
A former Clipper gets a chance to see how the other half lives in L.A.
Thirty minutes north of New York City is another vast metropolis--a vast necropolis--comprising four contiguous cemeteries. Among the permanent residents of this gated community are icons of...
A skilled big man joins the lineup, but a little man's exit creates a huge void
The new tough guy on the block will push this club back into the playoffs
October 25, 2004
The embodiment of the team? An unsung forward who keeps getting better
They could be on the rise, thanks to young legs and a wise old head
Not even a shot-swatting solid citizen at center can hold this gang together
Democrats and Republicans have been playing a hardball version of Who's the Bigger Sports Fan. But there's an excess of spin on their political pitches
What do you learn from a year on the sideline? That your team needs help
October 25, 2004
The Big Cat has made big strides, but he'll have his paws full this season
There's a fine new leader at point guard, but does he recall how to pass?
October 25, 2004
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Larger-than-life Arena Football League commissioner David Baker won't let anything keep him from his son's college football games
Since taking over as Florida State's quarterback, unheralded sophomore Wyatt Sexton has been unflappable
1. Two years' worth of good fortune--not to mention the loss of 13 starters to the NFL draft--is finally catching up to Ohio State. Following an ugly 33--7 loss at Iowa, the Buckeyes are 0--3 in...
TEXAS TURNAROUND
HOLD THE POLLS
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs came back to a different NFL, a league in which the defenses are dictating the play
TEXANS' RECEIVERS
CHICAGO'S QB WOES
DISPATCHES
Here's the story on the Patriots, and I'm surprised no one has figured it out. It's the great equalizer, to make up for all the hard luck that has befallen the Red Sox. It's the Curse of the...
I am clueless. I am about as plugged in as an Amish toaster. Not only do I not know what's up, I would need a GPS and two sherpas to find up.
October 25, 2004
3 WTA players--Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo and, last week, Lindsay Davenport--who have assumed the No. 1 ranking in the past 15 months without winning a Grand Slam title.
October 25, 2004 | Bill Finley
The best years of his career lost to a 24-year ban, a fixer returns
October 25, 2004
Completed By Indy Racing League champ Tony Kanaan, all 3,305 laps of the IRL season. As Kanaan sat in his motor home last Saturday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, he put his feet up and...
October 25, 2004
Ray Boone was the patriarch of baseball's most stellar family
October 25, 2004 | Bill Scheft
That's it. I'm suing Major League Baseball. They stole my idea for a T-shirt. Although mine said, WENDY SELIG-PRIEB, WHO'S YOUR DADDY?
The 40-year-old former patent lawyer is the World Series of Poker champion and a spokesman for PokerStars.com.
It may not be about the bra, but that didn't stop her from putting a picture of said undergarment on the cover. Brandi Chastain, the U.S. soccer player who famously ripped off her jersey at the...
RADU DEMERGIU
What to watch and watch for
A note to the pooh-bahs at Fox and ESPN: God disapproves of the gimmicks in your baseball broadcasts that purport to give viewers an umpire's-eye view of the game. Longtime National League ump...
October 25, 2004
Should the following athletes be considered for SI's Sportsman of the Year?
Offensive Player of the Week: Washington RB Clinton Portis. I know: Daunte Culpepper threw for 425 yards on Sunday night, but Portis was absolutely the Man at Soldier Field. In a game the...
Team of the Week: Texas A&M. This is why coach Dennis Franchione gets paid the big, big, big, big bucks--he gets results. With their rousing 38-20 upset of undefeated Oklahoma State in...
For our video matchup, Freddy Adu went with D.C. United. Right away Freddy controlled his cyber-self on a run through midfield, bobbing and weaving around defenders, yelling, "Sickness! Sickness!"...
October 25, 2004
Joel Wiggers
Steelers Quarterback
October 25, 2004
Based on a survey of 354 players
October 25, 2004
WHO'S HOT
Broncos tackle Luther Elliss and his wife are raising a regular expansion franchise
October 25, 2004
WILL ALLEN
How Seahawks DE Chike Okeafor prepares to face big linemen
Okeafor, whose full first name, Chikezie, means "well made by God" in a Nigerian dialect, tries to live the truly good life:
October 25, 2004
Lions Safety
October 25, 2004
Where Jack London worked on The Call of the Wild, Al Davis found a home
October 25, 2004
• FORMER NAME: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
October 25, 2004
[This article consists of photographs--see below] • For daily Web-only Leading Off galleries, go to si.com/scorecard.
October 25, 2004
NO, HALLOWEEN has not come early in Oakland, though the team sure could use a holiday. In the final minutes of Sunday's game against the rival Broncos, things were looking grim for cornerback...
The Yankees and the Red Sox took their cuts at conventional October wisdom by slugging it out in a classic and contentious American League Championship Series
Showcasing their power, the Astros' Carlos Beltran and the Cardinals' Albert Pujols carried their teams by bashing home run after home run in a tight NLCS
A unique bond between coach Herman Edwards and quarterback Chad Pennington has helped propel the Jets to the best start in franchise history
October 25, 2004 | KARL TARO GREENFELD
Braylon Edwards is the best wideout in the nation and the unquestioned leader of resurgent Michigan. But it took four years for his head to catch up to his talent
The new, improved Bowl Championship Series formula was supposed to solve the problems of last season. So why is Oklahoma--No. 2 in both polls--on the outside looking in this week?
The arrival of Shaquille O'Neal in Miami shakes up two franchises, shifts the balance of power and puts a title within the Heat's grasp
It was the summer of new destinations for a number of players besides Shaquille O'Neal. Here are 10 other significant personnel moves, listed in order of the impact they will have on the...
Relentless in his racing around the court and tireless in his ambition to improve his game, Richard Hamilton is an old-style scoring force
A basketball vagabond who considered a career change a year ago, Brian Cardinal now finds himself a wanted man
Can you turn a flashy, slashing, scoring guard into a selfless, Stocktonesque team leader? Well, yes, says Carlos Arroyo
October 25, 2004 | JACK McCALLUM
Stars from the glory days are riding herd in front offices. Can they get the young'uns to play the game right and revive the league?
October 25, 2004
HOW WE RANK THEM
Wretched excess: The reigning champs reel in yet another versatile big man
The pressure is on a quiet 7-footer to make some long-awaited noise
For the new coach, it's great to be home (and have a lineup full of scorers)
Another scorer in the backcourt might be too much of a good thing
October 25, 2004
30 COMPLETE SCOUTING REPORTS
It's not the oldest rivalry, but Boston College--Notre Dame creates enough passion to make it one of the best
Five great moments in the football history between Boston College and Notre Dame
October 25, 2004 | Charles Hirshberg
After more than five decades as a coach, general manager and president of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach has a storehouse of entertaining tales to share
October 25, 2004 | Charles Hirshberg
Yao Ming's life story (so far) shows him to be a nice guy who can only smile at the strange world he's entered
Led by the goalkeeping exploits of Dan Kennedy, UC Santa Barbara has become a national power
Here are five leading candidates for this season's Hermann Trophy, awarded to college soccer's best player
Seattle won its first WNBA title and is poised to win more
Here's the early line on who'll challenge Seattle for the 2005 title
