Small Ball

Katie Brownell may be the only Little League girl ever to strike out 18 in a "perfect" perfect game, but if you look back at FACES IN THE CROWD, you will find Shelley Beringhele from California's...

Shelley, 12, who pitched and played shortstop for the Angels, was the only girl to play in the North Venice Little League Major League division the last two years. In that span she was 16--0, with...

LETTERS

AUGUST 22, 1966

Rockies shortstop Clint Barmes broke his collarbone last week falling on the stairs with an armload of venison, calling to mind another awkward hunk of deer meat, former Tigers slugger Rob Deer,...

After personal and professional setbacks, that's what Hall of Famer John Elway rediscovered as an owner of the Arena Football League's championship team

Five days before his trial, a former Baylor hoops teammate pleads guilty to murdering Patrick Dennehy

The end of the road comes for a figure in a recruiting scandal that refuses to die

2

Died

The NHL and its union edge closer to ending their nine-month lockout

Angels fireballer

Good to be here. Do I have this right? Deep Throat finally came forward because he heard there was an opening in the 49ers' p.r. department?

The 34-year-old is the alltime leading scorer in the history of the U.S. women's hockey team

He signed up for NBC's reality boxing show The Contender, but Joey (the Greek God) Gilbert's experience ended up being more like something out of The Bachelor. During the May 24 series finale in...

Dortmund, Germany, will have a "sex hut" village with condom machines and snack bars for prostitutes to use during the 2006 World Cup.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ

What to watch for

Kevin Tomasiewicz

NASCAR Driver

WHO'S Hot

[Based on a survey of 450 MLB players]

What was your welcome-to-the-major-leagues moment? In my rookie year, 2001, [Cardinals pitcher] Dave Veres sawed me off and broke my bat with a 92-mile-an-hour sinker. Boomer [then teammate Davis...

The dad of a major leaguer is well-known for his striking portraits

[This article contains a table.  Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

Baseball's No. 1 Draft Pick

NFL Europe and the AFL just ended their seasons. A look at the leagues

For some players, draft day was all about the genes

Volleyball champ Karch Kiraly trains hard to get a beach-worthy body

•Breakfast "A glass of half orange juice, half club soda. It has a lot less sugar than a full glass of orange juice and it still tastes good. I'll also have any kind of whole-grain cereal. My two...

Can Lance Armstrong win an unprecedented seventh title in his final Tour de France? Challengers are coming at him from all sides, but the ultimate road warrior is intent on slicing up the opposition

In a championship matchup of well-balanced and hard-nosed teams, the Spurs came to play early with a ferociousness that dominated the Pistons

[This article consists of photographs--see below]

With North Side fans starving for a hero, Derrek Lee is busting out at the plate, keeping his injury-plagued team in playoff contention and fueling talk of a Triple Crown

He may not look the part, but after near misses at the PGA Championship and the Masters, Chris DiMarco is one of the favorites at this week's U.S. Open

Since their school days in Michigan, Tom Izzo and Steve Mariucci have dreamed together, schemed together, pushed each other to coaching heights--and always returned to their roots

The Week In Sports

With his victory in the Belmont Stakes, Afleet Alex became the 11th horse to win the Preakness and the Belmont after failing to win the Kentucky Derby. Here are the other 10.

Afleet Alex proved he's the class of the 3-year-old division with his Belmont romp, but more challenges await him

With Nick Johnson's hot bat helping them win the close ones, the streaking Nationals moved into the NL East lead

Pat Burrell, LF, Phillies A career .230 hitter in June, he started the month red hot--.419, five homers, 13 RBIs through Sunday--helping Philly win 11 of 12.

Ichiro Suzuki, RF, Mariners The majors' best leadoff hitter saw his average plunge from .352 on May 13 to .295 at week's end.

CANADIAN PLAYERS

L.A.'S HEE-SEOP CHOI

PHILLY TRADITION

Like LeBron before him, O.J. Mayo became a familiar name to NBA scouts while only a sophomore in Ohio

Though projected as the top pick in next summer's NBA draft, Greg Oden (SI, Dec. 6, 2004), the No. 1 player in the class of 2006, says he will go to Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State or Wake...

There were 21 other drivers at Texas, but Danica Patrick owned the spotlight (even after 12 finished ahead of her)

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

TOUR DE FRANCE

Playing for a special place in history, Annika Sorenstam seemed to lift her game yet another notch at the McDonald's LPGA Championship

[This article consists of an illustration--See Below]

SI has learned that the USGA will abandon the low-tech Stimpmeter and enter the digital age with the Meeksmeter (named for soon-to-retire senior director of rules and competitions Tom Meeks)....

Pinehurst will be fine. All the armchair agronomy is penance for the sins of Shinnecock.

Halfway Home

No one could hold the lead at Congressional, but Sergio García had it when it counted

What golfers are talking about

$632,420 What amateur Michelle Wie would've earned in 17 LPGA finishes had she been a pro.

WHO: Annika Sorenstam

Should Michelle Wie have been given an exemption to the McDonald's LPGA Championship?

"Michelle Wie is the Rosa Parks of golf. She will contend in PGA Tour events, and that will totally change the aspirations and achievements of female players."

In the 110-year history of the U.S. Open, numerous father-son combinations have played in the event, which has culminated on Father's Day since 1965. Only six families, though, have had a father...

Tiger Woods's catalogue of grudges reads like a bestseller list. No one wants to be on it, but here's who is and why

A new accounting of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game further builds on the Dipper's outsized legend

WHAT'S SO special about another book on streetball in New York City? In Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament (Simon & Schuster, 275 pages, $22.95) the summer...

John David Booty has been the Next Big Thing since the day he arrived at USC, but he'll have to wait yet another year before he gets a chance to make it big

John David Booty isn't the only blue-chip bench warmer College Football Nation is eager to see get off the pine, like, yesterday. The following six players will generate plenty of hype this fall,...

With Jennie Finch and a realistic financial plan, a women's professional league looks to go mainstream

Ten of Jennie Finch's teammates from the 2004 gold-medal-winning Olympic U.S. softball squad have joined her this year to play National Pro Fastpitch.

Two San Francisco State professors have found a novel way to bring their favorite pastime into the classroom

Breaux Greer does it all--from wearing war paint to trying out for The Bachelor--to make javelin a hot event

Keep an eye on these standouts at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 23--26 in Carson, Calif.

Chris DiMarco has a Wisconsin judge to thank for devising the unorthodox grip that helped him overcome the yips and jump-start his career