500 Squabbles

Bill Belichick broke a rule; the snitch broke the coaches' code

IN JULY reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, 28, lost three consecutive decisions to fall to 8--8. His response? Forty-two straight scoreless innings and six straight wins....

WHO'S Hot

Who is the smartest person in baseball?

Clubbed By White Sox DH Jim Thome (below), his 500th career home run. With none out in the bottom of the ninth inning on Sunday, the lefty slugger drove a pitch from Angels righthander Dustin...

THE NEWS last week that rookie Greg Oden had season-ending microfracture surgery on his right knee was devastating for the Trail Blazers. They thought they had struck gold in May, when they landed...

56 Stolen bases by Julio Lugo (30) and Coco Crisp (26) at week's end, the first pair of Red Sox to have at least 25 steals each since Tris Speaker and Hal Janvrin in 1914.

A man in Guangzhou, China, died of exhaustion in an Internet cafe after playing an online game nonstop for three days.

DAVE ST. PETER Twins president, on having real grass in the ballpark that Minnesota plans to open in 2010: "It will be a great joy to see somebody riding a mower instead of a vacuum cleaner."

David Beckham's first MLS season was over quickly, but the dream lives on

A FEW SIDES of Stephon Marbury were on display last week when the Knicks' guard testified in the sexual harassment trial of G.M. Isiah Thomas. Jurors saw Seamy Stephon admit to the court that he...

A wild-card game or a walk down the aisle?

PADRES FIRST BASEMAN

For these NFL stars, throwing a touchdown pass is a unique experience

Out of uniform, Tiki Barber is talking up a storm

Susan Sarandon

IF YOU'RE convinced Michele Tafoya is sending secret messages in her sideline reports on Monday Night Football, you're not as crazy as your friends think. Two hours before kickoff each week,...

What to watch and watch for

Nichole Jones SPRING, TEXAS > Cross-country Jones, a sophomore at Baylor, was named Big 12 female runner of the week for the second time in a row. An All-America last spring in the 800 meters, she...

Back to School

It's a whole new ball game in Houston, where the pass-catch combo of Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson is turning the Texans into a team to reckon with

Game Plan Former player and scout Bucky Brooks's keys to victory for every team, every week.

The first FedEx Cup is over and—surprise, surprise!—Tiger Woods took home the trophy, though he was far from the only winner

Making a List

With reenergized tailback Stafon Johnson showing the way, No. 1 USC ran all over Nebraska, boosting the Pac-10's claim that it's as tough as the SEC

Weekend Pickoff

The Pac-10 may be closing the gap, but from top to bottom the SEC can't be beat. And, oh, how the Big Ten has fallen

Leading the Detroit Tigers into the playoff hunt, centerfielder Curtis Granderson is having a historic season—and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy

In or Out? Check out the latest Playoff Odds Report from Baseball Prospectus.

Mike Coolbaugh, the first base coach of Double A Tulsa, was a baseball lifer with an abiding love of the game—until a foul ball struck him. Since then, people at all levels of the sport have...

Memories of Mike

College Football Notre Dame's problems on offense run so deep that an 0--8 start isn't out of the question • New coordinator has Tulsa's wide-open attack clicking

Tough Times

1 Florida QB Tim Tebow was stunning in his first SEC start, producing 360 total yards in a 59--20 rout of Tennessee. Even if their young defense struggles at times, the Gators should be able to...

Rising Mercury

Expect big things from these four players when the WNBA resumes play next May.

Turning Points?

Love Chad Johnson's enthusiasm, but the Bengals wideout should limit his TD celebrations to the field. He was lucky to come away from his leap into the Dawg Pound with nothing more than a cup of...

Doesn't anyone want to carry the NFC banner into the Super Bowl? Five of the conference's six playoff teams from last season have lost at least once. Now the 2--0 Cowboys will find out if they're...

Brett Favre had reason for worry over the off-season, and not only because the Packers failed to bring in wide receiver Randy Moss to bolster the offense. What concerned Favre (right) was the...

First, at Last

1 Besides Clint Bowyer, the other big winner in Loudon was Martin Truex Jr., whose fifth-place finish sets him up perfectly for his return this week to Dover, where he had an impressive victory in...

Getting Even

With the announcement this month that funding is in place, a women's pro league is expected to begin play in 2009, which will be a mixed blessing for U.S. soccer. While it will give...

Bash Brothers

McDONOGH 35 AT ST. AUGUSTINE, Sept. 21

UNDISPUTED NO. 1 Before 31,896 at SMU's Ford Stadium in Dallas and a national TV audience, No. 2 Miami Northwestern beat No. 1 Southlake (Texas) Carroll 29-21 last Saturday night, thanks in part...

1 NORTHWESTERN (Miami) 3--0 Nation's new No. 1 gets a well-deserved rest during bye week

FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE pitcher Bill Henry died a couple of weeks ago. He found out about it while sitting in his favorite chair.

Home Groan

How long should you stick with these early disappointments?

Read Will Carroll's analysis of the latest injury reports, every Thursday at SI.com/fantasy.

QUARTERBACK

QUARTERBACK

who: Tiger Woods

Where should Tiger Woods turn for a coach?

Rory Sabbatini may have won only once (Colonial) this season, but he was the media's player of the year by a mile, creating headlines for being voted the least popular playing partner on Tour in...

The U.S. will need tough love to have a chance at Valhalla

Super amateur Colt Knost, 22, is expected to turn pro this week

ON SUNDAY, when it was over at Halmstad Golf Club in southwest Sweden, after the Americans had braved some of the worst weather any of them had ever played in, to win their seventh Solheim Cup...

Thinking she was off the air, Dottie Pepper shocked viewers by showing them that the C word isn't used only at Miller time

Tiger Woods

RUGGED Sales of bandages, Bactine—and for fans, paint remover—must be skyrocketing in France, where 20 national rugby squads are slugging it out in the World Cup. Halfway through group play the...