Chicago hammered L.A. 24-0 to win the NFC title. Next up: the surprising Patriots

The Patriots routed the Dolphins 31-14 to win the AFC title and end 19 years of failure in Miami

After the Bears routed the Patriots 20-7 at Soldier Field last Sept. 15, Chicago safety Gary Fencik said, "This was easy. This was so laid out for us." New England's unimaginative offense had been...

The allegations and investigations haven't kept Memphis State from getting off to its best start ever

Calvin Peete atoned for last year's walkout by winning the Tournament of Champions with a record score

Lovely Katarina Witt, the world and Olympic figure skating champion, is a luminary in her hometown of Karl-Marx-Stadt

In just nine months as a staff writer, Rick Reilly has become one of this magazine's most distinctive voices. Fresh insights and deft turns of phrase have enlivened his profiles of such subjects...

The Niego boys, four of them, start for the Lewis University team

EAST

DAVID ROBINSON: Navy's 6'11" junior center had 25 blocked shots, 68 points and 43 rebounds and held opposing pivotmen to only three field goals in wins over James Madison, George Mason and E....

Mike Aulby, 25, is the best lefty bowler since Earl Anthony

Have you heard of Stephen Dobyns yet? Dobyns writes suspense/mystery novels, three of them dealing with horse racing at Saratoga. Dobyns is so good at his trade that Dick Francis, the acknowledged...

Kenny Harrelson and his alter ego, The Fabulous Hawk, are again at baseball's heights: They're now a White Sox VP

FRED MARKHAMSANTA CRUZ, CALIF.Markham, 28, an auto service representative and ex-Olympian, rode his Kevlar-shelled bicycle to a human-powered speed record of 61.4 mph. As the rules stipulate, he...

PRO BASKETBALL—If you want to beat the Midwest Division-leading Rockets, don't play them in Houston. The Rockets have won all 20 of their home games this season, including three last week. In a...

RELIVING THAT CALLSir:Ron Fimrite's article (In The Eye Of The Storm, Jan. 6) on World Series umpire Don Denkinger provided an extremely interesting behind-the-limelight perspective on The Call....

SEEING NO EVIL IN THE BIG EAST

•Margie Backman, wife of Mets 5'9" second baseman Wally Backman, on giving birth last week to an 8-pound, 9-ounce boy: "He's bigger than Wally already."