GRAVELY ILL WITH CANCER, JIM VALVANO IS FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE THE SAME WAY HE COACHED BASKETBALL, BY LEARNING ALL HE CAN, TALKING UP A STORM AND INSISTING ON THE LAST SHOT

With a resounding 34-13 Sugar Bowl victory, Alabama put a stop to Miami's 29-game winning streak and won its first national title since 1979

It is apparently Gino Torretta's role in life to wrinkle everything he wears, including the mantle of Heisman Trophy winner. Sloppy has always been Torretta's style. It was part of his charm...

After 13 hours of college football on TV New Year's Day, our intrepid viewer had seen enough

A record-breaking rally by Buffalo knocked Houston out of the NFL playoffs

Sportsman of the YearCongratulations on your choice of Arthur Ashe as Sportsman of the Year (The Eternal Example, Dec. 21). It is heartening to see such an exemplary person receive recognition....

John Lucas, the new coach of the San Antonio Spurs, sees himself as an example for recovering addicts

Making their way up Pikes Peak, electric and solar-powered vehicles sped quietly toward the finish

Juliana FurtadoBOULDER, COLO.Furtado, 25, an off-road cyclist for just 2½ years, won the women's mountain bike world championships one day after dislocating her kneecap in the cross-country part...

A BIG EASY FOR DR. Z

Offense

DESERT STORM

PARADISE FOUND

MENIn a loss to Notre Dame and wins over Texas A&M, Bucknell, Monmouth and Jacksonville, center Ervin Johnson, a 6'11" senior at New Orleans, averaged 19.2 points, 14 rebounds and 5.4 blocks.

For Kristen Babb-Sprague and Ed Sprague, the reward for nine months of lonely separation Olympic gold and a World Series homer

The residents of tiny Harbour Island in the Bahamas are crazy about basketball

The world seems overrun by athletes, coaches and fans eager to take the best out of our games

Off the Tour

Whatizit, the Atlanta Olympics' bug-eyed blob of a mascot, is on the ropes. Though Billy Payne, president of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, calls Whatizit "an incredible marketing...

•Jim Mullen, in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, on bungee jumping: "It takes no skill, lasts less than a minute, and you can brag to your friends how terrific you were. No wonder men love it."

•Karl Malone (below), Utah Jazz star, insisting to disbelievers that he considers Shaquille O'Neal, the Orlando Magic's heralded rookie, A just another player: "I guess I'm just a hard guy to please.