What a refreshing story of small-town life and the importance of simply being able to play the game.RANDY SNOW, GALESBURG, MICH.

Mickey Mantle was striving to exorcise his personal demons when death intervened

Washington's obit: definitely premature, A league with worlds of value, A run on free-agent running backs

Who says you can't fight city hall? Not a quarterback blindsided by a mayor

Safety comes first at the Custer Brothers Way Out West bullriding clinics

The University of Florida built a home for the bats that roosted in its stadiums

Football history was written at Princeton's Palmer Stadium for 82 seasons

Artist Germain Glidden sees beauty in sport and started a museum to display it

Nobody can keep a footbag aloft the way Kenny Shults has for 20 years

At 73, driver Harvey Jones is still in hot pursuit of checkered flags

One can skate for almost five miles on the Rideau Canal in Canada's capital

Katie GransonBETHLEHEM, PA.

Another Shot for Christian Peter...The Foundering Pirates...Book on Ali Reviewed...High School Miscreants...Huizenga's NHL Stock Coup...A Strong Performance

161,000,000Dollars' worth of business generated in New York City in two weeks as a result of the World Series and the marathon.

Future Hall of Farmer Kirby Puckett retired because his vision was failing, but he's still doing good with balls and sticks. His charity pool tournament last Saturday drew stars like Ozzie Smith...

Britain's "Tatler" magazine, a 287-year-old publication covering fashion, society and the arts, has hired Claus von Bulow as its rugby correspondent.

Oliver MillerDallas Mavericks forward and former Toronto Raptor, on how he feels he'll be received in Toronto when he plays there later this season: "I'm kind of scared about how the fans are...

The Tao of Muhammad Ali, by Davis Miller, Warner Books

The Broncos ran roughshod over the resurgent Patriots to show they are without a doubt the class of the AFC

Andy Katzenmoyer of Ohio State, a mere freshman, is the linchpin of a ferocious defense

Our newest senior editor, Steve Madden, might seem an unlikely NASCAR nut. An Ivy Leaguer from Boston, he spends much of his free time climbing mountains, kayaking rivers and winning masters'...

By speaking his mind, demanding the ball and deferring to no one, Grant Hill has shown that he's now driving the Pistons

Eric Wynalda, the volatile top scorer for the U.S. soccer team, has toned down his act but has raised his game

No. 1 Stanford got the season going with a rousing win over No. 2 Alabama

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED offers current and past articles, photos and special multimedia features on CompuServe (GO SPORTS) and on the Internet (www.sportsillustrated.com). To subscribe to CompuServe,...

The once bumbling Ottawa Senators earned a place in hockey history as the worst expansion team ever

Ottawa isn't the only expansion franchise that has been an embarrassment. I Here are 10 others and some of their forgettable moments.

Undersized rookie sensation Zach Thomas brings the same recklessness to living that he does to driving the Miami D

How Holtz measures up, The hurrying Husky, Signal calling at Air Force and 'Bama, Pokey Allen's return

Several strokes have robbed Ted Williams of much of his fabled eyesight, but at 78 he's as cantankerous as ever and enjoying fatherhood at last

Athletic director Ken Hudson inherited a heap of trouble at his alma mater

World mountain-biking champ Alison Sydor craves coffee and decisive victories

Less than two years after reaching the Super Bowl, the Chargers have lost their winning ways

49ERS at REDSKINSThe outcome hinges on whether Washington's defense can contain a San Francisco attack that ranks second in the NFC. Will the league's most porous unit rise up as it did on Sunday,...

All that stood between Wayne Chrebet and a brilliant NFL future was Harry Fisher. This was July 1995, the first day of the New York Jets' training camp. Chrebet, a rookie free-agent wide receiver,...

If Elvis Grbac is, as San Francisco mayor Willie Brown stated, "an embarrassment to humankind," then fellow 49ers quarterback Steve Young is rapidly on his way to becoming one. Grbac's figure for...

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," said disgruntled Eagles running back Ricky Watters last week after his reduced number of carries (19) in Philadelphia's Nov. 10 loss to Buffalo. Against the...

By dominating teams after halftime, the upstart Panthers have joined the playoff hunt