December 13, 1999 | Volume 91, Issue 23

Good evening! We're here at the new Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers, to play the wildly popular game show Who Wants to Be a Virgin?

What's so funny about Rick Reilly's article on the 4,008 reasons why he hates the Yankees is that those are the same reasons that I love them.—JOHN F. PORTELLE, Staten Island, N.Y.

Letters to SPORTS ILLUSTRATED should include the name, address and home telephone number of the writer. They may be mailed to The Editor, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Time & Life Building, New York,...

While SI has printed many groundbreaking stories in recent years—on topics ranging from the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes' neglecting their out-of-wedlock...

Highlights

In the spirit of Sunday's VH-I Fashion Awards, we dole out our year-end Dapper Zapper Awards. Best Dressed On-Air Talent: Harold Reynolds, ESPN. Hippest Hairdo: the dreadlock, as sported by...

When the matter is Heisman promotion, college sports information departments are bustling hives of creativity. With the trophy to be awarded on Saturday, we evaluate some current Heisman...

With Pete Rose batting leadoff for a new sports Web site, the hits just kept on coming

ESPNBy resolving its dispute and extending its deal with Major League Baseball, the cable network keeps baseball (and the many hours of programming it supplies) through the 2005 season.

Our Men of the Millennium? The intrepid inventors of the sports fan's most indispensable accessory

Who'll stop American hooligans before it's too late?

After three arrests and five suspensions in six NBA seasons, Isaiah Rider swooped from Portland to Atlanta this year. He was late to camp, missed the Hawks' season opener and bitched about his...

$50,000Cost of high-speed phone lines at Duke that let students use their laptops while waiting in line for basketball tickets.

Jocks Stand UpStar-crossed Columbine High wins a state title

Housed•Tae-Bo impresario Paul Monea, who paid $1.3 million for Mike Tyson's 62-acre estate in Southington, Ohio. The 25,000-square-foot house on the property features a 10,000-square-foot pool...

Daredevil Felix Baumgartner, 30, of Salzburg, Austria, spent the night of Dec. 2-3 hiding from security guards at the base of the 125-foot statue of Jesus that towers over Rio de Janeiro. Just...

The $24.95 Stadium Pal—essentially a condom attached to a plastic bag worn under the pants-lets male football fans urinate without leaving their seats.

LA'ROI GLOVERSaints defensive tackle, on the 49ers: "That team without Steve Young is like Earth, Wind and no Fire. It's like Kool and no Gang."

For complete college bowl coverage, including the latest news, rosters, team pages, matchups and stats, plus analysis from SI's Ivan Maisel, go to cnnsi.com/football/college.

Australia's bigwigs blush over a scandal while its women's soccer team bares all

John Mayasich was a wizard on ice but never got a shot to prove it in the NHL

Record-breaking 15-year-old Megan Quann has put older rivals in a pickle

The next generation of simulations is a couple of jukes closer to the real thing

Fernando Vargas took some lumps but kept his IBF junior middleweight title

Last week Tori Murden became the first woman to row across the Atlantic

As she steered her Mercedes sedan along Knoxville's Alcoa Highway last week following the Tennessee women's 72-66 win over Purdue, coach Pat Summitt sounded worried. "I'm concerned about my team,"...

Nick Pertuit, Billings, Mont.SoccerNick, a junior at Billings Senior High, led the state with 47 points and 16 goals in sparking the Broncs to a 14-0 season and the Montana championship. The team...

Dan Marino flashed his old brilliance but couldn't save Miami from a crippling loss to the Colts that further dimmed his fading hopes of a Super Bowl title

Though they're every bit as bad as their 1-14 record, the Bulls are still a red-hot ticket in Chicago, and their financial picture couldn't be rosier

Here's a switch! New-breed are hazing their elders by winning games and collecting MVP awards

It has been hard to find a top team this season without a freshman who's making a significant contribution. Each of these 15 first-year players has had an impact that belied his youthfulness. (All...

Back home and richer by $84 million, is immersing himself in two traditions: Dodgers baseball and Judaism

In 1999 Shawn Green became the 13th player in big league history to hit 40 or more home runs and steal 20 or more bases in a single season. Add a Gold Glove, and the club gets even more exclusive....

The Sharks are no longer going in circles thanks to a core of forwards under age 25 who form the NHL's most talented young quintet

BACKSTAGE, FOLLOWINGSports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards show last Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, 19 of the attending athletes sat for SI photographer Walter Iooss Jr. as he...

THE NFL

Batter UpBelieving he has some unfinished business, Deion Sanders is eyeing a return to baseball

1. Vermeil Weeps"It's an [gulp, pause] unbelievable [catch in the throat, pause] feeling," Rams coach Dick Vermeil managed to say after the franchise made the playoffs for the first time since...

Ravens running back Errict Rhett is making the most of a second chance

They rise up every December, and they take their place in history. They are spoilers, teams that have no chance at postseason glory—many of them don't even have a shot at a winning record—yet they...

Kids' StuffAndy Murray, a high school coach just last year, has Los Angeles playing with youthful enthusiasm

MIKE KEENANUNEMPLOYED COACHIn 14 seasons Iron Mike, 50, whipped three teams into the finals and won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers. His career record is 506-372-117, but he was 83-105-35 over...

Credit for the Flyers' turnaround (16-3-3-0 from Oct. 17 through Sunday following an 0-5-1-1 start) should go to coach Roger Neilson and defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, who was signed as a free agent...

Roarin' to Be a TigerIt didn't take Nick Saban long to decide he'd rather be the kingpin in Louisiana than continue to play second fiddle in Michigan

Plenty of attention has been given to Virginia Tech, the first team since Florida State in 1993 to finish first in scoring offense and scoring defense. Now lend an ear to the stories behind the...

New Trail Blazer is happy in piney Portland, but he is still dogged by questions about past missteps