Capital PunishmentIslanders defenseman Zdeno Chara serves Capitals right wing Jaroslav Svejkovsky a mouthful of Plexiglas in a game Washington won 4-2.

THE NFL

Three's CompanyAn unlikely trio has the Giants in the middle of the NFC playoff chase

QUESTION: Should a player who tests positive for steroids after taking an over-the-counter dietary or nutritional supplement be subject to harsher penalties than a player who tests positive for...

1. Qadry Comes Through

Duce Staley, one of the league's best-kept secrets, is piling up the yards in Philadelphia

High FlyersAn 8-0 start that includes a victory over Kentucky has Dayton's fortunes soaring

Folks at Clemson have to be wondering about the school's investment in coach Larry Shyatt. When the Tigers signed Shyatt to a five-year, $2 million contract in the spring of 1998, they had to...

Reggie ReloadedHard work and new moves have helped Reggie Miller regain his aim

Just how bad is the bad blood between former Celtics coach M.L. Carr, who is still on Boston's payroll as the executive vice president of corporate development, and current coach and president...

Time to FlySabir Muhammad: Single African-American swimmer, free spirit, seeks date—in Sydney

Deal BreakerWhy the Reds won't part with Pokey Reese—even for Junior

Erstwhile rangers third baseman Todd Zeile happily bolted for the Mets and the National League partly because he was fed up with the glacial pace and slugfest mentality of the American League. "If...

Missing the BoatThe league should reconsider its stance on revamping the schedule

DAVE ANDREYCHUKBRUINS LWBoston signed the 36-year-old to a one-year, $1.2 million free-agent contract last summer, and through Sunday his team-best 15 goals put Andreychuk on pace to surpass 40...

Is it a coincidence that during the Rangers' recent revival (3-0-1-0 in their last four games through Sunday), in which they've finally shown grit and determination, No. 1 center Petr Nedved has...

'Tis a bleak day for sportswriters. We'll lose our appetite for the free pregame buffet, set our seat backs at half mast, sing dirges at the karaoke. The world's greatest quote has hung 'em up....

When the greatest running back in NFL history, Walter Pay ton, dies, don't give me 10pages devoted to Keyshawn Johnson.-ANTHONY FERY, San Jose

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,...

December 25, 1989-January 1, 1990

The Red Wagon raced like a fire engine around the Raleigh soundstage early on the morning of Nov. 21. In one corner photographer Mark Abrahams was shooting 20 portraits, player by player, of the...

Highlights

A how-we-long-for-Howie-Long movement seems to be brewing. His Fox NFL Sunday studio coanalyst Terry Bradshaw recently declared to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late, Late Show that the chiseled Long...

Is the fun gone from your NFL office pool? Are you tired of poring over plus-minus turnover ratios, of analyzing the Titans' tight end play, of computing how well the Panthers perform during...

His bestseller now a hit TV movie, sportswriter Mitch Albom continues his crossover act

"I'm good in the sports [video] games, mainly basketball.... I play the Dreamcast—I'm undefeated so far. I usually play [using] the Pacers, the Raptors, the Spurs a little bit.... As long as I got...

Our first annual Theismanns go to those who made the most indelible statements of '99

Senior writer Jack McCallum reflects on Charles Barkley's career

The All-Century Team's youngest player just turned 30. He already has 398 home runs and 10 Gold Gloves, but he's having a hard time fitting under anybody's tree. How could the Reds or anyone else...

51-0Indiana's record in basketball's annual Indiana Classic before Indiana State upset the Hoosiers last week.

Paralyzing HitA blind-side check put a teen's future on ice

Nabbed•David Casper, 26-year-old son of golf Hall of Famer Billy Casper, on charges of robbing the Bunkhouse bar in Las Vegas. Police say Casper was carrying a pistol, had a sawed-off shotgun and...

When a 47-foot Coast Guard rescue boat skidded sideways during drills at the mouth of Coos Bay, Ore., last week, it seemed the coast boat was toast. Moments later, however, the self-righting...

Sponsors of an Australian amateur golf tournament are offering breast-enhancement surgery to the women's champ and a penis enlargement to the man with the longest drive.

JEFFREY LORIANew Expos owner, vowing to spend more to keep players in Montreal: "We will no longer be the farm system for the major leagues."

In October, on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy, Wisconsin's Ron Dayne wrote a tribute to his uncle, Pentecostal minister Rob Reid. Dayne's very free verse, titled The Heisman, begins by...

The director of "Any Given Sunday" says he has a thing for Burt Reynolds and NFL Films

Nick Garcia led Indiana to its second straight NCAA title and then turned pro

Anybody can lay rubber in the Friday Night Grudge at the Los Angeles County Raceway

John Baxter has engineered an academic turnaround at Fresno State

Putting up your dukes at an Australian outback carnival is risky business

THE BOOK OF BOXING

Julie Goloski, Seneca Falls, N.Y.Action ShootingGoloski, a sergeant in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, was named Army female athlete of the year for winning the women's open and limited national...

When 1999 Women's World Cup CEO Marla Messing heard that FIFA, soccer's world governing body, was changing the dates of the tournament's next edition, tentatively set for 2003 in Australia, she...

Michelle Akers and the 19 other members of the World Cup-winning U.S. soccer team gave America a summer to savor forever

Phish lead singer Trey Anastasio, like millions of other Americans, wore his heart on his sleeve

One of the LPGA's founders saw a kindred pioneering spirit

A grieving coach found solace in the sport he had come to resent

Hoping only for a glimpse of her idol, a 13-year-old striker got much more

Reflecting on his stellar career, Charles Barkley credits the friend who was there for him every step—and misstep—of the way

Near the playing fields of his youth, unflappable rookie quarterback Shaun King led the Bucs to another crucial win, against the Lions

Sebastian Janikowski's powerful leg could win a national championship for Florida State—and reunite mother and son

Rarely is a placekicker selected in the first three rounds of the NFL draft, but if two-time Lou Groza Award winner and All-America Sebastian Janikowski (below), a junior at Florida State,...

Jerry Sandusky, the dean of Linebacker U, is leaving Penn State after 32 years to devote himself to a different kind of coaching

STANDINGLORRIE FAIR, SHANNON MACMIUAN, TIFFENY MILBREIT, CARLA OVERBECK, BRANDI CHASTAIN, TRACY OUCAR, JOY FAWCETT, BRIANA SCURRY, CHRISTIE PEARCE, SARA WHALEN

Check out die complete archives of SI's Sportssman of the Year award: all the covers, excerpts from past articles and behind-the-scenes footage of this year's cover shoot.

The surprising Sonics are taking their cue from brash Gary Payton, who had blossomed into a team leader as well as the best all-around guard in the game