March 06, 2000 | Volume 92, Issue 10

Reilly's ridicule of Rosie O'Donnell's appearance is just as prejudiced as the Tomahawk Chop he condemns.—PETER KISSEL, Washington, D.C.

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, 135 West 50th Street, New York, N.Y....

April 5, 1976

Highlights

The Fox Family Channel presents Ice Angel (Sunday, 8 p.m.), a two-hour TV movie in which a U.S. Olympic men's hockey team captain meets an untimely demise and returns from the dead as...a female...

Is there enough snow mass at Snowmass? Have you tried to book a room at Vail to no avail? Worry no more. The Internet has turned the slippery slope of planning a ski vacation from...

But will we? Qualified or not, big-name former NFL coaches still get the network rush

In today's sports spin cycle, all manner of moral failure is repackaged as virtue

Marty McSorley's brutal blow was business as usual for hockey

Eleven months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Kerry Wood, the National League Rookie of the Year in 1998, is again hitting 98 mph with his heater and may start testing his reconstructed right...

10Extra phone lines the Reds have installed to handle ticket requests since acquiring Ken Griffey Jr.

Pros or Pawns?The NCAA is out of line in punishing players who got a helping hand in high school

Hubcapped•Darren Silver, 28, by '94 Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, 29. Harding was charged with fourth-degree assault after allegedly winging a hubcap into Silver's face and, in his words,...

The New Zealand Game Industry Board plans to promote deer velvet—the fuzzy stuff on antlers—as a performance enhancer after clinical trials showed that it may boost strength and endurance when...

WALLY JOYNERBraves first baseman, after breaking a bone in his right foot: "It could be worse. It could be Chipper's foot."

Labor strife threatens to put a lid on Arena football

Got a question for Rick Reilly? Chat with SI's back-page columnist on Tuesday, March 7 at 2 p.m. ET. Plus, swap golf talk with Jaime Diaz every Monday at 1 p.m. at cnnsi.com/si_online.

On December 13, 1972, Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers were scheduled to fly from Chicago to Philadelphia on TWA. After the flight was delayed for an hour and 45 minutes, then canceled, the team was...

Pathologist Christine Clark had the prescription for winning the Olympic trial

More Than MerkleBy David W. Anderson, University of Nebraska Press, $29.95

Minnesota heavyweight Brock Lesnar makes rivals look Lilliputian

Hardscrabble Nets rebounder Jamie Feick wonders who his dad is—or was

With three aces, Stanford has the most dominant pitching staff—again

1. STANFORD.Junior Justin Wayne (left) is 20-1 over three seasons—and might not even be the Cardinal's best starter.

One of the fastest fish in the Pacific is the wahoo, a giant mackerel that can swim up to 70 mph. The wahoo is quick for two reasons: First, it has a fear of lemon juice and drawn butter; and...

A former Denver Nugget still runs the court—in and out of the Pepsi Center

Alison Kelley, Hinsdale, Ill.BasketballAlison, a 6'2" senior forward at Montini High, scored a girls' school-record 46 points in a 75-69 loss to St. Benedict High. She also holds the Broncos...

In the boomtowns of the National League Central, where fireworks will come early and often, any game involving Junior, Sammy or Big Mac is sure to be a hot ticket

Royal BoxThe Queen Mary looms regally at her dock as Jeff Hubbard rides a 12-foot, machine-made wave during the. Swatch Wave Tour, in Long Beach, Calif.

The sensational Scott Gomez, a rare Latino from Alaska, has brought rookie-of-the-year talent and much needed levity to stodgy New Jersey

The meteoric rise of Maryland guard Juan Dixon has turned a supposed rebuilding year into a banner season for the Terps

After delivering a brilliant performance in a supporting role last season, Jalen Rose has become a marquee player and has helped lead the Pacers to the top of their division

In the freewheeling world of junior college hoops, the best players wait for that one big chance—or desperately cling to their last one

THE NFL

Who's No. 1?Cleveland left the combine torn between two potential top picks

While at the scouting combine the Browns' brass met at length to discuss offering a contract to the best free-agent offensive tackle left on the market—the Giants' Roman Oben. The reason: Orlando...

Oscar WorthyAn impressive return by Oscar De La Hoya has prospective opponents lining up

At last week's Olympic Box-offs in Mashantucket, Conn., 12 fighters earned spots on the U.S. team. Here's a brief tale of the tape on one of the strongest American squads in years.

Critical TimesHere are three ways to take the heat off the beleaguered referees

BRYAN BERARDLEAFS DDrafted first overall by Ottawa in 1995, he was traded to the Islanders for Redden and won the Calder Trophy in 1996-97. A free-wheeler, he has improved defensively since the...

Scouts say Boston University freshman goalie Rick DiPietro would be the first netminder taken in June's NHL draft, provided he enters it. Observers are impressed with his puckhandling, skating and...

Life after BobbyDavid Wesley and the Hornets have kept their bearings in turbulent times

Heat coach Pat Riley, who needs a perimeter shooter but failed to pry Isaiah Rider away from the Hawks before the trading deadline, says he explored deals for Ron Mercer and Toni Kukoc earlier...

Facing adversity all season, the Hornets have supported one another on the court as well as off it. With a lineup that includes three playmakers—David Wesley (6.2 assists per game at week's end),...

Despite David Falk's dire warnings, the Clippers nixed numerous deadline deals for Maurice Taylor

Gators on The ProwlThanks to superior depth and balance, Florida is in the hunt for its first SEC title in 11 years

There have been changes aplenty since last we met in this space two weeks ago. Foremost among them was the demise of Auburn, which at one point in January was a No. 1 seed and now figures to be...

Even the NCAA couldn't stop Darren Phillip, the nation's No. 1 rebounder

Do you believe in disasters? Yes!

Winning has come easy to Bruce Fleisher. It's all the stuff that goes along with it that has got him beat

Amid the din of Tigermania and the buzz of a resurgent Senior tour, Karrie Webb has quietly taken over the LPGA tour. By birdieing three of the final four holes at the Australian Ladies Masters,...

Other than the Ryder Cup, the best golf on television is the first round of the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship. Thirty-two matches, four hours of airtime, quick cuts, pithy analysis,...

What do these players have in common?

Which tour are you most interested in?

SYNONYMS for a DRAWBlue darter, dart hook, dead yank, Detlef, Delta counter, duck hook, hook, pull, quacker, rope hook, shrimp, smother hook, snap hook, snipe, the quick and the dead, toe job,...

Winning the Nissan Open was a big moment for me, as was finally getting to tell my wife about it

Not long ago the Doral-Ryder Open was the biggest event of the early season and, to many, the unofficial beginning of the PGA Tour. That's no longer the case, thanks to huge purse increases on the...

In women's golf, 2000 may go down as the Year of the Twins. Aree and Naree Wongluekiet, the 13-year-olds from Thailand, could steal the show at the Nabisco Championship. In October, Johanna and...

Rick Hartmann, Sag Harbor, N.Y.Hartmann, 41, the head pro at Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, N.Y., shot a three-under 285 to win the PGA Stroke Play by a shot over Senior tour rookie Roy...

Don't tell the LPGA that Tiger Woods has been great for golf

•He's an AnimalStunning, yes. Fluky, no. Let this legend grow: Darren Clarke took Tiger down.

Darren Clarke did more than simply defeat Tiger Woods in the World Match Play. He destroyed him