Trials and TribulationsIn the run-up to the U.S. trials in gymnastics and swimming (page 95), aspiring Olympians put themselves through torturous routines that they hoped would help get them to...

Boston Ruins?New contract disputes could result in another grim season in Beantown

JOHN LECLAIRFLYERS LWA year from unrestricted free agency, LeClair won a record $7 million arbitration award on Aug. II after having scored 40 or more goals in five straight years. LeClair has...

Andy van Hellemond, the NHL's new director of officiating, addressed the general managers at their meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., two weeks ago and said that he wants referees to crack down on...

The Most Coveted player in the NFL today is the quick, strong outside pass rusher who wreaks havoc on an opponent's aerial attack

Powerfully strong Reggie White and cat-quick Deacon Jones have been the biggest thorns in quarterbacks' sides, in the eyes of our resident expert

Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse is running circles around offensive linemen—and terrorizing quarterbacks—with a frightening combination of speed and agility

The Super Bowl hopes of the veteran-rich Redskins may rest upon Chris Samuels, a 23-year-old rookie left tackle who is being asked to protect his quarterback's blind side

How Dr. Z Ranks 'Em

We ranked the NFL's offensive backs, receivers, kickers and return men from I (the best) to 500, based on our projections of their statistical production this season. The categories considered...

For the complete list of PVRs by position, go to cnnsi.com/fantasy. For NFL team pages, statistics, rosters and depth charts, plus the latest news and analysis from Peter King and Dr. Z, go to...

An off-season spending spree produced a wealth of talent as well as a hefty price tag: Super Bowl-sized expectations

1999 Record 10-6 (1st in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 9/6/2; defense 27/26/302000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 11 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .520Games against playoff...

A three-year starter at Rice and a 1997 fifth-round draft pick of the Eagles, N.D. Kalu spent one season in Philly, playing in just three games, before the Eagles waived him and he signed with...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Redskins

Like their quarterback, this up-and-coming team may soon be ready to put smiles on the faces of their impatient fans

1999 Record 5-11 (5th in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 17/31/30; defense 28/15/242000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 31Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .426Games against playoff...

A 1998 third-round draft pick out of Stephen F. Austin, Jeremiah Trotter averaged 7½ tackles a game last year. Trotter's late father, Myra, was a lumberjack in East Texas, and as soon as Jeremiah...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Eagles

Following another disappointing season, the clock is winding down for an embattled coach and a beleaguered quarterback

1999 Record 7-9 (3rd in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 24 (tie)/8/17; defense 13/14/132000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 20Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .488Games against playoff...

When G.M. Ernie Accorsi began scouting running backs last fall, he thought Wisconsin's record-breaking Ron Dayne was a masher in the Jerome Bettis mold. "But the more I watched him," Accorsi says,...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Giants

With another big gun having hung 'em up, Jerry Jones's old gang is reloading for what might be its last shot at glory

1999 Record 8-8 (2nd in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 6 (tie)/24/16; defense 6/13/92000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 15 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .500Games against...

"I take the attitude that I have to work harder than anyone else to stay in the NFL," says second-year linebacker Dat Nguyen, the son of Vietnamese immigrants. Undersized since high school, the...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cowboys

They have plenty of enthusiasm, but it'll take more than that to reverse last season's disappointing decline

1999 Record 6-10 (4th in NFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 29/27/29; defense 30/10/222000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 28 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .441Games against...

Arizona's third draft pick in 1998, Anthony Clement was plagued with back trouble in his first two pro seasons and struggled through 14 starts last year. But now the monstrous (6'7", 355-pound)...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Cardinals

The defense is championship-caliber, no question; but their Super Bowl chances are riding on an overhauled offense

1999 Record 11-5 (1st in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 15/30/28; defense 5/2/32000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 9Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .531Games against playoff teams: 9

Not long ago defensive end Marcus Jones wanted just to walk without pain again. Midway through the 1997 season he had been forced to the sideline (and under the knife) by walnut-sized bone spurs...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Buccaneers

In a pass-happy division, the play of a suspect secondary will determine whether a postseason berth is in the offing

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 3rd in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 28/9/21; defense 9/27/182000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 11 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .520Games...

The interview is over—in the mind of rookie Stockar McDougle at least—so he faces the reporter and displays the technique that made him a first-round draft choice: the initial burst, the deft...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Lions

The bounce is back in Antonio Freeman's step, but does he have enough to rouse this team from the nightmare of '99?

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 3rd in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 21/7/9; defense 22/18/192000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 10Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .523Games against...

As his fingers furiously tap on his kneecaps and his legs bounce rapidly to an unheard beat, you'd swear Antuan Edwards is nervous. "No, I'm just ready to play, that's all," the nickelback says...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Packs

Coach Dennis Green is putting all his eggs in the basket of young, strong-armed quarterback Daunte Culpepper

1999 Record 10-6 (2nd in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 14/5/3; defense 14/30/272000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 5Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .555Games against playoff...

When Linda Wong asked her son to help her write The Mom's Pocket Guide to Watching Football by providing descriptions of the positions, Mom was going to an expert: Kailee Wong lined up at...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Vikings

Their success will hinge on a high-priced defensive end and an offense that's still attempting to find its way

1999 Record 6-10 (5th in NFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 26/3/8; defense 23/29/292000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 11 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .520Games against...

Despite a number of run-ins with opponents and a mouth that never stops, third-year center Olin Kreutz was voted by his peers to the Pro Bowl last season as a second alternate. The team's fourth...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Bears

New coach, new-look offensive line, same old bombs-away philosophy: It all adds up to another run deep into January

1999 Record 13-3 (1st in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 5/1/1; defense½0/62000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 30Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .430Games against playoff teams: 4

In October 1998, on his way home after a night of drinking to celebrate his 24th birthday, linebacker Leonard Little ran a red light and drove his car into another vehicle, killing its driver....

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Rams

After taking its lumps last year, the defense will cause a few this season, courtesy of an aging but still feared front four

1999 Record 8-8 (2nd in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 20/2/6; defense 24/23/262000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 21Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .469Games against playoff teams: 6

The low point for running back Tshimanga Biakabutuka came in 1998. Plagued by injuries since the Panthers took him with the eighth pick in the 1996 draft, Biakabutuka was relegated to special...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Panthers

Jamal Anderson is up and running, which has teammates all but doing the Dirty Bird in anticipation of another postseason

1999 Record 5-11 (3rd in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 30/17/27; defense 29/9/162000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 22 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .465Games against...

The Falcons are hoping defensive end Patrick Kerney turns out to be a lot flashier than his choice in cars. The team's first-round pick in 1999, he still drives the '91 Volvo wagon his parents...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Falcons

Another trying fall awaits this long-dominant franchise, which has plenty of eager young players but, alas, no Young

1999 Record 4-12 (4th in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense½1/10; defense 15/31/282000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 25Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .457Games against playoff teams: 3

Because his mother was a 49ers cheerleader during the '60s, Jeff Ulbrich has heard plenty of stories about the franchise's gory years. "My mom told me the team was so bad they'd get booed coming...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the 49ers

Boring is out, a new wideout corps vowing to bust the roof off the Superdome is in, making this a last-place show worth catching

1999 Record 3-13 (5th in NFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 18/19(tie)/19; defense 20/21/202000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 26Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .453Games against...

During a training camp drill, rookie fullback Terrelle Smith suffered a nasty half-inch gash above his left eye. Instead of alerting the trainers, the 6-foot, 245-pound Smith snuck off to the...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Saints

Last year they made the most dramatic single-season turnaround in NFL history. Now they're eyeing the next step: the Super Bowl

1999 Record 13-3 (1st in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 19/4/4; defense 18/19/152000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 3Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .563Games against playoff teams: 8

Last year at Auburn, 6'3", 247-pound Marcus Washington, Indianapolis's second-round draft choice, played defensive end. The Colts are moving him to strongside linebacker, to provide some relief...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Colts

Their tried-and-true strategy—choosing inexpensive youth over costly experience—will be put to the supreme test

1999 Record 11-5 (2nd in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 8/19 (tie)/11; defense 4/1/12000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 1Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .586Games against playoff...

He has spent three years as a situational rusher, coming in on passing downs. He has started four NFL games. Now all Marcellus Wiley has to do is step in for the second-leading sacker of all time,...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Bills

Can they get off the ground again after a tumultuous off-season that cost them brain-and star-power?

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 4th in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 11/28/25; defense 17/24/212000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 4Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .559Games against...

Last season Randy Thomas became the first Jets guard to start as a rookie since Randy Rasmussen in 1967. Tough, good on the move and a punishing drive blocker, Thomas was a big reason that Curtis...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Jets

A new coach, a new offensive coordinator and a new attitude will not be enough to make up for a lack of firepower

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 4th in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 23/10/18; defense 21/7/82000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 6 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .539Games against...

In 1996 Tedy Bruschi came to the Patriots as a rookie defensive end. The Patriots checked his height, a bit more than 6 feet, and his weight, 245, and told him he was now a linebacker. "I didn't...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Patriots

In Year One of the post-Marino era, the passing game is as much of a question mark as the defense is a strong suit

1999 Record 9-7 (3rd in AFC East)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 22/13(tie)/20; defense 8/5/52000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 2Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .570Games against playoff...

On July 20 Miami signed defensive tackle Daryl Gardener to the biggest contract it had ever given a lineman—a seven-year, $49.5 million extension. He'd been a decent player, never missing a game...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Dolphins

With a new wideout sporting a new attitude, they may have all they need to get back to the Super Bowl—and this time win it

1999 Record 13-3 (2nd in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 13/13 (tie)/13; defense 10/25/172000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 24Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .461Games against...

Keith Bulluck, who fell into the Titans' lap as the 30th pick in the 2000 draft, played both middle and outside linebacker at Syracuse, but he'll start his rookie season on the strong side....

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Titans

'Hold that line (together)' is the battle cry of a team trying to get to—and win—a Super Bowl before old age sets in

1999 Record 14-2 (1st in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 2/12/7; defense 7/3/42000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 22 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .465Games against playoff...

As a child Fernando Bryant didn't have to look far to learn how to play cornerback. One of his uncles, Don Griffin, played that position for 10 years in the NFL, while another, Ray Griffin, spent...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Jaguars

With more consistency from a talented offense, they could be a playoff team for the first time since the move from Cleveland

1999 Record 8-8 (3rd in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 16/25/24; defense 2/6/22000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 18Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .496Games against playoff teams: 7

Once outside linebacker Jamie Sharper realized that talent alone wouldn't make him an NFL star, he started performing like one. Sharper had 95 tackles last season, showing why the Ravens had made...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Ravens

Congratulations on the beautiful cover shot of Pete Sampras. Too bad it was buried on page 36!—DEAN GEORGARISSANTA MONICA, Calif.

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....

In what's become a broken record, this is the year that Kordell Stewart must prove he's cut out to play quarterback

1999 Record 6-10 (4th in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 10/26/22; defense 26/4/112000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 15 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .500Games against...

As a rookie last season, outside linebacker Joey Porter did his best to quiet comparisons to former Pittsburgh standout Greg Lloyd, who totaled 53½ sacks with the Steelers from 1988 to '97. Porter...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Steelers

The youth movement continues in Year 2—and so do the struggles that are part of being an expansion franchise

1999 Record 2-14 (6th in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 31/29/31; defense 31/11/312000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 14Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .508Games against playoff...

Six weeks into last season outside linebacker Rahim Abdullah realized things had to change. The Jaguars kept pulling their guards in Abdullah's direction, but he rarely touched the ballcarrier. It...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Browns

The league's losingest team of the '90s has a new outlook and a new stadium, but all signs point to more of the same

1999 Record 4-12 (5th in AFC Central)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 6 (tie)/23/15; defense 16/28/252000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 15 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .500Games...

Guard Mike Goff made five starts as a rookie in 1998, but the Bengals signed free-agent veterans Matt O'Dwyer and Brian DeMarco the next off-season. Those two became the starters, and Goff pouted...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Bengals

Sebastian Janikowski has given the special teams a giant kick start—and some of the franchise's old swagger, to boot

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 3rd in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 3/11/5; defense 12/12/102000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 28 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .441Games against...

With 34-year-old Eric Allen having slowed considerably, the Raiders might vault Tory James into the starting lineup at right cornerback. Because most teams tend to throw away from Charles Woodson,...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Raiders

The 1998 Super Bowl champs will need more than a healthy Terrell Davis to hit pay dirt again. But he's a nice start

1999 Record 6-10 (5th in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 12/15/14; defense 19/8/72000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 27Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .449Games against playoff teams: 3

It took Al Wilson about five minutes to take charge of the Broncos' defensive huddle, stepping in as the starting middle linebacker for the two-time Super Bowl champions early last season and...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Broncos

After years of catching more heat than passes, the receivers are ready to break out. But who will throw them the ball?

1999 Record 8-8 (tied for 3rd in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 27/18/26; defense 3/22/122000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 19Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .492Games against...

Quarterback Jim Harbaugh says he doesn't need an alarm clock anymore. "I wake up in the morning thinking about those receivers." He's talking about the Chargers' upgraded wideouts, the most...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Chargers

Only two NFL franchises had more wins in the 1990s, but a new decade has brought nothing but a deep sense of loss

1999 Record 9-7 (tied for 1st in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total) offense 4/22/12; defense 11/16/142000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 8Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .535Games against...

Forgive Mike Cloud if he doesn't share the disappointment of Chiefs' fans at the team's failure to trade for disgruntled Bengals running back Corey Dillon. After a standout training camp, Cloud,...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Chiefs

The fate of last year's division champs hinges largely on an offensive line that's forever developing but never developed

1999 Record 9-7 (tied for 1st in AFC West)NFL rank (rush/pass/total): offense 24 (tie)/16/23; defense 25/17/232000 Schedule strength NFL rank: 6 (tie)Opponents' 1999 winning percentage: .539Games...

In his first full NFL training camp defensive end Lamar King has become a popular source for reporters seeking comment on the holdout of first-round draft pick Chris McIntosh. "My advice to Chris...

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Seahawks

It's a strange job, traipsing about, typing sports. You forget how to tingle. Your Amaze-o-Meter gets stuck on empty. A comeback to win the Super Bowl? Yawn, scribble. A 9.9 to win the gold?...

JANUARY 28, 1985

When Carnac does sports, you can't get the right question until you ask the right answer

Highlights

This just in: The X-Games, ESPN's annual salute to counterculture sports, baggy shorts and high insurance premiums, are now rated PG. Parental guidance is mandatory, as comedian Andy Dick, who...

The man behind NBC's Olympic Web site has big, big plans

you're nobody, networkwise, until you have a Muhammad Ali special. HBO airs the documentary Ali-Frazier: One Nation... Divisible on Saturday (10:15 a.m) and again on Wednesday (4 p.m.), while Fox...

Where in the world has Allen Iverson been this summer?

Jerry StackhouseNext Jordan became first option for boo-birds.

In the NBA, in which single guys need four-car garages and a house isn't a home unless it has at least one recording studio, penny-pinching has never been a watchword. But soon players are going...

(Q) What are the accommodations in Sydney for married couples such as Marion Jones and C.J. Hunter (left)?

2Fifty-yard field goals kicked by U.S. soccer star Mia Hamm, right-footed, in Chiefs camp, along with one 30-yarder left-footed.

Get ready, sports fans. MVP: Most Valuable Primate, about a hockey-playing chimp, and Air Bud: World Pup, chronicling a golden retriever's exploits on the soccer pitch, are slated to open this...

At the Senior League Softball World Series for kids age 14 to 16 in Kalamazoo, Mich., last week, an Inverness, Fla., team relinquished its chance at the title by forfeiting to a team from Eloy,...

Goofed•Olympic officials who okayed the designs for the medals for the 2000 Games. Members of Australia's Greek community called the design, which features a view of the Colosseum in Rome rather...

It's a familiar scenario: Season-ticket holder can't make the game, so he sells his seats to a middleman; middleman takes a cut and resells to a desperate fan. Most would call this process...

Andre Agassi and Sammy Sosa have come down squarely on the side of the Screen Actors Guild in its strike against the ad industry. Agassi, a member of the U.S. Olympic tennis team, refused a...

Two harness racing horses in New York this summer have tested positive for sildenafil citrate, otherwise known as Viagra.

MIKE SCIOSCIAAngels manager, on his pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa's baffling forkball-like pitch, which in Japan is called the shuto: "If Shige was Italian, he'd call it a Prosciutto."

Sydney-bound shot-putter Adam Nelson was (and sometimes still is) both

Downsized walkie-talkies make it a breeze to communicate on the fly

A five-time conqueror of Mount Everest sounds off on his sport

Last year Marat Safin smashed 48 rackets, but this year he's cracked the Top 5

Heroes on the gridiron can also be heroes off, as these two bios show

Tisha Burress, MUSKOGEE, OKLA.RodeoTisha, a senior-to-be at Oktaha High, was the top all-around cowgirl at the national high school championships, edging Jennifer Lytle, a recent graduate of Dixie...

It's time to tackle the NFL season. Register now to join our two free fantasy football leagues, plus send your questions to Dr. Z's mailbag at cnnsi.com/si_online.

With his third major victory in nine weeks, Tiger Woods laid to rest golf's greatest ghosts at Valhalla and staked a claim to the greatest season in history

Was the final-day duel between Tiger Woods and Bob May the best in major championship history? It certainly deserves consideration for that distinction, but it's also in fast company. Here are our...

Carlos Delgado, the happy-go-lucky leader of the Blue Jays, is taking a mighty swing at the Triple Crown

With a .360 average, 36 home runs and 112 RBIs through Sunday, Carlos Delgado ranked among the top three in the American League in each Triple Crown category. The numbers make Delgado a leading...

BASEBALL

Baker's Half DozenSix strong, if rather obscure, pitchers have given the Giants a lift—into first place

Sammy Sosa now concedes that Cubs manager Don Baylor was right earlier this season when he criticized Sosa for being less than a complete player. "It's good sometimes that people say something...

Aug. 19, 2000Yankees 9, Angels 1

Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo (center), who helped send Kapler (right) on a 28-game streak, hopes to work his magic on the struggling Ledee (left). Here's what the guru of Texas swing looks...

If it wasn't for rotten luck, the Pirates' Jose Silva would have no luck at all

Flat Out the BestBlaine Wilson lifted himself to new peaks at the U.S. gymnastics trials

Only the windmills were missing from the split-level greens at Jack Nicklaus's Valhalla, which got the Bronx cheer from players at the PGA Championship

The worst Grand Slam venues since 1990

Dennis Paulson has got game, and he's only too happy to tell you about it

In Louisville, Elmore Just waits for the day when clubs made of persimmon make a comeback

Serves Eight

'31 PGA Champ Tom CreavyA Major Mystery

Is Valhalla of major championship quality?

SYNONYMS for an APPROACH SHOT HIT CLOSE TO THE HOLEAgainst it, all over it, buried, cozy, DL, flagged, jammed, kick-in, Klingon, leaner, packed, pin hunter, pin rattler, skintight, snug, stacked,...

If tiger makes next year's Masters his fourth straight win in the majors, the feat should not be counted as a Grand Slam. Tennis was confronted with the same issue in 1984-85, when Martina...

Dallas and Tulsa, Billy Mayfair's rottweilers

Brooke Tull, Georgetown, TexasBrooke, 17, was the only player with a 4-0 record at the Canon Cup, an East versus West team event for the top 10 junior boys and girls in the country. Brooke, whose...

I came to the PGA feeling like a fish out of water but left primed for the Tour's Q school

•Wow!Three straight majors is impressive, but Tiger's holding the scoring record in all four blows us away.

Some pros still rely on their low-tech gear

In a dream pairing at the PGA, Jack Nicklaus bowed to the new king of golf

Journeyman Scott Dunlap went toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods for three rounds. Then his putter betrayed him