Lots of PuckIs there a SPORTS ILLUSTRATED math whiz who can explain to me how, according to your rankings (NHL 2002-03 PREVIEW, Oct. 14), the Detroit Red Wings are rated higher than the San Jose...

LETTERS

MARCH 19, 1956

Last spring the hip-hop superstar Jay-Z—in the video for his single Girls Girls Girls—wore an exact replica of the maroon, long-sleeved number 33 jersey that Sammy Baugh sported for the Washington...

They display different leadership styles, but Tyrone Willingham and Dusty Baker have two things in common: 1) great success and 2)...uh...mmm...wait a minute...

Though she's almost sightless, Maria Runyan is a U.S. favorite in Sunday's New York Marathon

ON-LINE COACH BASHING

2,109.55Distance in miles for the 2003 Tour de France, the seventh shortest course in the race's 99-year history.

RevealedThat Raptors center Hakeem Olajuwon, a 12-time NBA All-Star, will announce his retirement before the Rockets-Golden State game in Houston on Nov. 9, effective immediately. The...

Returned

DiedWhen his plane crashed near Eveleth, Minn., Senator Paul Wellstone (D., Minn.). Wellstone, 58, wrestled for two years at North Carolina, going 21-0-1 and winning the 1964 ACC title. He also...

On Saturday the USOC will name New York or San Francisco as a potential 2012 host. Two locals say, Let the Games begin—elsewhere

Recently enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame and the executive producer of the current film Brown Sugar, the immortal Laker now prepares to join Charles Barkley & Co. on Thursday nights...

SPORTS BEAT

No, Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi isn't spouting off at the ref—his Old Faithful imitation came after the skate-around that preceded last Saturday's clash with the Stars in Vancouver. But Bertuzzi...

Last Wednesday, ABC's The Bachelor drew a higher Nielsen rating among adults 18-49 than Game 4 of the World Series.

JEFF KENTGiants second baseman, declining a pregame interview request by a reporter from Rogers Sportsnet, a Canadian sports network: "I talked to Canada yesterday."

Soccer star turned wideout Carl Morris is rewriting the Crimson record book and catching scouts' eyes

As he prepares to battle Marco Barrera this week, the troubled Johnny Tapia is cornering his demons

Scouts say that Alexander Ovechkin, who won't be eligible for the NHL draft until 2004, is a star-to-be

This winter's crop of free agents will feel the cold, hard reality of the new collective bargaining agreement

Virginia's Alecko Eskandarian, an elite collegiate goal scorer, is looking toward a bigger stage

In the most lifelike games ever, one version even has players perspiring on the court

Prince Albert's dream is to make Monaco a mini center for world sports—including pro football

The dirty little secret of the WNBA is that many of its players must head overseas to make top dollar

With her father in prison for murder, rising star Toccara Montgomery found refuge on the mat

•A Galloping Success•Ming Fever•Buck's True Wit

NOVEMBER 1-7

Lewis Howes, DELAWARE, OHIOFootballHowes, a sophomore at Principia College in Elsah, Ill., set an NCAA record for receiving yards during a 42-35 loss to Martin Luther College. He gained 418 yards...

Veterans Days

CENTRAL TIME: d. With 32,595 minutes played, David Robinson is the NBA's most experienced starting center. Horace Grant, a power forward for most of his career but now starting as an undersized...

Hoop it up with complete NBA scores, stats and news, plus analysis from Jack McCallum and Marty Burns, at cnnsi.com/basketball.

To sign up for SPORTS ILLLUSTRATED's free subscriber-only e-mail newsletter, go to http://sicustomerservice.com/siextra.

Thanks to a historic Game 6 rally, the never-say-die Angels stunned the Giants in seven to win the first World Series championship in their 42-year history

Series MVP Troy Glaus gave the Angels the best gift of all

Stretch MarksVolponi, Jose Santos up (second from right, blue and pink silks) charges to the lead on the final turn of the Breeders' Cup Classic last Saturday, passing War Emblem (3) and Medaglia...

Stiff-arming his opponents and critics, EMMITT SMITH became the leading rusher in NFL history

No position is more physically taxing than running back, where the best are often finished not long after they get started

Dr. Z's list of the alltime greatest running backs

A Whopping eight teams enter November without a loss—but with college football at the mercy of the mysterious BCS computer, sometimes winning isn't enough

A quick primer on the most notorious numerology in sports

Walk into any sports bar in America, and you'll find your typical, everyday sports fans ready to argue about the most overrated—and underrated—people, places and things in sports. These will get...

OVERRATEDZenIT'S FUN TO hear the Lakers' coach filibuster about how he fits reading material for his players to their personalities, or to read one of Jackson's books about Zen and the art of...

OVERRATED"40" time

OVERRATEDHockeyOver the 1988-89 and '89-90 seasons, the great Mario Lemieux averaged a whopping 96 assists for the Pittsburgh Penguins. During that same stretch his not-so-great teammate,...

OVERRATEDRichard PettyRichard Petty's good looks, aw-shucks manner and an unprecedented 200 wins got him coronated, but under the King's down-home facade was a tireless promoter. He spent hours...

OVERRATEDMarch MadnessThe rite of spring known as March Madness occasions as much teeth-gnashing as did Stravinsky's—and for what? Outside of Vegas, where March Madness is, true to its name, a...

OVERRATEDAbsMEN'S EXERCISE. Men's Journal. Men's Health. Men's Fitness. Men's Health and Fitness. Men's Health, Fitness & Exercise. On the newsstand, rippling naked abs are exclaimed...

OVERRATEDHeadThe virtues of an immobile head may still be touted by diamond cutters and mohels, but nowadays you don't find many headlocked golf professionals. David Duval's noggin rums freely...

OVERRATEDBill MazeroskiThe historic walk-off home run that gave his Pittsburgh Pirates the 1960 World Series over the New York Yankees is not enough for history to proclaim Bill Mazeroski, as it...

OVERRATEDGymnastics

UNDERRATEDAnnouncer

OVERRATEDDan SnyderSure, Washington Redskins imperious owner Dan Snyder can be a pain in the butt, and yes, it was fun to watch his binge-spending effort to buy a Super Bowl ring implode. But at...

OVERRATEDCheerleadingNo Pseudosport has more zealous defenders. Parents talk about how acrobatic their daughters must be to perform their back-tuck basket tosses, how much strength is required to...

OVERRATEDBeing UnderratedLast spring, every media outlet in North America—from the Hamilton Spectator to Fort Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel—called Carolina Hurricanes captain Ron Francis the most...

OVERRATEDVince LombardiVince Lombardi could beat you with the sweep, the bomb, the epigram. Winning isn't everything; it's the only tiling. His record with the Green Bay Packers (and an orphan...

OVERRATEDDraft

OVERRATEDMiniature GolfIf Golf is a good walk spoiled, then miniature golf is a short walk wasted. The game is achingly unchallenging—even the most unsteady of putters is unlikely to shoot...

OVERRATEDEverestMount Everest is more crowded than the Long Island Expressway (a record 54 people reached the peak in a single day last May), more overexposed than Martha Stewart and only slightly...

OVERRATEDACLRemember when a torn ACL ranked among the most dreaded diagnoses for a pro athlete? The NFL is now filled with stars who have thrived after blowing out their knees: Rod Woodson, Jerry...

OVERRATEDBen Hogan

OVERRATEDMint JulepThere is an old saying about the Kentucky Derby's traditional tipple, the Mint Julep: "The first one doesn't taste very good. The second one's not much better. By the third, who...

UNDERRATEDBilly Johnson

OVERRATEDLenny WilkensAs an NBA player, Lenny Wilkens never got his due—he was in Cousy's class as a passer and averaged 16.5 points for his career. As an NBA coach, however, he is a considerably...

OVERRATEDMichigan Stadium

OVERRATEDGrad Rates

OVERRATEDNoiseMemo to you Cameron Crazies, you Dog Pounders, you Bleacher Bums: They don't hear you. Players are unaffected by your booing, jeering and stomping. Loud noise is nothing more than a...

OVERRATEDDennis Rodman

OVERRATEDSpud Webb

OVERRATEDOld Course at St. Andrews

OVERRATEDJack Dempsey

OVERRATEDWest 4th StreetWant to see some spectacularly sloppy basketball? Travel to the corner of West Fourth Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, site of the famed asphalt outdoor court known as...

OVERRATEDJoe NamathFew Athletes have gotten more mileage out of one game than Joe Willie Namath. He earned a place in NFL history by backing up his guarantee that the New York Jets would beat the...

OVERRATEDRotisserie LeagueEvery sports fanatic is an armchair coach. That's why managing an office fantasy league team can be so intoxicating. You review rosters, negotiate trades, bench bums. Ah,...

OVERRATEDJohn MaddenOnce upon A time, back when J.R. Ewing was a tough-talking Texan and a thirsty populace found itself embroiled in Miller Lite's Tastes great/Less filling debate, John Madden...

College Football

Hawkeye VisionsAfter marching into the Big House and whupping Michigan, Iowa is in the thick of the Rose Bowl race

Colorado TB Chris BrownversusOklahoma MLB Lance Mitchell

Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders drew up a game plan against Alabama that focused on getting the ball to wide receiver Kelley Washington—only to learn after last Thursday's practice...

Grin and Bear IfThe plays that Terrell Owens makes on the field more than offset the headaches he gives the 49ers off it

TRADING E-MAIL WITH...Bills middle linebacker London Fletcher

This is what recent history tells us: Forget September and October. The Super Bowl champion is the team that gets hot in November, stays that way in December and goes into the playoffs on a roll....

In trying to live up to his hero's status in Montreal, league MVP José Théodore is off to a poor start

Besides developing into a top scorer, the Flames' Jarome Iginla has taken a leadership role. Last week Calgary's undersized center, Marc Savard, was run over by the Stars' 6'2", 210-pound forward,...

The Breeders' Cup showcased a pair of juveniles with Derby promise

Don't you feel a little sorry for Barry Bonds?