Stories for Sports Illustrated
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Pearl, In the Lane, With the Kiss
March 18, 2013
As the Big East does its last dance at the Garden, a look at the players and moments that contributed to its glorious rise—and the tumultuous events that led to its downfall
COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Is This the End for Penn State?
July 30, 2012
The worst scandal in the history of college sports led the NCAA to impose harsh and unprecedented penalties on the Nittany Lions. What’s left is a legacy in ashes, a program in shambles and a community in disbelief
SPORTSWOMAN & SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski
December 12, 2011
The two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history have more in common than extraordinary success. For reaching beyond their campuses and refusing to be defined by their genders, SI honors them jointly
Sports Saves the World
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
September 26, 2011
In grassroots programs involving tens of thousands of participants around the globe, visionaries are using athletics to tackle the most pressing problems of the developing world—from AIDS in Africa to violence in Rio. Can such projects make a lasting difference, or is the dream of salvation through sports too grandiose? SI senior writer Alexander Wolff set off on a yearlong journey to find the answer
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

John Wooden
1910-2010
Remembering the Wizard
June 14, 2010
A personal reminiscence of the greatest coach that college basketball has known, and the values and character that made him an equally accomplished man
GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL /
SPORTS BUSINESS

The Other Basketball
June 13, 2005
While purists shudder, the And1 touring troupe and its best-selling videos have spread hip-hop hoops far and wide—and made the dribble the bomb
SPORTS MEDIA

The Cover No One Would Pose For
[with Albert Chen & Tim Smith]
January 21, 2002
Millions of superstitious readers—and many athletes—believe that an appearance on Sports Illustrated’s cover is the kiss of death. But is there really such a thing as the SI Jinx?
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Knight Fall
September 18, 2000
Bob Knight’s controversial 29-year reign at Indiana came to an ironic end when he gave a student an unmannerly lesson in manners
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

General Amnesty
May 22, 2000
After an investigation that uncovered evidence of repeated serious transgressions, the Indiana hierarchy let Bob Knight off with a slap on the wrist
COLLEGE BASKETBALL /
FINAL FOUR

Wildcat Strike
April 6, 1998
Digging itself out of one last hole, Kentucky brought a resounding end to the first year of the Tubby Smith era with its seventh NCAA title
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

Dean Smith: Fanfare for an Uncommon Man
December 22, 1997
He became the winningest college basketball coach of all time and capped an exemplary career with a graceful retirement
COLLEGE BASKETBALL /
FINAL FOUR

Scratchin’ and Clawin’
April 7, 1997
In a Cat fight that went into overtime, youthful Arizona upset Kentucky to win the NCAA title
COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Broken Beyond Repair
June 12, 1995
An open letter to the president of Miami urges him to dismantle his vaunted football program to salvage his school’s reputation
COLLEGE BASKETBALL /
FINAL FOUR

Arkansas 1994
Hog Wild
April 11, 1994
A clutch three-pointer gave Arkansas the NCAA title and, at last, the respect it deserved
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The First Fan
March 21, 1994
President Clinton is hog-wild about the Arkansas Razorbacks and their chances of going all the way
COLLEGE BASKETBALL /
FINAL FOUR

Duke 1991
Wish Granted
April 8, 1991
Duke did it. The Blue Devils slammed Kansas, after shocking UNLV, to win the NCAA title
TENNIS

Upset Time
September 17, 1990
Teen ace Pete Sampras and a new Gabriela Sabatini were unlikely champions in one of the most surprising U.S. Opens ever
COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Florida: Home of the Best Talent and the Best Teams
September 5, 1988
From Pahokee to West Palm, they’re raising talent in the Sunshine State—to star in Miami, Gainesville, Tallahassee and points beyond
BASEBALL

The Boys of Spring
March 7, 1988
After two disastrous seasons, L.A. is enjoying pennant fever in Vero Beach
PRO BASKETBALL

In the Driver’s Seat
December 10, 1984
Rookie Michael Jordan has quickly become Chicago’s big wheel and the NBA’s big deal at the box office
OBITUARY / SPORTS MEDIA
Frank Deford, 1938-2017
June 5, 2017
For more than five decades, Frank Deford was the peerless bard of sports journalism, responsible for some of Sports Illustrated’s most indelible stories
SPORTS MEDIA
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
December 12, 2016
As the old media model that created sports’ bull market crumbles, the way games are broadcast and consumed is changing radically—à la carte! microbets! virtual reality!—while rights-holders brace for the ultimate reckoning
OLYMPICS / RIO 2016
Everyone in the Struggle
July 25-August 1, 2016
Like their city, Rio’s Olympians—and many other Cariocas tied to these Games—have overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles
PRO FOOTBALL / WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Gino Marchetti
July 4-11, 2016
He had the meat to compete with the giants of any era. . . . Oh, and this oft-overlooked Baltimore Colts legend was also one of the most dominant defensive ends ever to put on the pads and helmet
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
The Powers That Be
May 30, 2016
After decades of exporting athletic prowess, the U.S. is using its legal might to make friends and influence people around the globe
REVIEW / TELEVISION
John Oliver’s British Invasion
December 28, 2015
It takes the perspective of an irreverent, hilarious outsider to most effectively send up and send off the most odious people and policies in sports
PRO BASKETBALL
Ponytail Express
December 14, 2015
Before her pioneering role as an NBA assistant, Becky Hammon was an overlooked recruit in South Dakota and an underestimated point guard in the WNBA. Nothing has come easy for her, and she wouldn’t have it any other way
COLLEGE BASKETBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
Game Changer
November 30, 2015
Basketball-loving education secretary Arne Duncan ensured that an emphasis on NCAA student-athletes will be an Obama administration legacy
YOUTH SPORTS / SPORTS & SOCIETY
The Last Days of the Abusive Coach
[with Lauren Shute]
September 28, 2015
Why do college coaches continue to yell, demean and demoralize? That’s yesterday’s tactic. Today’s athletes can’t—and won’t—take it. What’s more, it doesn’t work: Study after study shows the benefits of a more positive approach
OLYMPICS / RIO 2016
The World Is Waiting
August 17, 2015
One year from the start of the 2016 Olympics, host Rio de Janeiro is pleased with its progress, but even as its scenic splendor and irrepressible spirit command attention, the city has obstacles to overcome
PRO BASKETBALL / WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Kareem-Abdul Jabbar
July 6-13, 2015
The Hall of Fame center who played with his back to the world was immersing himself in Malcolm X and Sherlock Holmes stories before tip-offs. Now he has grown comfortable sharing his insights on race, religion, sports and history as a public intellectual
SPORTS & SOCIETY
A Whole New Ball Game
June 29, 2015
The Millennial generation, with its unprecedented digital savvy and ethnic, cultural and social diversity, is changing the face of sports in America. Just look at the fan next to you—and the sport on the field or on your phone
SOCCER / SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Hard Habits to Kick
June 15, 2015
An international investigation is threatening to blow up an outfit that has long promised to save the world with soccer but instead has allegedly leaned on member nations, rich and poor, to line the pockets of a select few. The first sign of positive change: president Sepp Blatter’s pending resignation
PRO BASKETBALL
Patty Mills, Balla
March 23, 2015
There is no more diverse roster in the NBA than that of the Spurs, populated by balas, or brothers, from eight countries, each with a story to share, none richer than the one their Indigenous Australian point guard tells, with feeling
OBITUARY / COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Dean Smith
1931-2015
Hail and Farewell
February 23, 2015
Five years ago, amid his sad decline, the coach’s former players and assistants found a way to say to him what he had always told them: Thank you
SPORTS MEDIA
United We Sit
October 20, 2014
With its abiding desire for a broad cross section of American viewers, televised sports remain a last staging ground for national conversation about concussions, domestic violence, child abuse, gay rights and racial sensitivity
OLYMPICS / SOCHI 2014
Good as Gold
February 17, 2014
The opening days of the Sochi Games were filled with overblown tales of organizational glitches. But there was a way to celebrate Olympian achievements and revel in Russia’s winter spirit: Head for the hills
OLYMPICS / SOCHI 2014
Host-ilities
February 3, 2014
Instead of a “new Russia,” the politically charged, terror-threatened Sochi Games are reviving memories of the country’s past
OBITUARY / SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Nelson Mandela
1918-2013
December 16, 2013
During an extraordinary life of suffering and reconciliation, the South African leader never stopped believing his own mantra that “sport has the power to change the world”
YOUTH SPORTS / HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
The Shot
December 2, 2013
Video of Khalil Edney’s last-second shot went viral because it won a high school playoff game. But it also showed that good things come to those who persevere
OLYMPICS / SOCHI 2014
The Putin Olympics
February 18, 2013
In less than a year, the Winter Games will open in the subtropical resort of Sochi. Every venue was built from scratch. Will it all work? Will there be snow? Russian president Vladimir Putin guarantees it—and he’s used to getting his way
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Art of Aaron Craft
January 28, 2013
The nation’s most creative defender knows his opponents’ moves better than they do, which makes playing against him part fascinating and part infuriating
OBITUARY / COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Rick Majerus
1948-2012
The Saddest Happy Coach
December 10, 2012
For all of a dazzling successful career on the sideline, the outsized Saint Louis coach waged an internal battle between transience and permanence
SPORTS & SOCIETY
Athletes Who Care:
The Power of Ten
[with Dan Greene]
December 10, 2012
In 1987, SI bestowed its highest honor on a group of sports figures dedicated to helping others. A quarter century later, athletes are channeling the same passion and commitment to ever broader issues, on an ever widening scale
CYCLING / SPORTS & DRUGS
‘A Massive Fraud Now More Fully Exposed’
[with David Epstein]
October 22, 2012
For years, as he became the most dominant cyclist in history, Lance Armstrong vehemently denied doping. Here are some of his most strident assertions, annotated with the now undeniable evidence that Armstrong took performance-enhancing drugs, pressured his teammates to do so and bullied anyone who opposed him
OLYMPICS / LONDON 2012
Run the World, Girls
August 13, 2012
History has been lit large across the London fortnight—the likely last stands of Phelps and the Dream Team, the kinetic brilliance of Bolt—but the electricity of these Games has come from another growing, if not new, source: towering women
OLYMPICS / LONDON 2012
One City, One World
August 6, 2012
The soul of these Olympics lies in a uniquely British paradox: The hosts desperately want medals, yet greet failures with a stiff upper lip, a smile even. What matters most is that their guests feel included and simply have a go
OLYMPICS / LONDON 2012
The Host City
July 23, 2012
The grand old city rescued the Games as a last-minute host in 1908 and ’48, and its record third Olympics, planned through seven years of triumph and tragedy, should be a vibrant (if possibly soggy) model for the future
OLYMPICS / MELBOURNE 1956
Revolution Games
June 18, 2012
The 1956 Melbourne Olympics were plunged into Cold War intrigue as dozens of Hungarian athletes, unwilling to return home after Soviet tanks crushed a popular uprising against Communist rule, defected to freedom—with help from a young sports magazine
REVIEW / ART
The Art of Boxing
June 4, 2012
The savagery and spectacle of prizefighting a century ago are at the heart of an exhibit of works by American realist master George Bellows
OLYMPICS / LONDON 2012
Ready, Set, Coe!
May 21, 2012
A lord and a legend, an Olympic hero who once tusseled with a clown, Sebastian Coe is the upbeat face and driving force of this summer’s Games
PRO BASKETBALL
How I Spent My Lockout
November 21, 2011
J. J. Barea, the breakout star of the NBA Finals, wants to get back to work. Until he does, he’ll be hanging out with his girlfriend—a former Miss Universe—on the tropical island where he’s a hero
SPORTS & SCIENCE
The New Training Table
[with Amanda Doyle]
November 7, 2011
From college dining halls to professional clubhouses, a new food consciousness is revolutionizing sports. It’s not just about gaining or losing weight. It’s about performance targets, wellness and recovery. Easting to win has become a lot more complicated—and athletes are healthier for it
GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL
Courtin’ in the Park
September 12, 2011
What lockout? The playground pyrotechnics of NBA stars are keeping it real, and keeping the game alive
SPORTS & SCIENCE
Prosthetics:
Between Man and Machine
August 6, 2011
Inspired by young wounded veterans, federally funded labs are creating artificial limbs that may soon blur the distinction between disabled and able-bodied athletes
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons MORE Award
YOUTH SPORTS / SPORTS & SOCIETY
The Barrio Boys
June 27, 2011
In 1949 El Paso’s Bowie Bears, a team of poor Hispanic players too unworldly to be intimidated by more affluent Anglo opponents, came from nowhere to win Texas’ first high school baseball title
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Party Like It’s 1579
July 19, 2010
Spain has built a new empire, in sports, a triumph of planning, cash, freedom—and great hair
COLLEGE BASKETBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
Utah: The First Cinderella
[with Michael Atchison]
March 22, 2010
Led by Arnie Ferrin Jr. and Wat Misaka, the 1943-44 Utes peaked at just the right time and became the unlikeliest of champions
SOCCER
The Hero Who Vanished
[with Joshua Robinson]
March 8, 2010
Sixty years ago the U.S. upset mighty England in the World Cup on a single goal by Joe Gaetjens. In most countries Gaetjens would have been idolized. But in the U.S. he was ignored, and in his native Haiti he was marked for death
OLYMPICS / VANCOUVER 2010
Alone at the Top
February 8, 2010
Four years after triumph and turbulence in Turin, Shani Davis still stands—and skates—apart from the U.S. team. But that hasn’t kept him from becoming America’s best male skater since Eric Heiden
PRO FOOTBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
The NFL’s Jackie Robinson
October 12, 2009
He broke professional football’s color barrier in 1946, yet even though he played alongside Robinson in college, few people remember the great running back Kenny Washington or the shameful history of segregation in the NFL
Best American Sports Writing
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Pressure Points
March 23, 2009
A free throw’s very freedom can seem like psychological imprisonment—especially during the NCAA Tournament, when laying it all on the line takes on outsize importance, and the charity stripe can be anything but charitable
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
To Russia with Love
December 15, 2008
Imagine Mark Cuban with three times as many teams and five times as much money. He’d still be a piker compared to the Russian zillionaires who offer a life of luxury to lure world-class athletes and are bankrolling a new national sports machine
OLYMPICS / BEIJING 2008
On the Rebound
August 18, 2008
Having learned from its mistakes of attitude and etiquette in Athens, a pressuring U.S. Redeem Team proved it can win with class, putting on a show against the host country and impressing adoring fans
OLYMPICS / BEIJING 2008
The Redeem Team
July 28, 2008
After failing to win a major basketball competition in eight years, the U.S. has taken a new (and distinctly foreign) approach
OLYMPICS / BEIJING 2008
Let the Show Begin
July 28, 2008
Hoping to stage a dazzling, dissent-free spectacle, China has carefully planned—and tried to control—every aspect of the Beijing Games. Anyone looking to spoil the event will have to reckon with 1.3 billion proud Chinese
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Opening Volley
[with David Davis and Jaime FlorCruz]
June 16, 2008
Ping-Pong Diplomacy made the Beijing Games possible—but without two unlikely heroes, the great table tennis summit might never have occurred
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cut From the Same Cloth
March 24, 2008
Nine years after his father threw in the towel as Georgetown’s coach, John Thompson III has assumed his mantle and made the Hoyas once again a threat to win the national championship
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Greatest Upset Never Seen
December 31, 2007
On December 23, 1982, with no TV cameras and very few press on hand, tiny Chaminade of Honolulu shocked Ralph Sampson and No. 1 Virginia. College basketball hasn’t been the same since.
RUNNING
No Finish Line
November 5, 2007
His heart once powered him to a world’s best in the marathon. On June 30 it stopped for 14 minutes. Now Alberto Salazar knows that life is the only long run that really matters
Best American Sports Writing
SPORTS & SOCIETY
Two Years After Katrina
[with Caitlin Moscatello]
August 27, 2007
Sports played a special role in the early stages of the New Orleans recovery, but beyond the Superdome, in battered, depopulated areas such as the Lower Ninth Ward, there is a great need to get the city’s at-risk youth back in play
BASEBALL / WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
What’s In a Name?
July 2, 2007
The shortstop synonymous with big league futility—Mendoza Line, anyone?—maintains a reputation well north of respectability in his native country
PRO BASKETBALL / WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Hakeem Olajuwon
July 2, 2007
Infused with a passion for architecture and guided by his Islamic faith, the Hall of Fame center has scored bi as Houston’s most distinctive real estate magnate
AUTO RACING
“Better Than Sex”
June 18, 2007
That’s how Formula 1 phenom Lewis Hamilton described winning his first pole. Imagine how F / 1’s first black driver felt about his historic win in Montreal last weekend
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Birth of a Dynasty
March 19, 2007
Only after John Wooden challenged his own coaching methods—and applied new tactics to a headstrong mix of players in 1963-64—did he make his mark at UCLA
SPORTS & SCIENCE
Going, Going Green
[with David Epstein]
March 12, 2007
As global warming changes the planet, it is changing the sports world. To counter the looming environmental crisis, surprising and innovative ideas are already helping sports adapt
COLLEGE FOOTBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
Ground Breakers
November 7, 2005
Long after Jackie Robinson smashed the color barrier in baseball, these Southern college football pioneers desegregated a more violent sport, in a more violent place, at a more violent time
LACROSSE / YOUTH SPORTS
Get on the Stick
[with Julia Morrill]
April 25, 2005
A longtime niche sport, lacrosse is the fastest-growing game in the U.S. at every level. The appeal? It’s a neat composite of other sports, it’s fast, it’s easy to learn. And it’s cool
PRO BASKETBALL
The Man Has Seen ’Em All
March 14, 2005
After half a century of discovering stars from Zelmo Beaty to Ben Wallace, master scout and storyteller Marty Blake is still sizing up every NBA prospect out there
SPORTS & HISTORY
The Road Not Taken
December 27, 2004
Lombardi’s invincible Eagles? Gordie Howe of the Rangers? Jack Nicklaus, filler of prescriptions? These things almost came to pass, as we found in exploring sports’ most intriguing might have beens
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Hoops Played Here?
November 29, 2004
On the shores of Lake Champlain, led by an odd pairing of coach and player, the Vermont Catamounts have ignited an unlikely case of basketball fever
TENNIS
Jimbo, 1974
August 30, 2004
In 1974 Jimmy Connors ignited a tennis boom with his wicked metal racket, his storybook romance, his vulgar antics and his renegade behavior. Thirty years later he still thumbs his nose at the game’s establishment
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Conn Game
April 12, 2004
Behind a full-throttle performance from Emeka Okafor, Connecticut cruised past Georgia Tech to win the NCAA title
SPORTS & SOCIETY
Hard Truth
March 29, 2004
In Vermont, a state of ‘From Heres’ and ‘Come Heres,’ natives know the state is grittier than its image suggests
SPORTS BUSINESS / SPORTS & SOCIETY
Rockin’ the Retros
December 22, 2003
A streetwise Philly marketer, with some juice from hip-hop stars, has turned the throwback jersey into a big-bucks fashion frenzy
SAILING
Mast Appeal
July 14, 2003
Sports have gone populist in ritzy Newport, where events will be in full sail this week
John Southam Award for Excellence in Sailing Communications
YOUTH SPORTS / SPORTS & SOCIETY
The American Athlete, Age 10
[with Gene Menez]
October 6, 2003
Time of their lives, or too much too soon? It’s the age many kids give up sports altogether or arrive at a crossroads, forced to choose among sports in order to excel at one
GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL
They Got Next
August 18, 2003
For high schoolers pursuing NBA dreams, summer is the time to shine, and none shone more brightly than three stars on the mighty Atlanta Celtics
PRO BASKETBALL / WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Jerry Lucas
June 30, 2003
The Hall of Fame forward has been reborn as an educational evangelist, preaching his radical gospel of memorizing through visualization
COLLEGE BASKETBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
Ghosts of Mississippi
March 10, 2003
Forty years ago a courageous college president defied a court order barring Mississippi State from integrated competition and sent his team to face black players in the NCAA tournament
Powerade / NSMA Story of the Year
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A Madness to the Method?
March 3, 2003
A top-secret computer formula, the RPI, is often the difference between a team’s receiving an NCAA at-large berth or going to the NIT. Its critics think there are better yardsticks—and they may be right
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Tonelli’s Run
January 27, 2003
Trapped in a hell where the bravest thing a man could was just stay alive, Motts Tonelli clung to hope—and his Notre Dame class ring
YOUTH SPORTS / HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Class Struggle
December 2, 2002
Five years after Indiana carved up its basketball tournament into four tiers—ending any chance of another Hoosiers-style miracle—declining interest has led to sparse crowds and plummeting revenues
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Just Do It Right
November 25, 2002
College hoops has a fundamental problem: lousy fundamentals. Everybody can jam, nobody can hit a jump shot. How to fix it? Go back to basics
BASKETBALL
The Olden Rules
November 25, 2002
When James Naismith first committed to paper his 13 precepts of basketball in 1891, he could not have foreseen how well those commandments would hold up—or how fiercely the document itself would be coveted
YOUTH SPORTS
The Vanishing Three-Sport Star
November 18, 2002
Bucking a powerful trend toward specialization, two athletes in Louisville are excelling in multiple sports—and savoring the challenge
HOCKEY
The Cup to the Rescue
August 26, 2002
With floods ravaging the Czech Republic, four Red Wings players turned a visit by the Stanley Cup into a relief mission
OLYMPICS / MUNICH 1972
When the Terror Began
[with Don Yaeger]
August 26, 2002
Thirty years afterward, the hostage drama that left eleven Israeli Olympians dead seems even more chilling and offers grim reminders to today’s security experts
Best American Sports Writing
Powerade / NSMA Story of the Year
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Duty, Honor, Country
December 10, 2001
With a more consequential conflict in everyone’s thoughts, Army trampled Navy
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Road Not Taken
November 19, 2001
Duke guard Jason Williams might have been the first player chosen in the NBA Draft, but he decided to stay in school because he figured he still has a lot to learn
COLLEGE SPORTS
Look for the Union Label?
August 13, 2001
Ramogi Huma’s Collegiate Athletes Association is organizing Division I players
PRO BASKETBALL
Your Lyin’ Eyes
June 25, 2001
You think you can spot an NBA prospect? A pro scout sees things you’re not even looking for
YOUTH SPORTS / GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL
A School for Scandal
February 26, 2001
Take a championship high school team, an NBA-ready 7-footer, a coach accused of molestation, a secretive summer-league operator and a community desperate for a winner, and you’ve got all the ingredients
OLYMPICS / SYDNEY 2000
Aiming Higher
September 18, 2000
The number of female Olympians is growing—even a pistol-packing Iranian is in Sydney—but for many the Games are unattainable because of oppression, prejudice and disease
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
The Great Wall
September 11, 2000
China has three towering NBA prospects in its frontcourt—and 100 more 7-footers in reserve, if you believe the rumors
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
The Son Also Rises
July 12, 1999
A second-generation star keys Italy’s win in the European Championships
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Bear in Winter
March 1, 1999
His UTEP Miners are only a shadow of the team that wrought a basketball revolution by winning the 1966 NCAA title, yet coach Don Haskins has no recourse but to sit tight through these rocky times
PRO BASKETBALL
Mr. Manners
May 25, 1998
Notorious Dennis Rodman is on his best behavior, and the Bulls’ chances for a three-peat get better the longer he continues to turn the other cheek
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Back Door Men
January 12, 1998
Princeton outfoxes foes with the oldest of plays. Here’s how the surprising 11-1 Tigers pull it off
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Best Little Player in America
November 17, 1997
If you believe the official listings, Eastern Michigan’s senior point guard Earl Boykins keeps getting smaller as his scoring grows
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
No Longer the Dolce Vita
May 19, 1997
U.S. players are finding Europe a much tougher place to earn a living
YOUTH SPORTS / HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
The End of the Road
March 17, 1997
With Indiana bidding farewell to its all-comers high school basketball tournament, boys from small towns like Batesville took a last shot at a dream
COLLEGE BASKETBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
School’s Out
February 24, 1997
Budding basketball star Marcus LoVett says he has been abused by the college system. Oklahoma City University says he refused help it offered him. Now his venue is the courtroom, not the court
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Money Co.
February 21, 1997
From the ruling family to the resident jockocracy, sports are a defining element in the bikini mecca of Monaco
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
A Survival Guide
December 23, 1996
To avoid a stomping by David Stern, the new women’s ABL should heed this advice
Women’s Sports Foundation Media Award
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A Field Guide to Zebras
November 15, 1996
In the land of college hoops, where players and coaches come and go, the referee has become the most familiar—and powerful—creature in the game
OLYMPICS / ATLANTA 1996
Playgirl
August 2, 1996
After a brief retirement, Brazil guard Hortencia resume her role as flamboyant queen of the court
OLYMPICS / ATLANTA 1996
Modern Greek Tragedy
July 22, 1996
Athens is still furious that the IOC didn’t select it for the Centennial Games
OLYMPICS / ATLANTA 1996
Road Show
July 22, 1996
The U.S. women’s basketball team bonded during 14 months of global barnstorming
OLYMPICS / SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
On the Move
July 22, 1996
From Shanghai to Tianjin, China’s greatest Olympic resource is clearly its female athletes
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL /
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Prisoners of War
June 3, 1996
Nine years ago, as Yugoslavs and friends, they beat the U.S. to win the World Junior basketball title. Now, as Bosnians, Croats and Serbs, they’re still stars—but politics has driven them apart
COLLEGE SPORTS
Abandoned in Cyberspace
March 4, 1996
It doesn’t compute: College coaches can talk for dough, but players may not speak freely
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A Ton of Bricks
February 12, 1996
That’s what you’ll find on college courts now that shooting has become a lost art
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Caught in the Middle
January 22, 1996
Stephon Marbury of Georgia Tech carries a heavy burden as the last, best hope of a Coney Island hoops dynasty
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Chemistry 101
November 27, 1995
If you’ve ever wondered why the most talented teams don’t always win the NCAAs, here’s the reason
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
International Intrigue
October 23, 1995
From Lithuania to Slovenia, from China to Greece, NBA spies—er, scouts—are in hot pursuit of tall men with long names
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
The China Syndrome
[with David Fleming and Jeff Lilley]
October 16, 1995
Chinese athletes and coaches are increasingly subject to the ills and temptations that afflict sports in the West
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
An Unrivaled Rivalry
March 6, 1995
When North Carolina and Duke tip off on Saturday night, they will try to take the finest feud in all of sports to even greater heights
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Down Memory Lane
November 28, 1994
After a decade on the beat, the author bids college basketball a fond farewell
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL
Amateur Hour
August 8, 1994
As the Goodwill Games proved anew, not every U.S. basketball squad is a dream team
SOCCER
It Should Be a Kick
June 20, 1994
Ready or not, Americans, here comes soccer’s—some would say sport’s—greatest spectacle
SOCCER
Here Come the Lads
June 13, 1994
The Irish soccer team will soon arrive for the World Cup with thousands of peaceful fans who love a glass and a singsong
OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER 1994
Whoosh!
February 28, 1994
To the delight of their families and fans, Dan Jansen won at last, and Bonnie Blair won again
OLYMPICS / LILLEHAMMER 1994
Flight of the Finns
February 7, 1994
A sobering rule pertains to Finland’s prodigious ski jumpers: the higher they soar, the harder they fall
COLLEGE BASKETBALL / SPORTS & SOCIETY
In Whose Best Interest?
January 17, 1994
Coaches would gain more from a college basketball boycott than players would
COLLEGE SPORTS
Trickle-Down Economics
October 25, 1993
Cuts in college football would help fund women’s and other nonrevenue programs
INTERNATIONAL BASKETBALL / SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Shooting for Peace
July 12, 1993
A brave team from Bosnia escaped war at home to make a plea for brotherhood at the European Basketball Championships in Munich
TENNIS
Spanish-American War
June 14, 1993
In a surprise, Spain’s Sergi Bruguera sank the U.S.’s main man in Paris, Jim Courier, to win a French Open notable for its no-shows
SPORTS & SOCIETY
The Slow Track
September 28, 1992
Two decades have elapsed since Title IX banned gender discrimination in federally funded schools, yet equity for women in high school and college sports remains elusive
Women’s Sports Foundation Media Award
OLYMPICS / BARCELONA 1992
Blades and Wheels
July 22, 1992
Olympians find that speed skating backgrounds often convert into pedal power
OLYMPICS / BARCELONA 1992
Call of the Wild
July 22, 1992
Squirrels, bears and rival kayakers are all wary of Mike Herbert
OLYMPICS / BARCELONA 1992
Showing Their Stripes
July 22, 1992
In the aftermath of an armistice in the Cold War, stars representing a constellation of new and old nations promise a banner Olympics
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Blue Angel
March 16, 1992
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s divine spirit and working-class ethic have forged an exemplary college basketball program
REVIEW / BOOKS
Read the Book, Michael
January 13, 1992
Despite what you’ve heard, you come off pretty well in ‘The Jordan Rules’
SPORTS & GLOBAL POLITICS
Katrin the Great
[with Anita Verschoth]
October 21, 1991
World sprint champion Katrin Krabbe and many other athletes from the former East Germany are undergoing culture shock
SPORTS & SOCIETY
Hello Muddah
July 8, 1991
I went back to Keewaydin, the camp where I spent three summers as a boy, and found it’s still a great place for a kid to come into his own
SPORTS & SOCIETY
Prima Donna
December 17, 1990
Women’s athletic director Donna Lopiano has taken the bull by the horns at Texas
PRO BASKETBALL
Oh, Those Cheeky Knicks
May 14, 1990
With a stunning playoff victory over the Celtics in Boston Garden directed by floor leader Maurice Cheeks, the Knicks exposed Larry Bird’s mortality
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Lost Generation
November 20, 1989
From 1971 to 1984, no major college scoring champ made the grade in the NBA. Here are the stories of their arrested development
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Coach and His Champion
April 3, 1989
John Wooden had 53 loving years with his wife, Nell. Now she’s gone and he struggles alone Best Sports Stories
Sports Illustrated’s 50 Years of Great Writing
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Great Escape
March 27, 1989
As Georgetown narrowly avoided a shocking NCAA tournament loss to Princeton, one spectator in the Providence Civic Center rode the whipsaw like no one else
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tempest at Mizzou
February 20, 1989
Coach Norm Stewart’s strange antics have brought winning but stormy times to Missouri
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A Shoot-Out in Tucson
December 19, 1988
When UNLV faced Arizona in a battle of the West’s best, the two coaches had another score to settle
OLYMPICS / SEOUL 1988
A Teutonic Juggernaut
September 14, 1988
By excelling in sports, East Germans can enjoy many privileges, including the right to travel beyond the Wall. And excel they do
TENNIS
Mats Mania It Wasn’t
June 13, 1988
Mats Wilander won another French Open title, but—strange development—John McEnroe won the crowds
ROWING
Oars and Old Ivy
June 6, 1988
Every year, Harvard and Yale athletes bivouac at riverside to prepare for America’s longest-running collegiate event
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Vin, Vinny and Vindication
January 18, 1988
Where Vin Del Negro, talented but unguided, once failed, his son, well loved, has persevered and triumphed
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Hot Way to Turn Up the Heat
November 18, 1987
The undermanned Providence Friars used pressure defense in last season’s NCAA tournament to burn some better teams and reach the Final Four. Don’t think that other coaches didn’t notice
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Juco Express
November 18, 1987
Junior college players are on the fast track to the big time, with St. John’s Michael Porter and Boo Harvey leading the way
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The Fall Roundup
August 31, 1987
When it comes to wooing schoolboy talent, it takes a recruiting hostess to provide that gentle incentive
BASEBALL
Playing By Her Own Rules
July 6, 1987
Maryanne Simmons, spouse of Braves catcher Ted Simmons, works hard to keep herself—and other baseball wives—out of the pigeonhole the game so often reserves for them
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tiger of Another Stripe
January 12, 1987
Missouri’s Derrick Chievous is a rollicking story—and he’ll write it for you too
PRO BASKETBALL
“To Find Out Why I’m Here”
September 22, 1986
In his placid life as a Virginia gentleman and his stormy life in the NBA, Ralph Sampson is searching for a new way to play the game
BASEBALL
Mets Autographs
September 15, 1986
A quest the author embarked on as a 12-year-old kid—to collect the autograph of every member of the 1969 Miracle Mets—gets renewed as the team’s latest edition seeks to duplicate the Amazins’ feat
GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL
The Only Game in Town
July 8, 1985
On one spirited weekend each summer, tiny Lowell, Mich., turns into Mackerville, its streets, sidewalks and front lawns given over to a three-on-three basketball bacchanal
PRO BASKETBALL
Charles in Charge
May 13, 1985
As the Philadelphia 76ers swept away Milwaukee, a not-so-little child, Charles Barkley, led them
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Bo on the Go
September 5, 1984
The star that stirs the drink at Auburn, Bo Jackson is a legend in Alabama and this season’s hottest Heisman candidate
OLYMPICS / LOS ANGELES 1984
It Can Happen
July 18, 1984
The U.S. men’s basketball team may be highly favored, but it’s vulnerable to attack, and Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia are the assailants most likely to do the deadly deed
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Leaning Tower of Pizza
March 12, 1984
When omnivorous Auburn center Charles Barkley uses body language, people listen
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Getting Right to the Point
January 23, 1984
Though only a freshman, part-time D.J. Kenny Smith has a finger on Carolina’s pulse
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A New Breed of Sooner Boomer
February 28, 1983
What’s Wayman Tisdale, the best freshman, doing at Oklahoma? Helping coach Billy Tubbs sell hoops in football heaven
POWERBOAT RACING
Rocky the Wreck Rides Again
July 26, 1982
Restaurateur Rocky Aoki, bent and broken in a crash, returned to racing with a bang, winning his own Benihana event
REVIEW / TELEVISION
This Coach Is Bleeping Good
May 24, 1982
Profane Hubie Brown came over clean and sweet on basketball telecasts