April 18, 2005 | Volume 102, Issue 16

The Unnaturals

LETTERS

The frozen four, like the Mudville Nine or Daytona 500, sounds like a group of political prisoners. ("Free the Frozen Four!") And the NCAA hockey finals are exiled to a sporting Siberia, on the...

Baylor's women's basketball team lifted up a town and restored the luster to a school tarnished by scandal. Just call them the Good News Bears

The women's game just keeps getting better. Here is SI's early line on the 2005--06 season

A routine Arena league play turned out to be lineman Al Lucas's last

2 Teams that have fielded an Opening Day lineup with a former All-Star at every position, including DH: the Yankees in 1977 and 2005.

Won By the U.S., the women's world hockey championship, with a 1--0 shootout victory over Canada in Linkoping, Sweden. It's the first world title for Team USA, which since the tournament was...

Start spreading the news: New York basher John Rocker is heading north

Jose Canseco

Good to be here. For those of you wishing to send a wedding gift to Charles and Camilla, be advised: They have enough coffeemakers, what they could really use is a Nok Hockey table.

The singer, who goes on tour this month, performed America the Beautiful before Boston's home opener on Monday

It's a running joke on the LSU women's tennis team that the form of their coach, Tony Minnis, is more Don Budge than Andy Roddick. But that old school technique came in handy last week when Minnis...

The president of the United Arab Emirates introduced an initiative to create robot camel jockeys.

What to watch and watch for

In 1950, when the U.S. soccer team traveled to Brazil to compete in the World Cup, local bookies didn't bother to set odds on its chances of defeating England in their first-round game. The...

Tina Miller

Bobcats Forward

WHO'S Hot

Based on a survey of 227 NBA players

Nuggets Center

AT 5'3" Louisville shortstop Chris Cates is believed to be college baseball's shortest player, dubbed Wee Man by his teammates and Oompa Loompa or Webster by opposing fans. One heckler suggested...

RYAN DOHERTY

To honor his late mother, Atlanta's Warrick Dunn helps single moms get homes of their own

PEYTON MANNING COLTS QUARTERBACK

[This article consists of photographs--see below]

With a monumental chip shot that highlighted a Sunday charge, Tiger Woods fought off Chris DiMarco to win his fourth Masters and prove--again--he is No. 1

After two straight disappointing finishes by the Cubs, the confines aren't so friendly anymore. North Siders have had their fill of lovable losers

The White Sox have a championship drought--but not the legacy of a curse--to match their Windy City brethren

With his ageless game and his quirky regimen, Reggie Miller is capping an illustrious 18-year career by rallying the Pacers to the playoffs

<b>Emile Griffith beat Benny (Kid) Paret to death in the ring after Paret called him queer. That was 43 years ago. He's still struggling to come to grips with it. So are we.</b>

Americans believe they have become more accepting--but have they?

61% agree

86% agree

68% agree

62% agree

64% agree

The Week In Sports

Bellamy Road became the top Derby contender with a romp in the Wood, but a filly's dream ended at Santa Anita

One more Super Saturday remains on the road to the May 7 Kentucky Derby--this weekend, when the Blue Grass Stakes and Arkansas Derby will be run. Here's a look at the contenders.

The Astros gave rookie Willy Taveras first crack at replacing Carlos Beltran, and he's off to a fast start at the plate

While Willy Taveras was off to a blazing start, here's how five other players who replaced stars fared in the first week of the season.

NATIONAL TREASURE

A couple of newcomers from UConn and a big (and familiar) face are among our year-end award winners

FIRST TEAM

An exodus of topflight assistants has forced national champ USC to adjust to a radically rebuilt coaching staff

Barring disaster, Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart (who's recovering from January elbow surgery) will direct the Trojans' offense in '05. Who'll get the keys after that? The candidates:

Question: Would the swimsuit competition be fair if Miss California wore a bikini but Miss Florida had to wear a Hefty 33-gallon trash bag?

April 2

Some totally board-certified physicians pitch in on earthquake relief in the Pacific

IN

PRO SNOWBOARDER

The lowdown on how seven pro skaters made those over-the-top basketball shots in an amazing video on the Web

You know a book of photographs is going to be thrilling when it includes a disclaimer stating that you can kill yourself if you try to re-create any of its shots. In Torrent (Heliconia Press,...

Fishing the choppy waters off Alaska for crab is "the deadliest job in the world," the melodramatic voice-overs repeatedly remind us in the Discovery Channel's 10-part documentary series Deadliest...

50 1/2 Days it took French sailor Bruno Peyron this winter to complete the fastest-ever global circumnavigation.

He has lost his sight and endured a litany of horrific injuries, but triathlete Bobby McMullen is still going full-speed ahead

FREE ACCESS OR RESORT GUESTS ONLY? A SLICE OF PERFECT SURF A MILE OFF TINY TAVARUA ISLAND IN FIJI UNDERSCORES THE SPORT'S CRUCIAL DEBATE

A members-only resort in Montana offers skiers a mountain of fresh powder and uncrowded runs--for a mountainous price

CUBS FANS GET CRANKY ~ REGGIE MILLER'S LAST SHOT

Working as a caddie, the author has a unique vantage point from which to observe the traditions of Augusta, and to discover the true meaning of the Masters

As disciplined as he is creative, Luke Donald is slowly but surely establishing himself as a major player

Luke Donald majored in art theory and practice at Northwestern, and he's working on a painting for the June 30--July 3 Western Open outside Chicago, his adopted hometown, but he's not giving up...

After years of playing second fiddle to his countrywomen, K.J. Choi found the spotlight at the Masters

Last year K.J. Choi, 36, emerged as one of the world's top golfers after finishing third at the Masters and becoming one of only 11 players to make the cut in all four majors. But last November,...

Sports Illustrated Bonus Section

Part swing coach, part second mother, Pam Barnett finally made it to the Masters with her longtime student Ted Purdy

In his colorful and quirky new book, Lost Balls, Charles Lindsay goes where no photographer has gone before: into the hazards of the game or, as he says, "ankle-deep in muck, far from the fairway,...

Chris DiMarco will not go the way of Bob May. He'll come back stronger for this near miss.

Lee Elder integrated the Masters 30 years ago, but not everyone is celebrating

Life and Times on the PGA Tour

He's back and so is Mother Nature, but Jack is out. Here's the real Masters scorecard

24

WHO: Tiger Woods

CROW'S NEST Convenient. **JACK NICKLAUS I played a practice round with him and tried to soak up everything I could. **TIGER'S PUTT OFF THE GREEN He'd probably admit he should have known better....

"Trevor Immelman, the 25-year-old from South Africa who aced Augusta's 16th hole on Sunday and tied for fifth, is the best player you've never heard of."