October 10, 1988 | Volume 69, Issue 16

My enormous beast was an arrogant gelding named Sandy. I had been told he was once a nasty camel and had little use for humans. But after two full years of training he easily "whooshed" down to...

The U.S.'s only golds were won by a twosome from Oklahoma State

The U.S. men spiked their rivals and drinking buddies, the Soviets, for the gold

Carolyn Waldo gave her country a gift of long-awaited gold

Yugoslavia's win in OT ended a dream pursued by the U.S. team since '84

Rapid-firing Jay Barrs was on target

South Korea savored gold and silver medals

Two U.S. women braved disaster to win the gold

Greg Barton won two golds in photo finishes

But are tennis and the Olympics a good match?

Yoo Nam Kyu (right) won an all-Korean final

Great Britain's men and Australia's women shone

The U.S. defeated Japan, its nemesis in 1984

The Japanese were humbled by the Soviets and the South Koreans

After 4½ grueling hours, Olaf Ludwig's margin of victory was three seconds

[This article consists of photographs—see below.]

Politics and money are dead issues, drugs and new sports aren't

DEAL OF THE YEARThe Red Sox trade of two minor league players, outfielder Brady Anderson and pitcher Curt Schilling, to the Orioles for righthander Mike Boddicker. Last spring, prognosticators...

Picking the winners and losers in a year of superlatives isn't easy, but here's how SI's intrepid baseball expert calls 'em.

THE TERRIBLE TEN

OFFENSE: Oklahoma State tailback Barry Sanders (left) set school rushing records with 304 yards and 33 carries and tied another with Jive touchdowns—he nearly had a sixth, but he fumbled as he...

Logic won, and the author made a parachute jump

DENNIS BAMBURGBOSSIER CITY, LA.Dennis, a senior at Parkway High, won the AAU 17-18 age-group decathlon title at the National Junior Olympic meet. His score of 6,479 points was 112 points better...

PRO FOOTBALL—The surprising Bengals, leaders in the AFC Central, rode the arm of Boomer Esiason to remain the NFL's only undefeated team after five weeks of play. Esiason passed for 332 yards and...

Before 1992, the U.S. must improve in five key sports

Dangling from a rope 55 feet up in an oak tree, psychologist Betsy Hoddinott, 42, is as stuck as a cheap zipper. The first half hour of her climb went well enough, but now there seems to be a...

The announcer watches Carney Lansford of the Oakland A's at the plate: "3-2 pitch.... Whoa! Almost hit Lansford!"

VULTURES

•Mike Swain, a member of the U.S. judo team, on being awarded a bronze medal after Kerrith Brown of Great Britain was disqualified for testing positive for a banned diuretic: "I didn't want to win...

The Bears cut down the previously unbeaten Bills, and may have ignited a rivalry

That's all Orel Hershiser gave up over a record-setting 59 straight shutout innings

It was an extraordinary 96 hours. The excitement began in Seoul at 5 a.m. on Sept. 27 when assistant managing editor Jerry Kirshenbaum, head of SI's 64-member team at the Summer Olympics, learned...

Ben Johnson's demise revealed a more endearing Carl Lewis

Greg Louganis got the last laugh, with his fourth Olympic gold

Janet Evans, winner of three gold medals, came home to an inescapable media crush

BRYANT GUMBELCongratulations to Rick Reilly on his brilliant profile of Bryant Gumbel (The Mourning Anchor, Sept. 26). Gumbel is the antithesis of the "less is more" attitude. Through dedication...

The Soviet men taught the U.S. a humbling lesson, then beat Yugoslavia for the gold

The U.S. women finally rule the international game