July 20, 1998 | Volume 89, Issue 3

Now it should be obvious to all: Nobody can beat the Bulls but Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf.—Bill J. Carter, Keosauqua, Iowa

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, Time & Life Building, New York,...

Bud Selig drops the act(ing), but does baseball get a real commissioner?

•That boxing be spared any more egregious mismatches like the U.S. vs. Don King.

112Points by which the U.S. boys' basketball team, made up of high schoolers, beat South Africa at the World Youth Games in Moscow, winning 143-31.

YESBy taking part in this grotesque American Kabuki, Malone has undercut his no-frills, athletes-are-role-models rep. Sure he's a wrestling fan, but that doesn't mean it wasn't nauseating to see...

At week's end Rickey Henderson of the As and Eric Young of the Dodgers were the top base stealers in their respective leagues. But not all thefts are created equal. Those that lead to runs and/or...

Faced with sagging tennis-ball sales, Penn Racquet Sports is stamping balls with the Purina logo, upping their price (from about 80 cents a ball to about $2.50) and marketing them as "natural felt...

TOMMY LASORDALos Angeles Dodgers general manager, explaining during an appearance before the U.S. Senate in support of a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning why that act of protest is not...

The columbus crew of MLS last week unveiled plans for the first stadium in the U.S. to be built solely for professional soccer (above). In this era of multipurpose buildings—each equipped with a...

Saturday 7/18

With so many sycophants behind the mikes these days, it was refreshing to hear NBC's Bob Costas get in a dig at Major League Baseball during the All-Star Game. Discussing Bud Selig's appointment...

Michael Pruitt, Idalou, TexasGolfMichael, a senior at Idalou High, won his fourth consecutive Conference AA state title, firing a four-under-par 138 for two rounds to defeat Riley Gardner of...

Departments

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and CNN team up on the Internet to offer up-to-the-minute sports news. This week we go camping: Dr. Z grades each NFL team's off-season moves and weighs in with his preseason...

Led by Gebrselassie and Komen (right), runners from Africa have been breaking distance records at a stunning pace, as these numbers show.

In order to measure the impact Coors Field has on scoring, Elias Sports Bureau looked at how many runs the Rockies and their opponents scored in games played at Coors from its opening in 1995...

If you think the travails of the Rockies pitchers are strictly their own doing, take a look at what these top pitchers have done at Coors Field. An examination of arguably the 10 best pitchers in...

Norwegian WouldBolting from the blocks, Norway's Vebjorn Rodal (51) went on to win the men's 800 meters in 1:44.17 at the Bislett Games in Norway.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Not So FastAfter last month's NBA draft, schoolboys may think twice about leaping

Phenom under FireJ.D. Drew's $7 million deal has antagonized players in the Cardinals system and beyond

As the July 31 trading deadline approaches, here are the deals that were being talked about the most at week's end:

Unheralded Pirate Tony Womack is an overachiever on and off the field

Now you, too, can be the recipient of pitching's highest honor

Choice GoaliesPicking between Mike Richter and Curtis Joseph is a close call

A bitter feud ended last week when former Canadiens coach Mario Tremblay and ex-Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy met at a golf tournament in Montreal, shook hands and played nine holes together. In...

Please, somebody, Stop them.

Pak Talk: Reporters who would never quote a Southern golfer as saying, "Ah reckon ah done good" keep quoting Se Ri Pak in pidgin English. Last week Pak was widely quoted as saying of her riotous...

Matt Kuchar (above), the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, and Sergio Garcia, the British Amateur champ, brought rock star sizzle to last week's Loch Lomond World Invitational in Glasgow, Scotland....

What do these players have in common?

With a streak of 154 majors, Jack Nicklaus set a mark that may stand forever

To appreciate Jack Nicklaus's streak of 154 consecutive majors, take a look at the longest such streaks among active players and the best streaks of five alltime greats.

With or without his two U.S. Amateur titles, Nicklaus tops the list of major-championship winners. The alltime leaders:

40,427Career strokes by Jack Nicklaus in the Masters (10,817), U.S. Open (10,869), British Open (9,754) and PGA Championship (8,987).

PGA

E = MC ForeThe July 20-24 World Scientific Congress of Golf at the University of St. Andrews is funded in part by the USGA and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. That doesn't preclude what...

Cool As CottonHenry Cotton was a three-time British Open champ, a three-time Ryder Cupper and the 1953 Ryder Cup captain. He was also the inspiration for a ball, the Dunlop 65, which was numbered...

In memory of cancer victim Larry Gilbert, the Tour should outlaw smoking

Jack Nicklaus upstaged a Senior major by ending his streak, and an era

Comeback CitySteve Jones and the Quad City got well together

Don't Ask