December 27, 1999 | Volume 91, Issue 25

COVERING OURSELVESFrom January to December, from the Great One to each state's 50 greatest, from Peerless to a group of Sportswomen without peer, here are all the covers we saw fit to print in 1999.

Pioneer miler and Everest conqueror became, at midcentury, the last great heroes in an era of sea change in sport

THE NHL

Herbal TherapyNew coach Herb Brooks is giving Pittsburgh a revitalizing treatment

VINCENT DAMPHOUSSESHARKS CSince the Canadiens traded the 32-year-old to San Jose last March, he has been a force in the middle. With 33 points (10 goals and 23 assists) through Sunday, the 6'1",...

Don't be surprised if Oilers general manager Glen Sather ends up running the Rangers next season in place of Neil Smith. Wayne Gretzky, who retired from New York last April, has the ear of Rangers...

Eyes Wide OpenWhy did Danny Ainge leave the Suns? He took a hard look at his life

Agent Bill Duffy confirmed late last week that his biggest client, 7' 6" center Yao Ming of China, will play this April at the Nike Hoop Summit, a showcase for top high school seniors and...

Doug Flutie, ahead of his time in '89, finally fits an NFL mold

1. Despicable Act"This is society," Browns coach Chris Palmer sighed after Cleveland tackle Orlando Brown knocked down referee Jeff Triplette for inadvertently hitting him in the eye with his...

Thirteen of the 15 games this week have playoff implications. I could handicap every one of them for you, but let's be sporting about this. How could I keep a straight face and pad the record with...

You can take all your Tiny Tims and your Grinches and your Miracles on Whatever Street and stuff them in your stocking. The best Christmas story is about a boxer.

Maybe now people will stop mentioning Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in the same sentence. Lord knows, neither of them deserves it.—DAVE SABAINI, Terre Haute, Ind.

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,...

August 16, 1954

Highlights

Enduring TV images of the 1990s. Best shots under pressure: Michael Jordan (take your pick), Justin Leonard ('99 Ryder Cup), Christian Laettner ('90 NCAA East final), Brandi Chastain ('99 Women's...

The past few weeks have not been kind to CBS play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough. On Oct. 25 his agent, Robert Fraley, was killed in the plane crash that also took the life of Payne Stewart. On...

By wielding the axe, a 77-year-old from Alabama has become a fantasy football phenom

"No, not a chance."

For absurdity and senseless violence, the reel Oliver Stone can't match the real NFL

The new century will have perfect endings and empty stands

And he's back! Oh, what a move! Canned in 1997 after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, Marv Albert will return as NBC's No. 1 man on NBA telecasts next season, a glorious...

10Days that Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez's son, Chad, will spend in jail for nuking a parrot.

Risky BusinessJimmy Johnson loses a gamble on two troubled Dolphins rookies

Xposed•Doug Henderson, a New York City court worker and former personal assistant to Jimmy Connors, was charged with stealing Malcolm X's bloodstained, bullet-riddled diary and selling it to a...

Lest you think that sports began in 1900, here are a few milestones from the first 900 years of the millennium.

Charles Schulz, who announced last week that he was retiring his comic strip Peanuts so he could devote himself to his battle against colon cancer, often used sports to make his daily point. In...

The Vail, Colo., ski resort has installed computer kiosks along its runs so skiers can check stock quotes and make trades.

STEVE BEUERLEINPanthers quarterback, on why he lined up behind a guard instead of center Frank Garcia: "I'm sick of Frank's butt."

Wendy Martin, LouisvilleField HockeyMartin, 45, coached Louisville Collegiate School to its second straight state title and its fourth in the last five years. While amassing a 345-57-27 record in...

Few sports have had as many ups and downs as trampolining, which will debut as an Olympic event at next year's Sydney Games. The first documented trampoline exhibition in the U.S. was given by...

Rae Carruth was a gifted but unassuming wide receiver for the Panther. Now he stands accused of ordering the murder of his pregnant girlfriend—a horrific crime that, like Carruth himself, remains...

Kansas City's athletic tight end, , used some of his basketball skills to develop into one of the NFL's premier players at his position

Revisit the top stories of 1999 in our blowout year-in-review package. And check out sport-by-sport predictions for the new millennium from SI's experts on the beat.

In a sweet matchup of two potent teams, Florida State figures to win its second national title of the decade, but Virginia Tech won't go without a fight

•Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 2Nebraska (11-1) vs. Tennessee (9-2)The Huskers and the Vols are kicking themselves all the way to Tempe trying to figure out why they aren't in New Orleans. Though Nebraska...

Shooting outrageously from the lip, Braves closer bangs away at his favorite targets: the Mets, their fans, their city and just about everyone in it

There's a difference between loyalty to the home team—athletes imported to play for our local colleges and pro franchises—and the deep emotional bond we share with hometown heroes, the local...

THE 50 GREATEST SPORTS FIGURES OF THE CENTURY FROM EACH OF THE 50 STATES

1. Hank AaronAlltime home run king

1. Trajan LangdonPut state on national hoops map

1 Jim PalmerThree-time Cy Young winner

1 Paul (Bear) BryantFour states could claim him

1 Joe DiMaggio56 games...three-time MVP...

1 Jack DempseyHeavyweight champ, 1919 to '26

1 Bruce JennerWon decathlon at 1976 Olympics

1 Randy WhiteNine Pro Bowls with Cowboys

1 Deion SandersPrime Time

1 Ty CobbBaseball's best lifetime average (.366)

1 Duke KahanamokuGreatest Hawaiian swimmer

1 Jackie Joyner-KerseeWon six Olympic medals

1 John WoodenHoops great on floor and bench

1 Harmon Killebrew573 homers, fifth alltime

1 Dan GableIowa wrestling kingpin

1 Barry SandersNFL's No. 2 alltime rusher

1 Muhammad AliThe Greatest

1 Karl MaloneAll-NBA first-team 11 times

1 Joan Benoit SamuelsonWon Olympic marathon

1 Babe RuthLarger-than-life, on and off the field

1 Rocky MarcianoOnly unbeaten heavyweight

1 Joe LouisaLongest reign of any heavyweight champ

1 Bronko NagurskiGreat tackle, great fullback

1 Yogi BerraYankees catcher won 10 World Series

1 Dave McNallyFour-time 20-game winner

1 Walter PaytonSweetest NFL runner ever

1 Bob GibsonCardinals' two-time Cy Young winner

1 Greg MadduxFour-time Cy Young winner

1 Carlton Fisk10-time All-Star catcher

1 Carl LewisWon nine Olympic gold medals

1 Ralph KinerLed NL in homers from 1946 to '52

1 Michael JordanHis Airness

1 Roger Maris61 in '61, AL MVP in 1960 and '61

1 Jim BrownNo one better in football—or lacrosse

1 Danny Ainge14 seasons in NBA, three in majors

1 Wilt ChamberlainA force like no other

1 Jim ThorpeAmerica's greatest all-around athlete

1 Jesse OwensFour golds at Hitler's 1936 Games

1 Nap LajoieHit AL-record .422 in 1901

1 Joe FrazierHeavyweight champ from 1970 to '73

1 Billy MillsSet Olympic 10,000-meter mark in 1964

1 Wilma RudolphWon three sprint golds in 1960

May be defenders searching for a way to keep Pete Maravich from scoring should have confused him with tire simplest of questions: Where are you from? The Pistol was born in Pennsylvania but moved...

1 Babe Didrikson ZahariasTop woman athlete

1 Merlin Olsen13-time All-Pro defensive tackle

1 Andrea Mead LawrenceTwice won skiing golds

1 Arthur AsheWon three Grand Slam tennis events

1 John StocktonNBA alltime assists, steals leader

1 Jerry WestLakers great as player and G.M.

1 Eric HeidenFive speed skating golds in 1980

1 Boyd DowlerLed Packers in receiving seven times

Having drawn up rosters of the top 50 sports figures from each state, we couldn't resist ranking the states themselves. Weighing the magnitude of talent at the top of each list and the depth of...

They astonished us by going where no athlete had gone before, boldly surmounting the hurdles, both literal and metaphorical