CONTENTS

The Olympic Getaway 20
Lake Placid is proud of its Olympic Village, which will become a prison, but many nations want out before they're in
by William Oscar Johnson

Big Push on the Oregon Trail 24
After stumbling earlier this season, the Portland Trail Blazers have found their stride and could be a force in the playoffs
by John Papanek

Clearing the Air After a Hayes 26
As Ohio State begins spring football practice this week, two things are new: the coach and his open-door policy
by John Underwood

Powerboat Racing Has Gone to Pot 28
And for big money, too, as dope smugglers make high-speed runs to Florida in a deadly new game of hide-and-seek
by Robert F. Jones

Baseball 1979
As the season opens, the game is riding an unprecedented wave of popularity—and there are a lot of good reasons for it 34
by Ron Fimrite

The best National League bats have most often hit in Pitt. Artist Bernie Fuchs depicts celebrated Pirate batsmen, and Roy Blount profiles the latest and loudest, Dave Parker. Plus scouting reports on all the teams 38

The American League's most feared hitter is Boston's Jim Rice who, Ron Fimrite reports, is an ultrastrong silent type. Scouting reports indicate that perhaps the Yanks can be beaten and perhaps K.C. can't 52

Son of "Ball Four" 90
On his way back to the bigs, the author found that today's players are a lot different from those he met his first time up
by Jim Bouton

The Departments

Scorecard 15
TV/Radio 72
Horse Racing 74
Golf 78
Cross-Country 82
Hockey 86
For the Record 107
19th Hole 108

Credits on page 107

Cover photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

Next Week

The odds couple of Keith Taft, a devout, straight-arrow Baptist, and Ken Uston, a high-living ex-stockbroker, blackjacked Las Vegas casinos for a small fortune with the help of a nifty little computer. Ray Kennedy provides the play-by-play.

Uh, oh Canada, the New York Islanders have a good chance to end mighty Montreal's three-year reign as Stanley Cup champions because, as William Nack reports, Defenseman Denis Potvin has finally come of age both on and off the ice.