CONTENTS

12 Getting Amped On The Coast
Huge crowds turned out to cheer surfing's brightest stars in the prestigious Op Pro meet at Huntington Beach, Calif.
by Bruce Anderson

18 The Tide Rolls With A Shula Named Mike
Quarterbacked by a son of the famous Miami Dolphins coach, Alabama opened with a victory over Ohio State
by Hank Hersch

22 It's Oscar Time For Baseball
With a month to go in the season, both leagues have a cast of nominees for the MVP awards. The envelopes, please
by Peter Gammons

28 'There Is A Burning Desire In Me'
So says Sugar Ray Leonard of his astounding decision to get back into the ring to fight Marvelous Marvin Hagler
by William Nack

36 The Game That Done Him Wrong
An entrant in Chet Atkins' golf tournament, the author found comfort in country music as catastrophe followed calamity
by Roy Blount Jr.

56 Where The Deer And Greater Kudu Play
The Hill Country of Texas has become home to so many species of exotic wildlife that they're known as Texotics
by Robert F. Jones

DEPARTMENTS

9 Scorecard
42 College Football
46 Inside Baseball
53 Golf
68 Television
71 For The Record
72 19th Hole

Cover photograph by Ronald C. Modra

PHOTO

BILL EPPRIDGE

LEADING OFF: He's at home on the range: A young Indian blackbuck antelope threads its way through a thicket of giraffe legs on the YO Ranch in the Hill Country of Texas, where dozens of unusual species, known as Texotics, now thrive.

56