CONTENTS

DEPARTMENTS

4
LETTERS

9
SCORECARD

74
PRO BASKETBALL

81
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

99
FOR THE RECORD

100
POINT AFTER

14
NFL PLAYOFFS

Washington flayed Philadelphia in an NFC wild-card game by holding Randall Cunningham in check
BY PAUL ZIMMERMAN

Dan Marino led Miami, AWOL from the AFC playoffs for four years, in a win over Kansas City
BY RICK REILLY

In the second AFC game, Cincinnati was much too strong for a Warren Moon-less Houston
BY PETER KING

Chicago satisfied its skeptical fans by stifling New Orleans by a 16-6 score in an NFC playoff
BY RICK TELANDER

28
THE 'EYES HAVE IT
By getting off to a 12-0 start, Ohio State has fans dreaming of the Buckeyes' glory days of three decades ago
BY WILLIAM F. REED

32
CLIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
A called-back Orange Bowl TD was an appropriate end to this strangest of college football seasons
BY AUSTIN MURPHY

34
SPLISH, SPLASH, SPLAT!
Lofty performances—and one notable U.S. blunder—marked the start of the aquatic worlds in Australia
BY MERRELL NODEN

36
A HIGH-FLYING KITE
Tom Kite brushed up his cross-handed putting stroke and used it to win the Tournament of Champions
BY JOHN GARRITY

68
SIXTH SENSE
Ricky Pierce, the super sub of the NBA, has got the surprising Milwaukee Bucks on the move upward
BY HANK HERSCH

84
SNOW BLIND
Helicopter skiers expect virgin powder and dramatic scenery. What they seldom anticipate is death
BY E.M. SWIFT

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BIEVER

PHOTO

ANTHONY NESTE

WE'RE NO. 1, SORT OF: Jay Martin (80) and Richard Kimsey of Georgia Tech used the occasion of a fumble recovery during the Yellow Jackets' 45-21 Citrus Bowl rout of Nebraska to indicate where they thought their team ranked. Trouble was, the AP poll voters disagreed, and Tech got only half a national title (page 32).