CONTENTS

XXV OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES

14
DREAMY
The U.S. men's basketball team was every bit as good as promised. But will such talent ever come together again?
BY JACK McCALLUM

20
ODE TO JOY
Carl Lewis exulted along with all of the other gold medalists in Barcelona, many of whom upset giants in their events
BY KENNY MOORE

40
'THE BEST EVER'
By performing so brilliantly for so many years, Carl Lewis has given a fresh definition to the word excellence
BY GARY SMITH

44
PROVING THEIR METTLE
In Barcelona the Spanish showed the world that their country has come of age, both on and off the field
BY GARY SMITH

50
CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS
The athletes who won gold were frequently not the favorites, as can be seen in this series of articles on six Olympic sports

62
MY OLYMPIC FEATS
Our roving correspondent set out to witness every sport at the Barcelona Games, and he has the blisters to prove it
BY RICK REILLY

74
'I FEEL STRONG'
After making a thrilling comeback in Barcelona, Magic Johnson talked hearteningly of his future with SI's Jack McCallum

80
DOWN AND OUT
A spate of injuries—not to mention inertia—has doomed the season of baseball's salary champions, the Mets
BY HANK HERSCH

84
CAN DENNIS GREEN RESCUE THE VIKINGS?
That's No. 1 on this summer's list of tough questions for which answers must be found in NFL training camps
BY PETER KING

DEPARTMENTS

8
LETTERS

11
SCORECARD

94
BASEBALL

106
FOR THE RECORD

108
POINT AFTER

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN IACONO

PHOTO

BILL FRAKES

Bar None: After clearing the first two heights in the pole vault, Hungary's Istvàn Bagyula did a disappearing act, but he still finished ahead of Sergei Bubka—supposedly the surest of sure things among individual competitors in Barcelona—who failed to clear any height (page 20).

ILLUSTRATION