CONTENTS

10
AS TIME RUNS OUT
Gravely ill with cancer, Jim Valvano is fighting for his life the same way he coached college basketball
BY GARY SMITH

26
THE END OF THE RUN
With a resounding Sugar Bowl victory, Alabama put a stop to Miami's winning streak and won the national title
BY AUSTIN MURPHY

32
BOWLED OVER, BOWLED OUT
After 13 hours of college football on TV on New Year's Day, our intrepid viewer had seen quite enough
BY RICK REILLY

38
WILD WILD CARD
The Buffalo Bills' record-breaking rally from a 35-3 deficit knocked the Houston Oilers from the playoffs
BY PETER KING

46
IMAGE OF HOPE
John Lucas, the new coach of the San Antonio Spurs, sees himself as an example for recovering addicts
BY JILL LIEBER

58
HOME ALONE, TWO
For Kristen Babb-Sprague and Ed Sprague, their reward was Olympic gold and a dramatic World Series home run
BY LEIGH MONTVILLE

DEPARTMENTS

4
LETTERS

5
FACES IN THE CROWD

7
SCORECARD

52
PRO FOOTBALL

54
COLLEGE BASKETBALL

68
POINT AFTER

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY C.F. PAYNE

PHOTO

PETER READ MILLER

He Got Carried Away: Gene Stallings, Alabama's usually stoic coach, beamed as his players bore him off the field after the Crimson Tide's upset of Miami in the Sugar Bowl (page 26).