March 31, 2003 Table Of Contents

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Golf Plus

Gut Check Weakened by food poisoning, Tiger Woods made his strongest showing of the year, winning a fourth straight title at Bay Hill

By Gary Van Sickle

Tee Time In Vietnam Much has changed since the last U.S. troops pulled out of Saigon, including attitudes about golf

By E.M. Swift

Split Screen On TV, Bearkats blurred into F-14 Tomcats, Patriot missile hits into Patriot League champs, layups into "laydowns."

By Steve Rushin

The Week

By Alan Shipnuck

Big Play The wildly hooked drive that triggered Ernie Els's weekend collapse was the result of a flaw that must be fixed if he is to challenge Tiger Woods

By Steve Bosdosh

My Shot Annika Sorenstam's quest at the Colonial puts the rest of us on the LPGA tour in a no-win situation

By Angela Stanford

Ncaa Tournament

Power And Prayers In an opening week filled with tight games, teams with muscle came through in force

By Alexander Wolff

Pro Basketball

Run To The Playoffs Can the remade Bucks hold on to a berth and end George Karl's agony?

By Chris Ballard

The Bubble Teams Could they be spoilers? The lowly Nuggets face every team except Seattle that's battling for a postseason spot. Here's a look at what else lies ahead for the playoff contenders, with their odds of making the postseason.

By Jack McCallum

Inside

Inside The Week in Sports

Inside Wrestling

Inside Wrestling

By Mark Beech

Inside Horse Racing

Inside Horse Racing

By Tim Layden

Inside College Football

Inside College Football

By Kelley King

Inside The NBA

Inside The NBA

By Ian Thomsen

Inside The NHL

Inside The NHL

By Stephen Cannella

In The Crease

By Pierre McGuire

Inside Motor Sports

Inside Motor Sports

By Lars Anderson

Baseball Preview 2003

You Can't Have Too Much Pitching

It's the year of the pitcher. There's such a premium on good arms that teams like the Yankees are hoarding as many as they can afford

By Tom Verducci

Best In The Show We went to the supreme master of each type of pitch to answer this question: How do you do that?

Compiled by Gene Menez

The Magic Number It's 120, the maximum pitch count for almost any starter under any circumstances. But does it really protect pitchers--or just managers?

By Tom Verducci

The Ultimate Gamer In perhaps the best World Series game ever played, the Twins' Jack Morris gave us one final glimpse of a dying breed: a pitcher who was determined to finish whatever he started

By Tom Verducci

Scouting Reports

By Projected rosters, In Facts and Player Value Rankings compiled by David Sabino

1 New York Yankees Godzilla might be a monster, but the key addition is a soft-tossing middle reliever

By Daniel G. Habib

2 Boston Red Sox In the eyes of the new G.M., the supporting cast will star if it is patient at the plate

By Daniel G. Habib

3 Toronto Blue Jays With a young lineup that's loaded, this franchise is on the rise. Add a few arms and ...

By Daniel G. Habib

4 Baltimore Orioles The health of a corps of promising young regulars will make or break this club

By Daniel G. Habib

5 Tampa Bay Devil Rays The hiring of Lou Piniella was a major upgrade, but the lineup's look is minor league

By Daniel G. Habib

1 Minnesota Twins The defending division champs have all the pieces in place, but for how much longer?

By Albert Chen

2003 AL Central Preview: Chicago White Sox

By adding an ace and a flamethrowing closer, they're back in the playoff hunt

By Albert Chen

3 Cleveland Indians Patience will be key as this former power takes the next step in rebuilding

By Albert Chen

4 Kansas City Royals For a franchise coming off its worst season ever, a .500 record is a lot to hope for

By Albert Chen

5 Detroit Tigers Even for a team that lost 106 games last season, the worst may be yet to come

By Albert Chen

1 Oakland Athletics World Series or bust! No excuses for a club that has stalled in the first playoff round

By Tom Verducci

2 Anaheim Angels Why mess with success? The gritty world champions return intact and unspoiled

By Tom Verducci

3 Seattle Mariners Aging players are moving closer to retirement than to an elusive World Series berth

By Tom Verducci

4 Texas Rangers Manager Buck Showalter can turn bad teams around. This one will be a real test

By Tom Verducci

1 Atlanta Braves New faces and payroll restraint won't put an end to a long-running success story

By Michael Farber

2 Philadelphia Phillies The payoff to a rare off-season spending spree will be a wealth of runs and victories

By Michael Farber

3 New York Mets Newcomers Art Howe and Tom Glavine will have a calming effect on a tortured clubhouse

By Michael Farber

4 Florida Marlins More speed and improved defense may mean a better record, but not a playoff trip

By Michael Farber

5 Montreal Expos The team without a country will play in Canada and Puerto Rico. And pray for help

By Michael Farber

1 St. Louis Cardinals Will Brett Tomko ever pitch to his potential? If he does, it will help his new team a lot

By Jeff Pearlman

2 Houston Astros Jeff Kent's big bat will more than justify the displacement of Craig Biggio

By Jeff Pearlman

3 Chicago Cubs Everything could finally fall into place here if the pitchers throw the way they ought to

By Jeff Pearlman

4 Cincinnati Reds In a rotation full of questions, is designated ace Ryan Dempster the answer?

By Jeff Pearlman

5 Pittsburgh Pirates Keep the faith in this gradually improving club. First baseman Randall Simon has

By Jeff Pearlman

6 Milwaukee Brewers On a team desperate for leadership, a fit and willing vet, Royce Clayton, fills the void

By Jeff Pearlman

1 Arizona Diamondbacks The best pitching combo in baseball is in shape for the long haul of another title run

By Phil Taylor

2 San Francisco Giants The key to the Giants' return to the postseason? Not Barry. A healthy Robb Nen

By Phil Taylor

3 Los Angeles Dodgers Comebacks have to be the big story for a team with a dominant rotation--if healthy

By Albert Chen

4 Colorado Rockies Plan D: Escape the cellar by relying on homegrown pitchers and the long ball

By Phil Taylor

5 San Diego Padres A snakebitten club short on depth and dough is staggered by the loss of its two stars

By Phil Taylor

PVR SI'S FANTASY BASEBALL RATINGS

Orders from Qatar: Play On!

By Rick Reilly

Baseball 2003

Aces Wild If this is the year that the Athletics' three dominant (and cocky) starters put it all together at the same time, watch out

By Phil Taylor

Departments

Leading Off

Letters

Around the Horn

Scorecard

By Richard Deitsch; Peter King; Michael Farber; Kelley KingEdited by Kostya Kennedy and Mark Bechtel

The Show

By Bill ScheftEdited by Kostya Kennedy and Mark Bechtel

Q+A John Wooden

By John Wooden; Richard DeitschEdited by Kostya Kennedy and Mark Bechtel

Sports Beat

Edited by Kostya Kennedy and Mark Bechtel

Faces In The Crowd

Edited by Kostya Kennedy and Mark Bechtel