Table of Contents
DEPARTMENTS
6 Leading Off
15 Letters
The pictures: kudos and quibbles
17 Air and Space
Feel like booing? Go ahead and join the crowd by Phil Taylor
18 Scorecard
Can Jesse Palmer charm coach?
Danton thanks alleged hit target
Jermaine O'Neal at fan's prom
Snoop Dogg faces the music
29 Faces in the Crowd
92 The Life of Reilly
Some sage anti-advice for the class of 2004 by Rick Reilly
SI'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
30 The Vegas Strip
The other one, that is, which holds the drag racing blowout
Midnight Mayhem by Richard Hoffer
INSIDE...
84 Olympics
Athens blasts don't deter athletes
87 Baseball
Rockies try four-man rotation
Twins' hitter from outer space
Verducci on A's staff weaknesses
90 Soccer
Kirovski's happy return to MLS
Will Real Madrid face MLS stars?
THEY'RE IN THE MONEY
63 The Fortunate 50
SI's inaugural list of the top 50 American athletes by current
annual income
66 Play Money
Let's say your job pays you $15 million a year. What would you
do with all that dough? Let's play cribbage
68 Star Treatment
Behind monied athletes are specialists catering to their
needs: racket stringers, car guys, pants men, personal chefs
69 Join the Club
Looking for lucre? No sport spreads it around like golf
by Yi-Wyn Yen
70 Lucky Stiff
Retired big league pitcher Mark Clark was no star, but he got
paid like one by Michael Bamberger
NBA PLAYOFFS
40 Center Cannot Hold
L.A. stayed alive against the Spurs in Game 3, but win or
lose, this is the last stand for these Lakers
by Jack McCallum
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
48 They Should Not Win
But they do. After upsetting Vancouver and Detroit, the
nearly starless Calgary Flames are now attacking the Sharks
by Michael Farber
BASEBALL
54 A Season Like No Other
Barry Bonds is playing in his own universe, where the
strategies are twisted and the stats absurd by Tom Verducci
COVER
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BECK
INSET PHOTO: STEVE GRAYSON/WIREIMAGE.COM
INSET ILLUSTRATIONS: KEVIN SPROULS
COVER FLAP PHOTOS: ROBERT BECK (CAR); KEVORK DJANSEZIAN/AP
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postseason action, go to si.com.
COLOR PHOTO: CHUCK SOLOMON (EXTENSION BY SI IMAGING) THE NUMBERS AREN'T PADDED Barry Bonds may bat .400 and break thewalks record in the same season (page 54).