TheLineup
BASEBALL
40 Whole New Ball Game
In Frank Robinson, the Nationals have the right man to lead them into Washington
by Michael Bamberger
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
46 When Tall Men Cry
No moment in sports is as bittersweet as Senior Day. Last week the emotion flowed
by Grant Wahl
GOLF
52 The Duel at Doral
A dream matchup of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson lived up to expectations
by Chris Lewis
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
56 The Dark Side
A coach's alleged dirty deeds raised fears that the core of juco hoops may be rotten
by George Dohrmann
BASEBALL
60 I Was a Blue Jay
In five days as a major leaguer, the author saw baseball's splendors--and its hard reality
by Tom Verducci
Departments
6 Leading Off
14 Letters
19 Air and Space
The Crouching Molinas: three brothers who are all catchers in the major leagues by Steve Rushin
20 Scorecard
• NASCAR's worldly ambitions
• Here comes Ralph Sampson III
• Hilary Swank's sparring partner
• The Show: NFL censors jerseys
33 Faces in the Crowd
34 Players
78 The Life of Reilly
Championship rings don't mean a thing if they ain't got that bling--but they're still butt-ugly by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
74 The NBA
• Walker unbanned in Boston
• All Battier can do is ... win
76 College Basketball
• UConn finally ready to defend title
• UCLA's three hot freshmen
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY
AL TIELEMANS
INSET PHOTOS: Walter Iooss Jr. (Robinson); David Walberg (Woods)
SI Extra
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SI.com
• Swing into spring training: Complete coverage of all the news from Arizona and Florida, including daily postcards from camp, plus news and analysis from Tom Verducci and John Donovan, at SI.com/baseball.
COLOR PHOTO
LAWRENCE JACKSON/AP
WELCOME NATS
Jose Vidro leads his Washington teammates onto the field in Viera, Fla. (page 40).