Who's Hot / Who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Astros

POW! That's thirdbaseman Morgan Ensberg (.403, nine homers). BAM! That's first baseman LanceBerkman (.353, 20 RBIs). And the batmen aren't doing it alone for first-placeHouston. Roy Oswalt is 4-0, and closer Brad Lidge (above) has a league-highseven saves. Maybe Mr. Clemens will come out to play.

Martinezes

While theIndians' Victor Martinez is hitting .387 and solidifying himself as baseball'sbest offensive catcher (move over, Tek), the Mets' Pedro Martinez won his 200thand 201st game. Observed Victor (left), "When you put a good swing on theball, anything can happen."

BronsonArroyo

Part-timerocker--he's in a cover band--is making noise as a hitter (two homers) andhurler (3-0) for the contending Reds. Manager Jerry Narron called him "apitcher, with a capital P."

World CupReferees

Goooooal! Sixweeks before they will be heckled on the world stage, soccer arbiters got a100% pay raise: They'll make $41,000 each for the monthlong tournament.

WHO'S Not

Mariners

Who shot thealbatross? Team had dropped five of six, all at home; was last in the AL West;and was getting little lift from its star hitters (Ichiro's hitting .253;Adrian Beltre's got three RBIs) or pitchers (Felix Hernandez is 0-3; closerEddie Guardado, above, lost two straight in the ninth).

Lees

Cubs star DerrekLee--he who was so hot just one week ago--has been shelved with a broken wrist.Devil Rays first baseman Travis Lee is hitting a hellish .203. And David LeeRoth (left) had an eruption of his own, implying he might sue CBS Radio afterhe was fired after three months as Howard Stern's replacement.

Johnson, Dan

With four singlesin 44 at bats--and that includes a three-hit game--the A's sophomore slugger isrock-bottom (.091) among big league regulars.

Respected HockeyExecs

Penguins generalmanager Craig Patrick and Maple Leafs head coach Pat Quinn--42 NHL seasons and32 playoff berths between them--both were let go. Could the new NHL be passingthem by?

SI PLAYERS NBA POLL

[Hoosiers]
(1986)

27%

[He Got Game]
(1998)

14%

[Above the Rim]
(1994)

11%

[Blue Chips]
(1994)

9%

FAST FACTS Love & Basketball (8%) and Hoop Dreams(5%) rounded out the top six.... Nearly 42% of players older than 30 saidHoosiers.... He Got Game was the top choice for players 21 to 24, drawing 23.2%of that vote.... The 1996 Michael Jordan--Bugs Bunny drama Space Jam got twovotes.

[ Based on a survey of 248 NBA players ] • For anexpanded version of the poll, go to SI.com/Players.

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DARREN CARROLL (LIDGE)

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TED S. WARREN/AP (GUARDADO)

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DAVID DUROCHIK/SPORTPICS (MARTINEZ)

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MARK MAINZ/GETTY IMAGES (ROTH)

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MEXSPORT/WIREIMAGE.COM (REFEREE)

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BRAD MANGIN (JOHNSON)

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ORION (HOOSIERS)

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PHOTOFEST (HE GOT GAME)

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NEW LINE CINEMA (ABOVE THE RIM)

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PARAMOUNT (BLUE CHIPS)