WHO'S Hot WHO'S Not

Who's Hot

Phoenix
The sizzling Suns had won 29 of 31—that's 29 of 31—after thrashing the T-Wolveswith a 46 point third quarter on Sunday. (Observed Steve Nash, above, "It'snice to have a quarter like that.") On ice, the scrapping Coyotes(defenseman Travis Roche: "We haven't had any quit in us") had won 10of 15 to climb near .500.

Wellses
All Wellses can spend well. Blue Jays centerfielder Vernon Wells got theoff-season rolling by signing a $126 million seven-year deal with Toronto;oval-shaped lefty David Wells (right), 43, just got a contract worth up to $7million from San Diego; and even Kip Wells (6.50 ERA last year) got $4 millionfrom St. Louis.

Couches
Sofa, so good: The riveting Pats-Colts classic on Sunday and that game in Miamion Feb. 4 make this a prime time to be a potato. Meanwhile at the Dick WeberOpen, southpaw bowler Jason Couch rolled a cool 258—nine strikes, baby!—in thefinal to defend his title.

CharleyHoffman
You know this guy? Undaunted by 40-mph winds ("Brutal," he'd say), theseventh-year pro eagled the 18th en route to his first PGA win and—yowsa!—a$900,000 pay day at the Bob Hope Classic.

Who's Not

Boston
Brady (above) and the boys went down in Indy, the injury-ravaged Celtics(Paulie, please come back) had sunk to 12--27, the Bruins were skating in thebasement of the Northeast Division, and another piece of the 2004 miracle islost: Red Sox lifer, fan favorite and hustlin' dirt dog Trot Nixon signed toplay for the Indians.

Artest
The Kings forward formerly—and still—known for wigging out was booed and jeeredrelentlessly in his first game in Detroit since he slugged a fan and went intothe stands there two seasons ago. Even after getting crushed 91--74, Ron-Rondidn't leave without taking another swipe, this one at the Pistons (page 76):"They're not as good as they used to be."

Curses
At the Australian Open, Marat Safin got fined for verbal abuse of officials,Lleyton Hewitt got fined for his own audible obscenity, and Maria Sharapovaassailed an ump with a very bad word. Stateside, the Hawks' Josh Smith let hisfingers do the talking, flipping off fans in Charlotte.

Phil Mickelson
This guy you know. Undone by the high winds, the Bob Hope's main attractiondrove three balls into the water, had his cap blown off (a photographer ran itdown), shot a 78 and won just $15,500.

SI PLAYERS NBA POLL

Which rookie will make the biggest impact thisseason?

Adam Morrison, Bobcats F 49%

¬´ Brandon Roy, Blazers G 25%

Rudy Gay, Grizzlies G 9%

Marcus Williams, Nets G 4%

Which rookie will have the best career?

Adam Morrison, Bobcats F 32% »

Brandon Roy, Blazers G 28%

Rudy Gay, Grizzlies G 14%

Andrea Bargnani, Raptors F 7%

FAST FACTS: Polls were taken in November andDecember.... The only second-round pick to get multiple votes in both polls wasJazz forward Paul Millsap.... The only rookies averaging double digits inpoints are Roy (14.7), who missed 20 games with a heel injury, Morrison (13.7)and Bargnani (10.3).... Morrison's .379 field goal percentage is third to lastin the NBA; he shot .503 at Gonzaga.

[Based on a survey of 271 NBA players] • For anexpanded version of the poll go to SI.com/players.

PHOTO

TOM HOOD/AP (NASH)

PHOTO

AMY SANCETTA/AP (BRADY)

PHOTO

DUANE BURLESON/AP (ARTEST)

PHOTO

ROBERT GAILBRAITH/REUTERS (MICKELSON)

PHOTO

ROBERT GAILBRAITH/REUTERS (HOFFMAN)

PHOTO

JOE MURPHY/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (MORRISON)

PHOTO

JONATHAN FERREY/GETTY IMAGES (ROY)

PHOTO

BEN LIEBENBERG/WIREIMAGE.COM (DAVID WELLS)