Leading Off

Lip Reading
Even with an ample application of body English, Phil Mickelson couldn't get a 25-footer to drop for birdie on the 12th hole during the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday. Not that Lefty left many putts hanging: He had nine birdies in a final-round 66, winning by five shots and earning hugs from daughters Sophia (inset, left) and Amanda.

Breaking the Ice
Japan's Kazuhiro Koshi let the chips fall where they may at the finish line of the Cesana Pariol men's skeleton world cup race in northern Italy last Friday. Zach Lund of the U.S. (inset) shaved 1.19 seconds off Koshi's sixth-place time to win the event in 1:55.37.

Cave-and-Go
Children shoot baskets at a school playground inside a natural cave in a remote village of southwest China's Guizhou province. The 2008 Summer Olympic host country's growing passion for hoops is also reflected in the Feb. 2 issue of SI China (inset), which has Rockets All Star Tracy McGrady on the cover.

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TWO PHOTOS

Photographs by Robert Beck

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Photograph by Max Rossi/Reuters

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MASSIMO PINCA/AP

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Photograph by Jason Lee/Reuters

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