WHO'S Hot WHO'S Not
WHO'S Hot
Will Power
The Australian (yes, that's his name) set his mind to picking up a Champ Car win in Las Vegas—and did it. Power (above) won by 16 seconds, becoming the series' first Aussie winner. "It was a pretty cruisy race," he said.
Heat
Sunday's OT loss to the Bobcats was a bummer, but Dwyane Wade (right) returned to the Miami lineup after missing 6 1/2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder, giving the Heat, who have won three of four, a boost as it tries to sew up home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Said Wade, who had 12 points and eight assists in 27 minutes, "No pain tonight."
Americans
Hold the Mayo? Not bloody likely. O.J. Mayo scored 20 points to lead the U.S. to a 100--80 win over a team of international all-stars at the Nike Hoop Summit. "I thought I played pretty good," said the USC signee.
Wade Dubielewicz
In a win-or-go-home season finale, Dubielewicz denied two Devils in a shootout on Sunday, sewing up a playoff berth for the Islanders. "I'm pretty ecstatic," said Dubielewicz, who ran his record to 4--1 since being called up in mid-March.
WHO'S Not
Lack of Discipline
When the Pirates gave up their closer for Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche (above), this probably isn't what they expected. LaRoche has swung at everything he's seen, and missed most of it. He's whiffed in 13 of 24 at bats and is hitting .125.
Snow
Memo to the AL schedule makers: Hold off on the early April games on the shores of Lake Erie. The Indians' four-game set with the Mariners was snowed out, and their series this week against the Angels was moved to Milwaukee. Cleveland was one strike away from a win last Friday when the umps called it. "It makes me want to throw a chair across the room," said Paul Byrd, who was working on a no-hitter at the time.
Nationals
Everyone expected Washington to be bad. And everyone's been right. The Nats have led once all season—after their three-run bottom-of-the-ninth rally last Wednesday against the Marlins, Washington's only win in seven games.
Larry Krystkowiak
After winning his first two games, the Bucks' new coach has gone 1--9, including a 115--112 loss to the woeful Hawks. "There's no use crying about it," Coach K said of his team's injuries. "You might as well get a chuckle out of it."
SI PLAYERS NHL POLL
Which team will win the Stanley Cup?
Anaheim Ducks 33%
Buffalo Sabres 23%
Nashville Predators 15%
Detroit Red Wings 10%
FAST FACTS
Poll conducted in late February.... Anaheim, the second seed in the West, opens its series with Minnesota on Wednesday.... San Jose finished fifth (6.5%).... Buffalo finished with the best overall record; Detroit led the Western Conference.... Atlanta, the East's third seed, was one of four playoff teams that failed to get a vote; the others were Minnesota, Tampa Bay and the Rangers.... Anaheim got more respect within the Eastern Conference (41.1%) than the Western (24.7%).
[Based on a survey of 366 NHL players] • For an expanded version of the poll, go to SI.com/players.
PHOTO
CHUCK SOLOMON (LAROCHE)
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HANS DERYK/AP (WADE)
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JEFFREY PHELPS/AP (KRYSTKOWIAK)
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BILL KOSTROUN/AP (DUBIELEWICZ)
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JAE C. HONG/AP (POWER)
TWO PHOTOS
