WHO'S Hot WHO'S Not
WHO'S Hot
Coach Tomlin
It was wise to bring him in! First-year coach has Steelers 2--0 (after a 4--1preseason) and alone atop the AFC North for the first time in three years. AsTomlin says, "The guys are playing hard, they're playing fast, and they'replaying together."
Cullen Harper
Game 1: Clemson's junior QB led an upset of Florida State. Game 2: Aschool-record five TD passes versus La.-Monroe. Game 3: A school-record passerrating of 253.0 against Furman. Said coach Tommy Bowden of Harper: "He'sanswered every test."
LindsayDavenport
The tennis champ turned new mother looked sharp in her first tournament sincehaving a son, Jagger, in June. She upset Daniela Hantuchova to win the BaliOpen. Said Davenport: "Maybe the pregnancy gave me some magicalpowers."
'Boys
Dallas totaled 82 points and six takeaways in its first two games. And T.O. wasin midseason form, mimicking a video cameraman after a TD in Sunday's win overMiami.
WHO'S Not
Coach Coughlin
Was it wise to bring him back? The much-maligned coach of the Giants, who are0--2 for the first time since 1996, after a low-energy, penalty-marred loss tothe Packers on Sunday, has seen his team drop nine of 11 games since lastNovember.
Ben Olson
Game 1: UCLA's junior QB led a rout of Stanford. Game 2: A win over BYU. Game3: Ouch! In a 44--6 upset, Utah (0--2 coming in) sacked Olson five times, madethree picks and held the Bruins TD-less for the first time in 51 games. Olson:"I looked awful."
Dottie Pepper
Golfer turned TV analyst sauced up the Solheim Cup by calling the U.S. team"chokin' freakin' dogs" on air. (She thought her mic was off.) Pepperwas wrong—the U.S. women won—and, said assistant captain Beth Daniel, she was"very hurtful.... It was ill-spirited."
Twins
Minnesota had lost 10 of 13 through Sunday; G.M. Terry Ryan quit, citingstress; and the off-season looks bleak: Centerfielder Torri Hunter is bound forfree agency.
SI PLAYERS MLB POLL
Who is the smartest person in baseball?
<<< Greg Maddux, Padres P....... 10%
Billy Beane, A's G.M........ 9% >>>
Tony La Russa, Cardinals manager.. 5%
Brad Ausmus, Astros C...... 5%
Bobby Cox, Braves manager...... 4%
FAST FACTS
Only two other players cracked the top 10: Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter(seventh, 3.1%) and Mets pitcher Tom Glavine (10th, 1.8%).... Maddux's nicknameis the Professor; Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone, who was with Maddux inAtlanta, called him, "the smartest pitcher I have ever seen." ...Ausmus has a degree in government from Dartmouth, La Russa a law degree fromFlorida State... Beane's perennially low-payroll team will likely end up belowsecond in the AL West—its worst finish since 1998.
[Based on a survey of 469 MLB Players] • For anexpanded version of the poll go to SI.com/players.
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AARON JOSEFCZYK/REUTERS (TOMLIN)
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RICH KANE/US PRESSWIRE (COUGHLIN)
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DALE ZANINE/US PRESSWIRE (HARPER)
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ROBERT BECK (OLSON)
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SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (DAVENPORT)
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BRAD MANGIN (MADDUX)
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TOM SZCZERBOWSKI/US PRESSWIRE (BEANE)
