For the Record
Won
His debut in the IndyCar Series, 19-year-old Graham Rahal (above), who also became the youngest winner in major open-wheel racing history. The son of 1986 Indy 500 champ Bobby Rahal, Graham won the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg—his first race since joining the circuit after it absorbed nine Champ Car drivers six weeks ago. Rahal held off Helio Castroneves, who had won the last two races on the streets of St. Pete. "It can't get any sweeter than this," said Rahal, who became the fourth driver to win his series debut.
Arrested
After a quarter-mile foot chase with police in Pearland, Texas, Browns defensive back Kenny Wright (below). Last Thursday, Pearland police were investigating an argument between Wright and a woman outside their station when Wright, 30, a nine-year NFL veteran, fled on foot. Officers ran him down in a nearby subdivision. Wright, a track star in high school, was charged with unlawful restraint, evading arrest and marijuana possession. He could face a year in jail.
Convicted
Of lying to a grand jury in the BALCO case, former cyclist Tammy Thomas (below, in 2002). In August 2002 Thomas, 38, was banned for life from cycling for testing positive for the steroid Norbolethone. But the following year she told the grand jury she had never used performance-enhancing drugs or received any from chemist Patrick Arnold, who pleaded guilty in 2006 to conspiracy to distribute steroids in the BALCO case. Arnold testified that he gave Thomas steroids, and prosecutors presented medical records that showed Thomas grew a beard and developed a deep voice—evidence, they said, of steroid use. Thomas faces at least six months in prison when she is sentenced on July 18.
Clinched
By Mark and Diana Lopez, spots on the U.S. Olympic taekwondo team, where they will join their brother Steve as the first trio of siblings on the same U.S. Olympic squad since 1904. At the Olympic trials in Des Moines last Saturday, Mark, 25, took the men's featherweight spot, and Diana, 24, won the women's featherweight berth. Steve Lopez, 29, an Olympic gold medalist in 2000 and '04, qualified as a welterweight last year. The last three American siblings on a team were Edward, Richard and William Tritschler, gymnasts at the 1904 St. Louis Games.
Attacked
By a red-tailed hawk at Fenway Park, A-Rod. No, not that one. The bird swooped down and clawed at Alexa Rodriguez, a 13-year-old from Bristol, Conn., who was at the stadium on a field trip with her eighth-grade class. Alexa was taken to a hospital and treated for minor cuts. Officials think the bird was protecting its egg, which was nesting in the park. Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez said, "My prayers go out to her."
Died
At age 26 after collapsing during halftime of a game in Saudi Arabia, former Kentucky and Louisville center Marvin Stone. A McDonald's All-American at Grissom High in Huntsville, Ala., Stone played three seasons at Kentucky before transferring to Louisville in 2002, where he averaged 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds as a senior. After college Stone played professionally with several overseas teams and had recently signed with Ittihad Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. He died of an apparent heart attack.
Died
At age 76, Barbara La Fontaine, who became SI's second female senior editor, in 1972. La Fontaine (née Heilman) joined the magazine as a secretary in 1956 and rose through the ranks as a reporter and writer. Before becoming an editor she wrote stories on a variety of subjects, including motor sports (even though she never learned to drive), her experience as one of the first women in the Outward Bound program, and features on Sonny Liston and Wilma Rudolph. She retired from SI in 1986.
They Said It
KENT MERCKER
Reds reliever, 40, on how he felt making his first big league appearance since 2006:
"I could feel my love handles jiggling as I ran in from the bullpen."
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
During a book signing in Chicago, Jose Canseco rejected a cup of coffee left for him because he thought it might be poisoned.
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AL BEHRMAN/AP (MERCKER)
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AARON JOSEFCZYK/REUTERS (WRIGHT)
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CASEY B. GIBSON (THOMAS)
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STEVE NESIUS/AP (RAHAL CAR)
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PAUL KIZZLE/AP (RAHAL)