Lineup
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Years that end in 8 have been marked by exceptional athletes and memorable moments
68 1958: Willie Mays
The Say Hey Kid remains a baseball man at heart
BY PHIL TAYLOR
74 Richard Petty
50 years after his first race, he's still sovereign of the speedways
BY MARK BECHTEL
80 1968: Alex Karras
The fierce tackle turned actor in Paper Lion stops to smell the roses
BY RICHARD HOFFER
84 John Carlos
After Mexico City he went from pariah to hero—at a high cost
BY AUSTIN MURPHY
92 1978: Bucky Dent
Hey, Red Sox fans, isn't the wall at his baseball school familiar?
BY BEN REITER
96 Bill Rodgers
The marathon champion has fought through cancer
BY ELIZABETH MCGARR
102 1988: Jim Abbott
The one-handed Olympic pitcher inspires athletes with disabilities
BY LEE JENKINS
106 Bull Durham
Did Crash and Annie last? Would Mötley Crüe end Nuke's dream?
BY AUSTIN MURPHY
112 1998: Anna Kournikova
A decade after hijacking tennis as a brash teen, she's grown up
BY L. JON WERTHEIM
118 Robert Edwards & John Avery
The NFL first-rounders found redemption in an unlikely place
BY BEN REITER
Where Will They Be?
You don't know the names of these 15 teens just yet, but you will—and soon
PAGE 124
FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT
39 Big Bucks in Sports
Teams depend on smart management—financial and otherwise. SI looked at how each one spent its payroll dollars
TENNIS
50 The Spin Master
Tweaking his game for Wimbledon's grass, Rafael Nadal edged Roger Federer
By L. Jon Wertheim
TRACK AND FIELD
58 What a Country!
Led by Bernard Lagat, foreign-born runners swept the 1,500 at the U.S. trials
By Tim Layden
SWIMMING
62 What a Comeback!
Youth was served at the trials, but Dara Torres, at 41, made an epic splash
By Kelli Anderson
Departments
8 Leading Off
18 Letters
20 Players
• A writer gets his NFL kicks
• Randy Moss's hot wheels
• Matt Leinart stays in shape
• First Person: Chris Samuels
33 Faces in the Crowd
34 Just My Type by Dan Patrick
• Brett's unretirement community
144 Point After
Cool passed away last month. The cause of death was pumped fists and chest bumps
by Phil Taylor
SI Extra
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Cover Photograph by Simon Bruty
INSET PHOTOS (FROM LEFT): Racing One/Getty Images; Greg Foster; Walter Iooss Jr.; Todd Bigelow/Aurora; Dave Caulkin/AP; Walter Iooss Jr.; George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images; Tim Wagner/ZUMA Press Inc.
PHOTO
BILL YOUNG
SAN FRANCISCO TREAT In 1958, Willie Mays led the national pastime on its move to the West Coast.