WHO'S Hot WHO'S Not
WHO'S Hot
Tigers
As in Clemson's 10th-ranked hoopsters, who were 16--0 after clamping down onN.C. State. They've outscored opponents by 18 points a game, but, said forwardTrevor Booker (above) to South Carolina's The State, the Tigers aren't,"getting the respect we want." Beat Wake Forest at home on Saturday,Trevor, and respect will surely be thine.
Ed Reed
Baltimore's best centerfielder (apologies to the O's Adam Jones) actually wentwithout a pick against the Titans—but still made headlines. The AFC titlegame--bound Ravens safety was the only unanimous choice for the NFL All-Proteam.
Geoff Ogilvy
Here, birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie. An eagle and four straight birdies on theback nine pushed Ogilvy to a wire-to-wire win at the PGA event in Hawaii. Thehaul: $1.12 million. The ranking: He's now No. 6. The mojo: "A dream startto the year," he said.
Red Wings
Perpetual sizzlers. Overshadowed by the record-setting Sharks, and in theshadow of the Detroit malaise (SI, Jan. 12), the defending NHL champs had wonnine of 11 to pull away in the Central. For them, it's just a start. DefensemanNiklas Kronwall (right) to mlive.com: "We all feel we can playbetter."
WHO'S Not
Tar Heels
Undefeated season? Gone. UNC's hoopsters are suddenly 0--2 in the ACC for thefirst time since the Clinton Administration after getting clipped by BC andWake Forest. "It's early," said forward Tyler Hansbrough, but theseguys better get defensive in a hurry—especially point guard Ty Lawson (above),who got torched in two straight conference games.
Eric Weddle
The San Diego safety's getting called for interference in the end zone mighthave made it seem he didn't have his head in the game during the Chargers' swansong on Sunday. But he did. Weddle got bonked on the helmet by a Pittsburghpunt, and the Steelers recovered.
Maria Sharapova
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Shoulder trouble that kept her out of the U.S. Open and theOlympics has now nixed Sharapova for the Australian Open. The defending champcan commiserate with fellow Russian Nikolai Davydenko, who's shelved with afoot injury.
Clippers
Their Notness just doesn't stop. Los Angeles was 0 for '09 through Sunday andsuffering through an 11-game losing streak that could drop it into Thunderterritory. The club has four guys out with injuries; the healthy Clippers, likeMardy Collins with his .406 shooting percentage, might say that those are thelucky ones.
SI PLAYERS NBA POLL
Which NBA player would you least like to mess with?
Shaquille O'Neal, Suns C 46%
Ron Artest, Rockets F 17%
Ben Wallace, Cavaliers F 9%
Dwight Howard, Magic C 3%
Kenyon Martin, Nuggets F 2%
FAST FACTS
The Mavericks' Jerry Stackhouse and the Knicks' Nate Robinson were the onlyguards to draw more than 1% of the vote.... More than 57% of centers selectedShaq, who at 7'1", 325 pounds remains the heaviest player in the NBA....Artest has been suspended 12 times in his 10-year career—for a range ofexplosive behavior—but this season he had only two technical fouls throughSunday.
[Based on a survey of 190 NBA players] • For more onthe poll, and to comment on it, go to SI.com/players.
PHOTO
MARY ANN CHASTAIN/AP (BOOKER)
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO (LAWSON)
PHOTO
AL MESSERSCHMIDT/GETTY IMAGES (REED)
PHOTO
LOU CAPOZZOLA (KRONWALL)
PHOTO
GREG NELSON (O'NEAL)
PHOTO
LISA BLUMENFELD/GETTY IMAGES (ARTEST)