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Gameplan
• CELEBRATE
Hall of Fame honorees
Gaudy stats will be cited when Rickey Henderson, Jim Rice and Veterans Committee choice Joe Gordon are inducted on Sunday. Henderson is the alltime leader in runs and steals; Rice is the only player with three straight years of at least 200 hits and 39 homers. But the most mind-boggling number? Count how many times Rickey calls himself Rickey in his speech.
• READ
Bert Sugar's Baseball Hall of Fame
He's best known for his fedora, cigar and boxing prose, but Sugar brings the Hall to life in this oversized tribute. Sugar's essays and exhibit-by-exhibit breakdown are illuminating, but the book's treasures are its photographs—more than 500 of them. If you can't make it to Cooperstown this weekend, you'll feel as if you're roaming the building.
• WATCH
Tour de France
There are many reasons to watch the final stages on Versus. (It ends Sunday.) There's a certain Texan to follow—entering Tuesday, Lance Armstrong was second, behind Alberto Contador. And watching at home is safer than being there. Last week two cyclists were hit by air gun pellets fired by fans. Worse, during the 14th stage a spectator was fatally struck by an escort motorcycle.
• FOLLOW
U.S. Junior Amateur
The Tigers of tomorrow descend on Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., for the USGA's under-18 championships. (Future Annikas too—the Girls Junior runs concurrently.) The title is up for grabs: 2007 champ Cory Whitsett, 17, who could have joined Woods as the only multiple winners, pulled out with an injury. The boys' final is Saturday on Golf Channel.
• WATCH
World Aquatic Championships
Rome is home to fine food, exquisite art—and, for the next two weeks, more Lycra than any other city. Titles in swimming, diving, open-water swimming, synchronized swimming and water polo will be decided, drawing 2,800 athletes from 200 countries. It began Sunday and runs through Aug. 2; Universal Sports has daily coverage.
• CHEW
Jolt Energy Gum
Finally, an alternative for those who need a cup of coffee but don't want to spit out their gum. Two pieces of Jolt deliver as much caffeine as a cup of joe, but that's not why you should chew it during your Wiffle ball games. The makers of Jolt are donating a portion of their sales to three charities that assist wounded military vets and their families. Chew it over at joltgum.com.
The Pop Culture Grid
Athletes in the mix | Bruno reminds me of ... | Favorite summer drink | Food that makes my stomach turn | Wilco is ... | _____ should play me on the big screen. |
SANTINO QUARANTA D.C. United M-F | Stuart Holden | Starbucks' strawberry and banana Vivanno | Indian curry | Unknown in my world | Johnny Depp |
DEWANNA BONNER Mercury G | A comedy | Raspberry slush | Mushrooms | I have no idea who that is | Teammate Tangela Smith |
NICK MARKAKIS Orioles RF | Who's Bruno? | A cold Coors Light | Salad | No clue | Wentworth Miller |
BETTY LENNOX Sparks G | Napoleon Dynamite | Sonic's Route 44 lemonade | Anything fried | I don't know | Sanaa Lathan |
Inside the Grid
To hear Quaranta tell it, he and Depp, the star of Public Enemies, might as well be twins: "He seems like a good fit because he's good looking and has a bit of mystery about him." Markakis admires Prison Break star Miller's cleverness: "I like the way his characters figure things out."
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RICHARD DREW/AP (RICE & HENDERSON)
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JOEL SAGET/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (ARMSTRONG)
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© STEVEN GIBBONS/USGA (GOLFER)
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AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES (DIVER)
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KEVIN GASS (GUM)
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JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES (DEPP)
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ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (LENNOX)
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MICHAEL SACKETT/US PRESSWIRE (MARKAKIS)
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BARRY GOSSAGE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (BONNER)
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TONY QUINN/MLS/GETTY IMAGES (QUARANTA)
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DAVE HOGAN/GETTY IMAGES (BRUNO)
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FREDDY PEROJO (CHICKEN)
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NONESUCH/AP (CD)
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