Who's Hot Who's Not

Who's Hot

JASON GIAMBI

Once adrift inOakland (he was batting .193) and then cut loose, the slugger has found hisstroke in Colorado, coming off the bench to hit .400 in his first 12 games. Andafter his two late-inning homers last weekend, the Rockies seem playoff bound.Said Giambi, "A great team, a great situation."

JETERS

The Yanks' Derekwas hitting .329 at week's end, his 26 steals were his most since '06, and hewasn't the only one on the move. Carmelita (right, no relation) dusted thefield at Shanghai Stadium, running the 100 meters in 10.64 seconds, thesecond-fastest time by a woman.

FAVRE'SFIGURES

Not only is BrettFavre 2--0 in Minnesota, not only is his 110.2 QB rating second in the league,not only has he thrown zero picks, but his number 4 is also the best-sellingNFL jersey in 19 states, according to The Wall Street Journal. No otherplayer's is a best seller in more than four.

CHOI'SCOMEBACK

After losing asix-stroke lead—and thus veering perilously close to winding up in the NOTcolumn—Na Yeon Choi birdied the 18th at Torrey Pines for her first LPGAtournament win. Said the 21-year-old Choi, who's been playing for pay since2004, "I feel I just turned pro now."

Who's Not

MILTON BRADLEY

What a shock thatthe Cubs outfielder was acting out again, feuding with manager Lou Piniella,refusing to pinch-hit and complaining that there's "negativity" aroundthe club. Negativity, thy name is Milton. The Cubs sent Bradley, and his meager40 RBIs, home for the season.

JENNINGS

With the Packerson the Bengals' 10-yard line and down seven points on the game's lastplay—c'mon, you knew Cincy would blow it—receiver Greg Jennings was called fora false start to end the game. To his credit, he didn't get wiggy on the ref.To his chagrin, he finished without a catch.

MANGENIOUS

Getting outscored61--26, going 0--2 and facing a trip to Baltimore is a tough start for newBrowns coach Eric Mangini. And while the Jets are 2--0 without him, he's stillpaying for missteps in New York. The NFL fined Mangini $25,000 for notreporting Favre's arm injury in 2008.

CREDE'S BACK

No, third basemanJoe Crede has not returned to the Twins lineup. He's instead set to have athird back surgery, hoping to end the chronic pain that has severely limitedhis playing time for the last three seasons. Said Crede, a 30-homer man in2006, "It's beyond frustrating."

SI PLAYERS NFL POLL

WHICH TEAM WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL?

New England Patriots 29%

Pittsburgh Steelers 21%

Philadelphia Eagles 9%

Baltimore Ravens 5%

New York Giants 5%

FAST FACTS

Players could not vote for their own team.... TheArizona Cardinals, who lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII last February,tied for 10th with 2.5% of the vote.... Only eight teams did not receive asingle mention: the Bengals, Browns, Buccaneers, 49ers, Jaguars, Raiders, Ramsand Seahawks. That's three teams from the NFC West. And, yes, the Lions got avote.... Poll was completed before Week 2's games.

Based on a survey of 291 NFL players

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JOHN BIEVER (BRADLEY)

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JOHN BIEVER (FAVRE)

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JOHN BIEVER (PATRIOTS)

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WU HONG/EPA (JETER)

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REED SAXON/AP (CHOI)

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SIMON BRUTY (STEELERS)