Who's Hot Who's Not

Author:
SI Staff

Who's Hot

MANNING

Remember when the Colts' QB couldn't win the big one? It's reconsideration time. With Sunday's victory over the Jets—in which top target Reggie Wayne (three catches, 55 yards) was stranded on Revis Island—Peyton has a record seven 300-yard playoff games and two spectacular postseason comebacks.

29-YEAR-OLD PHILLIES

Lock 'em up: NL champion Philadelphia shows its brotherly love by handing lucrative contract extensions to two players in their prime, centerfielder Shane Victorino (right, three years and $22 million) and righthander Joe Blanton (three years, $24 million).

ROONEY

Fountains of Wayne! On Sunday against Hull City, the Manchester United firebrand (right) became the first Red Devil in six years to score four goals in a game, giving him 19 (only four shy of his single-season best) and hoisting his club to the top of the table.

WILD, WEIR STUFF

Be Good, Johnny Weir: this eight-episode Sundance documentary series—a little overexposed, are we? Not for fans of the flamboyant Olympic skating hopeful (right); they can't get enough about his rivalry with Evan Lysacek and spats with Weir's Soviet-style coaches.

Who's Not

FAVRE

If the ol' gunslinger (left) retires, he'll have ended his last three seasons thusly: an OT interception in an NFC Championship Game (Packers, '08); a fourth quarter pick-six with the playoffs on the line (Jets, '09); and another NFC Championship Game INT, this time at the end of regulation (Vikings, '10).

36-YEAR-OLD SLUGGERS

Last we looked, professional hitters Johnny Damon (.364 for the Yankees in the World Series) and Jermaine Dye (27 homers for the White Sox) were still on the market. Their age dictates that they'll take hefty cuts in pay from '09 (Dye, $11.5 million; Damon, $13 million).

RANGERS

Scoring is on the wane! The Broadway Blueshirts suffered back-to-back shutouts, the second a 6--0 humbling last Saturday in Montreal—the fourth blanking endured by New York in seven games. "There are some things we need to correct," said coach John Tortorella.

CSI: PGA

The golf-themed episode of CBS's procedural was a bogey, especially in the out-of-bounds use of the word "balls" and a plot rules violation (beta-blockers weren't banned on Tour 25 years ago). The ratings? Aces! Can't fight the charisma of Duffy Waldorf!

SI PLAYERS NBA POLL

WHO'S FASTEST GOING BASELINE TO BASELINE?

LeBron James, Cavaliers F 14%

Leandro Barbosa, Suns G 10%

Aaron Brooks, Rockets G 9%

Monta Ellis, Warriors G 8%

Tony Parker, Spurs G 8%

FAST FACTS

James was the only nonguard among the top 10 vote getters.... Hornets guard Chris Paul, the NBA's assists leader (11.2 average), got 3%.... Bucks rookie guard Brandon Jennings made a swift impression, receiving 6%.... Speed kills? Ellis leads the league in turnovers (4.1 average).... Thunder forward Nick Collison and Rockets forward Carl Landry were the only pure big men named (one vote apiece).

Based on a survey of 173 NBA players • For more on the poll, and to comment on it, go to SI.com/players

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BOB ROSATO (FAVRE)

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CHUCK SOLOMON (VICTORINO)

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HEINZ KLUETMEIER (WEIR)

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JEFFREY PHELPS/AP (ELLIS)

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ANDREW HANCOCK (JAMES)

February 01, 2010