Who's Hot Who's Not

Who's Hot

PIP-SQUEAKS

At 6 feet, Drew Brees is tied for shortest Super Bowl--winning QB. A new study of soccer fouls shows a refereeing bias against tall players. And last Saturday 5'9" Knick Nate Robinson put 7'1" Shaquille O'Neal on his butt with a full-contact block (right). Said Shaq with a grin, "That was a foul, and you know it."

STREAKING CAPS

Washington's 5--4 OT triumph over Pittsburgh on Sunday was its 14th straight, pushing the team to within three of the consecutive wins record. Should Alex Ovechkin (right) be Super Bowl co-MVP? The Caps' winger had his second straight Super Sunday hat trick.

PEACH FUZZ

Trojans fans, meet your future. USC's Lane Kiffin capped off a stellar signing season (page 28) with the verbal commitment of quarterback David Sills. Upside: Sills trains with the guy who groomed Trojans aces Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart. Downside: He's ... 13.

NFL HALL OF FAME

Kudos to voters for nailing the obvious (Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice) and for the game-changing election of Dick LeBeau, which opens up Canton to deserving assistants. A nitpick: Where's third-year nominee Cris Carter (right), who patented the sideline tippy-toe?

Who's Not

COMMISH SPEAKS

A plea to NFL pooh-bah Roger Goodell, who played Debbie Downer in Miami by dwelling on labor strife and then expressed interest in holding a Super Bowl at the new, still-roofless Giants Stadium in 2014. Good sir: On Sunday at kickoff time, it was 30° (19° with windchill) in East Rutherford, N.J.

MOBILE APPS

So much to riff on during Sunday's big game—Tracy Porter's haircut; the omnipotence of Arcade Fire; a late-night TV truce?!—yet Twitter was recurrently on the fritz, spurring John Daly to tweet, "your dang WHO DAT nation just broke my Twitter! LMAO."

COPSTACHE

Shane Battier, back to the future. The Rockets' forward (left) has grown a hair-raising Burt Reynolds--esque mustache, the result of a bet with former Duke teammate Mike Dunleavy. "Never double-dog dare me," Battier quipped. Get this man a razor commercial!

MOUNTAINEERS OF SHAME

"Boorish and unruly" is how West Virginia's president labeled fan behavior during a Feb. 3 pasting of No. 22 Pitt in Morgantown. Coach Bob Huggins twice asked the crowd to desist but couldn't stop a coin from striking a Panthers assistant under the eye.

SI PLAYERS NBA POLL

WHICH TEAM WILL WIN THIS YEAR'S NBA TITLE?

Lakers 65%

Celtics 16%

Cavaliers 5%

Magic 3%

Spurs 3%

FAST FACTS

Each of the top-five vote-getting teams has played in at least one NBA Finals since '07; the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant (above left, 24) and Pau Gasol, have been to two.... The Nuggets, currently second in the West, received a single vote.... West is best: Only 28% of the voters believed a team from the East such as the Celtics (with '08 Finals MVP Paul Pierce, above right) could win it all.

Based on a survey of 173 NBA players

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AARON JOSEFCZYK/REUTERS (O'NEAL)

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LOU CAPOZZOLA (OVECHKIN)

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JOE MURPHY/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (BATTIER)

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PETER READ MILLER (CARTER)

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BOB ROSATO (LAKERS)

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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (PIERCE)