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FOR THE RECORD

| DIED |

At age 56, two days after suffering a stroke, Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon (above). The Buccaneers made the former Oklahoma All-America their first ever draft pick, taking him No. 1 in 1976, before using their third choice on his Sooners teammate and older brother Dewey, a linebacker. In '79 the Selmon brothers anchored a stout Tampa Bay front four that helped the Bucs reach the NFC Championship Game, and Lee Roy was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The six-time Pro Bowler played for Tampa Bay throughout his nine-year career, retiring with an unofficial 78½ sacks. He worked in the athletic department at South Florida from 1993 to 2004, helping to start the school's football program and ending his career as the athletic director.

| ANNOUNCED |

By Texas A&M, the school's intention to leave the Big 12 by next July. The Aggies, members of the conference since its 1996 inception, have been critics of the recently launched Longhorn Network, a $300 million joint venture between rival Texas and ESPN. Last week A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said that "the landscape of the Big 12 Conference was altered" by the network—detractors charge that its plan to broadcast high school games will give the Longhorns an unfair recruiting edge. A&M president R. Bowen Loftin downplayed rumors of a jump to the SEC, adding that a "primary criterion" in any decision would be the ability to continue the Aggies' 117-year rivalry with Texas.

| RETIRED |

After 13 seasons, former Pro Bowl running back Fred Taylor. Drafted by the Jaguars out of Florida in 1998 with the ninth overall pick, he was a productive but brittle NFL back, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and scoring 32 touchdowns in his first four years while missing 24 games. Playing full seasons in 2002 and '03, Taylor rolled up more than 3,600 yards from scrimmage. Released by Jacksonville after the '08 season, he spent the last two years with the Patriots, starting once and rushing for four scores in 13 games. The 35-year-old Taylor re-signed with the Jaguars last week to officially retire with the team. His 11,695 rushing yards rank 15th in NFL history.

| DROPPED |

By federal prosecutors on Aug. 31, all three remaining charges against former Giants star Barry Bonds of making false statements. Baseball's alltime home run leader was convicted of obstruction of justice in April for providing intentionally evasive statements to a grand jury in connection with the BALCO steroids investigation in 2003. But the jury deadlocked on three other charges, which alleged that Bonds (left) lied to the grand jury when he denied ever knowingly receiving steroids or human growth hormone from trainer Greg Anderson, and that his doctor was the only person ever to inject him. Prosecutors had less than a month left to begin the process of retrying Bonds on those charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16.

| DIED |

At age 88, from injuries suffered in a fall near his home in Lawrence, Kans., former KU football coach Don Fambrough. Best known for his loyalty to the Jayhawks and his hatred of rival Missouri, Fambrough (right) played two years as a guard at Texas before joining the Army in World War II. After graduating from Kansas in 1948, he joined the Jayhawks as an assistant. Promoted to head coach in 1971, he led KU to a No. 18 national ranking in '73 but resigned a year later. Kansas hired him again in '79, and Fambrough took the Jayhawks to the '81 Hall of Fame Classic. Fired a year later, he remained one of the team's biggest supporters. He traced his hatred of the Tigers to the Civil War and the cross-border pro-slavery raids by the infamous William Quantrill. "We're the good guys and they're the bad guys," he would tell KU players. "It's as simple as that."

| DELAYED |

For six games by the Colts and Jim Tressel, the former Ohio State coach's employment as a game-day consultant. Tressel, 58, who was hired by Indianapolis three days earlier, had resigned from his job with the Buckeyes in May amid reports that at least 28 of his players violated NCAA rules by trading memorabilia or autographs for tattoos or cash. In August the NFL matched the NCAA's would-be suspension for rookie Raiders quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who had committed some of the violations, and had begun reviewing Tressel's hiring before the team and the coach agreed to a postponement. Beginning in Week 7, Tressel, who led Ohio State to 106 wins in 10 seasons and the 2002 national title, will work in the Indy coaches' booth to help the Colts determine whether to use instant replay challenges.

GO FIGURE

3

Consecutive seasons in which a Cardinals pitcher has hit a grand slam (this year: Jake Westbrook's against the Brewers on Aug. 31), a major league first.

447

Receiving yards for Gehrig Dieter, a senior at South Bend Washington High, in last Friday's 63--10 win over Elkhart Central, breaking the national single-game record of 421 yards set in 2008.

10--12"

Length of the nonvenomous snake that Gravette (Ark.) High RB Darrick Strzelecki found in his helmet during a water break last week, after unknowingly practicing with the reptile atop his head.

16

Wins in a row for 5-year-old thoroughbred Rapid Redux after his victory at the Maryland State Fair on Sunday, matching the streaks of Citation and Cigar. The North American record, shared by Zenyatta and Peppers Pride, is 19 in a row.

8"

Diameter of the golf cup—3¾" larger than the standard cup—used at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, for a 12-hole Labor Day tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus, who hopes to make the game more appealing to new golfers.

NAMED

As kicker for NAIA Faulkner University, Vietnam veteran Alan Moore, 61, who on Sept. 10 will become the oldest four-year college player ever. Moore got us thinking: What if these other (fictional) 'Nam vets took up the sport?

COLONEL WALTER E. KURTZ

APOCALYPSE NOW

JOHN RAMBO

FIRST BLOOD

MICHAEL VRONSKY

THE DEER HUNTER

PRIVATE JOKER DAVIS

FULL METAL JACKET

MLB PLAYERS POLL

Which opponents' stadium has the best visitors' clubhouse?

Yankee Stadium, New York 30%

Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay 19%

Miller Park, Milwaukee 7%

Nationals Park, Washington 6%

Safeco Field, Mariners 6%

FAST FACTS

Tropicana, which opened in 1990, is the oldest park among the top 13 vote getters. ... MLB's seven oldest stadiums (homes of the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Angels, A's, Royals and White Sox) took a combined 1% of the vote... . The four newest parks (Yankees, Nats, Mets, Twins) all make the top 12... . In a similar SI poll, players said that the two oldest venues, Wrigley Field (34%) and Fenway Park (24%), have the worst visitors' facilities.

Based on 308 MLB players who responded to SI's survey

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AL MESSERSCHMIDT/GETTY IMAGES (SELMON)

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JOHN BIEVER (BONDS)

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JOE SONGER/BIRMINGHAM NEWS/LANDOV (MOORE)

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY SI IMAGING: UNITED ARTISTS/EVERETT COLLECTION (KURTZ); MIKE MOORE/GETTY IMAGES (UNLV)

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TRISTAR PICTURES/PHOTOFEST (RAMBO); PETER READ MILLER (OREGON)

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UNIVERSAL CITY/PHOTOFEST (VRONSKY); JEANINE LEECH/ICON SMI (PITT)

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WARNER BROTHERS/EVERETT COLLECTION (DAVIS); BOB ROSATO (ARKANSAS)

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RICH CLARKSON (FAMBROUGH)

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