FOR THE RECORD
| WON |
By New Zealand, the 2011 Rugby World Cup, with an 8--7 defeat of France in Auckland, marking the second time that the Pacific nation has won while hosting the 24-year-old competition. (The All Blacks took the inaugural Cup, also over France, as cohosts with Australia in 1987.) New Zealand (above, in black) entered Sunday's match at Eden Park as an overwhelming favorite, having mauled Les Bleus in pool play 37--17; but the encore win came less easily, and by the narrowest margin, the difference being a Stephen Donald penalty in the 45th minute. "It's something we've dreamed of," said the team's manager, Graham Henry. "We can rest in peace."
| FILED |
By D.C. United striker Charlie Davies, a $20 million lawsuit against a Washington, D.C., nightclub and the beverage maker Red Bull, both of whom he alleges acted negligently on Oct. 12, 2009, by serving alcohol to a woman who wrecked her car later that night, killing one passenger and leaving the other, Davies, with severe injuries that cost him a spot in the '10 World Cup. The lawsuit claims that Das Enterprises (which operates Shadow Room) and Red Bull (which was hosting a private event at the lounge) served alcohol to Maria Espinoza even though she was "visibly intoxicated." Davies, who claims he was not aware at the time that Espinoza was drunk, suffered a ruptured bladder, bleeding in the brain, and facial, rib, leg and elbow fractures after she drove her car into a guardrail. Espinoza was sentenced in March to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and maiming while driving intoxicated. The family of Ashley Roberta, the 22-year-old passenger killed in the wreck, filed a $40 million lawsuit against the same parties named in Davies's suit. Neither the nightclub nor Red Bull have commented.
| DIED |
At age 67, reportedly of a heart attack while lifting weights, former Packers guard Gale Gillingham, who earned All-Pro accolades six times. A native of Madison, Wis., Gillingham crossed the state line to play college ball, then came back to the Badger State as the 13th overall pick out of Minnesota. In Green Bay he started at left guard by the end of his rookie 1966 season, then replaced an aging Fuzzy Thurston a year later for good. Gillingham trolled the Packers' trenches (later on the right) for 10 years—including during the Ice Bowl and in Super Bowls I and II—before leaving the game following the 1976 season. In retirement Gillingham watched as his three sons, Wade, Brad and Karl, became world-class powerlifters, earning his clan the nickname the First Family of Strength.
| DIED |
At age 50 of intestinal bleeding, former Bills All-Pro center Kent Hull (left), who manned the middle during four Super Bowl seasons, all ending in losses, for Buffalo in the 1990s. A 1986 free-agent pickup (from the USFL, by way of Mississippi State) for the Bills, on the same day the team signed Jim Kelly, the 6'5", 284-pound lineman led Buffalo's trademark no-huddle offense and helped power a running game in which the Bills finished in the top 10 every year from '88 through '96, when Hull retired at age 35.
| RETURNED |
To Bernard Hopkins, the WBC 175-pound world championship belt that the boxer surrendered to Chad Dawson on Oct. 15 after a controversial TKO ruling. That bout ended in the second round when Dawson appeared to plow Hopkins with his shoulders and drop him to the mat, below the ropes. Hopkins dislocated the joint connecting his left shoulder to his collarbone and was unable to continue, leading referee Pat Russell to call the TKO. But Hopkins (above) appealed, and last Thursday the WBC ruled in his favor. For the time being, however, the loss itself remains on Hopkins's record, pending a potential reversal by the California State Athletic Commission, which is responsible for the official result. The commission is scheduled to meet on Dec. 13.
| DIAGNOSED |
With a brain tumor, Lions running back Jerome Harrison, whose condition was discovered last week during a physical before a now-voided trade that would have sent him, along with an undisclosed 2013 draft pick, to Philadelphia for running back Ronnie Brown. According to Lions teammates, Harrison had been complaining recently of headaches that led him to wear sunglasses at practices and later to be fitted for a helmet visor. On Oct. 19, shortly after reporting the condition to Eagles team doctors and undergoing an MRI, he received the results, which revealed a tumor, known as an ependymoma, in his fourth ventricle. Harrison, who has yet to comment publicly, underwent surgery to remove the tumor on Friday and was placed on the Lions' reserve/nonfootball illness list. He is not expected to play again this season.
GO FIGURE
17,173
Career total yards of offense by Houston QB Case Keenum, who moved past Hawaii's Timmy Chang during a win over Marshall last Saturday to top the FBS record book.
26
Consecutive completions by East Carolina QB Dominique Davis in a win over Navy last Saturday, breaking the single-game FBS record by three and—along with 10 straight to finish his previous game—the total consecutive completions record by 10.
62
Points scored by the Saints in their win over the Colts on Sunday, the most by one NFL team in the regular season in 26 years and six more than the Rams have scored all season. St. Louis and New Orleans meet on Sunday.
$100
Value of the Best Buy gift certificate that a Packers WR must give to each of his four wideout teammates every time he drops a ball, per a rule set by the players.
34
U.S. Soccer's FIFA world ranking, the men's team's lowest since 1997, when it was 35. Meanwhile, Egypt, led by coach Bob Bradley, who was fired by the U.S. in July, climbed to 29.
DONNED
In 2011 by some of college football's most prestigious programs, a crazy quilt of new unis. SI put this year's best and worst (last Saturday alone saw LSU all-whites, Northwestern all-purples and Boise State prison grays) on a spectrum of unsightliness.
HOT MESS
MARYLAND
MICHIGAN ST.
MICHIGAN
BOISE ST.
HO-HUM
NORTHWESTERN
GEORGIA
LSU
KANSAS
MAHVELOUS!
ARIZONA ST.
NFL PLAYERS POLL
Who is the fastest player in football?
Chris Johnson, Titans RB 38%
DeSean Jackson, Eagles WR 23%
Mike Wallace, Steelers WR 12%
Devin Hester, Bears WR/KR 3%
Jacoby Ford, Raiders WR 3%
FAST FACTS
Johnson ran a 4.24-second 40-yard dash at the NFL draft combine in 2008, the fastest mark since times became official, in 1999. Ford's time at the 2010 combine (4.28) tied him with three other players as the second-fastest... . Michael Vick, who was voted No. 1 the last time SI polled on this subject, in 2006, was No. 6 (2%), even at age 31, and was the only QB to receive more than one vote... . Colts DE Dwight Freeney was the only lineman named more than once.
Based on 316 NFL players who responded to SI's survey
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PAUL HARDING/ACTION IMAGES/ZUMAPRESS.COM (RUGBY)
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JOHN HICKEY/AP (HULL)
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MARK GOLDMAN/ICON SMI
TWO PHOTOS
MIKE CARTER/US PRESSWIRE
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STEVE CONNER/ICON SMI
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JIM PRISCHING/AP
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BOB ROSATO
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BILL FRAKES
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TIM LARSON/ICON SMI
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MAX SIMBRON/CAL SPORT MEDIA.
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DAVID BERGMAN (JACKSON)
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ROGERIO BARBOSA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (HOPKINS)
