Leading Off

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID E. KLUTHO SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Mighty White When the NHL began playing outdoor games 10 years ago (page 15), the marketing department no doubt conjured images of players skating lightly through picturesque dustings of snow. Penguins center Brian Gibbons (49) and Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26) had to deal with a bit more than that at Soldier Field last Saturday. The white stuff fell continuously during the game, the puck occasionally disappeared under drifts, and play was stopped frequently so the ice could be shoveled. Chicago seemed right at home in those conditions, though: The Blackhawks won 5--1.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK J. REBILAS USA TODAY SPORTS

Flush With Talent The Rangers might have won the off-season: Among their splashy moves, they traded for slugger Prince Fielder and signed free-agent oufielder Shin-Soo Choo and free-agent closer Joakim Soria (left). And yet, less than a week into spring training, the team was already in the toilet. On photo day Texas players posed for portraits in a bathroom at their complex in Surprise, Ariz., where the lighting was good and the interruptions were minimal. Soria looked even better out on the field, throwing a scoreless inning in his spring debut on Sunday.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ED ZURGA GETTY IMAGES

Sign of The Times Kansas freshman guard Wayne Selden Jr. was flying high at Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 24, and rightly so: He had just scored 15 points in a win over Oklahoma that clinched at least a share of a 10th straight regular-season Big 12 title. Jayhawks coach Bill Self was less than impressed, however. "It's kind of anticlimactic," he told his players, "because the season has so much left in it, you know?" Indeed, without a long NCAA tournament run, the conference championship will feel like nothing to high-five about in Lawrence.