Leading Off

TWO PHOTOS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAMIAN STROHMEYER FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Banner Day As a celebration of a city's resilience, Monday's Boston Marathon—371 days after last year's race was cut short by two terrorist bombs near the finish line—was a victory for everyone who ran, cheered or supported the event from afar (page 17). But when the first men's finisher crossed the tape, the event took on even more meaning for the U.S. running community. Meb Keflezighi, wearing the names of bombing victims on his bib, became the first American man to win Boston since 1983. "I just kept thinking, Boston Strong, Boston Strong," he said. "I was thinking, Give everything you have. If you get beat, that's it."

PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN W. MCDONOUGH SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

L.A. Slipper Welcome to the NBA playoffs, when the paint is not for the faint of heart. Several Warriors and Clippers were reminded of that in Game 1 of their series last Saturday—including Golden State's Stephen Curry (30), who ran into a traffic jam when he tried to drive to the hoop, and L.A. forward and involuntary reclinee Blake Griffin (32). Curry didn't score here and was held to 14 points, but the Warriors still won, 109--105.

PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES HOFF NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Rubin (Hurricane) Carter 1937--2014 Before he spent 19 years in prison on a wrongful murder conviction, before he was the subject of a Bob Dylan hit and a Denzel Washington biopic, before he was a symbol of the ways racial injustice can corrupt the legal system, Hurricane Carter was a middleweight fighter—and a pretty good one at that (page 19). Carter, who died on Sunday at age 76 after battling prostate cancer, fought six times in 1963, winning four, including this split decision over George Benton at Madison Square Garden. A title contender in the early '60s but never a beltholder, Carter (in black trunks) saw his career end when he was charged—wrongfully, it turned out—in a triple homicide in Paterson, N.J., in 1966.