Positive Influence
A $70 TIP ON a $90 restaurant bill. Money on the gas pump for the next driver. A chance to attend baseball camp for a kid who couldn't otherwise afford it. Over the past month small gestures of goodwill have spread across the country like a brush fire, all in the name of Michael Collins (above), an Illinois State senior from Normal, Ill., who loved baseball and helped his dad, Jim, coach the varsity at University High in his hometown. That is, until March 29, when a car Michael was riding in was struck by a drunk driver; he died five days later. Hailey Lanier, a high school friend, created a Facebook page entitled Pay It Forward for Michael Collins to encourage others to give back the way Michael, a volunteer coach and an organ donor, had. People in 46 states and 15 countries have since committed hundreds of acts of kindness—all tagged with #MCStrong asking the recipient to pass it along. "We're very proud of what he did with the 22 years he had on this earth and the things that are occurring in his name," says Jim.
GO FIGURE
1 in 10,000
The odds given by Ladbrokes, a European betting outfit, that a mixed doubles final at Wimbledon will one day feature the four Federer siblings, after Roger Federer's wife, Mirka, gave birth on May 6 to twin boys Leo and Lenny. The couple already has four-year-old identical twin girls, Charlene Riva and Myra Rose. Their father is a seven-time singles champion at the All-England Club.
0
Yankees jerseys between 1 and 10 that will be worn after this year, now that the team has announced it will retire former manager Joe Torre's number 6 on Aug. 23. Numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are already retired; Derek Jeter's number 2 is a lock to be honored as well.
702
Consecutive regular-season and playoff games in which he played a minimum of 15 minutes that the Nets' Deron Williams had scored at least one point before he was held scoreless in Game 2 of Brooklyn's series against the Heat.
6.8
The overnight TV rating for first-round NFL draft coverage on ESPN, which far outpaced playoff games in the NBA (Blazers-Spurs, 2.7; Heat-Nets, 2.6) and NHL (Bruins-Canadiens, 1.2; Ducks-Kings, 0.7). NFL Network's draft coverage received a 1.9.
THEY SAID IT
"You should go talk to the geniuses that are online. I don't know. MyFace, YourFace, InstantFace."
Bill Belichick Patriots coach, when asked how a scouting report—purportedly from his team—on Johnny Manziel, calling the new Cleveland QB "a spoiled brat," leaked on the Web.
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PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN/GETTY IMAGES FOR LAUREUS (FEDERERS)
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BOB MARTIN FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (TROPHY)
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MLB.COM (JERSEY)
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RON TURENNE/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (WILLIAMS)
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ELSA/GETTY IMAGES (CLOWNEY)
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COURTESY COLLINS FAMILY (COLLINS, 2)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (BELICHICK)