Author: Don Yaeger

Under The Gun

Written on March 29, 2004.

Battling the clock, wretched facilities and random violence, Iraq’s new Olympic committee races to build a team for Athens It was after midnight, and what lay ahead was a 14-hour ride across the desert of western Iraq. Still, the passengers on the decrepit bus were beaming. The Iraqi soccer team, fresh from a 4-0 victory over Oman in an Olympic qualifying round on March 3, was headed home to Baghdad.

Q&A: George W. Bush

Written on September 29, 2003.

The President discusses Aggies and Horns, his Rangers days and his sports idol President George W. Bush has been a Texas sports fan since he was a young child. He grew up in the West Texas town of Midland, where his family moved from Connecticut when he was two. The former governor and onetime managing partner of the Texas Rangers recalls his excitement at seeing the first issue of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED at a friend’s...

Psst… Wanna Buy Some Clubs?

Written on May 26, 2003.

Golfers spend millions a year on counterfeits and knockoffs. To find out how this burgeoning industry works, we went right to the source: southern China The trap, months in the planning, had been laid. The quarry, a beautiful Chinese businesswoman named Lily Wan, had taken the bait. The sting, code-named Operation Tiger Lily, a joint venture of Callaway Golf investigators and the Orange County ( Fla.) sheriff’s...

Son Of Saddam

Written on March 24, 2003.

As Iraq’s top Olympic official, Uday Hussein is accused of the torture and murder of athletes who fail to win As he stood at the double-door entrance to the office of Iraqi National Olympic Committee president Uday Hussein, the boxer knew what awaited on the other side. He had just returned from a Gulf States competition, where he had been knocked out in the first round. Now it was time to pay the price.

Totally Juiced

Written on June 3, 2002.

With the use of steroids and other performance enhancers rampant, according to a former MVP and other sources, baseball players and their reliance on drugs have grown to larming proportions Arizona Diamondbacks righthander Curt Schilling thinks twice before giving a teammate the traditional slap on the butt for a job well-done. “I’ll pat guys on the ass, and they’ll look at me and go, ‘Don’t...

Life Of The Party

Written on February 14, 2000.

Few NHL players are as affable and widely beloved as the Rangers’ Kevin Stevens, but he’s lucky to be alive after a hellish night smoking crack with a hooker The sharp knock on the door and the brusque shout of “Collinsville police” shattered the predawn quiet, the ominous soundtrack to a life that had fallen off a cliff. There is no telling where the sickly thud will occur when any mortal hits...

One Of A Kind

Written on November 8, 1999.

After courageously battling medical troubles more severe than the public knew, the incomparable Walter Payton lost his fight for life at age 45 I visited Walter Payton at his house in suburban Chicago a couple of weeks ago and watched as the 45-year-old man who was one of the greatest running backs in history slowly shuffled his way into the living room. He sat beneath a vibrant portrait of himself with a group of...

Every Parent’s Nightmare

Written on September 13, 1999.

Featured on Oprah The child molester has found a home in the world of youth sports, where as a coach he can gain the trust and loyalty of kids—and then prey on them Norman Watson still misses the game he loves most. He misses the dusty world of Little League baseball. He misses riding to the games on a motorcycle, and he misses managing and umpiring and the feeling that Little League gave him, the sense that in a life...

Troubling Questions

Written on July 7, 1997.

A SPECIAL REPORT BY DON YAEGER AND ALEXANDER WOLFF Which of the following statements is true? A) NCAA test-score standards for freshmen have never been stricter. B) Athletes are cheating to meet those standards as never before. C) Recruiters, high school coaches, middlemen, even proctors are helping them do so–and getting away with it. D) All of the above.