FanNation

Inconvenient Truths

By Chris Ballard

If you haven't heard this already it may come as a shock, so brace yourself: Some NBA players smoke pot.

A few weeks ago Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard told a radio show that "smoking weed in the off-season" was his "personal choice." Forget that some players have estimated that 60% of the league goes green on occasion -- what rankled NBA pooh-bahs and pundits was that Howard admitted he did. Apparently he missed the memo: A pro athlete is expected to do many things; being candid isn't one of them.

SI Players MLB Poll

Which team has the best offensive lineup in baseball?

Detroit Tigers ...... 69%
New York Yankees ...... 12%
Boston Red Sox ...... 10%
Philadelphia Phillies ...... 3%
L.A. Angels of Anaheim ...... 2%
Colorado Rockies ...... 1%
NY Mets ...... 1%

[Based on a survey of 495 MLB players] 

FAST FACTS: Through Sunday the Tigers, led by Magglio Ordoñez and Miguel Cabrera were fourth in the AL with 158 runs scored; the Red Sox' 162 was best in the league....The Cubs, who weren't among the 12 teams to get a vote, led the majors with 189 runs.... Philadelphia had hit a big-league-high 48 home runs.... Bobby Abreu led the Yankees with 21 RBIs.

Last Round for Johnny Tapia

By S.L. Price 

The worst? For Teresa Tapia it wasn't the night she awoke to find her husband standing over her with a hammer, or the time he shoved her while holding a pistol; it wasn't any one disappearance or public humiliation or lie during their 15 years together. It wasn't even the morning 14 months ago when Johnny Tapia, a five-time boxing world champ, fell into yet another drug-induced coma and was taken to an Albuquerque hospital. No, it was the next day: when Robert (Gordy) Gutierrez, the brother closest to Teresa and Johnny's loyal cornerman, died while rushing to the fighter's bedside -- killed, along with the Tapias' nephew Ben Garcia, in a one-car highway wreck. Finally she snapped. Johnny should be the one who's dead, Teresa thought. He's to blame.

Best Baseball Players By Numbers

Is Cal Ripken the best baseball player ever to wear No. 8? (We say yes.) What about No. 51? Who would you chose between Ichiro or Randy Johnson? How about No.34? Do you take Kirby Puckett or David Ortiz? Here are our picks for the best baseball players to wear each number: 00-22, 23-46, 47-99.

Now it's your turn. Give us your thoughts.

Baseball's Best 42: Jackie Robinson or Mariano Rivera?

SI.com's Bryan Graham argues that Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera should be the choice at number 42 over Jackie Robinson on the list of baseball's best players by uniform number. Tell us what you think here.