The Starting Five

Sporting News, The, August 23, 1999

What the sports world is talking about this week

1 J.D. Drew's debut in Philadelphia. "Your attention, please. Tonight's battery: D-cell."

2 UCLA's handicapped-parking sticker scandal. The dead giveaway: The Bruins' playbook included the tow-away zone defense.

3 The Ryder Cup. Pampered, overpaid athletes whine about money. Talk about par for the course.

4 Dimitrius Underwood. A Vikings' first-round draft pick, he chose God over Denny Green, who thinks the kid was splitting hairs.

5 Dog days of August, Baseball lore says it's when contenders are separated from also-rans ... plus it sounds better than "payroll-cutting days of December."