To know list: 6 senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing and audibilizing

(1) BRONZE BUSTS

Will IRe NBA's Olympians ever be the same?

It was fitting that, on the evening of the bronze medal game against Lithuania, the U.S. Olympic basketball team brought the wrong uniforms, delaying the game for 45 minutes. Not much went right for the Americans, alter all.

They returned home with the bronze, and to their regular jobs as NBA millionaires. But it stands to reason that, coming out of Athens, some of them are changed players.--Sean Deveney

Tim Duncan. He was supposed to be the linchpin. Instead, foul trouble limited his playing time, and zone defenses held him to 12.9 points per game. The Games replayed a scenario Duncan experienced in the playoffs--if his teammates can't make outside shots, Duncan can be contained. The Spurs are hoping new guard Brent Barry takes note.

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Allen Iverson. After Iverson played in the Olympic qualifying tournament last summer, he missed 34 games because of injury. In fact, playing in last year's tournament seemed to bring injury to nearly everyone--eight of the 12 players missed at least 13 NBA games. Iverson, who played with a broken thumb, gave max effort in Athens, leading the team in minutes played.

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Carmelo Anthony. It wasn't exactly lair, but Anthony got pegged as the guy who represented everything that was wrong with this Olympic team, His quick trigger put him in Larry Brown's doghouse (just imagine if the Pistons had drafted him), and when he complained about it, he was criticized heavily. His reputation might not recover in some folks' eyes, but if he goes back to Denver, teams with Kenyon Martin and gets the Nuggets hack into the playoffs, all should be forgotten.

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Lamar Odom. By the end of the Games, it was clear that Odom, not Duncan, was the glue to the American team. He did the little things--passing, boxing out, playing tough defense. It showed significant maturity for a guy whose career has been marred by drug suspensions, injuries and a poor work ethic. Alter dealing with the egos on Team USA, playing with Kobe Bryant will be nothing.

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Stephon Marbury. Marbury got a taste of what Chauncey Billups went through last season--playing for Brown is difficult for point guards, especially scoring point guards. At times, Marbury looked confused about when to shoot and when to pass, much like Billups did at times last season. Marbury is a good scorer, but he was a ballhog with the Knicks last year and has been for his entire career. Perhaps a few weeks under Brown's tutelage will make that go away.

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(2) FAST TIMES

Drag racing's main event turns 50

If you could line a quarter-mile strip of asphalt with all the hype, competition and emotion of a Super Bowl, World Series and Daytona 500, you'd understand a drag racer's reverence for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Hot Rod Association's most prestigious event. Hundreds of drivers have converged on Indianapolis Raceway Park, site of the race since 1961, in hopes of reaching Monday's final eliminations (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

"It's the big race," said John Force, who, at 55, has four Funny Car victories in the U.S. Nationals and is like a rock star in the pits. "In a career, if you don't win Indy, it's kind of a bummer."

If you've never seen an NHRA event, this is the one to watch. Normally the circuit's premier race, the anniversary celebration is giving drivers more incentive to push their cars to the limit, which sometimes is blurred considering a few of them topped 333 mph earlier this season. That's right, 0 to 333 mph in a quarter mile--not even Dale Earnhardt Jr. can do that.--Chris Dolack

(3) SUMMER OLYMPICS

Sweatin' to the goldies

If you're like me, your mind was burdened throughout the Olympics by two questions that simply would not go away: 1) Is Al Trautwig larger than an African elephant, or are the other members of NBC's gymnastics broadcast team just really, really tiny? And, 2) Who among those world-renowned athletes sweats like a pig?

As luck would have it, a press release floated onto my desk just in time for the Closing Ceremonies and answered question No. 2. And I quote: "After analyzing select men's competitions in 22 of 28 Summer Olympic sports, Old Spice sweat experts announced the Sweatiest Olympic Summer Sports. Men's singles tennis ranks No. 1, with a single athlete to produce 3.37 liters of sweat in a single match!"

Of course, Old Spice didn't have people on the scene in Athens to collect buckets of, shall we say, data. Its information was based on factors such as athletes' weights and average temperatures of event locations.

Shooters--as in the guys with the rifles--could've done their thing in a steam room, and they still wouldn't have topped the list (well, maybe the chubby ones). As it is, they stayed the driest.--Steve Greenberg

(4) BASEBALL'S PLAYOFF CHASE

September--when the stars come out to shine

A player can rise from obscurity to alter a pennant race in September, but more often that's a job for a slumping or injured star who's returning to form. On virtually every contender, it's easy to identify such a performer.

Mark Prior, Cubs. Limited by injuries to his Achilles' tendon and pitching elbow, Prior had thrown only 76 1/3 innings as the week began. He still wasn't his old dominant self, but he had produced quality starts in four of his past five outings. His control needs to improve: Prior was averaging 4.36 walks per nine innings, more than twice as many as last season.

Eric Gagne, Dodgers. He responded well to a five-day layoff prompted by his recent slump, gaining impressive saves against the Expos and Mets. The closer's success hinges, in part, on the success of the Dodgers' makeshift setup crew. The fewer times manager lira Tracy uses Gagne for more than one inning, the better off the Dodgers will be.

Barry Zito, A's. He showed improvement as the A's went on their usual August tear, finishing the month 3-2 with a 3.48 ERA. But right now, he's the team's No. 4 starter behind Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson and Rich Harden. A hot Zito could help the A's secure the A.L. West title and give them a lights-out front four for the postseason.

Troy Glaus, Angels. His season appeared over when he underwent shoulder surgery May 21, but he rejoined the lineup this week. His return as a designated hitter would boost an offense that began the week ranked 10th in the A.L. in home runs. Before his injury, Glaus had 11 homers and 28 RBIs in 29 games.

David Wells, Padres. The Padres were wise to resist a proposed waiver deal in which they would have sent Wells to the Yankees. Steady for much of the season, Wells took off in August, going 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA. He historically pitches better under pressure, as evidenced by his 10-3 lifetime mark in the postseason.

Derek Lowe, Red Sox. General manager Theo Epstein was thinking of Lowe when he acquired shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on July 31; Lowe, the leading ground-ball pitcher in the majors, requires strong infield defense to succeed. He responded by going 3-0 in his last four starts of August, and his sustained revival could make Boston--ahem--a World Series favorite.--Ken Rosenthal

(5) SOCIAL STUDY

Point, click, and say, 'Oink'

So, have you searched the web for pictures of John Daly with his shirt off? Or to check out Nomar Garciaparra's stats with the Cubs? Of course not. You've been too busy perusing pies of hottie swimmer Amanda Beard.

Of the five most popular athletes on the Internet, all are female, and all but one--gold-medal winning 16-year-old gymnast Carly Patterson--are known as much for skin as skill. Beard, who made a splash with her racy FHM cover, was the top athlete on Lycos' latest top 50 most-searched list, followed by high jumper and Playboy cover girl Amy Acuff. Russian Playboy model-gymnast Svetlana Khorkina and dirty-old-man favorite Anna Kournikova rounded out the top five.

Sure, it's college football season, and there's a pennant race going on in baseball, and the NFL is getting ready to kick off, but Olympic fever rolls around only once every couple of years, right? Strangely, though, eight-time medalist Michael Phelps didn't make the list. Neither did fencing's history-making gold medalist Mariel Zagunis, of course, or record-setting medalist Jenny Thompson.--Tricia Garner

(6) WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

'The Turk'

Around the NFL, he's the guy on staff who tells players they need to see Coach: the unspoken words are that they're about to be cut. Each team has one, and he'll do his dirty work as teams make their final roster cuts Sunday, from 65 players to 53. (In next week's issue, we'll take you inside one team on cut-down day.) Conventional wisdom says the term Turk has its origins in ancient warriors who used scimitars to decapitate foes. But the analogy doesn't square: Today's Turk doesn't cut off heads, he cots out hearts. And there were no playbooks to return back then.--Matt Crossman

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning