Melissa Isaacson

Lillie Young Bacote is still waiting for someone in Winston-Salem, N.C., to congratulate her, but she's not expecting it. Her son is one of the top gymnasts in the country,...

In the abstract, it all makes perfect sense. In human terms, it stinks. Guaranteed at least one of the best woman gymnasts in this country, her life altered forever, will...

Now this is embarrassing. It was one thing for Orlando to beat the Bulls to Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. Bad enough that we're all excited about the Bears possibly...

Baseball isn't the only sport in which hitters are ahead of pitchers before the regular season begins. Hitting was plentiful Saturday night at Soldier Field as the Bears' defense--particularly its...

Nothing wrong with a little overreaction. It is, after all, what makes us so uniquely us. No sir, you can't tell us not to panic; 1969 wasn't that long ago....

There is nothing quite like the off-season to bring out a professional athlete's insecurity. He's either in free agency and the interest level is not what he expected, or he...

Success in NFL exhibition games cannot be judged by conventional criteria. That is, were any key players injured? Did the rookies embarrass themselves? Did coaches learn anything? And, oh, yeah,...

They rarely smile. Not really. Even the most experienced, the most natural of the bunch wear their facial expressions like dress shoes that are too tight. Happy or not, they...

Quietly, as if they had any other choice, they have gone about the business of being the best women's gymnasts in the country. Overshadowed by a 1996 gold medal with...

An epidemic, no. I refuse to believe that parents assaulting and killing one another at youth sports events is an epidemic, which Sports Illustrated dutifully reported last week after a...