Sports Illustrated Kids January/February 2022

WHEN YOU THINK of the great championship teams of all time, who comes to mind? The 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs? The ’78 Washington Bullets? The ’06 St. Louis Cardinals? Probably not. (Sorry, Cardinals fans.) History remembers the teams that earned cool nicknames: the 1927 “Murderer’s Row” Yankees, the ’74–75 “Broad Street Bullies” Flyers, the ’99 “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams. The Dream Team. The Steel Curtain. The Russian Five. The Big Red Machine. Fans love to mythologize the dominant squads of the past. So why, in the present, are they so concerned with making sure no team becomes too good? Before MLB’s December lockout stopped all league business, baseball’s owners went on a shopping spree, committing to $1.4 billion in player salaries in one day. The Rangers gave a 10-year, $325 million…

January 7 Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson turns 25 years old. 9 Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah celebrates his 24th birthday. 18 Former WTA world No. 1 Angelique Kerber is 34. 21 San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford turns 35. 26 Washington Wizards forward Montrezl Harrell is 28 years old. February 4 Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse turns 27 years old. 7 Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is 34 years old. 15 Kladno Knights winger and NHL legend Jaromír Jágr is still going at 50! 22 Phoenix Mercury point guard Kia Nurse is 26. 23 Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins turns 27.…

FANS WHO arrived at Drexel on Dec. 14 expecting to see the Dragons host Coppin State can be forgiven if they thought they were witnessing an intrasquad scrimmage instead. Coppin State forgot to pack its jerseys, so the Eagles had to play in practice tops supplied by the home team, meaning every player was wearing Drexel gear. The real Dragons won, 76–69. A similar thing happened to Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2019. The Hawks forgot their unis for a game against Edinboro and had to borrow their opponents’ road duds. Edinboro had fun with it, tweeting: “There are two types of athletes: Those who are Fighting Scots and those who want to dress like Fighting Scots.” IUP got the last laugh, though, winning 87–59. It happens in the pros,…

HOMETOWN: WILSONVILLE, OR BIRTH DATE: FEB. 14, 2006 SPORT: RACING Driving young is nothing new for Josh Pierson. He turned his first lap (on a remote go-kart) when he was two and won his first national title at 11. In June, Josh will set a new standard for underage driving: He will become the youngest competitor at the oldest endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (And, yes, he has his license.) “Not a lot of people get to race it,” says Josh, who signed with United Autosports in August. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Are YOU a SportsKid? If you think you have what it takes to be a Future Star, have an adult submit your nomination at SportsKid@si.com…

MYLES GARRETT was on a mission. Soon after he reported to Browns training camp in late July, the edge rusher, displaying a level of urgency ordinarily reserved for the pursuit of doomed quarterbacks, tracked down teammate Johnny Stanton with a burning question: Hey, so, when are we gonna start up again? Garrett was referring to Dungeons & Dragons. Stanton is a reserve fullback who doubles as a dungeon master (DM), serving up a fantasy saga of puzzles to solve, people to save, and bloodthirsty baddies to slay. The regular game he oversees includes Garrett, All-Pro Browns guard Wyatt Teller, and several friends. The group first came together in September 2020 at Stanton’s behest; as the only one with any prior D&D experience, the DM began by helping everyone choose characters. Prioritizing stealth…

Josh Gibson For many years, Gibson has been cited as the true home run king. He is believed to have hit more than 800 homers in his career. Unfortunately, records exist for only a fraction of his games, and Baseball-Reference can account for only 165 long balls. (Research to uncover Negro leagues statistics for all players is ongoing.) Even with a sample of just 2,511 plate appearances, however, it’s plain to see Gibson was one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He slashed .374/.458/.719 in those at bats, including a .417/.500/.974 season in 1937 for the Homestead Grays, who played in Pittsburgh at the time. And he did all that while playing catcher! 1.474 OPS in 1937 1944 Triple Crown Satchel Paige As an interview subject, Paige was as memorable as Yogi…