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SLAM! Sports Century in Review INTERACTIVE CONTESTS ALSO ON SLAM!  |
1999 STARS Baseball Pedro Martinez Fourth unanimous winner of American League Cy Young Award ... Went 23-4 with 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts for Boston, two years after winning NL award with Montreal ... All-Star Game MVP with five strikeouts in two innings. Chipper Jones National League MVP with 29 of 32 first-place votes ... Earned award by batting .319 with 45 home runs, 110 RBIs, leading injury-depleted Braves to NL East championship ... First Atlanta MVP since Terry Pendleton in 1991. Randy Johnson Won NL Cy Young Award with Arizona to go with 1995 AL Award with Seattle ... Went 17-9 with 2.48 ERA ... Struck out 364 batters, just 19 short of Nolan Ryan's 1973 record of 383 ... At 6-foot-10 is nicknamed Big Unit. Ivan Rodriguez Beat out Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez as surprise winner of AL MVP ... Premier defensive catcher in the game ... Threw out 39 of 72 runners trying to steal (54 percent) ... Batted .332 with 35 home runs, 113 RBIs. Football John Elway Completed brilliant NFL career as MVP of Super Bowl ... Led Denver to fifth Super Bowl and second straight championship ... Winningest quarterback in NFL history with 148-82-1 record ... Passed for 51,475 yards and 300 TDs. Kurt Warner Unlikely hero of St. Louis' surprise season ... Former NFL Europe and Arena League quarterback ... Stepped in when Trent Green went down in preseason and led Rams to postseason for first time since 1989. Ron Dayne Heisman Trophy winner ... Broke Ricky Williams' NCAA career rushing record, running for 6,379 yards ... Averaged 5.2 yards per carry in four years at Wisconsin ... Rushed for 1,834 yards and 19 TDs in regular season. Basketball Karl Malone Won second regular-season MVP award, leading Jazz to a tie for league's best record at 37-13 ... Averaged 23.9 points and reached 28,000-point plateau for career ... One of NBA's 50 greatest players. Tim Duncan Emerged as a major force in just second NBA season, averaging 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds ... Joined David Robinson in twin towers formation for San Antonio ... MVP of Finals, leading Spurs to first championship. Yolanda Griffith WNBA's regular-season MVP ... Led league with 11.3 rebounds and 2.52 steals, second in scoring with 18.8 points per game for Sacramento Monarchs ... Also named Defensive Player of the year and Newcomer of the Year. Cynthia Cooper Playoff MVP for third straight year, leading Houston Comets to another WNBA championship ... Regular-season scoring champion had 24 points including 13 of 15 foul shots in championship game against New York Liberty. Richard Hamilton MVP of Connecticut's NCAA championship, scoring 27 points in championship game against Duke ... Averaged 19.8 points in three years with Huskies ... First-round draft choice by NBA Washington Wizards. Ukari Figgs Led Purdue to first-ever NCAA women's basketball championship ... Scored all of her 18 points in second half, including six straight free throws in final minutes as Boilermakers overcame five-point halftime deficit against Duke. Hockey Joe Nieuwendyk Led Dallas Stars to first Stanley Cup, earning Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of finals ... Scored 11 goals, tying Joe Sakic's record with six game-winners ... Had 28 goals in regular season, pushing career total to 425. Jason Krog Winner of the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey's Heisman Trophy ... Led New Hampshire to NCAA championship game ... Led nation in scoring with 34 goals and 51 assists ... Signed by NHL New York Islanders. Golf Tiger Woods Won eight tour events, first player since Johnny Miller in 1974 to reach that total in one season ... Swept last four events of the year, first since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four straight ... Earned record $6,616,885 for season, about $900,000 more than Jack Nicklaus earned for PGA career. Karrie Webb Winner of six events ... Had 22 top-10 finishes in 25 events ... Set tour season scoring average record at 69.43, more than a half-stroke better than old mark. U.S. Ryder Cup Team Overcame 10-6 deficit to win Cup ... Won 81/2 of possible 12 points in final day's singles matches ... Clinched Cup on Justin Leonard's 45-foot putt on 17th hole. Tennis Andre Agassi Finished No. 1 for first time in career, two years after being ranked No. 141 on the ATP Tour computer ... Completed personal Grand Slam by winning French Open, just fifth player to win all four majors ... Won second U.S. Open, his fifth major title. Lindsay Davenport Won second Grand Slam title, capturing Wimbledon ... Then ended the season with back-to-back victories over No. 1 Martina Hingis at Advanta and Chase Championships ... Won seven tournaments during season. Track and Field Maurice Greene Swept 100 and 200 meters at U.S. Championships ... Became first to sweep 100 and 200 in any World Championships, winning 100 in 9.80, only .01 off his own world record ... Set world record of 9.79 for 100 at Athens. Gabriela Szabo Swept all seven Golden League meets at 5,000 meters ... Won world title at 5,000 meters ... Won Grand Prix final at 3,000 meters ... Earned $1,015,000 for year. Cycling Lance Armstrong Won Tour de France less than three years after being given only 50-percent chance of survival from testicular cancer that spread to his brain and lungs ... Winning margin was 7 minutes, 37 seconds ... Joined three-time winner Greg LeMond as only Americans to win marquee cycling race. Auto Racing Juan Montoya Rookie from Colombia, won seven poles, seven races, giving Chip Ganassi's team unprecedented fourth straight CART PPG Cup championship ... Tied Dario Franchitti for title, winning championship on the basis of victories. Dale Jarrett Won first Winston Cup championship ... Second-generation driver ... Father, Ned, won two series championships ... They join Lee and Richard Petty as lone father-son champions ... Won four races, finished in the top five in 24 of 34 races. Soccer U.S. Women Won third Women's World Cup ... Clinched title after 120 scoreless minutes against China ... In shootout, goalkeeper Briana Scurry stopped China's third shooter, Liu Ying, and Brandi Chastain scored clinching goal. Horse Racing Charismatic Ex-claimer won Kentucky Derby as 30-1 shot ... Repeated in Preakness ... Broke down in Belmont trying to become 12th Triple Crown winner ... Jockey Chris Antley hopped off and lifted horse's leg, perhaps saving his life. Boxing Lennox Lewis Finished year as boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion since Riddick Bowe ... Fought Evander Holyfield to disputed draw in March then won unanimous decision in rematch to end debate over title. 
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