Etc...

Hanging on for dear life

Torri Hutchinson was driving along I-15 in Idaho one day earlier this winter, when she realized that another motorist had pulled alongside and was pointing to the roof of her car . Not trusting his motives, she kept going for a while, but eventually pulled off the road, thinking that her ski rack might have worked its way loose. The other driver stopped, too, and emerged from his vehicle, repeating the gesture and yelling something about a cat. So she opened her window as he approached and handed her ... C.B., her pet orange tabby - safe, if a bit windblown . The critter had wanted to go along for the ride, but she'd shooed him out of the car out before leaving home, not realizing that he wasn't about to take "no" for an answer.

While most of us think of professional basketball as a big man's game, one of its smallest players - Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers - is gradually closing in on what could be his fourth scoring title. The super-quick guard is a mere 6 feet tall and weighs only 165 pounds, yet he's fearless when driving to the hoop or more than happy to rain shots from long-distance if his path to the basket is blocked. Iverson is the shortest player yet to lead the National Basketball Association in scoring, having done so three times already. Now he's leading the league again with an average of roughly 30 points per game. (In a 76er victory against the Orlando Magic Feb. 12, he threw in 60 of his team's 112 points.) NBA players who won more than one scoring title, and the number of times each compiled the league's best points-per-game average:

Michael Jordan 10
Wilt Chamberlain 7
George Gervin 4
Allen Iverson George Mikan Neil Johnston Bob McAdoo 3
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bob Petit Paul Arizin Adrian Dantley Shaquille O'Neal Tracy McGrady 2
- ESPN Sports Almanac 2005