As the year comes to a close, it's time to take a look at the 2002 newsmakers in the world of sports. I drew up this list for the "2003 ESPN Information Please Almanac." You've already seen Part I, now check out Part II. Sure, there are some names missing, but at some point you have to make a call. This is a tough business.

Pete Sampras
Unlike boxing, in which one punch can do the job, tennis requires two weeks of grueling effort. Because of that drawn-out process, age matters in tennis. And we had seen Sampras labor recently through many tough losses.

	Pete Sampras has won a record 14 Grand Slam singles titles.

It seemed he'd lost the greatness that championships require. The only question was, "When are you going to retire?" But now, after winning the 2002 US Open, a new question arises: Are you coming back to try to win it again?

Annika Sorenstam
Does anyone really know what kind of year this woman had? She out-Tigered Tiger in terms of sheer dominance. To recap: 20 events entered, nine wins, 17 top 10s, 15 top threes, one major victory and one missed cut. She has 17 wins in the last two years alone. Sorenstam's 2002 reminds me of Steffi Graf's 1988 when Graf won all four majors and the Olympic gold medal. The problem is that women's golf is just not in the same league as women's tennis. But Annika Sorenstam has proven she's in a league of her own.

Michael Schumacher
While we're discussing sports that Americans don't care about, how about Michael Schumacher? In 2002 the man accomplished things in a race car that no one ever had in the 53-year history of Formula One racing. In 17 races on the F1 circuit, Schumacher won ... 11 of them. And he was runner-up five more times. His "worst" showing of the year was a third-place finish in Malaysia. He must have stopped for coffee during the race. His naysayers claim the success is due more to the Ferrari he drives than Schumacher himself. Just remember he won two championships in the mid '90s when he wasn't driving a Ferrari.

Bud Selig
The All Star game fiasco was not his fault. He can't help it if the managers are not playing to win. But that fits the year Bud had, which was a pretty good one. I don't think he meant to contract any teams. But it was a scare tactic that worked. He also used the 9/11 anniversary and the public's take on drug testing to his advantage. He did what he had to do and kept the best interests of the game front and center. It all added up to the owners' first "win" in labor negotiations with the players' union.

	Smith

Emmitt Smith
Everybody's gone. Jimmy, Troy, Michael, Moose, Deion. Only Emmitt remains. And plenty of people think he's staying around too long. But maybe he needed to outlast the other stars from his championship days for us to appreciate him. Even Emmitt admits that if Barry Sanders had kept playing, the record would be his. But Smith is now the NFL's all-time leading rusher. And with the NFL's current emphasis on the pass, Emmitt only missing five games in his whole career and the short careers of most running backs, this record may be his for a while.