To know list: 8 early contenders for the home run crown.(Know It All)(includes multiple articles )

[1] THE RANKING FILE

It's a whole new world

By now you've heard that this week's Masters could be a celestial battle of the golf stars, a titanic tilt of a tournament you later will be able to look back upon and say, "Was that some phat action or what?" But what will it mean to the world rankings? Great question, Forrest.

At the risk of turning a personality-rich story into a stat, No. 1 Vijay Singh and No. 2 Tiger Woods currently are separated by a mere 0.20 average points per tournament in the world rankings. What are the rules of the rankings? Well, they're complicated. Essentially, a great performance among a great field means a greater number of points, thereby increasing your average and hip-hopping you up the charts.

In addition, the top-gun back and forth could include Ernie Els, who many forget spent nine weeks as the No. 1 in the world, long ago, back when buying a gas-guzzling, wheel-rotating SUV was a reasonable idea. He trails Woods by 0.84, which can be made up with a Masters win and a couple of Tiger tournament tamings. Then there's everybody's favorite lefty, Phil Mickelson, fourth in the world but trying harder. He's a fair piece back in points--even after playing in last weekend's wet Masters warmup, the BellSouth Classic--as the other three putted down the road at Augusta. But he's gung-ho and gaining, and, gosh, he has great teeth.

Whatever. All you need to know is that Singh and Woods are going to be spending more time fighting at the top of the charts than 50 Cent and The Game. Hate it or love it, the days of one player dominating the rankings for 264 straight weeks--as Woods did before he was dethroned by Singh--are done.--Paul Grant

[2] REMOTELY INTERESTING