Mad #408 (Nick Meglin and John Ficarra) - 50 Worst Things About Sports Issue - August 2001

Writer Desmond Devlin was correct about at least two of his sports predictions: #13 "The sinking notion that, somewhere out there, Dennis Rodman isn't done with us yet" and #24 "The football owners still won't change the racist 'Washington Redskins' name ..."  Both of these "Worsts" are still with us 13 years later.  However, Devlin should not complain so loudly about the "Massengill Disposable Douche Arena" since his employers started selling full-page ads with issue #403 and may someday be known as the "Corn Nuts Mad Magazine".  Artist Tom Richmond once again drew the feature article since he is apparently the only Mad caricaturist who does his own color.  I hope he gets extra bucks for his pages.  Richmond seemed to be channeling Jack Davis with his sports figures (#10 "The fact that players who choke their coaches have never been matched up with coaches who choke their players." and #32 "The pommel horse ...").  The drawings of Shaq (#1), Randy Johnson (#2), and Mark McGwire (#26) are among the best ever for sports celebrities.  It was also good to see three full pages of distinctive drawings by George Woodbridge (1930-2004) for Amy Gillett's "A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a National Park".

Color Pages: 36 of 60 pages (60%)
Humorous Content: 50 of 60 pages (83%)

Departments:
Let the Shames Begin - Mad's 50 Worst Things About Sports
Serge-In General - A Mad Look at The Mummy Returns
We Bring You Fleetings - 15 Minutes of Fame - Mad's Latest Disposable Dozen
Tales From the Duck Side - The Miracle Jerker
Scars & Gripes Forever - The Garish Institute for Impulsive Plastic Surgery
Tele-Chubby - The King-Size of Queens
Yosemite Sham - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at a National Park
When Eat Meets Jest - Mad's Guide to Out-of-Business Theme Restaurants ... and the Reason They Went Belly Up
Angster's Paradise - Monroe & ... The TV Commercial
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Display's the Thing - Dashboard "Idiot Lights" We Desperately Need
Schlock Till You Drop - The Shoddier Image Catalog
Mennonite of the Living Dead - If the Amish Used Zombies to do Their Chores [fake department]
Danson in the Dark - Bicker
Grieving Las Vegas - Mad's Celebrity Cause-of-Death Betting Odds [Carson Daly]

Fold-In - Harry Potter