Football is a game of controlled violence, but the men who play football don't always leave their violent behavior on the field. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the felons who play in the NFL. Also, a high school coach who cracks down on bad behavior, and how one pugilist turned into an American icon: the story of Muhammad Ali.

Jim Fleming talks with Jeff Benedict, co-author (with Don Yaeger) of "Pros and Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL." Benedict says that twenty one percent of the NFL players he researched have been arrested - some for serious felonies, and he cites examples. Also, former college football player Elwood Reid tells Steve Paulson about the macho world of big-time football where every player has his eye on the NFL. Reid set his first novel at the school he attended and played for. The book's called "If I Don't Six." And, Bill Miller is the football coach at Brattleboro Union High School in Vermont. He tells Jim Fleming why he keeps tabs on his players on and off the field, twelve months a year, with zero tolerance for bad behavior - including swearing.

David Remnick is the editor of The New Yorker, and author of "King of the World," a biography of Muhammad Ali. He tells Steve Paulson how Cassius Clay triumphed over Sonny Liston and became Muhammad Ali; that he was unlike anything the boxing world had ever seen; that he is true to his convictions even when it requires personal sacrifice; and that he greatly enjoys being Muhammad Ali.

Leslie Heywood is an English professor, a power lifter and author of "Pretty Good for A Girl." It's memoir that tells the story of her obsession with running - she was once the top miler in Arizona. Heywood tells Judith Strasser about the sexual harassment she endured as a young athlete; that she was sexually abused by one of her high school coaches; and that she overdid her training, resulting in an eating disorder and her eventual physical deterioration. She contrasts that world with the supportive community she finds among her fellow weight lifters.

Distribution dates:

• week of 12/27/98 - hour 1