August 17, 1998 Table Of Contents

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Golf Plus

The Byte Stuff What happens when the biggest name in the computer industry interfaces with golf?

By Alan Shipnuck

Basic Instinct No-frills Billy Mayfair knew precisely what to do once he took the lead in the Buick Open

By Alan Shipnuck

News & Notes

By Tom Hanson Edited by Kevin Cook

Back To School

By Jenny Chuasiriporn Edited by Kevin Cook

This Week

By Cameron Morfit

Put On A Happy Face The pros could take a lesson from a gleesome threesome of amateurs

By Cameron Morfit

Catching Up With...

John Jefferson, San Diego wide receiver August 20, 1979

By Richard Deitsch

Baseball

El Duque

New York has fallen for Yankees pitcher Orlando Hernandez, the most charismatic of the majors' new wave of international stars

By Tom Verducci

College Football

Nobody Saw It Coming Friends and family of Tito Lee, a 19-year-old Nashville football prodigy, never imagined he might kill himself, and they still don't know why he did

By Leigh Montville

NFL Preview 1998

The Toughest Job In Sports As rookies Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf are about to find out, an NFL quarterback must withstand unparalleled pressure--a fact most of their young predecessors in the 1990s learned the hard way

By Peter King

Formula For Success Other NFL teams would be wise to follow the patient lead of the Vikings, who took four-plus years to groom Brad Johnson

By Peter King

One Play Ever wonder what's going on in the mind of a quarterback between snaps? Here are 40 heart-pounding Super Bowl seconds, as seen through the eyes of Brett Favre

By Peter King

More Than Meets The Eye Jake Plummer lacks the size, arm and swagger to be a prototypical NFL quarterback. No problem. Here's why the Cardinals might be looking at the next Joe Montana

By Michael Silver

Revolutionaries No position has had greater impact on pro football than the quarterback, and in the 79-year history of the NFL these six passers have effected the most significant changes

By Paul Zimmerman

Scouting Reports How They'll Finish

1 New York Jets Retro is the hot look in the Meadowlands, as Bill Parcells continues to apply the formula that made him a two-time Super Bowl winner

By Peter King

2 New England Patriots Can Drew Bledsoe flourish under his fourth offensive mentor in as many years? That's the biggest question facing these Pats, but not the only one

By Peter King

3 Miami Dolphins As Jimmy Johnson plots it, the Dolphins will be better grounded, less Marino reliant and ready to showcase the team's homegrown talent

By Peter King

4 Buffalo Bills Thanks for the memories, but don't expect new coach Wade Phillips to wax nostalgic as he tries to restore luster to these faded former champs

By Peter King

5 Indianapolis Colts A long season figures to get even longer if new boss Bill Polian doesn't get his money's worth out of a couple of 26-year-old cornerbacks

By Peter King

1 Jacksonville Jaguars Enough with all the expansion-team talk. The linebacking corps is strong, and so, rightfully, are the team's Super Bowl aspirations

By Jeff Pearlman

2 Pittsburgh Steelers The biggest problem is secondary in nature, and therein lies the greatest cause for concern on a team gunning for its fifth straight division title

By Jeff Pearlman

3 Tennessee Oilers Settled in one place and tuned up with some new game-breaking receivers, the balanced Oilers may be the next big hit out of Nashville

By Jeff Pearlman

4 Cincinnati Bengals On a team with more than its share of woes, a quarterback controversy--Jeff Blake or Neil O'Donnell?--threatens further turmoil

By Jeff Pearlman

5 Baltimore Ravens Will a new-look backfield--featuring a man who's ready to throw his considerable weight around--plus a new offensive philosophy add up to more wins?

By Jeff Pearlman

1 Denver Broncos Having finally won the big game, the Broncos faced a big question. The answer they got augurs well for another successful season

By Michael Silver

2 Seattle Seahawks With the fiery Ricky Watters on board and the low-key Dennis Erickson turning feisty himself, a long streak of nonwinning seasons could end

By Michael Silver

3 Kansas City Chiefs With a new system that diversifies their offense, the perennial playoff flops hope to have more poise under pressure and avoid another January disaster

By Michael Silver

4 Oakland Raiders Following its worst season in 35 years, the Silver and Black start over with a rookie coach, a revamped defense and a new offensive system

By Michael Silver

5 San Diego Chargers Bobby Beathard has his golden-armed quarterback, beefed-up line and a big back, but who's going to catch Ryan Leaf's passes?

By Michael Silver

Pro Football '98

By Peter King

A Rookie's Orientation Giants safety Shaun Williams and other first-year players increase their chances for NFL success if they play it by the book

By Peter King

1 New York Giants That division title last year was no fluke. Stocked with young talent and coaches who know what to do with it, this team will only be better

By Paul Zimmerman

2 Washington Redskins Big Daddy and Big Dana should shore up the defense, but Gus Frerotte needs to toss out last year and prove he's still the man at quarterback

By Paul Zimmerman

3 Dallas Cowboys It's morning again for America's Team, which, if not better than in '97, at least has been reawakened by the arrival of Chan Gailey as coach

By Paul Zimmerman

4 Arizona Cardinals The foundation has been laid, but there's still major work to be done before the construction project is complete. Call the Plummer?

By Paul Zimmerman

5 Philadelphia Eagles Despite an off-season front-office shake-up, Ray Rhodes's team will have a difficult time improving on last year's dismal showing

By Paul Zimmerman

1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Believe it. Armed with a real, live passing attack, the Bucs now have the arsenal to take on Green Bay and take command of the division

By David Fleming

2 Green Bay Packers The former champs have a lot on the line--the defensive line, that is, where the front-four failures of '97 are casting shadows on '98

By David Fleming

3 Minnesota Vikings Dennis Green and Co. are primed for their sixth playoff appearance in seven years, but only if a suspect secondary is up to the challenge

By David Fleming

4 Detroit Lions No matter how great Barry Sanders is, this team will go nowhere fast unless quarterback Scott Mitchell can finally get his game in gear

By David Fleming

5 Chicago Bears The strategy is a sound and a sensible one for Soldier Field: Pound the ball unmercifully. But will Dave Wannstedt have the horses to make it work?

By David Fleming

1 San Francisco 49ers While the offense should return to its familiar groove, the defense--altered by many new faces--could be stingier than ever

By Austin Murphy

2 Atlanta Falcons With hopes that the offensive line is better--it can't get any worse--the mission is to protect quarterback Chris Chandler long enough to win

By Austin Murphy

3 Carolina Panthers While rolling out the welcome mat for a host of new players--and one key returnee--Carolina hopes to prove far less hospitable to opponents

By Austin Murphy

4 St. Louis Rams With patience wearing thin after another sorry season, it's time for the Rams and their quixotic quarterback to say goodbye to the alibis

By Austin Murphy

5 New Orleans Saints The defense will get its sacks, which, by the way, is what Saints fans could be wearing again unless a punchless offense comes around

By Austin Murphy

Inside

Inside THE WEEK IN SPORTS

Inside Baseball

Inside Baseball

By Tim Crothers; Mark Bechtel

The Gun of August For one month at least, Tiger Rudy York was the greatest of sluggers

By Keith Olbermann

A Cardinal's Comeback After having had cancer surgery in the spring, Eli Marrero is hitting his stride

By Mark Bechtel

Inside The NBA

Inside The NBA

By Jackie MacMullan; Alexander Wolff

Next Time, Stop the Freaking Race

By Rick Reilly

Departments

Leading Off

Letters

Scorecard

By Richard Hoffer Edited By Hank Hersch And Kostya Kennedy

SI View The Week in TV Sports

By John Walters

Faces in the Crowd