August 30, 1999 Table Of Contents

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Golf Plus

The Week Aug. 17-23

Out Of The Woods Demonized at the PGA championship, David Duval found the International to be a little slice of heaven

By Jaime Diaz

Notebook

By Alan Shipnuck Edited by Cameron Morfit

My Shot It's downright un-American that the PGA can keep a U.S. citizen off the Ryder Cup team

By Neville W. Cramer Edited by Cameron Morfit

Class Act At Pebble Beach A Tour caddie proved himself a winner at the Amateur in every way

By Alan Shipnuck

Catching Up With...

Jack Tatum, Devastating Defender November 9, 1970

By Richard Deutsch

Si View

SI View The Week in TV Sports

By John Walters

Slamming Samnesia Our handy updated lexicon defines some afflictions spread by sports media

By Steve Rushin

Baseball

Grade A's With shrewd trades, strong pitching and pop at the plate, low budget Oakland is making a startling run for the American League wild-card berth

By Michael Farber

Track & Field

Twice As Nice Marion Jones and usually overshadowed husband C.J. Hunter turned the world championships into a family affair

By Tim Layden

Inside

Inside THE WEEK IN SPORTS

Inside Olympic Sports

Inside Olympic Sports

By Stephen Cannella; Josh Elliott; Brian Cazeneuve

Dragila Vaults Into History

By Tim Layden

Inside Baseball

Inside Baseball

By Jeff Pearlman And Stephen Cannella; David Sabino

Getting The Thumb One of 22 dismissed umpires, Tom Hallion faces a nightmare come true

By Ian Thomsen

Inside Tennis

Inside Tennis

By L. Jon Wertheim

1999 NFL Preview

The Path To Power How did pro football become, at century's end, the titan of American sports? Eight landmarks, one from each decade of the NFL's existence, were critical to its success

By Peter King; Paul Zimmerman; Austin Murphy; Michael Silver

Fun In The Sun For some summer socializing, we introduced seven Hall of Famers from the 20th century to seven players we expect to make a splash in the 21st century. The results were, um, revealing

Joy Ride Cool, confident cornerback Charles Woodson is hell on wheels for the Raiders' improved defense

By Michael Silver

Game Plan SI huddled with a handful of NFL heavyweights to discuss the state of the game--and where it's headed

By Peter King; Bill Ford Jr.; Ron Wolf; Mike Shanahan; David Hill; Gene Upshaw; Paul Tagliabue; Cris Carter

Dr.Z's All-Century Team

By Paul Zimmerman

Scouting Reports

1 New York Jets Bill Parcells will tackle the task of taking a third franchise to the Super Bowl, an unprecedented feat, but he'll have to do it with a revamped offensive line

By Tim Crothers

2 Miami Dolphins After once again gagging on the ground game, Jimmy Johnson looked for help in the draft, where he hopes he's found a Diesel-powered solution

By Tim Crothers

3 Buffalo Bills Not about to rest on his laurels, even after a season that played out like a Hollywood script, a diminutive star is planning a blockbuster sequel

By Tim Crothers

4 New England Patriots Can they return to the playoffs? The bigger question is: Can two of their best players, Terry Glenn and Willie McGinest, stay healthy?

By Tim Crothers

5 Indianapolis Colts Their fate rides largely on two gutsy off-season calls by club president Bill Polian: the trading of Marshall Faulk and the drafting of Edgerrin James

By Tim Crothers

1 Jacksonville Jaguars Everything is in place offensively, so the chances for a first trip to the Super Bowl will ride on the play of an underachieving defense

By David Fleming

2 Tennessee Titans The nickname, uniforms, logo and stadium are all new, and so is this season's passing strategy for quarterback Steve McNair: Go long

By David Fleming

3 Pittsburgh Steelers If an unsettled offensive line doesn't get its act together, a second consecutive nonplayoff season could be in the offing for coach Bill Cowher and Co.

By David Fleming

4 Baltimore Ravens Improved play in the secondary is of primary importance for a team that regularly ranks near the bottom of the league in pass defense

By David Fleming

5 Cincinnati Bengals They'll go as far as running back Corey Dillon's legs can carry them, which, for the team with the AFC's worst record in the '90s, shouldn't be far

By David Fleming

6 Cleveland Browns What does an expansion team do when it spends $48 million on a rookie quarterback? It invests heavily in blockers who can keep him in one piece

By David Fleming

1 Denver Broncos To get an idea of the array of talent available to the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, just check them out from one end of the line to the other

By Austin Murphy

2 Seattle Seahawks All the pieces seem to be coming together under Mike Holmgren, but the defense will have to make do without its mastermind

By Austin Murphy

3 Oakland Raiders The well-worn quarterback carousel spins the other way now, with style (Jeff George) having been replaced by substance (Rich Gannon)

By Austin Murphy

4 Kansas City Chiefs The new regime has an old-fashioned approach, including a 53-year-old, first-time head coach and a straight-ahead plan of attack

By Austin Murphy

5 San Diego Chargers After a season of discontent there's reason to be upbeat: Ryan Leaf is out, two veteran passers are in, and the new coach, unlike the old one, is a nice guy

By Michael Silver

1 Dallas Cowboys The talent is there to rule again in this weakest of divisions, but two straight late-season collapses make you wonder: Can this team of aging stars hold up?

By Paul Zimmerman

2 New York Giants Can the question mark hovering over the quarterback position be favorably resolved? If so, the season will be punctuated with a playoff spot

By Paul Zimmerman

3 Arizona Cardinals A much tougher schedule and some notable player defections mean that improving upon last year's playoff excitement probably isn't in the Cards

By Paul Zimmerman

4 Washington Redskins A new administration has taken over in the nation's capital and heads are rolling, but with all the changes it still figures to be business as usual: no playoffs

By Paul Zimmerman

5 Philadelphia Eagles What can you say about a team with no deep threat, no experience at quarterback, a lackluster ground game and a porous defense? Better luck next year

By Paul Zimmerman

1 Minnesota Vikings The season starts in Atlanta, but whether they return there for the Super Bowl will depend on how they rebound from that shocking NFC title-game loss

By Peter King

2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Success is dependent on the performance of sixth-year quarterback Trent Dilfer, who (this time we mean it) is facing a make-or-break season

By Peter King

3 Green Bay Packers New coach and old friend Ray Rhodes is singing a one-big-happy-family tune as the Pack makes one more run, but Father Time is creeping up

By Peter King

4 Detroit Lions Even with a dangerous set of wide receivers and a promising young quarterback, mediocrity will be the team's lot in the first year of Life After Barry

By Peter King

5 Chicago Bears Charismatic quarterback Cade McNown has shown early flashes of brilliance, giving new coach Dick Jauron and Windy City fans reason for hope

By Peter King

1 Atlanta Falcons Nobody picked them to reach the Super Bowl a year ago, so now they want to prove it was no fluke. A fallen star intends to help his teammates do just that

By Michael Silver

2 San Francisco 49ers Seeing no other way to deal with a trouble spot, the Niners take a chance on two running backs whose troubles, the club hopes, are behind them

By Michael Silver

3 St. Louis Rams It may be the third year of Dick Vermeil's coaching reign, but it's Day One for an offense that has a fresh arm and new legs after a major off-season makeover

By Michael Silver

4 New Orleans Saints After the all-or-nothing drafting of Ricky Williams, pressure is on the offensive line to pave his way--and the trenchmen say they're up to the challenge

By Michael Silver

5 Carolina Panthers After a fall from grace, a humbled team looks to new coach George Seifert to show it how to win again--and lay the foundation for a perennial contender

By Michael Silver

School Of Professional Athletics

By Rick Reilly

Departments

Leading Off

Letters

Scorecard

By Jack McCallum and Tim Crothers Edited By Mark Mravic

Faces In The Crowd