August 16, 2004 Table Of Contents
Sports Illustrated Bonus Section: Golf Plus
Heartbreakingly close in the first three majors of the season, Ernie Els has one last chance to turn a disappointing year into a great one
By Seth Davis
Chris DiMarco’s Ryder Cup hopes went from lock to longshot in two hellish days
By Jim Gorant
Rod Pampling won the International by playing smart and swinging hard, as he did on a 182-yard seven-iron shot that set up his critical eagle at 17
By Kent Cayce
Voting hours at si.com: 7 p.m. EST Sunday to 3 p.m. EST Monday
By Sal Johnson
By GORJUS George Lucas*
Catching Up With ...
OCTOBER 21, 1963
Air and Space
By Steve Rushin
BASEBALL
Coming off a red-hot July and a flurry of deadline trades, the Dodgers are the talk of L.A. again
Baseball
A Chance of Sunshine in Florida
The Marlins are counting on newly acquired catcher Paul Lo Duca to spark them to a second-half turnaround
By Tom Verducci
PRO FOOTBALL
The Bills’ Willis McGahee showed flashes of his old form as he put his surgically reconstructed knee to its toughest test yet
BY Peter King
THE OLYMPICS
The U.S. water polo team has trained maniacally for Athens, driven by a new coach who expects them to walk on water
2004 College Football Preview
USC football has been revitalized thanks to a wellspring of blue-chip recruits who contribute right away
LSU’s Nick Saban is the master at signing multiskilled athletes and putting them at the right positions
By Kelley King
Jason White has a message for Matt Leinart: Winning the trophy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
By Tim Layden
By Gene Menez
The loss of a slew of starters doesn’t faze the Trojans, whose remaining stars are aligned for another title
Forget those final two games? No chance. Last year’s late collapse has the Sooners more fired up for ’04
Picking up where they left off last year, the Tigers and their dominant defense are rarin’ to geaux
By Kelley King
With wideout Fred Gibson healthy, focused and ready to lead, the Dawgs have the legs for a title run
By Mark Beech
A quick, powerful offensive line will help push the ACC newcomers to the forefront of the conference
By Kelley King
A go-for-broke defense led by a hog-wild linebacker will make Year 3 of the Ron Zook era the best yet
By Kelley King
The Longhorns’ mission: Beat Oklahoma. If they do, Vince Young could lead them to a Big 12 championship
Spearheaded by a butt-kicking Butkus Award hopeful, the Buckeyes will reassert their Big Ten supremacy
With a healthy one-two punch out of the backfield, the Seminoles look to fight off the ACC’s newcomers
By Kelley King
Boasting the nation’s best back, the reigning Big 12 champs (take that, Sooners!) go for two in a row
With no veteran passer to bail out the offense, the pressure is on the running game to carry the Vols
By Mark Beech
If Braylon Edwards’s new outlook is any indication, the Wolverines are serious about another Big Ten title
The Tigers have retooled their offense--and put the disappointments of last year behind them
Stop Brad Smith: It’s the easy answer to beating the Tigers but one of the hardest tasks in college football
Inspired by LSU’s defense-led national championship, the hard-hitting Hawkeyes are setting their sights high
By Gene Menez
The powerful right arm of Charlie Whitehurst elevates the Tigers from also-ran status to ACC contenders
By Mark Beech
The ACC’s stingiest defense has lost key personnel, but thanks to D’Qwell Jackson, none of its sting
By Mark Beech
With a strong season from country-boy quarterback Kellen Clemens, the Ducks will make hay in the Pac-10
By Gene Menez
Having climbed to the top of the Mountain West, the Utes are now ready to make their BCS push
By Gene Menez
The Mountaineers’ skilled and experienced offensive line will clear a path to the Big East’s BCS bowl bid
By Mark Beech
Change is in the air in Lincoln: The once-grounded Huskers embrace Bill Callahan’s West Coast offense
By Kelley King
A prolific passer and a first-class wideout corps headline the most promising Bears team in ages
A big-bang backfield and a dominant line have the Gophers believing this is their breakthrough season
With a strong line fronting a potent and balanced offense, the Horned Frogs will again be bowl-bound
By Gene Menez
Record-setting quarterback Bruce Gradkowski pilots a Rockets offense that’s ready to soar into the elite
COMPILED BY Richard Deitsch
exactly as forecast. A steady mist was falling; the air was cold. The thing about football is, nobody worth a damn ever ran out on the field believing he couldn’t win.
The Life of Reilly
HEY, KIDS! HERE ARE COOL PUZZLES TO SOLVE WHILE WE WAIT TO SEE WHICH OLYMPIC MEDALISTS FLUNK DRUG TESTS IN ATHENS
By Rick Reilly
Departments
As World Cup qualifying kicks off, teenager Eddie Gaven could have the brightest future of any U.S. prospect
By Grant Wahl
Embrace your inner couch potato: Research shows the best and the brightest are often those who cheer the loudest for their favorite team
Disgruntled NHL officials accuse their Hall of Fame ex-boss of corruption
By Mark Bechtel
By Mark Bechtel
By Mark Bechtel
By Bill Syken
BECKHAM’S WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN IT
By Mark Bechtel
By Bill Scheft
By Matt Lauer
WHAT TO WATCH AND WATCH FOR
By Julia Morr
By Mark Bechtel
By Mark Bechtel