The Lineup
DEPARTMENTS
6 Leading Off
The Cheeseheads are coming!
The Cheeseheads are coming!
12 Letters
Readers KO’d by Gary Smith but PO’d about potty humor
14 Catching Up With ...
Hello, Duke Carlisle
17 Air and Space
Somebody’s actually paying John McEnroe to talk ... to his friends ... on TV by Steve Rushin
19 Scorecard
• In defense of hard-core fans
• NHL refs whistle ex-boss
• Computers crack salary caps
• A weird week, even for Becks
• Myskina sues over topless pix
• Fever Pitch goes Hollywood
32 Faces in the Crowd
138 The Life of Reilly
Who Can Find the Syringe? And other fun steroid games for the whole family by Rick Reilly
BASEBALL
46 A Blue Streak
The Dodgers created buzz with a hot July and a flurry of trades
by Alan Shipnuck
PRO FOOTBALL
52 Back in the Running
Can the Bills count on Willis McGahee’s repaired knee?
by Peter King
OLYMPICS
54 Pooling Resources
The U.S. water polo team has trained maniacally for Athens
by Bruce Schoenfeld
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2004
62 Fountain of Youth
USC has been bolstered by blue-chippers who are ready to play from Day One
by Austin Murphy
66 The Big Switch
At LSU, multiskilled athletes are playing multiple roles
by Kelley King
70 Who Wants It?
Heisman hopefuls beware, says Jason White
by Tim Layden
76 5-Minute Guide
SI’s 2004 All-America team; Heisman picks; Must-see games
78 Scouting Reports
In-depth analysis, key returnees and breakout players for SI’s Top 25
124 The Rest, 26–117
Why Idaho is only the second-worst team in the nation
128 It Was an Ugly Day
How an elite team recovers from the carnage of a 77–0 loss
by John Ed Bradley
COVER
PHOTOGRAPHS BY PIERRE DUCHARME/REUTERS (GREEN); RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES (WHITE); DALE ZANINE/ICON SMI (GREENE); JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES (LEINART); GARY ROTHSTEIN/ICON SMI (GORE)
FLAPS: RODOLFO GONZALEZ/AP (YOUNG); AARON JOSEFCZYK/ICON SMI (ROSS)
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COLOR PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
MARK J. TERRILL/AP (CORA); BACKGROUND EXTENDED BY SI IMAGING
L.A. STORIES
Alex Cora and his Dodgers teammates are positioning themselves for the postseason.
COLOR PHOTO
JON SOOHOO/WIREIMAGE.COM (LEINART/USC)
USC quarterback Matt Leinart