TheLineup
BASEBALL
44 The Pride of St. Louis
The Cardinals have baseball's strongest lineup, but are they armed enough for October?
by Daniel G. Habib
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
50 Back to Odessa
A movie based on Friday Night Lights took the author on a long-dreaded journey to the West Texas oil patch
by H.G. Bissinger
PRO FOOTBALL
56 Turned Around by a Tackle
Led by lineman Marcus Stroud, the surprising Jaguars stayed unbeaten
by Josh Elliott
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
62 The Big Ten's Big Shift
Purdue is leading a realignment of the conference's pecking order
by Austin Murphy
BOOK EXCERPT
66 The Czar Is Born
In 1963 Pete Rozelle, despite personal turmoil, positioned the NFL to conquer the sports world
by Michael MacCambridge
Departments
4 Leading Off
10 Catching Up With ...
14 Letters
19 Air and Space
The NHL is locked out. Do any of you hosers care? by Steve Rushin
20 Scorecard
• Ichiro raises the singles bar
• Montreal bids Expos adieu
• U.S. faces tough Davis Cup final
31 Faces in the Crowd
33 Players
88 The Life of Reilly
Stats, schmats. I'd slap asterisks on half of them
by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
76 College Football
• Quarterback leads Louisville to 3-0
• Boise State rolls up points, victories
78 Tennis
• Roger Federer, SI's player of the year
80 The NFL
• Dennis Green's struggles in Arizona
84 Baseball
• Dodgers starters hanging in there
Cover
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID E. KLUTHO
INSET PHOTOS: Donald Uhrbrock/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images (Rozelle); Louis DeLuca (Ichiro); © Robert Clark
COVER FLAP: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
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BOB ROSATO (BACKGROUND EXTENDED BY SI IMAGING)
NOTRE DOOM?
Purdue's Kyle Orton will be tested in South Bend on Saturday (page 62).
COLOR PHOTO
COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE ADULT TRADE PUBLISHING GROUP (BOOK COVER)