October 11, 2004 Table Of Contents
Sports Illustrated Bonus Section: SI Adventure
The death of Primal Quest competitor Nigel Aylott raises the question: Has adventure racing become too intense?
By Yi-Wyn Yen
Paraglider Will Gadd soared into the record books with a harrowing solo flight across the Grand Canyon
Meet the Wile E. Coyote of bird-watching
The Month Ahead
In This Sport, Blood Will Tell
Sports Illustrated Bonus Section: Golf Plus
Passion collides with real and imagined torments during one afflicted man's quest to discover the secret to the game
By MALCOLM MCSHANNON III
Ernie Els grabbed the brass ring at the American Express, while Tiger Woods was fitted for a band of gold
By Jim Gorant
By Mark Wood
By Jim Gorant
Voting hours at si.com: 7 p.m. EDT Sunday to 3 p.m. EDT Monday
By Jim Gorant
By Sal Johnson
By GORJUS George Lucas*
Classic Golf: The Photographs of Walter Iooss Jr. Introduction by Rick Reilly. Harry N. Abrams Inc., $35.
LETTERS
CATCHING UP WITH
OCTOBER 7, 1957
By Joe Lemire
AIR AND SPACE
By Steve Rushin
SCORECARD
SI Players: LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD
Giants Rookie Quarterback
SI Players
Jets Fifth-year Quarterback
Based on a survey of 354 players
NFL players--who are getting injured at an alarming rate (page 60)--take you inside their hard-rocked world
Who'll win on Monday night? In a preview, Packers CB Mike McKenzie and Titans LB Keith Bulluck played EA Sports Madden 2005 on Xbox Live.
The stretches of Panthers punter Todd Sauerbrun
The Questions with Ray Buchanan
Raiders Cornerback
By Ray Buchanan
Pigskin, politics, and baseball's coming back. Welcome to Hog heaven
By Adam Duerson
College Football
The Sooners are suddenly running wild thanks to true freshman Adrian Peterson, the best tailback prospect in a generation. Can Texas stop him?
Texas tailback Cedric Benson is the nation's leading rusher, but can he lead the Longhorns to a victory over OU?
By Gene Menez
Inspired by a devastating defense, Georgia roused itself against LSU and looked like a national title contender
By Kelley King
The number of unbeatens is dropping quickly, and there will be even fewer after these four big Saturday games
Baseball
Coming off an MVP-caliber season, the well-traveled, oft-maligned yet much-admired Gary Sheffield takes his cuts at Pedro, Barry and Ichiro
By Tom Verducci
In a universe of limos, personal chefs and performance-enhancers, two stars clashed
By Tom Verducci
On senior writer Tom Verducci's ballot, Barry Bonds will win his seventh MVP and Roger Clemens his seventh Cy Young
By Tom Verducci
There is no shortage of nominees when SI pays tribute to the year's Most Ridiculous Performances in the major leagues
Pro Football
A rash of major injuries raises the question of whether the NFL's oversized and ultrafast players have pushed their bodies beyond the breaking point
By Peter King
MOTOR SPORTS
His comeback from a July crash made complete by a win at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the man to beat in the Chase for the Nextel Cup
PRO FOOTBALL
Despite cerebral palsy, Doug Blevins has made himself into one of the most astute kicking coaches in the game
Five Outs Away
A year ago the Cubs and Red Sox each came that close to the World Series, only to see it all blow up in eerily similar—and all-too-familiar—fashion
By Tom Verducci
Inside
Inside the NFL
Unbeaten and atop the NFC South, Atlanta is fired up by a new coach and an aggressive defensive scheme
By Peter King
MARTIN'S FAST START
By Peter King
CARR'S DEVELOPMENT
By Peter King
By Peter King
Inside College Football
Led by aspiring doctor and former Ohio Mr. Foootball Jeff Backes, Northwestern shocked Ohio State
By Kelley King
NAVY IS 5--0
By Mark Beech
W. VIRGINIA EXPOSED
By Mark Beech
By Phil Taylor
Inside The WNBA
Playing with a maturity beyond her years, rookie Lindsay Whalen has Connecticut in its first WNBA Finals
LAUREN JACKSON: MVP?
Inside Boxing
In his first fight in 29 months, former world champ Félix Trinidad was razor sharp in a win over Ricardo Mayorga
By Franz Lidz
LIFE OF REILLY
By Rick Reilly
Departments
Sensing that his brain was going soft, the author read the encyclopedia from A to Z ... which is why he now knows more about sports than anyone should
By A.J. Jacobs
A pitcher's cheerleader outfit protected him from a serious gunshot wound
A mogul hopes to revive the prospects for the megafirm of sports marketing
The Ravens' top rusher cops a plea to avoid a trial in his drug case
By Bill Scheft
What to watch and watch for
By Julia Morrill
By Josh Elliott