- Publish date:
The Lineup
Departments
6 Leading Off
12 Catching Up With ...
15 Letters
17 Air and Space
Yuta man! Or, how a 5'8" guard became the first Japanese player in the NBA by Steve Rushin
18 Scorecard
• Why women's pro sports struggle
• Pressure mounts on Paterno to go
• Ex-jock pols: 2004 vote roundup
30 Faces in the Crowd
33 Players
104 The Life of Reilly
I feel Latrell Sprewell's pain, and I'm thinking about how I can increase it by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
96 Track
• Radcliffe wins NYC marathon
98 Baseball
• Schilling is SI's Player of the Year
100 College Football
• Hawaii's Chang sets pass mark
PRO BASKETBALL
44 One-Man Showtime
Kobe Bryant owns the Lakers, and his work is cut out for him
by Chris Ballard
NFL MIDSEASON REPORT
52 Back in the Running
The well-grounded Steelers are a Super Bowl contender again
by Peter King
• Can Giants, Lions and Texans live up to new expectations?
by Jeffri Chadiha
60 Cool Brees
Drew Brees has the surprising Chargers atop the AFC West
by Josh Elliott
66 A Free Bird
A new scheme sets Falcons defender Patrick Kerney loose
by Michael Silver
• Dr. Z's second-half forecast
• SI's midseason All-Pro team
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
74 Four Big Guys in Red
A defensive line could take unbeaten Wisconsin all the way
by Karl Taro Greenfeld
SPECIAL REPORT
80 Get Out and Play!
U.S. children are alarmingly overweight, but new programs are teaching them the benefits--and joys--of exercise
by Tim Layden
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY
AL TIELEMANS
INSET PHOTO: John W. McDonough
COVER FLAP PHOTO: James Schnepf
• Peter King previews the upcoming weekend in pro football in King's Corner--a new Web-only video segment that appears on si.com every Thursday--and weighs in on every game in his NFL Pickoff.
COLOR PHOTO
JOHN W. MCDONOUGH; BACKGROUND EXTENDED BY SI IMAGING
EIGHT ISN'T ENOUGH
The Lakers haven't done well when Kobe Bryant goes one-on-five (page 44).
