December 6, 2004 Table Of Contents
SI Adventure
Freeride champion Tanner Hall, cofounder of Armada Skis, is just one of a new generation of action sports entrepreneurs who know the future belongs to them
A daring jump over Tour riders in France in 2003 has helped a clothing line soar
By Yi-Wyn Yen
From moviemaking to fashion design to Maxim exposure, a snowboarder finds ways to keep busy
By Yi-Wyn Yen
Carving Out a New Market Space
A former pro surfer is reinventing adventure fashion with an eclectic blend of art and commerce
By Yi-Wyn Yen
By championing his sport's asphalt roots, one skater is rolling up a sizable fortune
By Yi-Wyn Yen
LETTERS
CONTRIBUTORS
AIR AND SPACE
By Steve Rushin
SCORECARD
SI Players
Falcons Defensive End
Based on a survey of 354 players
The Questions with Dwan Edwards
Ravens Defensive Tackle
By Dwan Edwards
RICHARD ALSTON/ Browns Wide Receiver
Expert advice from a newly booted punter
Richard Seymour is the best dressed player on the NFL's best team
Richie Anderson, Dallas Cowboys Fullback
Twenty years after they came over on the Mayflower (moving vans), the Colts are happily part of the Hoosier landscape
By Adam Duerson
The 2004 Boston Red Sox staged the most improbable comeback in baseball history and liberated their long-suffering nation of fans
By Tom Verducci
Sportsmen of the Year
MOTOR SPORTS
In the closest title chase in NASCAR history, Kurt Busch survived a wheel-dropping,roller-coaster race at Homestead--Miami Speedway to take the inaugural Nextel Cup
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Good things have come in pairs this season as three of the nation's top four teams have two bona fide candidates for the Heisman Trophy
College Football
A steady passer and a spectacular back, each making the other look good, have USC sitting pretty
By Phil Taylor
All Is Not Golden for These Bears
Cal's Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Arrington have the numbers, but not the national profiles
The man who runs the offensive show for unbeaten Utah, quarterback Alex Smith stands alone as a Heisman candidate
By Kelley King
PRO BASKETBALL
After five ankle operations and four lost seasons, forward Grant Hill has returned to the Magic, exhibiting a familiar all-around brilliance
After a near-fatal accident, Jay Williams is on his feet and in a rush to play again
By Chris Mannix
PRO FOOTBALL
It's been a long fall from the top for the once-mighty Dolphins and 49ers, who met in a game devoid of playoff implications but with plenty of draft-day importance
Pickings could be slim at the top of the 2005 draft
By Peter King
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
NBA scouts, college coaches and shoe reps have been enamored with 7-foot center Greg Oden for two years--and he's still only halfway through high school
By Tim Layden
PAINTBALL
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?
On June 27, 1981, Charles Gaines and some friends went into the New Hampshire woods to settle an argument by shooting paint at one another. Look what they came back with
Paintball
Its origins lie in kids' games, but there's nothing immature about the booming Paintball industry
By Mark Beech
TRACK AND FIELD
Many fans just can't believe that Jeremy Wariner, the Olympic 400-meter champ, is white—and they've argued it out on the Web
By Gary Smith
Inside
The Week in Sports
Inside the NBA
Seattle is off to a scorching start thanks to Ray Allen, who's having so much fun he might just stick around for a while
By Ian Thomsen
Inside College Basketball
Wake Forest's Justin Gray showcased his toughness--and talent--in leading the Demon Deacons to the NIT title
By Seth Davis
Inside College Football
Eleven coaches have stepped down or been fired in the last month. How many more will follow--and who will they be?
By Mark Beech
GAMES TO WATCH
By Mark Beech
Inside Motor Sports
Despite a tragedy that rocked his team, Jimmie Johnson roared to the most Cup wins and is SI's Driver of the Year
Inside the NFL
The Vikings' hopes of winning the NFC North hinge on whether game-breaker Randy Moss can stay healthy
By Peter King
COLTS' PASSING GAME
By Peter King
VP PIOLI STAYING PUT
By Peter King
By Peter King
By Peter King
LIFE OF REILLY
By Rick Reilly
Departments
Why do so many coaches who look like geniuses in college seem to lose their faculties in the NFL? Going pro isn't easy, but here's how it can be done
By Peter King
Star players like Landon Donovan are leaving MLS for Europe. Is this a disaster--or a sign that American soccer is coming of age?
By Grant Wahl
The ugly incident at The Palace of Auburn Hills is still sending out ripples
By Albert Chen
After 81 years one of the Babe's bats is back
Harry Statham found a home, and a pile of wins, in the NAIA
By Albert Chen
By Bill Scheft
By Leroy Neiman
What to watch and watch for
By Julia Morrill
By Nancy Ramsey
Looking Ahead in College Football
Stewart Mandel's Bowl Projections
Who's going where in January.