February 7, 2005 Table Of Contents
AIR AND SPACE
By Steve Rushin
SCORECARD
SI Players
NOSE TO NOSE WITH... KEITH TRAYLOR Patriots/Nosetackle HANK FRALEY Eagles Center
[Based on a survey of 227 NBA players]
Two Super Bowl--bound stars earn their stripes
With careful monitoring, the Tigers' Jason Johnson confronts his diabetes
THE BEST JOKE I CAN TELL IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
By Raja Bell, Jazz Guard
The Questions with Quentin Richardson Suns Guard
Schmooze with Swann, Skynyrd or Staubach: something Super for everyone
By Adam Duerson
Super Bowl XXXIX
The NFL title game boils down to a battle between the innovative coaching staffs of New England's Bill Belichick and Philadelphia's Andy Reid. What strategy will they cook up, and which team's countermoves will win out?
By Peter King
Friends and owners Robert Kraft and Jeffrey Lurie built their teams for the long run
What Brian Westbrook Means to the Eagles
Who knows where he'll line up next? The all-purpose back is Donovan McNabb's main man
What Corey Dillon Means to the Patriots
The onetime malcontent has never been happier--and the team's run game has never been better
By Josh Elliott
PRO BASKETBALL
With a pedal-to-the-metal attack led by MVP favorite Steve Nash, the red-hot Suns are forcing the NBA to reconsider its plodding ways
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
There's Joy in Illinois
Ignited by a three-guard lineup, the top-ranked Illini have blown through opponents with surpassing ease. But will they have enough muscle in March?
By Grant Wahl
TENNIS
Serena Williams and Marat Safin gave gut-check performances to win the Australian Open and make it clear that they intend to return to the top of the game
Sports Bars
Finding The Perfect Sports Bar
You can't watch the Super Bowl just anywhere. So SI went in search of the best sports watering holes in the land. The trip took us back to the joints of the past and gave us a glimpse of the bars of the future, with a lot of long, grueling research in between. Hey, somebody's got to do it
Before it closed in 1996, the Eliot Lounge in Boston was one of the best sports bars ever
By Charles P. Pierce
Inside
The Week In Sports
Inside Skiing
Bouncing back from injuries and a midseason slump, Bode Miller kicked off the worlds with an impressive win
By Tim Layden
Breakthrough Bronze For U.S.'s Mancuso
SUPER G SURPRISE
By Tim Layden
Kildow Feels Heat Of the Spotlight
LAST RUNS
By Tim Layden
Inside The NBA
Intense? Sure. Controversial? You bet. But to the Nuggets, George Karl was the best hope for salvaging the season
By Ian Thomsen
LIFE OF REILLY
By Rick Reilly
Departments
Slammin' Sammy Sosa? It's become a favorite pastime in Chicago, where disillusionment with the slugger forced the Cubs to all but give him away
By Tom Verducci
Randy was dandy on last year's Super Bowl broadcast, but advertisers and network execs are now promising a cleaner show
An Olympic champ struggles to focus on racing following the death of his fiancée
Armed with a psych degree, a former hurler becomes the Red Sox' shrink
By Albert Chen
By Bill Scheft
Ron Jaworski
By Ron Jaworski
What to watch and watch for
By Mark Bechtel
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