TheLineup
Departments
4 Leading Off
10 Letters
13 Air and Space
Sport is a religion, so the Vatican knows how to play by Steve Rushin
14 Scorecard
• Ebersol brings NFL back to NBC
• Tar Heels' mass defection to pros
• Remembering Big House Gaines
• Elijah Wood: hobbit to hooligan
25 Faces in the Crowd
27 Players
72 The Life of Reilly
Extreme ChickFights are bloody and deadly, but some paying customers think they're sexy by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
68 Baseball
• Wanted: shortstops with power
• White Sox lefty off to hot start
70 Hockey
• U.S. takes fresh faces to worlds
• Swedish stars shun national team
PRO FOOTBALL
34 From Auburn to NFL
Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown began a run on Tigers in the first round of the draft
by Michael Silver
BASEBALL
42 Ragtag Wonders
With an early push into first place, the rejiggered Dodgers are making their G.M. look smart
by Michael Farber
NBA PLAYOFFS
46 Texas Tough
Propelled by Tracy McGrady, Houston stunned the Mavericks with two wins in Dallas
by Jack McCallum
CYCLING
50 Get on My Wheel
Lance Armstrong, preparing for France, helped a teammate win the Tour de Georgia
by Austin Murphy
BOOK EXCERPT
54 The Devil's Teeth
Just off the California coast is a playground for the fearsome great white shark
by Susan Casey
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY
INSET PHOTO: Simon Bruty
SI Extra
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• Complete coverage of the NBA playoffs--including Marty Burns's postgame fast breaks, plus Web-exclusive analysis from Chris Ballard, Chris Mannix, Jack McCallum and Ian Thomsen--at SI.com/nba.
COLOR PHOTO
MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS
HEE GOT IT
Dodgers first baseman Hee-Seop Choi gives a ground ball tough glove (page 42).
COLOR PHOTO
PETER PYLE (INSET)
