The Lineup
JUNE 6, 2005
VOLUME 102, NO. 23
Departments
4 Leading Off
13 Letters
15 Air and Space
Americans don't flip out, they flip off, especially in the sports world by Steve Rushin
16 Scorecard
• Are Upshaw, Tagliabue too cozy?
• Rickey-san's latest comeback
• Ron Howard on the grill
27 Faces in the Crowd
28 Players
86 The Life of Reilly
This is a column about E.D. It's very serious. Well, if you don't count the corked-bat joke by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
82 Tennis
• Spanish men reign in Paris
83 The NFL
• Don't count out Tedy Bruschi yet
84 Baseball
• Upton is probable No. 1 draft pick
BASEBALL
38 State of Mind
Alex Rodriguez is gaining acceptance in New York. It helps to be the league's leading slugger
by Tom Verducci
SOFTBALL
44 A Big Hit
As the Women's College World Series opens, the sport is soaring in popularity
by Michael Silver
NBA PLAYOFFS
48 Among Giants
With Detroit's big men looming large, Shaquille O'Neal tried to rise to the challenge for Miami
by Ian Thomsen
AMERICAN SPEED
54 Here She Comes
Danica Patrick, fourth at Indy, was still a big winner
by E.M. Swift
60 Long, Hard Road
After the Coca-Cola 600, what's next for NASCAR?
by Lars Anderson
64 My Car's Better
For every kind of race, there's a top-performance car. Here's how they compare
71 Formula Won
Scott Speed: the first U.S. F/1 driver since 1993?
by Lars Anderson
75 Dirty Work
Many great drivers proved their worth at Eldora
by Lars Anderson
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON BRUTY
INSET PHOTOS: Brent Smith/Reuters (Wheldon); Streeter Lecka/Getty Images (Johnson); John Iacono (A-Rod)
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COLOR PHOTO
EZRA SHAW/GETTY IMAGES (RODRIGUEZ)
A LITTLE FLARE
The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez tracks a pop-up in the sun (page 38).
COLOR PHOTO
JEFF ROBERTS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
SHORT STOP
Dan Wheldon hits the pits on the way to victory at the Indy 500.