The Lineup

AUGUST 1, 2005
VOLUME 103, NO. 4

Departments

6 Leading Off

14 Catching Up With ...

17 Letters

19 Air and Space
Nothing is free in sports anymore--at least for fans. For athletes, life is a locker-room buffet
by Steve Rushin

20 Scorecard
• Larry Brown could save Knicks
• Giambi, clean, is hitting again
• Patriots' Bruschi to sit out season

33 Faces in the Crowd

34 Players

84 The Life of Reilly
Let's all blow raspberries at the Bidwills, the worst owners in pro football by Rick Reilly

Inside ...

80 Baseball
• Phillies' first-base dilemma
• Manny Ramirez wants out--again

82 Swimming
• Phelps fizzles, sizzles at worlds
• Wilkinson wins platform title

TOUR DE FRANCE

42 A Grand Finale
Lance Armstrong won his seventh straight Tour and retired. What's next for U.S. cycling?
by Austin Murphy

PRO FOOTBALL
52 Question of Value
Few teams want to invest in long contracts for top rushers--even for Edgerrin James
by Michael Silver

BASEBALL
56 Fun in the Big City
Pedro Martinez enjoys making the Mets matter again in New York
by Tom Verducci

TELEVISION
62 Stephen A., As in ...
Aggressive? Asinine? Maybe ESPN's motor mouth is misunderstood
by Karl Taro Greenfeld

BASEBALL
68 Young Wizard
Mike Veeck's kid Rebecca is the ballpark sorcerer's apprentice
by Gary Smith

Cover

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALESSANDRO TROVATI/AP
INSET PHOTOS: Allen Kee/WireImage.com (James); Jim McIsaac/Getty Images (Martinez); Michael J. LeBrecht II/1Deuce3 Photography.

SI Extra
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SI.com
Complete coverage from Cooperstown, including Tom Verducci's list of the best players not in baseball's Hall of Fame, and photos from the ceremony--plus John Donovan's trade deadline analysis.

COLOR PHOTO

JIM MCISSAC/GETTY IMAGES (MARTINEZ)

VITAMIN P

Pedro Martinez has energized the Mets (page 56).

COLOR PHOTO

LYNN JOHNSON