Lineup

FEATURES

PRO FOOTBALL
40 Midseason Report
• Who will make the playoffs, and who will win it all by Peter King
• Young defenders are making their presence felt by Peter King
• The wild side of Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu by Nunyo Demasio
• Emerging stars bidding to become All-Pros by Paul Zimmerman
• What went wrong in Philadelphia--and can it be fixed? by Peter King

PRO BASKETBALL
52 Love and Basketball
Portland rookie Martell Webster is mature beyond his years, thanks to a wise old lady who raised him
by L. Jon Wertheim

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
56 Extreme Makeover
Under the critical eye of coach Charlie Weis, Brady Quinn has led Notre Dame's big turnaround
by Austin Murphy

PRO HOCKEY
60 Gone Hollywood
No NHL player is better suited to the glamour of L.A. than Jeremy Roenick, who's already a star for his new team
by Michael Farber

BONUS
Full Bloom
Jeremy Bloom, a former Colorado wideout and the world's best moguls skier, hopes to jump straight from the Olympic medal stand to the NFL
by Tim Layden
PAGE 64

Departments

6 Leading Off
14 Letters
16 Catching Up With ...
19 Air and Space
Let us stop and be grateful for the many athletes who don't behave like TO by Steve Rushin

20 Scorecard
• Red Sox emulate evil empire
• Irony abounds in endorsements

30 Faces in the Crowd
33 Players
82 Life of Reilly
In defense of Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry (and in attack of that defense) by Rick Reilly

Inside ...

78 The NBA
• Why Sacramento's going slow
• New pacts: Who got a raw deal?

80 College Football
• Star-free D propels Hurricanes
• Freshman turns Arizona around

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY AL TIELEMANS
INSET PHOTOS: John Biever (Quinn)

SI Extra

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**It's been 25 months since USC's last loss, a 34-31 overtime setback at California. This Saturday, LenDale White (above) and the Trojans return to Berkeley, looking to move one step closer to the national championship game. Get a preview of USC-Cal, LSU-Alabama and the weekend's other top games at SI.com/collegefootball.

**College football's coaching carousel will soon start to spin, and Stewart Mandel takes a look at the 10 hottest names likely to move, including Butch Davis and George O'Leary, at SI.com/collegefootball.

**For a gallery of NHL fights this season, and Darren Eliot's assessment of whether the Flyers' Peter Forsberg will become the first player since Wayne Gretzky to reach 100 assists, go to SI.com/nhl.

**The incomparable Roger Federer for Sportsman of the Year? Maybe IRL driver Danica Patrick (right) is more your speed? Throughout this month, SI writers offer essays on who they think deserves the magazine's highest honor, from Frank Deford on Afleet Alex to Gary Van Sickle on Tiger Woods, all at SI.com/sportsman.

**Could Keyshawn Johnson and Terrell Owens coexist on the same team? Would Bill Parcells (right) even consider acquiring the temperamental Owens? For now, the Cowboys just want to kick the Eagles while they're down, starting with Monday Night's matchup in Philly. For Peter King's and Dr. Z's take on everything NFL, go to SI.com/football.

PHOTO

JOHN BIEVER (QUINN)

56

 ANSWER MAN Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn had Tennessee's number last Saturday, throwing for 295 yards in a 41-21 win.

PHOTO

DAVID BERGMAN (BLOOM)

PHOTO

RONALD MARTINEZ/GETTY IMAGES (KINGS)

78

CROWNED BY A KING During Sacramento's sluggish start, Brad Miller delivered a shot to Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo.

TWO PHOTOS

JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (WHITE, PARCELLS)

PHOTO

SIMON BRUTY (PATRICK)