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November 21, 2005 Table Of Contents

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SI Players: Life On and Off The Field

Slam-Dunk Suits

David Stern's dictum was good news for one L.A. fashion house

By Elizabeth Newman

Byron Leftwich

JAGUARS QUARTERBACK

As told to Ben Reiter

Who's Hot | Who's Not

Edited by Kostya Kennedy

Not What I Expected

By Gerald Green

The Pop Culture Grid

THE QUESTIONS

WITH Derrick Mason, Ravens receiver

Catching Up With

James Worthy, Forward

MAY 19, 1986

By Arash Markazi

Air and Space

The Boy Who KO'd TO

By Steve Rushin

College Football

The Wild, Wild SEC

On yet another crazy Saturday in the Southeast, LSU spoiled Alabama's perfect season--and that wasn't the half of it

By Phil Taylor

Pro Football

Fallen Idols

Once billed as the Greatest Show on Turf, the St. Louis Rams have seen their dynasty-in-the-making crumble, in large part because of a power struggle between the front office and coach Mike Martz

By Michael Silver

Good Times Don't Last

By Bill Syken

Soccer

Bottom's Up

After finishing in the lower third of the regular-season standings, the Galaxy was an unlikely MLS title contender. More improbable still was the hero who would deliver Los Angeles its second Cup in four years

By Grant Wahl

COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2005--06

The Duke Way

A fabulous freshman class has the Blue Devils ranked No.1, but those frosh are in for vigorous training in Coach K culture

By Grant Wahl

Hoops Hotbeds

SI's Survey of America's Basketball Boomtowns

By Grant Wahl

Made In Texas

Longhorns star DANIEL GIBSON, who honed his skills at a fabled Houston hoops mecca, is now of Final Four quality

By Luke Winn

A NEED TO GET MEAN

UConn's Rudy Gay is the latest can't-miss product of Baltimore's legendary Cecil-Kirk Rec Center. But can the mild-mannered star muster enough swagger to lead the Huskies to a title?

By Seth Davis

Candace, Take Two

Her much-heralded debut was canceled by injury last year, but CANDACE PARKER is now ready for her close-up at Tennessee. Will the women's game ever be the same?

By Kelli Anderson

5 Minute Guide

A fast-break index of the players, teams and trends to keep an eye on this season

By Seth Davis

FILLING THE BRACKETS

The 65-team NCAA tournament includes 31 automatic bids and 34 at-large selections. SI predicts the 45 teams to round out the field

By Luke Winn

COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2005 - 06

THE VOLS ARE BACK

Its roster jam-packed with talent, Tennessee, without a title since '98, will reign again in April

By Richard Deitsch

College Basketball 2005-06

Scouting Reports

1 Duke

With seasoned stars and ACC-ready recruits, the Blue Devils are due to win it all

By Grant Wahl

2 Texas

Having learned his lesson, P.J. Tucker looks to lead the Horns to their first title

By Seth Davis

3 UConn

Depth and athleticism should help the Huskies run with the big dogs in March

By Seth Davis

4 Michigan State

Final Four regulars in recent years, the Spartans are primed for a return trip

By Julia Morrill

5 Oklahoma

Taj Gray hopes to take the Sooners to the same heights he has taken his own game

By Seth Davis

6 Arizona

For the Cats to reach the promised land, a former Golden Child must lead them

By Phil Taylor

7 Gonzaga

Once giant-killers, the Zags are now the guys with the bull's-eyes on their backs

By Phil Taylor

8 Boston College

The Eagles figure to muscle their way into contention in their first ACC season

By Grant Wahl

9 Memphis

After missing last year's tournament, a young team takes a great leap forward

By Lars Anderson

10 Villanova

A stellar quartet of guards is looking to run taller opponents out of the gym

By Julia Morrill

11 Louisville

Aggressiveness will be key for Taquan Dean and the younger, deeper Cardinals

By Lars Anderson

12 West Virginia

After last year's cameo in the spotlight, the Mountaineers are ready for prime time

By Julia Morrill

13 Kentucky

The Wildcats can go far if their center is eligible and their point gets his points

By Julia Morrill

14 Stanford

For starters the boys in red are looking on the bright side: They have their health

By Kelli Anderson

15 UCLA

By Phil Taylor

16 Wake Forest

The unexpected return of their power forward makes the Deacons a power again

By Seth Davis

17 Northern Iowa

The season's most likely Cinderella is this small school with an undersized lineup

By Phil Taylor

18 Iowa

Can a pair of fiery seniors help the Hawkeyes fight their way to a Big Ten title?

By Andrew Lawrence

19 Illinois

Two holdovers from the national finalist have their work cut out on offense

By Andrew Lawrence

20 Washington

The Huskies look to a scrappy freshman for a much-needed dose of toughness

By Kelli Anderson

Inside

Inside: The Week in Sports

The NFL

King's Corner

By Peter King

Dr. Z's Forecast: G-Men

By Paul Zimmerman

College Football

By Mark Beech

STEWART MANDEL'S Two Minute Drill

By Stewart Mandel

The NHL

By Michael Farber

Pierre McGuire's In The Crease

By Pierre McGuire

The NBA

By Ian Thomsen

The Pit and the Pandemonium

By Rick Reilly

Departments

Arm Guards

Protecting pitchers is the first order of business in planning next spring's World Baseball Classic

By Tom Verducci

The Lord's Player

Defensive end Ben Kessler of Division III St. Thomas will be tackling his next challenges at the Vatican

By Alan Shipnuck

Leading Off

Letters

On the Ropes

With its heavyweight chumps and forgettable fights, the once mighty sport of King (Don, that is) is staggering toward oblivion

By Richard O'Brien

Enough Is Enough

Surly stars are finding out that teams have limits when it comes to obnoxious behavior

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Stephen Cannella

For the Record

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Stephen Cannella

The Chase Is On

NASCAR's playoff system has produced the sport's closest finish in years By Lars Anderson

By Lars Anderson

Q&A Katrina Witt

The two-time Olympic gold medalist's new book (written with SI's E.M. Swift) is called Only with Passion

By Richard Deitsch

The Beat

By Adam Duerson

Week Ahead

What to watch and watch for

By Chris Mannix

Faces in the Crowd

Edited by Mark Bechtel and Stephen Cannella

Fantasy Watch

By David Sabino