Lineup
DECEMBER 5, 2005
VOLUME 103, NO. 22
FEATURES
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
48 Horns of Plenty
Texas is one victory from a shot at its first national title in 36 years thanks to great talent and Mack Brown, who learned there's more to life than coaching football
by Tim Layden
PRO FOOTBALL
56 Class of '96
Ten seasons later, members of the most bountiful draft of wideouts in NFL history are still among the best playmakers and biggest newsmakers
by Michael Silver
PRO BASKETBALL
64 Detroit Loves Larry
When coach Larry Brown returns to face his former team, he'll find flourishing players who bear him no ill will. The same can't be said (yet) of his Knicks
by Jack McCallum
PRO HOCKEY
70 On New Ice
A trade to Ottawa helped Dany Heatley put a tragic crash and injury behind him. Now he's leading the first-place Senators and the NHL's most exciting line
by Michael Farber
HIGH SCHO0L HOOPS
Talk of the Town
North College Hill, Ohio, has embraced its two young stars
BY GEORGE DOHRMANN
PLUS
Best Players • Top 20 Teams
Best Team in Every State
PAGE 74
Departments
11 Contributors
14 Leading Off
22 Letters
25 Air and Space
Everybody loves a winner--and there's nothing wrong with a jam-packed bandwagon
by Steve Rushin
28 Scorecard
• Cash infusion fuels baseball deals
• Remembering George Best
38 Faces in the Crowd
41 Players
96 Life of Reilly
The Texas high school football coach who decided not to field a high school team
by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
88 The NBA
• Paul Pierce at peace in Boston
• Four players likely to be dealt
93 The NFL
• An unsung threat in the AFC
• Why Brett Favre won't rest
ON THE WEB
SI.COM
GO TO SI.COM DAILY FOR SCORES, STATS AND BREAKING NEWS
•How close will the voting be among USC's Reggie Bush (right) and Matt Leinart and Vince Young of Texas for this year's Heisman Trophy? Get Gene Menez's final assessment before the Dec. 10 announcement at SI.com/collegefootball.
•Who are the top 10 high school basketball players in the nation? For a photo gallery that includes 7-footer Greg Oden, who will attend Ohio State next season; Washington signee Spencer Hawes; and North Carolina recruit Wayne Ellington (bottom left), go to SI.com/highschool.
•When the Cowboys' Keyshawn Johnson (below) was taken with the No. 1 pick by the Jets in 1996, he entered the NFL at the head of what would become the greatest receivers' class of alltime. What are the best draft classes by position? Find out at SI.com/nfl.
•Which teams will earn berths in BCS bowls and which ones will be shut out? For complete analysis, read Stewart Mandel's Insider as well as a ranking of all 28 bowl games at SI.com/collegefootball.
•Check out Luke Winn's College Basketball Power Rankings, Tracy Schultz's Women's College Basketball Rankings, Grant Wahl's Mailbag and Seth Davis's Hoop Thoughts at SI.com/collegebasketball.
•Can the Knicks turn their season around? Read Jack McCallum's five-step plan to fix the team, as well as Dave Hollander's Q&A with New York coach Larry Brown, at SI.com/nba.
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY DARREN CARROLL
INSET PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): Kevin Terrell/WireImage.com; Thomas Croke/WireImage.com; Jamie Squire/Getty Images; Ed Wolfstein/Icon SMI; Brian A. Westerholt/WireImage.com; James D. Smith/Icon SMI; Scott D. Weaver/Icon SMI; Ian McVea/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/KRT/ABACA; Jeff Zelevansky/Icon SMI; Tom Cammett/WireImage.com; Michael J. LeBrecht II/1Deuce3 Photography
SI Extra
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PHOTO
BOB ROSATO (MUHAMMAD)
56
10 YEARS AFTER Bears wideout Muhsin Muhammad, a second-round pick in 1996, had four catches against the Bucs on Sunday.
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (BASKETBALL)
PHOTO
AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES (HOPKINS)
X MAN - Bernard Hopkins, who is set to fight middleweight champ Jermain Taylor on Saturday in Las Vegas, is one of 22 boxers who posed for Al Bello. His portraits can be seen in Leading Off and at SI.com/photos.
THREE PHOTOS
LISA BLUMENFELD/GETTY IMAGES (ELLINGTON); ROBERT BECK (BUSH); JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (JOHNSON)