Lineup
FEATURES
NBA PLAYOFF
PREVIEW
46 LeBron, ActII
The Cavaliers' leader at 21, LeBron James charges into the second phase of hisunparalleled career with his postseason debut this weekend
by Chris Ballard
THE FIVE TOUGHQUESTIONS
1. How far can LeBron take the Cavs?
2. How much gas is left in the Diesel?
3. Who's the NBA's George Mason?
4. What are this year's x factors?
5. Which under-the-radar player will leave his mark?
NHL PLAYOFF
PREVIEW
56 The HappyRanger
Surrounded by fellow Czechs, Jaromir Jagr is the key to New York'spostseason
by Michael Farber
CARRYING THELOAD
Five more stars who will make or break Cup dreams
by Yi-Wyn Yen
EAST: THE FASTWILL FLOURISH
Team speed and underrated players could be decisive
by Pierre McGuire
WEST: HEALTH IS ANISSUE
The fate of some title hopefuls will hinge on injuries
by Pierre McGuire
COLLEGEFOOTBALL
62 Buffalo Soldier
After two rocky years, Colorado hired a happy warrior in coach Dan Hawkins
by Austin Murphy
SPECIAL REPORT
THE MEXICAN CONNECTION
How Operation Gear Grinder shut down a flourishing steroid trade
by George Dohrmann and Luis Fernando Llosa
PAGE 68
Departments
8 Leading Off
16 Letters
21 Air and Space
Go figure: The Nets coach's playing experience (zero); his double-digit winstreaks (two) by Steve Rushin
22 Scorecard
• The Knicks' soap opera season
• Fay Vincent on MLB's dilemma
• Is Brett Favre turning off fans?
36 Faces in theCrowd
39 Players
86 Life ofReilly
Ozzie Guillen's understanding of baseball is unsurpassed. The trick isunderstanding Ozzie
by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
79 Baseball
• A pair of Carloses power the Mets
• Jim Thome's comfort zone
82 The NFL
• Ohio State's old-school 'backer
85 Horse Racing
• Lawyer Ron roars into the Derby
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL FRAKES
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PHOTO
LOU CAPOZZOLA (JAGR)
56 THE EYES HAVE IT For a change, Jaromir Jagr has the look of a contented--and intent--superstar as his team enters the NHL playoffs.
PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (DRUGS)
PHOTO