August 7, 2006 Table Of Contents
Air and Space
By Steve Rushin
SI Players: Life On And Off The Field
BREWERS ROOKIE FIRST BASEMAN
By Reported by George Dohrmann
The Questions With Nicky Hayden
Grand Prix Motorcycling Champ
Carving--and jinxing?--teammates in Styrofoam
By Ben Reiter
Champion Hasim Rahman goes to great heights to prepare for a bout
By Chris Mannix
Features
There may be QBs as tough as John Unitas, but in today's NFL none have the same freedom to run the offense--nor can they expect to get it
By Peter King
Humble, hardworking and handsome, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer is the ideal hometown hero, and he's poised to make history at a position that hasn't seen another quite like him
By Nate Silver
The Texans shocked the NFL world when they drafted Mario Williams first overall. Now, as training camps open, the heat is on the rookie to prove he's worth it
SURFING
LAIRD HAMILTON WAS ONCE ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF MEN WITH THE SKILL AND THE GUTS TO RIDE THE MASSIVE AND MURDEROUS WAVE KNOWN AS JAWS. BUT THEN CAME THE BOUNTY HUNTERS AND THRILL-SEEKERS, AND THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS SPORT SUDDENLY GOT A WHOLE LOT SCARIER
By Susan Casey
Pro Basketball
After being humbled at the last two international tournaments, Team USA is bringing hungrier players, a deeper roster and a savvier game plan to Japan
By Ian Thomsen
Inside
The Week In Sports
By Albert Chen
By Tom Verducci
Life of Reilly
By Rick Reilly
Departments
"I have never knowingly used any banned substance and blah, blah, blah...." It was a very sad week for sports
Edited by Mark Bechtel
Bad News Bears ( ... and Bengals)
Edited by Mark Bechtel
The actor (Days of Thunder, Chicago) costars with Will Ferrell in Talladega Nights, which opens on Friday
By Adam Duerson
What to watch and watch for
By Chris Mannix
Edited by Mark Bechtel
