Lineup

FEATURES

BASEBALL
46 Baseball Central
The author traveled through the once-comical AL Central and found more than ahint of October
by Chris Ballard

PRO FOOTBALL
52 A Man Born for the Job
Inspired by his father, a U.S. senator, the NFL's new commissioner is ready forthe tough calls
by Peter King

54 Postcards fromthe Edge
Life couldn't be better for Edgerrin James, who's got a fat contract and astarring role in Arizona
by Michael Silver

COLLEGE FOOTBALLPREVIEW 2006

66 Troy Smith
In just a year, the Ohio State quarterback has gone from suspended and shamedto the toast of Columbus
by Stewart Mandel

72 QuentinMoses
The Dawgs' sack artist always dreamed of being a hoops star, but once he gotover that fixation, he became a smash hit in Athens
by Austin Murphy

76 Big Men onCampus
They're not necessarily the largest, the fastest or the best in the country attheir positions, but each of these nine collegians will play a huge role in histeam's success

94 ScoutingReports
It looks like another January date in the Arizona desert for Ohio State andNotre Dame, who will butt heads at Cardinals Stadium for the BCS nationalchampionship

112 ConferencePreviews

120 5 MinuteGuide

Departments

10 LeadingOff

16 Letters

19 Air andSpace
In this Madden, Madden world, the '07 NFL game is still a few buttons shy ofreality by Jeff MacGregor

20 Scorecard
• A hoopster hero of the skies
• England dumps David Beckham

32 Faces in theCrowd

35 Players

134 Life ofReilly
Cory Lemke was more than an Iowa golfing prodigy. He was Mark Lemke's son byRick Reilly

Inside ...

125 Boxing
• Former Soviet-bloc fighters rule

126 Baseball
• Boston ponders a radical move
• A 6'7" rookie gets overlooked

130 Soccer
• Bruce Arena's new rebuilding job

Cover

PHOTOGRAPHS BYDARREN CARROLL (LSU, TEXAS) AND PETER READ MILLER (NOTRE DAME, OHIO ST., USC,WEST VIRGINIA)

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>>THEPGA

Who knew thatwhen Sergio García (right) finished second to Tiger Woods at Medinah in the1999 PGA, the Spaniard would still be in search of his first major victory atthe same course seven years later? Follow this year's final Grand Slam atSI.com/golf, including a live leader board and daily blog by SI's JohnGarrity.

>>BASEBALL

With their sweepof the Tigers last weekend, the White Sox and star closer Bobby Jenks (left)made a substantial leap in SI.com's weekly Power Rankings. Find out how narrowthe gap is among Chicago, Detroit and the other postseason contenders, and geta history of the top Red Sox--Yankees pennant races, at SI.com/baseball.

>>RIFFSOF REILLY

What do MichelleWie and the Olsen twins have in common? And what laughable defense does RickReilly think Maurice Clarett will use following his most recent arrest? Hearthis week's Riffs at SI.com.

>>COLLEGES

Texas lost itsstar QB to the NFL; Oklahoma lost its after a no-show job scandal. Find out howthe two schools are adjusting and if Jevan Snead (right) can carry theLonghorns, at SI.com/collegefootball.

SIX PHOTOS

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DARREN CARROLL (LSU, TEXAS) AND PETER READ MILLER (NOTRE DAME, OHIO ST., USC, WEST VIRGINIA)

 ASPECIAL RUN OF COVERS For the 2006 College Football Preview issue this week, SIhas six regional covers.

No.1

No.2

No.3

No.4

No.5

No.6

PHOTO

AARON JOSEFCZYK/ICON SMI (SMITH)

PHOTO

MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (KENDRICK)

 35BLOWN AWAY

Life in the majors hasn't burst the bubble of Angels infielder Howie Kendrickand his fellow rookies.

THREE PHOTOS

JOHN BIEVER (GARCIA); AL TIELEMANS (JENKS); BRIAN RAY/ICON SMI (SNEAD)