Lineup

OCTOBER 9, 2006
VOLUME 105, no. 14

FEATURES

STARS OF THE GAME

BASEBALL
41 Alltime Greats
Mays or Clemente? SI polled 22 experts to fill its dream roster. The result is a work of art
by Tom Verducci

46 Best of '06
SI's MVPs, Albert Pujols (right) and Derek Jeter, are models of consistency
by Tom Verducci

PRO FOOTBALL
48 The Cowboy Factor
With Terrell Owens leading the circus, Dallas is back in the NFL's spotlight
by Michael Silver

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
54 Mighty Surprising
Look who's unbeaten: long-suffering Rutgers, Missouri and Wake Forest
by Austin Murphy

BOXING
58 Size Matters
Gigantic heavyweight champ Nikolay Valuev frightens foes, but can he fight?
by L. Jon Wertheim

SPECIAL REPORT

Is This Dr. Evil?
Chemist Patrick Arnold—inventor of THG—breaks his silence on his role in the BALCO scandal and hints at a future filled with scary science
by George Dohrmann
PAGE 62

Departments

6 Leading Off

14 Letters

17 Air and Space
Falcons kicker Morten Andersen still splits the sticks at age 46
by Steve Rushin

18 Scorecard
Why no taint clings to the NFL
Farewell to Byron Nelson
Nationals fire Frank Robinson

27 Faces in the Crowd

29 Players

78 Life of Reilly
Blimp my ride, or How I cheated a fiery death at eight miles per hour
by Rick Reilly

Inside...

70 College Football
The leading rusher—by a mile
BYU's Beck comes into his own

75 The NFL
Receivers hold key for Seattle
Dr. Z's picks for Week 5

Cover

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY AARON GOODMAN

PLAYERS: Back bench, from left: Ted Williams, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Sandy Koufax. Front bench: Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Honus Wagner, Johnny Bench. Foreground: Babe Ruth, Walter Johnson, Hank Aaron.

INSET PHOTOS: From left, Bob Rosato; Tony Gutierrez/AP; Gregory Heisler

ON THE WEB
SI.COM
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>> BASEBALL
With American League batting champ Joe Mauer (below), probable Cy Young winner Johan Santana and a bullpen that can rescue any pitcher who gets into trouble, the Twins believe they can win their first World Series title since 1991. But it won't be easy, says SI.com's John Donovan, one of nearly a dozen writers who will cover the playoffs for the website. Go to SI.com/baseball for scores, stats and analysis, and visit SI.com/photos for playoff-related galleries, including the leading Postseason X Factors.

>> NFL
There's little doubt that Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson (left), should he come out early, would be the first running back taken in the 2007 NFL draft. Find out who else is making a move up on draft boards—and which players are not living up to the expectations of pro scouts—in SI.com's weekly rundown of Risers and Sliders, at SI.com/nfl.

>> COLLEGES
What would college football be without rabid fans, from the diehards at Florida to the body painters at Tennessee (right)? Go to SI.com/photos for the latest gallery of College Superfans across the land.

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PHOTO

BOB ROSATO (HELMETS)

54 HATS OFF

Rutgers helmets were lined up on the field before the undefeated Scarlet Knights took on South Florida in Tampa.

PHOTO

JOHN PYLE/ICON SMI (PUJOLS)

PHOTO

GREGORY HEISLER (ARNOLD)

PHOTO

AL BEHRMAN/AP (MARONEY)

75 HIGH SIX

After scoring a touchdown against the Bengals, Patriots back Laurence Maroney got a lift from Heath Evans.

PHOTO

RON VESELY (MAUER)

PHOTO

ROBERT BECK (PETERSON)

PHOTO

DAVID BERGMAN (FAN)