Lineup

OCTOBER 30, 2006
VOLUME 105, NO. 17

FEATURES

WORLD SERIES
42 Unusual Events
As if this postseason hasn't been bizarre enough, a dirty little secret may have tarred a pitching gem
by Tom Verducci

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
48 Trojan War
USC is undefeated, but close calls and a lack of game-changing plays make an upcoming stretch look treacherous
by Phil Taylor

HOCKEY
52 Farm-Fresh
The Staal brothers grew up turning soil and skating. Now they' want to reap a collection of Stanley Cups
by Michael Farber

CHAD JOHNSON

It's Good To Be Chad

The Bengals' receiver is proof that you can shoot your mouth off, goad opponents and still be well-liked in the NFL
by Karl Taro Greenfeld
PAGE 58

Departments

8 Leading Off

14 Letters

19 Air and Space
On gridirons, in wrestling rings and even in batting cages, there's more naked to the eye
by Steve Rushin

20 Scorecard
Can Sweet Lou save the Cubs?
China's in gear for the Games
Mike Tyson returns to the ring

30 Faces in the Crowd

33 Players

78 Life of Reilly
They got Bush's congratulations. Now the BALCO reporters could use his pardon
by Rick Reilly

Inside...

71 College Football
The escape of the Irish
Wisconsin's Thunder Thighs

75 The NFL
The heart of the Broncos' D
Is a Miami QB's season over?

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY

SI Extra
To sign up for Sports Illustrated's free subscriber-only e-mail newsletter, go to sicustomerservice.com/siextra.

ON THE WEB
SI.COM
FREE SCORES, STATS AND BREAKING NEWS—NO SIGNUP REQUIRED.

> > SOCCER
Can Clint Dempsey (right) lead New England to the MLS Cup in what may be his American swan song? Follow the playoffs at SI.com/soccer, with coverage from Grant Wahl and Luis Bueno. Also get daily reports from Europe, Mexico and South America, and biweekly World Power rankings.

> > NFL DRAFT
SI.com takes a look at Georgia Tech wideout Calvin Johnson (left) and other leading pro prospects as the college football season nears the halfway point. Six juniors, including Johnson, could go as high as the top eight picks. Check out SI.com/nfl for the projections, and find out the biggest surprises and disappointments, as well as the players who are flying under the radar.

> > PHOTO GALLERIES
Every week SI.com produces an array of galleries, including such mainstays as college football and NFL super fans, and college football and NFL cheerleaders (right). You can also find news-related galleries at SI.com/photos, such as Memorable Brawls, Blunders in the Booth and Baseball's Best Game 7s.

my SI DOWNLOAD FREE
Pick your NFL team and get news from across the Web on your desktop at SI.com/mysi.

PHOTO

CHUCK SOLOMON (REYES)

42 WINNING CARDS With first baseman Albert Pujols at the ready, starter Anthony Reyes delivered a 7--2 victory over the Tigers in Game 1 of the World Series.

PHOTO

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

PHOTO

RICH GABRIELSON/WIREIMAGE.COM (WILSON)

75 AL THE BETTER Led by fiery middle linebacker Al Wilson, the Denver defense has given up an NFL-low 7.3 points per game.

PHOTO

RICH SCHULTZ/WIREIMAGE.COM (DEMPSEY)

PHOTO

JEFFREY A. SALTER (JOHNSON)

PHOTO

DAVID BERGMAN (CHEERLEADER)