February 19, 2007 Table Of Contents
SI Bonus Section: Golf Plus
Phil Mickelson on suicide watch after Winged Foot? A has-been after missing the cut at Phoenix? Yeah, right. Here's what Lefty might've told Tiger about that--and more--on the way home from his five-shot win at Pebble Beach
Was the death of Denver's Tour stop an aberration, or a foreshadowing?
Tom Watson says goodbye to Pebble
By Jim Gorant
Why Frank Chirkinian belongs in the World Golf Hall of Fame
By Mike Lupica
Air and Space
By Steve Rushin
SI Players: LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD
As told to Chris Mannix
THE QUESTIONS WITH Chris Chelios
Red Wings Defenseman
A track star and a defensive back unite
THE MOST compelling NBA competitions this weekend will unfold the night before Sunday's All-Star Game in Las Vegas—at the slam-dunk contest, three-point shootout and skills challenge. Former champs reveal the secrets to outballing the rest.
By Ben Reiter
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
He headlines perhaps the most formidable group of first-year players in college basketball history, but Texas forward Kevin Durant is in a class by himself--and should be the first frosh to win player of the year
By Grant Wahl
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Florida coach Urban Meyer used relentless recruiting tactics--and the school's first national title in a decade--to put together the best class in the land
PHIL TAYLOR'S RECRUITING ROUNDUP
By Phil Taylor
HOCKEY
With the crackdown on obstruction in the NHL, sacrificing the body to block a shot has become a defenseman's most effective--and risky--ploy
The Maloof Brothers
... stays in Vegas? This weekend, when the NBA All-Star Game comes to town, Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof will be everywhere, for all to see. And if the party is a success, the NBA--and the Maloofs--may be back in Vegas to stay
By Ian Thomsen
2007 NASCAR PREVIEW
In a season of change for NASCAR--say moshimoshi to Toyota and hola to the restyled race car--no other newcomer is as promising as Juan Pablo Montoya, the former F/1 standout who's poised to take stock car racing global
NASCAR's rules changes put a welcome premium on wins, but will too many contenders spoil the Chase?
By Mark Bechtel
Toyota hopes to shoot to the front in its Cup debut, but in racing that new-car smell isn't always sweet
Nextel Cup Team Scouting Reports
On Sunday at Daytona the nine-month, 36-race charge for the Nextel Cup begins anew. Here's a rundown of the top teams' drivers and others with a shot at the checkered flag.
Shootin' the Breeze with Junior
Off the track and on the record with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who talks about growing up, goofing off and missing his dad
By WITH Lars Anderson
2007 NASCAR Preview
NASCAR Evolution: Survival of the Fastest
In stock car racing, nothing ever stands still. Indeed, the Car of Tomorrow is coming up fast in the rearview mirror. Here's a high-speed look at how the great American race car--and American racing itself--has progressed over the past 60 years
By Mark Beech
Though he has a rep for bending--even breaking--the rules, crew chief Chad Knaus studies every angle in making Jimmie Johnson a winner
Inside
By Ian Thomsen
By Seth Davis
By Peter King
Life of Reilly
By Rick Reilly
Departments
... and so is everybody else at all-star games. SI's NBA writer proposes an alternative that could feel a bit less like kissing your sister
Fired by the Marlins, the reigning NL Manager of the Year is spending his spring at home
By Tom Verducci
One of the U.S. women's rising stars finally breaks into skiing's elite
By Tim Layden
The tennis Hall of Famer, 35, will compete in the Outback Champions Series—an over-30 tour—in Boston, May 2--6
By Adam Duerson
Joe Mesi
By Adam Duerson
What to watch and watch for
By Chris Mannix