Lineup
FEATURES
BASEBALL
38 Blue Skies
The end of Dodgertown may be near, but L.A. and other teams have bright outlooks
by Tom Verducci
• The Yankees' can't-miss pitcher
• Is this the Cubs' year? (Um... no.)
• Cards' ex-closer looks like an ace
DAYTONA 500
46 Smashing Finish
A week of controversy ended with Kevin Harvick's thrilling last-lap victory
by Lars Anderson
PRO BASKETBALL
50 Turnaround Artist
With the help of a coach's tough love, Caron Butler, Washington's All-Star forward, straightened out his life
by Ian Thomsen
• Miami stands in Wizards' way
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
54 Fast and Furious
Tar Heels coach Roy Williams revved up Dean Smith's secondary break to create the college game's most riveting attack
by Grant Wahl
ASIAN GAMES
58 Everything Is Illuminated
The 15th Asian Games, in Qatar, lifted the veil on the madness of the human pageant: thousands of athletes, hundreds of events, dozens of sports—an Arabian tale of the 21st century
by Jeff MacGregor
Departments
6 Leading Off
14 Letters
17 Air and Space
Farewell and a million thanks from a columnist for whom sportswriting was never work by Steve Rushin
18 Scorecard
Duke lacrosse team back on field
Irish coach Weis sues surgeons
Pro teams rated by legal scrapes
28 Faces in the Crowd
30 Players
74 Life of Reilly
False gods and fake breasts, but real diamonds: NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas by Rick Reilly
Inside ...
72 The NHL
Player rental market stays hot
Roberts draws trade interest
73 College Basketball
Salukis' D suffocates foes
Winthrop deserves NCAA bid
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BECK
INSET PHOTOS: Bettmann/Corbis (Dodgertown); Simon Bruty
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EDITORS' PICKS
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PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (CUBS)
38 ARMS INSPECTORS Pitching prospect Randy Wells warms up under the scrutiny of Cubs teammates at their spring training facility in Mesa, Ariz.
PHOTO
OSPORTS/WIREIMAGE.COM
PHOTO
JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (GREEN)
LEAPFROG On his way to winning the NBA All-Star slam dunk title, the Celtics' Gerald Green (page 32) jumped over 2006 champ Nate Robinson.
PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (PETERSON)
PHOTO
SIMON BRUTY (BOSH)
PHOTO
HEINZ KLUETMEIER (MATSUZAKA)
PHOTO
GREG NELSON (HANSBROUGH)
PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (EARNHARDT)
PHOTO
CLIFF WATTS (BEYONCÉ)
PHOTO
GARY W. GREEN/ORLANDO SENTINEL/ABACA (WALTRIP)