Lineup

FEATURES

NCAATOURNAMENT

38 MagnificentSeven
In Week 1, a septet of top seeds stole the show and set up a slate of Sweet 16blockbusters
by Grant Wahl

PROBASKETBALL

50 WaitingGame
Every player wants to be a starter, but sixth men are sparking the league's topthree teams
by Jack McCallum

PRO FOOTBALL

54 FoxboroughBound
By acquiring impact free agents, have the Patriots regained the edge in theAFC?
by Peter King

2007 /// BASEBALLPREVIEW

58 The Riddle
Red Sox import Daisuke Matsuzaka will deliver eight different pitches—andexplode old myths about pampering pitchers
by Tom Verducci

66 8 Who May BeGreat
By year's end you'll know the names of all these rookies, starting with thirdbaseman Alex Gordon
by Chris Ballard

76 ScoutingReports
An analysis of each team's chances, with lineups, stats and a modest proposalfrom Baseball Prospectus

Departments

6 Leading Off

18 Letters

22 Players
First Person: Joey Porter
Bowie Kuhn's legacy
Inside the Car of Tomorrow
Drama at the Cricket World Cup
Pitchers switching roles

37 Faces in theCrowd

142 Life ofReilly
The new frontier for hecklers: cyberflirting, poking and spam bombs
by Rick Reilly

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY CHUCK SOLOMON

INSET PHOTOS:Robert Beck (Young, Garciaparra); John Iacono (Rodriguez)

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PHOTO

JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (VANDERBILT)

38 VAN GO The sixth-seeded Commodores celebrated a 77--44, first-round rout of George Washington in Sacramento last Thursday, a prelude to their double-overtime upset of Washington State.

PHOTO

ROBERT BECK (GORDON)

ALEX GORDON

PHOTO

PETER READ MILLER (PORTER)

JOEY PORTER

PHOTO

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