Lineup

FEATURES

PRO FOOTBALL
44 Moonlight Road
Allegations of dogfighting on Michael Vick's property have raised alarms
by George Dohrmann

LACROSSE
50 The Ending
Trying to cap a season of redemption, Duke was thwarted by Johns Hopkins
by Ben Reiter

NBA PLAYOFFS
54 All About Winning
So consistent is Tim Duncan that it's easy to forget he's after his fourth ring
by Ian Thomsen

STANLEY CUP
58 Fresh Final
The two young franchises are stocked with players hungry for their first title
by Michael Farber

MOTOR SPORTS
60 Short but Sweet
Dario Franchitti made a splash at last by winning the rain-curtailed Indy 500
by Lars Anderson

TONY LA RUSSA

Dark Times

Only seven months after winning the Series, the Cardinals' manager is coping with crises on and off the field
by S.L. Price
page 62

Departments

6 Leading Off

14 Letters

20 Players
• First Person: Eric Gagné
• Jason Giambi comes clean
• Remembering Howard Porter
• A history of impostors in sports
• Commencement advice
• How it feels to get hit by a pitch

38 Faces in the Crowd

80 Life of Reilly
Pacman Jones thinks he has been unduly punished. Try telling that to Tommy Urbanski
by Rick Reilly

Inside ...

76 NASCAR
• Rick Hendrick's run is no fluke
• The lost season of Greg Biffle

78 Baseball
• Plotlines to follow for the draft
• Are college prospects still hot?

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN W. MCDONOUGH
INSET PHOTOS: Al Tielemans (Duke lacrosse); Greg Foster (Vick)

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FEATURED COLUMNS

JACK MCCALLUM

> The LeBron Rules?
One man understands as well as anyone how difficult it is for the Cavs' LeBron James to solve the athletic riddle that is the Pistons' defense. So I journeyed to Jupiter, Fla., to watch Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals with Chuck Daly.
> Read more of this column at SI.com/mccallum.

GRANT WAHL

> Beckham's Back
David Beckham has made himself matter again at the highest levels of soccer. And the Los Angeles Galaxy is suddenly looking like a band of geniuses for signing the 32-year-old before his remarkable resurgence on the European stage.
> Read more of this column at SI.com/wahl.

TRAFFIC REPORT

> MOST VIEWED
1. Michael Vick and dogfighting
2. Josh Hancock's father files lawsuit
3. Chris Ekstrand's NBA mock draft

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3. Truth & Rumors

THROWDOWN

FanNation

Who will win the French Open?

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S.L. PRICE
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JON WERTHEIM

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PHOTO

JOE GIZA/REUTERS (LACROSSE)

50 A BLUE BLUE DEVIL Brendan Skakandi (right) of Johns Hopkins consoled Duke's Matt Danowski after a dramatic NCAA final.

PHOTO

ANNE RYAN/POLARIS (LA RUSSA)

PHOTO

DAVID E. KLUTHO (NHL)

PHOTO

JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (MCCALLUM)

PHOTO

DAMIAN STROHMEYER (WAHL)

PHOTO

BOB ROSATO (JAMES)

PHOTO

ADAM DAVY/PA EMPICS/ABACA (BECKHAM)

PHOTO

BILL FRAKES (VICK)

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ROBERT BECK (WOODS)

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BOB MARTIN (NADAL)

ILLUSTRATION