Lineup

FEATURES

BASEBALL

44 End of the Chase
While fans cheered and jeered, Barry Bonds took their breath away with the homer that tied the alltime record
By Chris Ballard

• Bonds's year-by-year evolution

PRO FOOTBALL

54 Battering Ram
Outproducing even LT (!) last year, Steven Jackson crashed the ranks of the NFL's elite running backs
By L. Jon Wertheim

COLLEGE SPORTS

60 Trouble in Paradise
Montana State is coping with a crime wave—and with Bozemanites who feel the school's recruits are endangering their idyllic town
By George Dohrmann

PRO BASKETBALL

66 Hello, Boston
The arrival of Kevin Garnett instantly revived the Celtics. But it's too early to celebrate their 17th title
By Jack McCallum

Olympic China
Lost in transition, the writer ponders revolutionary ideas and harmonious thoughts from deep inside the Bird's Nest
by S.L. Price
Page 72

Departments

10 Leading Off

17 Letters

19 Players
• For a Boston fan, 82--0 is O.K.
• First Person: David Carr
• Dara Torres, going strong at 40
• A brief history of Julio Franco
• Shaping up with Matt Hasselbeck
• Me and my no-hitter
• Man U signs a nine-year-old

39 Faces in the Crowd

88 Life of Reilly
The owner of a boxing gym for kids squares off against politicians and developers. Guess who's losing this fight
by Rick Reilly

Inside ...

84 NASCAR
• First a race in Canada, then what?
• Robby Gordon self-destructs

86 Baseball
• Tom Glavine's milestone victory
• 300 wins: Will it happen again?

Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY BRAD MANGIN

SI Extra
To sign up for SPORT'S ILLUSTRATED free subscriber-only e-mail newsletter go to sicustomerservice.com/siextra

NOW ON SI.COM

>>> SPORTS IN REAL TIME. ALL THE TIME. ALL FREE. CUSTOMIZED ACCESS TO ANY FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE TEAMS. HD-QUALITY PHOTOS. STREAMING VIDEO. THE BEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS ON THE WEB

PHOTO GALLERY
>> PLAYERS WITH A LOT TO PROVE IN CAMP

>> SEE HOW CEDRIC BENSON AND OTHERS HANDLE THE PRESSURE AT SI.COM/HEAT.

FEATURED COLUMNS

PETER KING

> Tales from Training Camp
My first oh-my-god moment of training camp: Ken Anderson is coaching quarterbacks for the Steelers. Has the news traveled to Cincinnati yet?
> Read more of this column at SI.com/king.

JOHN DONOVAN

> The Yankees' Power Surge
Boston's lead is the biggest in baseball. But many believe that means nothing. Not with the Yanks and Hideki Matsui playing the way they are.
> Read more of this column at SI.com/donovan.

TRAFFIC REPORT

> MOST VIEWED
1. Bill Walsh dies at 75
2. Fellow soldier recalls Pat Tillman's final moments
3. Caught in the Act photo gallery

> OUR PICKS
1. Peter King: What this HOF class is missing
2. Signing Grant Hill boosts Suns in West
3. Pete McEntegart's 10 Spot Blog

EXCLUSIVE CFB SURVEY

The Players Speak

> SI.com polled players from all 119 Division I-A teams, and 58% picked Arkansas RB Darren McFadden as their preseason favorite to win the Heisman.

> Read the entire survey and weigh in with your thoughts at SI.com/cfbsurvey.

my SI
DOWNLOAD FREE
Pick your teams and get news from across the Web and photos on your desktop at SI.com/mySI.

PHOTO

KEITH SLINEY/BOSTON CELTICS (GARNETT AND ORTIZ)

66 BIG TICKET, BIG PAPI Celtics newcomer Kevin Garnett said hello to Red Sox mainstay David Ortiz at Fenway Park on Aug. 1, when Garnett celebrated his arrival in Boston by throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park.

PHOTO

JASON LEE/REUTERS (OLYMPICS)

PHOTO

DON LANSU/WIREIMAGE.COM (BENSON)

PHOTO

MEL LEVINE (KING)

PHOTO

MICHAEL FABUS/PITTSBURGH STEELERS/WIREIMAGE.COM (ANDERSON)

PHOTO

HEINZ KLUETMEIER (MATSUI)

PHOTO

JOHN BURGESS (WALSH)

PHOTO

BILL FRAKES (HILL)

PHOTO

PETER READ MILLER (MCFADDEN)

PHOTO