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FEATURES
BASEBALL
38 The AmazingRace
In a wild final weekend of the season, the Phillies made the playoffs, whileJimmy Rollins made his case for MVP
By Tom Verducci
COLLEGEFOOTBALL
44 Scary Movie
As his brother filmed, Cal wideout DeSean Jackson developed into the mostfeared gamebreaker in the land
By Phil Taylor
PRO FOOTBALL
48 Top of theCharts
Brett Favre was expected to break the career record for touchdown passes—butnot while leading Green Bay to first place
By Peter King
BASEBALL
52 The JobaRules
Yankees rookie Joba Chamberlain owes his success to a father who used his ownhardships to fan the flame inside his son
By Gary Smith
NHL PREVIEW
2007 -- 08
60 His Time HasCome
Well established asa prolific regular-season scorer—and a league MVP—Sharks center Joe Thornton isfinally poised to lead his team to the Stanley Cup
By Michael Farber
64 Here's theLatest
66 Creating thePerfect Player
69 ScoutingReports
The newlystar-studded Rangers will take the fight all the way to San Jose
Departments
6 Leading Off
14 Letters
23 Players
• The U.S. goalkeeping controversy
• First Person: Orlando Cabrera
• Haile Gebrselassie's record run
• The new middleweight champ
• Guys and their gloves
• TV timeout: LeBron vs. Melo
37 Faces in theCrowd
102 Life ofReilly
He came. He ate. He cut a triple-digit hole in the Dodgers' profit margin byRick Reilly
Inside . . .
90 CollegeFootball
• Poor judgment at Texas A&M
93 The NFL
• Can three teams turn it around?
96 NASCAR
• Sunny skies for Jimmie Johnson
99 High SchoolFootball
• The top recruit excels in hoops
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY AL TIELEMANS
INSET PHOTO: JohnBiever
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JOHN BIEVER (FAVRE)
48 THE BRETT PACK In beating the Vikings 23--16 on Sunday, Brett Favre not only guided Green Bay to a 4--0 start but also eclipsed Dan Marino's career record for TD passes.
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PETER READ MILLER (THORNTON)
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BASEBALL: AL TIELEMANS
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JOHN BIEVER (FAVRE)
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