Lineup
FEATURES
PROBASKETBALL
52 Enter theKid
He may be a 19-year-old beanpole who lives with his mom, but Sonics rookieKevin Durant showed during his first week that he can handle the spotlight andscore like a veteran
By Jack McCallum
COLLEGEFOOTBALL
60 Talk, TalkJayhawk
The rest of the nation might be at a loss for words to explain Kansas's first9--0 start in 99 years, but not do-it-all cornerstone Aqib Talib, who'll tellyou all day long that he saw a big year coming
By Phil Taylor
HOCKEY
66 A BluesRevival
Guided by the motto Whatever It Takes, a new management group has transformed arock-bottom team into a winner—and a hot ticket—in St. Louis, all within ayear's time
By Michael Farber
NFL MIDSEASONREPORT
34 PatriotsExpress
New England has a clear run at history after beating the Colts
By Lee Jenkins
• The secrets ofsuccess
• AFC, NFCForecasts
42 The'Backerhood
Five disparate personalities, five huge talents, one peerless unit: thePatriots' linebacking corps
By Tim Layden
• Dr. Z's All-ProNotebook
Departments
8 Leading Off
17 Letters
19 Players
• Kelvin Sampson's house calls
• First person: Jon Kitna
• An Olympic hero dies
• Farewell to the Orange Bowl
33 Faces in theCrowd
86 Life ofReilly
The No Way That Just Happened moment, and other reasons to love sports by RickReilly
Inside...
74 OlympicSports
• A bitter victory at the marathon
78 CollegeFootball
• The clutch Cavaliers
80 NASCAR
• Dale Jr. shifts gears to '08
83 High SchoolFootball
• After the wildfires, games
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL O'NEILL
INSET PHOTOS:John W. McDonough (Durant)
Greg Nelson (Talib)
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It's a scene thatplays out at NFL stadiums every fall. Thousands of fans gather around grillssizzling with everything from burgers to bratwurst. Coolers are overflowingwith beverages. Pickup football games break out on fields marked with anythingthat fans can put their hands on in the parking lots. It's all part of thecelebration that is professional football. And while every club sells the sameproduct—the NFL game-day experience—the manner in which they sell it differsfrom city to city. So what separates one venue from another?
That's whatSI.com spells out in rating the experience that each NFL team offers, based onsome 17,000 fans' opinions, in seven categories: tickets, accessibility,tailgating, caliber of team, stadium atmosphere, neighborhood, and food andsouvenirs.
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PHOTO
GREG NELSON (REESING)
60 RED, WHITE AND BLEW PAST NEBRASKA Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing threw for 354 yards and rushed for 10 in a 76--39 whipping of the Cornhuskers last Saturday that lifted the Jayhawks to 9--0 and No. 4 in the BCS rankings.
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BOB ROSATO (NFL)
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DAVE ZALUBOWSKI/AP (FANS)
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WALTER BIERI/EPA (HINGIS)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (DURANT)
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KIRBY LEE/WIREIMAGE.COM (BORAS)
