Lineup
COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW
54 Between Friends
Longtime pals O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love have created an instant rivalry in L.A.
by Grant Wahl
63 Best of Enemies
Seven hoops feuds fueled by poaching coaches, buzzer-beaters and bad blood
by Luke Winn
70 A Pillar of Strength
How Essence Carson emerged as the voice of embattled Rutgers. Plus the women's Top 10
by Kelli Anderson
76 5 Minute Guide
A fast-break run through the top players, story lines and new faces
by Seth Davis
78 Scouting Reports
The men's Top 20, along with the rest of the 65-team NCAA tournament field
FEATURES
PRO FOOTBALL
36 Breaking Away
The Cowboys overpowered the Giants to take control of the NFC East. Looming ahead: a showdown with the Packers
By Damon Hack
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
44 Bowl Chaos Season
Illinois's upset of No. 1 Ohio State shook up an already tumultuous national title race. Who's in the best shape to win it all?
By Austin Murphy
PRO BASKETBALL
50 Waiting for Kobe?
His arrival would create problems. But if the Bulls don't start winning soon, they may have to trade for Kobe Bryant
By Jack McCallum
Departments
8 Leading Off
16 Letters
21 Players
• Welcome to the Charlie Weis error
• First Person: Shalrie Joseph
• Remembering Dick Nolan
• Norman Mailer's love of boxing
35 Faces in the Crowd
132 Life of Reilly
A Buckeye's life—and another one far from it by Rick Reilly
Inside...
122 NASCAR
• The Chase is over
124 College Football
• The nation's leading rusher is...
125 High School Football
• A Polynesian influence in Utah
128 The NFL
• Will Reggie Bush ever be a star?
130 The NHL
• Ottawa picks up where it left off
Cover
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT BECK (LOVE, MAYO), MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/IDEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (LOFTON, DOUGLAS-ROBERTS, PRUITT, WHITE), DARREN CARROLL (JONES, AUGUSTIN), SIMON BRUTY (HIBBERT, DEVENDORF); BACKGROUND BY BOB ROSATO; COMPOSITE BY SI IMAGING
INSET PHOTO: Brad Mangin (Montgomery)
For reprints of SI covers visit www.SIcovers.com.
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My Sportsman
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR: WHO'S YOUR CHOICE?
Next month SPORTS ILLUSTRATED will announce its 2007 Sportsman of the Year. There's no shortage of worthy candidates, which is why, for the fourth consecutive year, SI writers have contributed a series of essays on who they think deserves the magazine's highest honor. Over the next three weeks some 40 My Sportsman essays will appear at SI.com—from Damon Hack on Tony Dungy to Michael Farber on Sidney Crosby to Tom Verducci on David Ortiz. Read all of the essays, and let us know who you think deserves this year's award.
MY SPORTSMAN SERIES BEGINS THIS WEEK AT SI.COM/SPORTSMAN.
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FanNation
The Real MVP
What's the real difference-maker for the Patriots this year? It's not Tom Brady dating Gisele. It's the acqusition of Randy Moss, who deserves the MVP award.
MOSS •
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EXTRA MUSTARD
ON CAMPUS
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SI PHOTOS
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TNT
PHOTO
DON LIEBIG/UCLA PHOTOGRAPHY
78 BRU BY YOU UCLA junior Darren Collison, a preseason All-America point guard, knows how to find the open floor for the No. 2 Bruins.
EIGHT PHOTOS
TOP: JOHN IACONO, LOU CAPOZZOLA, WALTER IOOSS JR., JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DETROIT FREE PRESS, JOHN W. MCDONOUGH, GREG NELSON, WINSLOW TOWNSON, CHUCK SOLOMON
PHOTO
ANTHONY J. CAUSI/ICON SMI (PAVANO)
PHOTO
J. MIRANDA/WIREIMAGE.COM (DAVIS)
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO (MOSS)
PHOTO
DARREN CARROLL (JONES, AUGUSTIN)
STARTING FIVE: For the college hoops preview SI has printed five regional covers depicting red-hot rivalries across the country.
PHOTO
ROBERT BECK (LOVE, MAYO)
 [Seecaption above.]
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/IDEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (PRUITT, WHITE)
 [Seecaption above.]
PHOTO
SIMON BRUTY (HIBBERT, DEVENDORF)
 [Seecaption above.]
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/IDEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (LOFTON, DOUGLAS-ROBERTS)
 [Seecaption above.]
