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FEATURES
COLLEGEFOOTBALL
44 They GotGame
The first 115meetings between bitter rivals Kansas and Missouri were mostly forgettable, butthis one won't be. Saturday's victor will be one win from playing for thenational championship
By AustinMurphy
PRO FOOTBALL
48 The Fight forSecond
While the Patriotscontinue to operate on a higher plane, NFL Nation is left to wonder whether aviable contender--Dallas? Green Bay? Indy?--will emerge
By Tim Layden
• The Pats'precision play-calling
NASCAR
54 Bringing ItHome
Jimmie Johnsonrepeated as Nextel Cup champ with a flawless run at Homestead
By LarsAnderson
HIGH SCHOOLBASKETBALL
60 A Big-timeGamble
Some top recruits,like point guard Oscar Bellfield, would rather wait than sign
By GeorgeDohrmann
SOCCER
68 OrangeGroove
The HoustonDynasty--er, Dynamo--seized its second straight MLS Cup
By Grant Wahl
MICHAEL VICK
THE ROAD TO BADNEWZ
Through his riseand fall the QB stayed loyal to a tight circle of friends--homeboys who usedhim and ultimately sold him out
By George Dohrmannand Farrell Evans
Page 70
Departments
10 Leading Off
18 Letters
22 Players
• The antidote toBarry Bonds
• Remembering JoeNuxhall
• The Stars'strange G.M. choice
• Sports' biggestlosers
• First Person:Chris Paul
• The NFL's Jonesbrothers face off
• Caltech: revengeof the nerds
40 Faces in theCrowd
88 Life ofReilly
In Washington highschool athletics, a punishment that seems criminal by Rick Reilly
Inside . . .
81 The NFL
• Assessing RexGrossman
84 The NBA
• Dwyane Wadefires up the Heat
86 CollegeFootball
• A winningmakeover at Georgia
Cover
PHOTOGRAPH BYDAMIAN STROHMEYER
INSET PHOTO: DavidWalberg
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PETER KING
The Pats AreUnstoppable
The question isnot who can beat Tom Brady and the Patriots. It's who can give them a game.There's never been anything like this in the NFL.
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LARS ANDERSON
Hail to theChamps
Jimmie Johnson'screw chief, Chad Knaus, is a solid motivator and, more significantly, asingenious as anyone in the Nextel Cup garage.
Read more of thiscolumn at SI.com/anderson.
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PHOTO
DAVID WALBERG (JOHNSON)
54 A WHEEL RUSH At the Ford 400 on Sunday, Jimmie Johnson's pit crew was efficient enough for a seventh-place finish, which clinched his second straight Nextel Cup championship.
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MICHAEL BLACKWELL/POLARIS (VICK)
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
JOHN W. MCDONOUGH
HEINZ KLUETMEIER
ROBERT BECK
JOHN BIEVER
TWO PHOTOS
MEL LEVINE (KING, ANDERSON)
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DAMIAN STROHMEYER (BRADY)
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NIGEL KINRADE/AUTOSTOCK (JIMMIE JOHNSON)
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PETER READ MILLER (ROETHLISBERGER)
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JOHN BIEVER (TEBOW)
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BOB ROSATO (JOE JOHNSON)