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October 27, 2008 Table Of Contents

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SI Players: LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD

Legends of the Fall

The World Series can be puzzling

The Good Ol' Days

Sports Night on DVD evokes ESPN in its prime

By Adam Duerson

The Beat

By Arash Markazi

Football's Big Headache

Concussions can be tough to diagnose—and deadly—in high school athletes

By David Epstein

WHO'S Hot WHO'S Not

For the Record

Joe to the World!

Presenting the Sports Name of the Year

By Joe Posnanski

Grand Entrances

Who had the best first games in sports?

By Joe Lemire

Conspiracy Theory

By Albert Chen

Week Ahead

What to watch and watch for

By Sarah Kwak

Faces in the Crowd

SI, April 7, 2008 Update

Just My Type

By Dan Patrick

SI.com

SI.com

SI Bonus Section: Golf Plus

Inside Cover Description

Behind the Music

Despite a veneer of showbiz glitter and a breakthrough win by Marc Turnesa, everyone in Las Vegas was talking about the harder edge to life on the PGA Tour

By Alan Shipnuck

Hard Facts

A difficult week on three fronts

By Jim Gorant

Big Play

By Mark Wood

The Pepper Mill

By Dottie Pepper

Extra Credit

A high school team learns a few lessons on the LPGA tour

By Scott Gummer

Inside

Inside: The Week In Sports

Seattle's Worst

Injuries at QB and a decimated wideout corps are contributing to a miserable farewell season for Mike Holmgren

By Jim Trotter

Dr. Z's Pick of the Week

By Paul Zimmerman

No Safety in Numbers

This week's touts include some stat lines to believe in, and others you should ignore

By David Sabino

Toothless Tigers

Having lost their coach, their quarterback and some top recruits, Clemson faces a major rebuilding job

By Mark Beech

Stewart Mandel's Three-Point Stance

By Stewart Mandel

The Old Magic

Bernard Hopkins silenced critics by thrashing undefeated middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, 17 years his junior

By Chris Mannix

Stock Futures

It may be hurting his competitive effort this year, but Tony Stewart is building a smokin' team for 2009

By Lars Anderson

BASEBALL

The New Reality

Someday soon—in a year, two tops—you won't think twice if you hear the words, "THE RAYS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!" In the meantime these young American League champs are worthy of taking on the Phillies

By Tom Verducci

Series Prediction

The Rays will be vulnerable to the Phillies' left-leaning rotation, but the AL champs are the more complete team

By Joe Sheehan, Baseball Prospectus

"Historically, We Suck"

Many a tree has been felled, many a sonnet delivered in the name of the Cubs fan and his 100 years of suffering—but what of the snakebitten Philadelphia fan, whose own title drought stands at precisely 100 seasons?

By Lee Jenkins

PRO FOOTBALL

Go Strong or Get Toasted

To cut it as an NFL cornerback requires the ability to read minds, eyes and hips; the tools to match up with wideouts half a foot taller; and above all the ego to bounce back from regular doses of abject—and very public—humiliation

By Selena Roberts

Sharing Secrets

In their war with the wideouts, cornerbacks typically turn to one another, trading tips and tricks to gain a tactical edge

By Andrew Lawrence

HOCKEY

Getting Modern In Chicago

New president ... New players ... New coach ... New revenues ... New mind-set ...

By Michael Farber

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Coming Attractions

Every week brings a new showcase battle as the BCS race heats up. Next up is No. 3 Penn State, thinking title game if it can get by Ohio State at the Horseshoe. And after that...

By Austin Murphy

REPORT FROM IRAQ

A Five-Mile Jog Through The City of Death

As the growing insurgency spread chaos across Iraq, the author found solace—and fleeting friendships—in daily runs in the streets of the capital

By Dexter Filkins

F√öTBOL AMERICANO

Friday Night F√öTBOL

Like other high school football teams across northern Mexico, Prepa Tec of Monterrey wondered how it would match up against a top Texas program. Last month it found out

By Melissa Segura

NBA PREVIEW 2008-09

WORTH HIS WAIT

Sixteen months after he was chosen first overall, a healthy Greg Oden has finally taken the court for the Blazers. With the addition of his rebounding and shot blocking—and maybe even his scoring—to a talented core, Portland is ready to make a move in the West

By Jack McCallum

MAKING THE GREAT Leap Forward

The Celtics' instant success gives hope—and clues—to rebuilding teams eager to contend

By Ian Thomsen

FROM SPAIN With Skills

The Blazers welcome another '07 pick—who could make nearly as big an impact as Oden

By Jack McCallum

UPS AND DOWNS

A forecast of how many more—or fewer—wins every team will have this season compared to last (and some history too)

5 MINUTE GUIDE

A primer on the players, coaches, teams and issues to keep an eye on as the season begins (plus a little trade talk for when the February deadline nears)

By Ian Thomsen

SCOUTING REPORTS

1 Boston Celtics

The Big Three is back, but a playoff hero isn't. Who will fill his role for the reigning champs?

By Chris Mannix

2 CLEVELAND Cavaliers

LeBron James finally gets a top playmaker, and his team is one step closer to the Finals

By Elizabeth McGarr

3 DETROIT Pistons

As the window closes on this veteran group, one rising star offers a glimpse of the future

By Pablo S. Torre

4 ORLANDO Magic

The smallest man on the team needs to make a bigger impact for his club to go further

By Andrew Lawrence

5 PHILADELPHIA 76ers

This scrappy team is no longer hurting in the half-court, thanks to a Brand-name signing

By Chris Mannix

6 TORONTO Raptors

The club filled a big hole up front thanks to this point guard's excelente development

By Chris Mannix

7 WASHINGTON Wizards

Agent Zero's protégé has a new mission: Score a bunch until his mentor gets healthy

By Pablo S. Torre

8 CHICAGO Bulls

A talented team that stumbled last season reboots with a new coach and point guard

By Andrew Lawrence

9 INDIANA Pacers

The housecleaning nearly complete, they can get back to the business of winning games

By Pablo S. Torre

10 CHARLOTTE Bobcats

Why would Larry Brown come back to coach this club? Seemingly for all the right reasons

By Elizabeth McGarr

11 ATLANTA Hawks

A midseason pickup launched them on a surprise run. An encore won't be as easy

By Arash Markazi

12 MILWAUKEE Bucks

The new coach wants to make defense the top priority. How soon will his players buy in?

By Elizabeth McGarr

13 NEW YORK Knicks

They still won't be very good, but at least they'll be more watchable under Mike D'Antoni

By Chris Mannix

14 MIAMI Heat

Good health and a gold medal have given the star a boost—but he doesn't have a lot of help

By Andrew Lawrence

15 NEW JERSEY Nets

In with the new: fresh faces and a dribble-drive offense. Out with the old: success

By Chris Mannix

1 LOS ANGELES Lakers

With a healthy Andrew Bynum in the lineup, these Finalists think they can go all the way

By Marty Burns

2 HOUSTON Rockets

They took a one-year lease on a high-risk forward. The potential payoff: a shot at a title

By Gene Menez

3 SAN ANTONIO Spurs

Go ahead, overlook them now. They know who they are, and where they'll be in June

By Gene Menez

4 UTAH Jazz

And now, for something different: turning the biggest head case into a super sub

By Jack McCallum

5 NEW ORLEANS Hornets

This on-the-cusp team raided the world champs for a veteran with a winning touch

By Austin Murphy

6 DALLAS Mavericks

The players welcome a coaching change, but now they have to find a new way to play

By Gene Menez

7 PORTLAND Trail Blazers

The power forward who thrived with Oden out now gets to show what he can really do

By Jack McCallum

8 PHOENIX Suns

With three of its core players 34 or older, the retooled team gears up for a last playoff run

By Marty Burns

9 DENVER Nuggets

They've vowed to finally get defensive, but without their stopper it's too tall an order

By Chris Mannix

10 GOLDEN STATE Warriors

His best player left, but Don Nelson will still run-and-gun in what is likely his last season

By Marty Burns

11 LOS ANGELES Clippers

The return of a native son will make this season more palatable than the last one

By Marty Burns

12 SACRAMENTO Kings

A shooting guard is the one shining light for a franchise in the midst of major rebuilding

By Marty Burns

13 MINNESOTA Timberwolves

A top pick with loads of attitude and lofty goals? This team's dull days may be over

By Jack McCallum

14 OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder

The franchise player's doing just fine, but wins won't come sweeping down the plain

By Jack McCallum

15 MEMPHIS Grizzlies

The perennial cellar dwellers would be happy if this Gasol is half the player his brother is

By Austin Murphy

Point After

Living Down A Lie

By Phil Taylor

Departments

Leading Off

Not Baseball As Usual

Rays vs. Phillies is a World Series you can bank on

By Terry McDonell

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Letters