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As the NFL seasonenters Week 9, check out SI.com for its comprehensive midseason report,including rankings from Dr. Z, analysis from Don Banks and a look atTitans tackle Albert Haynesworth, who's making a powerful case to be DefensivePlayer of the Year. Plus . . .

•Awards watch fromBucky Brooks

•Photo galleriesof key players and the best games

•Second-halfpredictions

FOR THE LATESTNEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE NFL, GO TO SI.COM/NFL.

FEATUREDWRITERS

STEWART MANDEL

Inside CollegeFootball

Penn State'schances of gaining a berth in the BCS championship

SI.com/mandel

STEVEASCHBURNER

Inside the NBA

63 reasons to payattention to the league's 63rd season

SI.com/aschburner

LUKE WINN

Inside CollegeBasketball

How defense willpropel Purdue to the top of the Big Ten

SI.com/winn

FREE AGENCY

On the Move Whereare top free agents, such as first baseman Mark Teixeira, likely to wind up?Jon Heyman looks ahead to what will be a busy off-season in the Daily Scoop.Also check out Ben Reiter's rankings of the top free agents and John Donovan'srundown of the most pressing questions facing each team.

Check out SI.com'sphoto galleries at SI.com/photos.

SI VAULT

YOUR LINK TOSPORTS HISTORY

FROM SPORTSILLUSTRATED

NOVEMBER 4,1996

It had been 18years since the Yankees' last world championship. SI writer Tom Verduccidescribed how New York won its 23rd in franchise history--and what would be itsfirst of four in five seasons.

Destiny ends withN-Y. It ends with New York Yankees third baseman Charlie Hayes, just anotherrefugee rescued from baseball oblivion, clutching a foul pop to strand theAtlanta Braves' potential winning run. It ends with the Yankees, who trailedtwo games to none in the World Series, winning four consecutive games, in threeof which they beat Cy Young Award winners (this season's probable winner, JohnSmoltz, included) and in the other they staged the second-greatest comeback inSeries history. It ends with a victory lap around Yankee Stadium by a team fullof comeback stories, people who have made it back from the most woebegone ofplaces: the Betty Ford Center, Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, the AlabamaSports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, the Northern League, not to mention theDetroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Check out thelatest classic SI story at SI.com/classic.

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Cover

INSET PHOTO: JohnBiever (Sargeant)

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PHOTO

BOB ROSATO (HAYNESWORTH)

big deal Haynesworth (92) has been a handful.

THREE PHOTOS

MEL LEVINE (MANDEL); JOHN IACONO (TEIXEIRA, YANKEES)

TWO PHOTOS