Lineup

FEATURES

BASEBALL

36 Deserving Better
Dear Bud: The winning Phillies enjoyed it, but the 104th World Series had dismal ratings and was marred by wintry weather. It's up to you to reexamine the Fall Classic and restore its old luster
By Tom Verducci

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

44 Red-letter Night
Texas Tech shook up the BCS race with a last-second win over No. 1 Texas
By Austin Murphy

51 Big Men on Campus
SI's alltime college football team

NFL MIDSEASON REPORT

56 | Titanic Force
Tennessee tackle Albert Haynesworth has tempered his rage to become the game's dominant defender
By Damon Hack

60 | Worth the Weight
How massive tackles thwart complex offenses
By Peter King

62 | The Great Shake-up
A look at the major trends that have shuffled the standings

66 | Dr. Z's All-Pro Notebook
Some spots are locked up, others wide-open
By Paul Zimmerman

68 | Playoff Forecast (Revised)
Unexpected teams will give the postseason a refreshing look

Departments

6 Leading Off

16 Letters

18 Players
• Year of the kicker in the NFL
• Getting silly at victory parades

30 Faces in the Crowd

34 Just My Type by Dan Patrick
• T.J. Hooker's influence on Shaq

82 Point After by Chris Ballard
• Sportspocalypse in Seattle

Inside ...

74 The NBA
• Can Michael Redd defend?

76 College Football
• The new, unbeaten Boise State

78 Fantasy Football
• Reevaluating for the second half

80 NASCAR
• A late run at Chase drama

ILLUSTRATION

ILLUSTRATION BY C.F. PAYNE (ALLTIME TEAM)

51 THE BEST, EVER A panel of SI writers and editors picked the greatest college football players at each position, but with a catch: only one representative per school. Let the arguments begin.

PHOTO

WALTER IOOSS JR. (HAYNESWORTH)