Game Plan
• READ
Follow the Roar
His injury-shortened season left golf fans wanting more Tiger, but author Bob Smiley got his fill. Smiley followed Woods to all eight events he played, from his January win at the Buick at Torrey Pines to his epic triumph at the U.S. Open. The result is Follow the Roar, an engaging, hole-by-hole account of a year that, even by Tiger's standards, was one for the ages.
• SUBSCRIBE
To Shaq's Twitter page
For months someone posted updates on Twitter.com under the handle ShaquilleONeal. They sounded authentic, but last week the Suns center said they were the work of an impostor—and that now he will tweet as The_Real_Shaq. On Nov. 18, his first day online, the Big Tweeter posted 24 times, with musings on Oprah, Kobe and the joys of fettuccine.
• CLEAR
May 23, 2009
That's when the St. Paul Saints, who gave out Larry Craig bobblefoot dolls in May, will honor Minnesota's taut U.S. Senate race with the Re-Count Doll, a bobble-Janus of candidates Al Franken and Norm Coleman. (As of Sunday, Coleman led by 180 votes.) The figurine has a cape like Sesame Street's Count von Count. The first 2,500 fans—count 'em—get one.
• WATCH
Giants vs. Redskins
You know the Redskins Curse, which has held since 1940: If the team loses its last home game before Election Day, the incumbent party exits the White House. But there's a flip side. Since '40, when a Democrat has won the presidency, Washington has had just one winning post--Election Day record (1976). Congrats, Mr. Obama. Bye-bye, 'Skins playoff hopes?
• BUY
The Uroclub
No, it's not Budapest's hottest dance spot. It's a hollowed-out golf club that helps men deal with, um, inconvenient water hazards while out on the course. (It's $49.95 at uroclub.org.) The length of a standard seven-iron, it holds an impressive half-liter of liquid. Remember, time not wasted finding relief in the woods is time that can be spent downing another beer.
EDITORS NOTE
Last week SI incorrectly stated that a trade edition of Guts & Glory: The Golden Age of American Football, by Neil Leifer, will be published next month. There will be no such edition.
The Pop Culture Grid
How do sports stars fit in? | This year I am thankful for ... | I could eat___every day | First thing I do when I wake up in the morning | I'm dying to pick___'s brain | Favorite really old movie |
TROY POLAMALU Steelers S | My first-born son, Paisios | Greek chicken and pilaf | Kiss my wife and baby | MMA fighter Rickson Gracie | The Godfather |
JAKE DELHOMME Panthers QB | That my family is healthy and happy | A good steak from my house | Wash face, brush teeth, eat banana and yogurt | Whatever defensive coordinator we're facing | Casey's Shadow |
BROCK LESNAR UFC Champ | My family and my health | Steak and my wife's mashed potatoes | Kiss my wife | Bill O'Reilly and Ted Nugent (top) | The Good, The Bad, And the Ugly |
DWIGHT HOWARD Magic C | Being alive to see the first African-American president | Pizza | Brush my teeth | Stan Van Gundy | Gone With The Wind |
INSIDE THE GRID
Polamalu likes the honor-code aspect of Francis Ford Coppola's classic (left): "The difference between The Godfather and, say, Scarface is that Scarface is a thug. In The Godfather they were criminals with values." Delhomme salutes a '78 Walter Matthau film about a kid who raises a pet horse to be a thoroughbred champ, "because it's about racing in Louisiana." Delhomme, the son of a horse trainer, owns horses.
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PARAMOUNT PICTURES/PHOTOFEST (BRANDO)
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CLARENCE SINCLAIR BULL/JOHN KOBAL FOUNDATION/GETTY IMAGES (LEIGH)
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BILL FRAKES (HOWARD)
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GREG CHOAT (LESNAR)
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GARY BOGDON (DELHOMME)
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MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (POLAMALU)
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IMAGE100/CORBIS (LIPS)
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BILL PUGLIANO/GETTY IMAGES (NUGENT)
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CATHERINE STEENKESTE/PRESSE SPORTS/US PRESSWIRE (O'NEAL)
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COURTESY ST. PAUL SAINTS (DOLL)
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RICK BOWMER/AP (OBAMA)
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COURTESY MATCO (UROCLUB)
THREE PHOTOS