Lineup

FEATURES

SPORTSMAN of theYEAR

38 MICHAELPHELPS
He turned a pool in Beijing into the center of the universe, captivatingmillions
BY ALAN SHIPNUCK

51 SPORTSMEN OFTHE YEAR, 1954 TO 2008
A gallery of the covers, showing the elite company Michael Phelps now keeps

56 SMALL STEPS,GREAT STRIDES
SI presents the first Legacy Award to the founder of the Special Olympics
BY JACK MCCALLUM

PRO FOOTBALL

68 A StrongFront
The Giants ride their rock-solid O-line
By Tim Layden

COLLEGEFOOTBALL

74 War for theRose
A key showdown in Rivalry Week
By Austin Murphy

PROBASKETBALL

82 The Truth
Even after earning a title, there's something bothering Paul Pierce
By S.L. Price

HIGH SCHOOLBASKETBALL

94 Two on Five
Winning against enormous odds
By Thomas Lake

BASEBALL

104 $150 MillionMan
Free agent Mark Teixeira has arrived
By Lee Jenkins

BOXING

110 PoliticalPunch
Manny Pacquiao fights for his fellow Filipinos—and to win their votes
By Pablo S. Torre

HOCKEY

116 The OtherAlex
The Capitals' enigmatic left wing
By Michael Farber

STANTONBARRETT

Risking His LifeTo Risk His Life
How do you finance a passion for stock car racing? As a movie and TV stuntman,of course by Gary Smith Page 122

Departments

6 Leading Off

16 Letters

20 Players

28 Faces in theCrowd

33 Just My Typeby Dan Patrick

156 Point Afterby Phil Taylor

Inside ...

138 The NFL

141 CollegeBasketball

142 The NBA

PHOTO

HEINZ KLUETMEIER (PHELPS)

PHOTO

DARREN CARROLL (BARRETT)