December 22, 2008 Table Of Contents
SI.com
SI Players: LIFE ON AND OFF THE FIELD
Fear not, fired coaches. There's a good chance you'll work in this town again
Thanks to a little luck, the Heisman cometh to Sam Bradford
By Phil Taylor
A film explores Bear Bryant's role in integration
By Joe Lemire
What smart fans should do this week
The 2006 World Series of Poker champ can be seen on NBC's Poker after Dark
As told to Arash Markazi
By Dan Patrick
PRO FOOTBALL
Longtime defensive strong boys Pittsburgh and Baltimore met to decide the AFC North—and to settle the debate over which unit was the NFL's best this season. The answers are etched in steel
By Jim Trotter
Dick LeBeau's revolutionary philosophy—pressure the passer, but keep zones covered—just gets better with age
By Peter King
Baltimore coordinator Rex Ryan doesn't care about fancy pedigrees. He's looking for wild men who can hammer
By Peter King
BASEBALL
Take Me Out to ... The Winter Meetings In Vegas, Baby, Vegas
Baseball's annual swap meet was a mere sideshow to the circus of showgirls, rodeo, slots and neon kitsch, but it ultimately delivered a $161 million jackpot, a 4 a.m. free-agent signing and a 12-player—12!—trade. (Plus the usual frenzy of rumors, half-truths, outright lies and the stem-winding stories from the old baseball men)
PRO BASKETBALL
Energized by being reunited with family and friends, Denver native Chauncey Billups has guided the previously directionless Nuggets to the brink of first place in the West
By Chris Mannix
HOCKEY
Claude Lemieux Comes to Worcester
He's 43. He hasn't taken an NHL shift in five years. But the former playoff force and erstwhile most hated man in hockey believes a few good turns in the AHL can lead to his own miracle on ice
THE YEAR IN MEDIA
The Year In 4th ANNUAL Sports Media
NBC's pioneering online Olympic coverage didn't dim the power of TV
By Adam Duerson
SI plays matchmaker with the best broadcasters of 2008
By Joe Lemire
The Giants dominated on bookshelves as well as on the field
The Wrestler is the sports movie of the year
By Adam Duerson
By Mark Bechtel
A virtual trainer led a video-game boom
Free Darko waxes wise on the NBA
By Mark Bechtel
Inside
With a revamped right side of the line and a pair of explosive backs, Carolina is making a run at the Super Bowl
By Damon Hack
By Peter King
Their games need polish, but a few freshmen have elevated their teams by fitting in rather than standing out
By Mark Beech
By Seth Davis
Hoping to give their clubs a jolt, the Sixers and the Wizards turned to men with no recent coaching pedigree
By Chris Mannix